Blogginess

Cute/Pretty/Delicious

2012-01-28T11:29:00.002+11:00

Orange Cake French Toast

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000+11:00

Remember that orange cake I made not long ago?

Well, in case you don't believe me when I say that I don't eat much of the sweet stuff I bake....

I really don't, I promise!

Anyway, the cake was sitting in the fridge, it had started to lose it's freshness, and it begun to get stale.

I did a quick Google, as you do, to see what I could do with this stale cake.

My favourite answer... French Toast!

So here it is, in pretty pictures...

All you need is a few basic ingredients, and you too can rescue a sad , stale piece of cake.

Delicious!

Home

2012-01-26T07:31:00.000+11:00

Things I Love...

2012-01-25T08:25:00.000+11:00

Watching my girl dance...

Playing hide and seek behind the camera with my little man...

Picking fresh fruit from my garden...

Walking barefoot in the soft grass...

Doing spur of the moment projects and LOVING the way the turn out...

Having a giggle at a naughty looking tree...

I know, so mature, right?

Fiddling In Photoshop With Freebies

2012-01-23T09:44:00.001+11:00

I have recently stumbled upon some lovely websites.

Full of free pretty things.

Printables, tutorials, everything I love!

One of them is this lovely site called Pugly Pixel.

It is overloaded with pretty, lovely, gorgeous.

I discovered the free blog photo templates and had to play around with them...

There is even a video on how to.

So what do you think?

This is my first attempt.

I had some minor issues.

Did things my way instead.

You may have noticed I have been changing the look around here a little bit...

Well, I want to polish things up.

I have wanted to make some big changes for a while, and I was even considering moving over to Wordpress, but shuddered when I gave it a trial run.

I like simple, fast and easy.

I'm still fixing up a thing or two.

Another big change which I am trying to decide on implementing is a name change.

Yep, a blog name change!

I did a Wordle word cloud from my blog and three words stood out the most...

Lovely.

Little.

Home.

I felt that really sums it all up!

So what do you think?

Should I change the name to Lovely Little Home?

Blogginess was a spur of the moment, all I could think of at the time name.

I think I have outgrown it now...

Please tell me what you think in my little poll over on the left hand side <---------

Thanks!

Sunday

2012-01-22T08:00:00.000+11:00

Can't Get Enough Cake {RECIPE}

2012-01-20T08:27:00.010+11:00

There is something very wrong with me.

I. Am. Organized.

This is not usually my strength.

At. All.

But since I have decided to do more elaborate birthday parties for the kids, I have decided that whatever I can make in advance, I will! I am trying to save myself stress closer to the parties...

I really hope it works....

I started with a practice run of Eve's cake. New recipe, which turned out AMAZING, you can find it HERE. It's just a butter cake but it was dense and moist and perfect.

I did two layers, two tones of blue and then a very rushed icing job...

I was experimenting with swirls, and found that doing anti-clockwise ones came out how I wanted...

See the gaping hole at the top?

I ran out of frosting....

But I have plans for that gap to stay.

I have moulded a rock out of cake pop mixture which will sit in that spot, with Ariel the mermaid and her friends perched on top.

Over the top madness? That's me!

Of course I made some actual cake pops too, they look like bumpy chocolate rocks, perfect!

Yesterday I whipped up a quick cherry pie mixture, no recipe, just throwing a few things in a pot and hoping for the best...

Why this?

To make mini cherry pie bites of course!

They, along with the cake pops & "rock", are in nice neat containers in the freezer, ready to be pulled out and prepared.

The cherry pie bites are inspired by Bakerella's Pie Pops but I didn't put them on pop sticks and I added some vanilla to my mixture. Yummy!

As I was munching on a deliciously flavoursome nectarine I noticed the amount of oranges in our fruit bowl.

A lot!

So what did I do?

Made an orange cake of course!

I have run out of icing sugar so thought of another delicious way to sweeten the top up...

I squeezed half an orange over the top...

Then sprinkled with some crunchy raw sugar...

The recipe is from one of my favourite books, The Country Show Cookbook.

I found it at the local library when I was staying with my mum.

It is so me.

I love country cookbooks.

I hope to make every single thing from this book, at least once.

Challenge, right?

Orange Cake

Ingredients:

140g butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

2 cups self-raising flour

3/4 cup milk

Juice & rind of one orange

Method:

Preheat oven to 180*C (350*F)

Grease a 20cm tin.

Cream butter and sugar.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.

Fold in flour and milk alternately.

Lastly fold in orange juice and rind.

Bake for approximately 40mins or until cake is "quiet" (has stopped bubbling inside).

Remove from oven and let cool.

Turn out on a rack and ice.

Orange Icing

2 cups icing sugar

2 tablespoons soft butter or margarine

juice of 1/2 and orange

Combine butter and sugar in a bowl.

Add enough orange juice to make a soft paste and mix well.

Enjoy!

Wonderful Watercolour

2012-01-19T09:00:00.001+11:00

In my big clean up and unpacking I found my watercolour pencils.

I was so happy to finally find them!

I pulled out my big sketch pad and started to draw...

I made up Eli's birthday party invites.

The front...

The back...

It will be cut out in a leaf shape with the holes punched out and matching.

I'm really happy with it...

What do you think?

Embroidery Patterns

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000+11:00

A Bit of Beautiful

2012-01-17T09:31:00.003+11:00

Let The Fun Begin!

2012-01-16T10:55:00.003+11:00

See this cute little pendant?

I am giving it away!

Head on over to my Facebook page for details on how to win.

Hurry on over though, it ends tonight!

The Great De-Stash!

2012-01-16T08:00:00.003+11:00

I've been quiet, I know, I'm sorry.

I've been busy cleaning, unpacking and sorting through a mountain of crafty stuff.

I discovered a lot of things.

Lost treasures...

What surprised me the most was the MASSIVE amount of resin jewellery I found.

Back from when I had just started my Etsy shop and was pumping out new creations every few days.

I threw away a lot.

This stuff has been in storage for a while, and some just didn't make it through.

But I was left with a lot...

So I have decided to have a little de-stash event on my Facebook page.

I would really love for you to share it with your friends. :)

I have sorted and separated the pendants and necklaces and there will be a number of gorgeous pieces up for auction, and I will be doing a RAOK (random act of kindness) for the rest.

Basically I will upload the photos in separate albums, one for the bidding, the RAOK is first to comment wins the piece. All I ask is that the winner of the RAOK pays postage, a mere $3 for Australia, and $6 for everywhere else.

There will be no starting point, you can put in a big for 10c if you like, I just want to send my goodies off to new homes, and not the garbage pile!

So keep an eye out, it will start very soon, I will make an announcement ahead of time on my Facebook page {<---- click here}

Good luck everyone, and happy bidding! :)

Learn

2012-01-10T10:23:00.003+11:00

I want to learn new skills.

Many!

Like...

How to make puff pastry.

How to make a fondant turtle.

How to make and shape pasta by hand.

Make the perfect cob loaf dip.

Make a meatloaf that my meat eating family will love.

(Meatloaf seems to have gained a bad reputation over the years!)

So what do you want to learn?

Anything you have always wanted to do but thought you never could?

Another Day In The Garden

2012-01-08T21:27:00.008+11:00

Remember this photo?

My pot plants thrown in a jumbled mess at our front steps.

Well, I spent yet another day out in the garden, tidying up and planting some of my flowers out of their pots and into more permanent homes.

Just ignore the pile of junk behind!

The pots were neatly pushed up against a garden wall...

And I continued on my obsessive "cover it all in straw mulch" quest...

I trimmed back ferns, and planted colourful shrubbery...

There is still so much to be done but I have shifted my focus from outside to inside and am trying to finish unpacking the last few pesky boxes. When we moved in it looked like there was plenty of storage space for our stuff......

It filled up quick!

My Day In the Garden

2012-01-07T20:04:00.006+11:00

Remember this?

This tangled mess of weeds...

Well, I got stuck in!

The other day my father in law came over and did a little weeding, he pulled out most of the big grassy weeds, filling up our green waste bin.

The bin men came and took it away.

Hello empty bin!

I got to work.

I pulled, I dug, I turned.

I got filthy, covered in spider webs, mud and ants.

That was day one.

The next day we headed off to Bunnings with our gift card we received for Christmas (awesome present, I squealed when I saw it!).

We wandered around, I was disappointed by the small vegetable seedling section.

But I was determined!

I bought seedlings, seeds and sugar cane mulch.

We got home, I got straight to it.

Emerging a few hours later, to this....

In it there are cucumbers, capsicum, lettuce, beetroot and silverbeet, as well as some strawberry shoots tucked away up the back.

I couldn't help but feel proud of my hard day's work.

Today I am paying for it.

My whole body aches.

But it was worth it, not only did I get a great workout (for free!), I have started us up a nice patch which will provide us with food for our hungry little family.

I also bought a lovely little rosemary bush which is in a big pot with the rest of my herbs, some seeds for flowers and spaghetti squash, which is very hard to find around here!

I am hoping to get out there later today and turn a little section into a strawberry patch, and plant some seeds so we have a continuous flow of food.

For now though, I'll leave you with these...

Happy Things

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000+11:00

Things that make me happy...

Fresh flowers in the house...

Finding old fabric that you love...

This bird is precious to me, I have had it for many years...

I love this new glass canister I bought recently. It came filled with hard candy mints but I replaced them with special treats for my toilet training girl... (And maybe us adults when we are well behaved)

I LOVE my two-tier fruit bowl. It was given to me by a lovely friend, before we moved away. It always feels so much better when over flowing with fresh fruit...

Lego. You know I love Lego, right?

My awesome brother gave me these funky salt & pepper shakers years ago...

And you may know I have a thing for Russian dolls too? Maybe this obsession is kept a little more secret but this beautiful pin I just got for Christmas... I love her!

And on days like today, when the heat reaches that level of discomfort, I reach for a little glass spray bottle filled with a deliciously refreshing purple liquid...

It is a lovely lavender spritz my talented mother makes. It is great to have handy for a quick, relaxing cool down and feels even better if it has been kept in the fridge. Another spritz she makes is a mint one which, when cooled is the best thing to have during Summer! They never last long in our house.

Another thing I love is Op shopping, this you must know.

We desperately needed a new dining table and desk so off to Vinnies we went.

We found a lovely glass oval dining table and a perfect desk and Eve had great fun riding around outside on all the little tries, scooters and bikes they had for sale.

I had a quick scoot past the homewares section to see if I could find anything for the kid's upcoming birthday parties.

I am determined to make them extra special but without spending too much money.

You won't believe what I found....

A lovely shell-like platter, perect for Eve's Under The Sea/Little Mermaid party...

So these dishes are quite common, there were two of them there that day.

BUT wait, there is more!

A gorgeous pure white shell plate. I can envision cool mint "pearls" resting in this.

But of course I saved the best until last...

These lovely glass bowls are so beautiful. The shell pattern on them is in such detail. I fell in love and bought four. At a whole $2 each!

I was so happy with these finds, it was a real blessing that all we needed was right there waiting for us.

I couldn't leave without having a little look at the teapots and there I found the most gorgeous pot I have ever seen...

Isn't it cute?

It is tiny, with such gorgeous detailed painting, I absolutely love it.

Of course Eve does too!

She saw it and we both went "oooh" and "aaaah" together, then she ran off to find a cup to make some imaginary tea for me.

As we left with our goodies I had a sudden realization....

I hadn't even looked for anything for Eli's party!

I felt horrible.

As we got home and began to unpack, I looked up into our cupboard and spotted some bowls I had completely forgotten about...

I love these bowls. I bought them at an op shop years and years ago.

The instant I saw them I was relieved.

They will work perfectly for his The Very Hungry Caterpillar themed party!

I know I am getting in quite early with these things, but so much goes into a party I want to get as much done now as possible!

I even made a pretty cool looking triton the other day, heading off to paint it a lovely golden colour now!

Oat, Honey & Date Biscuits {RECIPE}

2012-01-03T13:58:00.003+11:00

I haven't baked anything for a while...

It is sad.

I had DUST on my KitchenAid.

DUST!!!

I had a rummage in my pantry and found a packet of dates, almost empty.

My mind ran to sticky date pudding but I knew I could not do it.

My hips would never forgive me!

I jumped on the website taste.com.au

It is awesome and a great place to do quick searches for new recipes with whatever you have lying around at home.

I found a recipe that looked pretty good.

No sugar, just honey and dates to sweeten.

I liked that idea!

So I got to work.

They were so fast to make and of course I changed the recipe a little, when do I not?

So if you want a nice little treat with your cup of tea/coffee that is a little more natural than some others, give these a go.

Oat, Honey & Date Biscuits

180g oats

75g plain (or wholemeal) flour

60g chopped cashew nuts (unsalted)

10 dried dates, chopped

1 egg

100g butter, melted then cooled

1/3 cup honey

Preheat oven to 180*C. Line two baking trays with baking paper.

Combine oats, flour, dates and nuts in a bowl.

In a seperate bowl, lightly whisk eggs then add cooled butter and honey.

Pour egg mixture into dry ingredients and mix well.

Drop tablespoonfulls of mixture onto trays 3-4cm apart and flatten slightly.

Bake for 12-15mins or until a lovely golden brown.

Set aside on the trays to cool for 5mins then (taste test now, of course!) transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mmmm.... Yummy!

I Have A Garden

2012-01-02T08:34:00.009+11:00

I have a garden now.

Though I must use the term very loosely.

There is no thick green grass as a lawn.

Only cold, hard concrete, that goes from icy to burning in the Summer sunshine.

Dotted with pebbles, cracks and curves.

There are raised garden beds. From the front there are big steps of these coming down to the main area. They were once filled with beautiful flowers, roses and daisies just some.

Now it is dry, wood chip and weeds, with a few over grown or near death flowers scattered around.

In the centre is a huge raised bed, which was once a glorious pond with fountains and water features, levels of water cascading down into a large pool at the bottom.

Now it is overgrown with grass and weeds.

It has cute characters on display, like cheeky gnomes...

And a lovely lady fountain who has seen better days...

I insisted on bringing along all my pots full of vegetables and herbs, and they lie scattered near the front door, waiting to find a permanent place in the garden...

There is a lot of work to do

We used to live here many years ago, in the granny flat out the back of the main house.

I have many memories of hours spent in the burning sun, pulling weeds and being disheartened to see them all back just a week or two later.

I remember pulling out a big weed and the ground erupted with ants, they poured out of the fresh hole and scattered. This was the first of many ant colonies I discovered.

This time I am being lazy.

I will buy some form of weed killer from my beloved Bunnings and spray, spray, spray!

I have been offered some native plants and trees and they will find a place soon enough.

I want to transform this yard.

From unkempt to lush, colourful and somewhere you would WANT to sit and relax.

I have given myself a little deadline.

The kid's birthdays will start in March and we need every last bit of space to fit in our family and friends. I plan on using the large covered area outside our front door for our big table of food and decorations so having a child friendly and nice yard is a must!

Am I being a bit too optimistic?

Will I get it to match the visions I have in my mind?

Hopefully I will soon have some stunning "after" photos to share with you!

Sunday

2012-01-01T08:00:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-12-31T08:00:00.000+11:00

I Need To Plan!

2011-12-30T08:00:00.000+11:00

Now that Christmas is over, and the new year is lurking around the corner, I have things to do!

Not resolutions, I never bother with those.

I have birthdays to plan!

March 4th is my amazing mother's birthday.

March 11th is my little man's 1st birthday.

April 24th is my gorgeous girl's 3rd birthday.

May 9th is my 25th birthday.

May 19th is my brother's birthday.

So.... Just a little busy!

Now that we are in a house I have decided we can have the kids' parties here.

I have so many ideas.

Pinterest has been inspiration OVERLOAD!

I don't know how I will choose just one theme???

Under the Sea/Little Mermaid?

Rainbow/Flower/Girly theme?

A cupcake decorating station is a MUST!

As well as a...

With some fun things to play around with...

What about for my little man?

A Very Hungry Caterpillar Party?

Or any of the other MILLION themes to choose from...

Decisions, decisions!

New Things

2011-12-29T12:11:00.007+11:00

Through a special deal during the crazy Boxing Day sales, I managed to walk away with this new camera....

For free!

I am so happy, I have wanted a DSLR for a very long time but never could afford the hefty price tag attached.

I walked outside (our NEW place!) and snapped away at everything.

A little girl was sprung in her window, supposed to be in bed.

Of course the kids and our family have been great models too!

We are still recovering from Christmas, but I don't think we had recovered from moving house before that!
So much to do, so much to organize.

Very important on my list is to fix my sewing machine.

I just need a desk first!

It is nice to be back though :)

Sunday - Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T07:39:00.000+11:00

Break the boredom

2011-12-22T12:39:00.001+11:00

I'm still unpacking.
I still have no internet.
But I have a kitchen.
It is the only fully unpacked and organized room.
Not.surprising.
I'll be back soon, everything gets.plugged in tomorrow!

Moving House...

2011-12-19T09:00:00.000+11:00

As you probably gathered from the title of this post, I am moving!
We are in the middle of packing up our little family and all out belongings and shifting into a house.
Internet will be cut off, though I may possibly update from my phone, depending on how tech-savvy I feel at the time.

See you on the other side!

Sunday

2011-12-18T11:05:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-12-17T09:00:00.000+11:00

I Heart Etsy, More Owls.

2011-12-16T08:27:00.000+11:00

I love owls.
I love Etsy.
Combine the two and you have hours of browsing through some of the most beautiful and creative owl items....
One of each please?

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-12-15T06:06:00.000+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-12-14T08:49:00.000+11:00

Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni with Basil and Feta.

2011-12-13T07:28:00.000+11:00

By now you should know I am a little bit of an experimental cook.
I find it near impossible to stick to a recipe, in fact, I can't remember the last time I did!
Sometimes these make for culinary disasters, but sometimes it is pure food heaven.

This experiment was a raging success.
I looked at two recipes, then into my pantry, then out to my basil plant and then came up with my own concoction.
A very delicious, and addictive concoction!

I started with some spinach and onion and sauteed until it was a soft mixture.

Then out of the pantry came my mum's homemade feta cheese......YUMMY!!

Then into the processor went the cheese and basil...

Blended into a delicious paste...

In went egg yolks and ricotta...

Then I mixed it all together...

To make a gloopy mixture...

I pulled out my trusty icing gun/cookie press/thing I love so much...

And filled these tubes in no time...

I grated some veges (my main goal for every family meal is to get as many veges in there as possible!) and added to pasta sauce and poured all over...

The flavour was amazing, the texture was creamy and divine...

No, really, they are addictive. I must have eaten at least three tubes after they were baked and then snacked on them the rest of the day with Eve... Only about half were left by dinner time, oops!

Spinach & Ricotta Cannelloni with Basil and Feta

Ingredients:

Filling:

250g frozen spinach
1 medium onion, diced
225g ricotta
1/2 cup feta cheese
1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 egg yolks
1 small zucchini, grated
1 small carrot, grated
½ teaspoon salt
pinch ground black pepper

A jar of your favourite pasta sauce & parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

Saute onion and spinach in a frying pan until soft. Place in a strainer and squeeze out excess liquid. Leave aside to cool.
Place basil and feta cheese in a food processor and process until smooth.
Add egg yolks and ricotta and process until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Place spinach and onion in a bowl and stir in the cheese and egg mixture.
Fill cannelloni tubes and place in a greased baking dish.
Mix grated zucchini and carrot with pasta sauce and pour over cannelloni tubes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 160*C for 30-40mins or until cannelloni tubes are tender.
Remove foil and bake for a further 15-20mins or until golden and cooked through.

A Week In Photos

2011-12-12T07:07:00.000+11:00

This past week we have...

Seen two teeth cut through...

Been awake at 230am in the morning due to those pesky teeth and saw a big beautiful moon filling up the sky...

Realized I have seen too many sci fi movies when I look at my hubby's lava lamp...

Little ones have changed the way they play. Underneath the toy instead of in it!

Bigger little one has decided to rebel against her day sleep and instead falling asleep on the couch later when utterly exhausted...

Cedric decided to bolt outside and chase some birds. In his ruckus he knocked my new camera to the floor and now I am unable to get photos off unless with the new card reader we had to buy...

We fed the birds (cockatoos) before the cat came outside and scared them off.

We discovered that my little boy loves oranges. LOVES them!

He is getting cheeky, and always tries to grab the camera from me...

Other cheeky child decided to eat half a cup of peanut butter while she was helping me cook dinner...

She discovered how much fun water pistols can be... Inside! :/

I got my new nail polishes which were a reward for my efforts in the boot camp I recently finished up...

I'm in love...

We did the usual mucking around, being silly...

My little man discovered a love for my hubby's phone. Apparently it is the ultimate toy and the only thing he will not put in his mouth...

We had group hugs/everyone jump on mummy...

Eve & I made a gingerbread nativity scene. Conversation that followed after we had our first taste:
Hubby says " Oh this is good....Mmmm.... Oh this is REALLY good!"
I say " Wanna know my secret, how I do it?"
He says " Because you're amazing."
Me... My heart melts.

Eve constantly asks for photos to be taken, but as soon as the camera points at her she tells me "No cheese mummy, no!"

I get in trouble for taking photos while she eats the yummy cupcakes we made...

I got all dressed up for a movie themed party. Guess who I went as?

And of course I did some experimental cooking and came up with two delicious dinners...

Recipes to come soon!

Sunday

2011-12-11T08:33:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-12-10T08:00:00.000+11:00

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-12-08T09:44:00.001+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-12-07T07:40:00.001+11:00

A Moment In Time...

2011-12-06T12:46:00.003+11:00

I've seen these gorgeous pictures done before on a blog somewhere...
I fell in love.
What a perfect way to capture that moment in time, that little chapter of your child's life.
I want to remember these little things.
I want to show these to my kids when they are older, to have them ask me "Was I really afraid of sneezes? The vacuum cleaner?" Yes darlings, you really were.

My beautiful children, I love you.

Thyme, Garlic & Parmesan Wholemeal Bread

2011-12-05T09:46:00.002+11:00

It's not always sweet baking in my house.
See?

I had an urge to bake bread.
I looked into my container of bread flour and found it was almost empty.
I rummaged through the pantry....
Then the fridge...
I found a handful of ingredients and thought "I'll give this a go!"
No recipe, just the basic bread equation in my head.

I was surprised that it worked.
I knew it would be a dense loaf.
But oh my it tastes amazing hot and fresh with a little butter or margarine melted on top...

It is great for toasting, melting cheese and other toppings on and even better made into tasty little croutons for a hearty tomato soup.
Yum!

Of course I wrote down the recipe as I went, just in case it did work!

Thyme, Garlic & Parmesan Wholemeal Bread

Ingredients:

I cup plain wholemeal flour
1 cup linseed meal
1 cup rye flour
3/4 cup bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
Small jug of warm water
2 tablespoons dried garlic
Big shake of dried Thyme
3/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, half for dough, half for on top.

Method:

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl (except the parmesan for on top of loaf).
Pour in warm water, in small increments until dough has reached the right consistency, not too hard and dry, but not wet and sloppy.
Place on a floured bench and knead until it springs back when poked.
Put in a greased bowl, lightly covered with cling wrap and leave in a warm place to rise.
Once doubled in size, punch down and leave to rise again.
Preheat oven to 220*C
When doubled again remove from bowl and place on a lightly floured surface and shape into a loaf or rolls.
Place in a greased tin and pop in the oven for 10 minutes then reduce heat to 200*C and bake for a further 35-40 minutes or until cooked through.
Carefully remove from tin and leave to cool on a rack.
Enjoy!

Sunday

2011-12-04T07:38:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-12-03T09:00:00.000+11:00

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes...Vegan & Delicious!

2011-12-02T09:00:00.000+11:00

This is yet another delicious recipe from my Kid's Cookbook.
I always noticed how odd the recipe was, the ingredients a little unusual.
I remember the first time I made it, I was quite young.
I wanted to bake, but we had no eggs.
This recipe saved the day.

When a lovely reader commented on a previous post and said they had the same book as me, and they mentioned this delicious recipe, I knew I had to make it.
In cupcakes of course!

So I gathered my ingredients, and my trusty kitchen assistant...

AKA Little Miss Taste Tester.
(And yes, her dress is inside out. It doesn't bother me, I am just glad she has clothes on at all)

Put everything in the bowl...

Doesn't look very appealing, does it?
We gave it a good whisk...

And voila!
The batter is goopy and runny....
But after being baked in the oven, they turn out perfect.

I pulled out a fresh one, still hot, and chucked it on a plate.
It needed some ice cream....

And some of the salted caramel sauce left from the big birthday cake...

Mmm....Oh yes, it was good!

Messy, delicious food.

So enough drooling over photos of mine, here's the recipe so you can make it yourself!

Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes

Makes approx 15
(depending on how much batter is consumed before baking)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups self raising flour
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup caster sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Method

Preheat oven to 180*C. If making a cake size, grease and flour a 20cm baking tin, if cupcakes, then get your cases ready in the tray/s.
Put all ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Whisk together until smooth.
Pour into patty cases, or tin, and bake for 15-20mins for cupcakes, or 35-40mins for a cake.
Leave to cool in tin for 10mins then remove.
Pour whatever delicious sauces, creams, ice creams you have on top and enjoy!

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-11-30T09:00:00.000+11:00

Chunky Cookies & Cream Brownies

2011-11-29T07:55:00.000+11:00

I have a cookbook that is so battered and covered in spills, I have had it since I was 10 years old.
It's a favourite.
It's a kid's cookbook.
It taught me how to cook.
It taught my friend how to cook (when he was 19 and we moved in together with my man).
I love it.
It's easy.
The food is yummy.
It's not like these modern cookbooks for kids, this one has real food, homestyle meals.

One of my favourite recipes is for chocolate brownies.
No chocolate required.
Another thing I love is that most recipes you will already have everything in your pantry that you need.
This brownie recipe makes delicious, fudge-like brownies. Melt in your mouth, chocolate gooey treats.

I had some cookies and cream chocolate lying around and thought I would do some recipe manipulation!
So here is the original.... From my much loved book...

I altered it a little.
I used wholemeal flour.
I added another 1/2-1 cup flour to thicken it up a little so it was a bit more solid.
I added 1 cup of roughly chopped cookies and cream chocolate.
I baked it for longer, until the top was crisp and the bottom was soft and gooey.

Mmmm yeah it was good!

A few months ago I found a kid's cookbook set in Target which looked similar to the ones I have (I have the first and second of these cookbooks, both fantastic!) so I couldn't resist of course!
I got home and unwrapped them and flicked through.
There was one on kid's party foods, with some great ideas for parties for little ones.
Another looked yummy, but I have yet to explore it fully since the next two I flicked through were very familiar!
They were exactly the same as the two I have but with new cover photos!
Now the hoarder in me wants to put these with my other cookbooks and hold on to them forever.
But then I thought, what is the point in that?
I think I might give them away instead.
I'm going to do something new this time though.
I'm going to do a giveaway on my Facebook page.
So if you haven't "liked" my page, pop on over here.

Little Miss Bake-A-Lot

2011-11-28T06:56:00.006+11:00

This past weekend was a busy one.
Sunday was my darling husband's birthday.
So of course I had to make him a cake!

I found a silicone castle cake mold at our local Kmart and thought it would be fitting for my prince charming.
I whipped up a delicious batter for a caramel mud cake and the baking began.
There was a minor problem though....
The recipe did not make enough batter to fill the mold!
I knew that mud cakes don't rise very much so this would mean I would have to get creative!

The cake came out perfectly, no major disasters of crumbling walls. Phew!
But it had peaked up a little so the base was far from flat....
I started to trim it off.....Oh dear, it started to crumble away before my eyes!
I stopped, and decided on a different approach.
A little girl came in to "help me" and we rushed through the decorating...

And finally, it was done!
Silly me didn't get enough choc honeycomb so the moat was a half sized one, but still delicious filled with the salted caramel sauce I had made.

I somehow found a place for it in our fridge and left it for the next day... The birthday.
Finally, it arrived!
With no bits missing, by some miracle.
I pulled out the candles, and cracked holes in the chocolate layer to push them in...

Then the birthday boy blew out his candles...

We sliced it open...

Then the fun began!

But that wasn't the only baking I have done lately.... This week has been busy...

Experimenting with a new frosting recipe.
And making chunky cookies and cream brownies...

I'll share the recipe for those chocolate treats.....
Tomorrow!

Sunday

2011-11-27T08:48:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-11-26T09:00:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-11-26T08:34:00.000+11:00

Ginger Crunch Slice {Recipe}

2011-11-25T09:00:00.000+11:00

So you have probably seen this book on my blog before?

My awesome brother and sister in law gave it to me for my birthday earlier in the year.
It is SO GOOD!

Remember these?

Mmm, delicious!

Well I found another recipe in the book that I just had to try.
Ginger Crunch Slice.

They are pretty good.
Though there is a LOT of icing!

I ran out of ginger to put in the icing but let me tell you this... It has honey in it and it tastes AMAZING! I want to try honey in a cupcake frosting, it tastes so good.

Here is the recipe, changed up a little the way I made it.

Ginger Crunch Slice

Ingredients:

For the base:

225g wholemeal flour
100g caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground ginger
150g butter, softened

For the icing:

150g butter
60ml honey
300g icing sugar

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180*C. Line a deep sided 18x27cm baking tin with baking paper.

To make the base:
Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Sift in flour, ginger and baking powder and mix until just combined.
Press the mixture into the tin and level off using the back of a spoon.
Bake for 20-25mins or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely.

To make the icing:
Put the butter and honey in a medium saucepan and heat until just melted. Sift in the icing sugar and ginger and cook for a further 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until smooth.
Remove from the heat and pour over the base. Leave to set.
Remove from the tin and cut into squares or triangles.

Enjoy!

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-11-24T09:00:00.000+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-11-23T07:00:00.000+11:00

A Giant Bithday Cupcake

2011-11-22T08:52:00.005+11:00

Not too long ago it was someone's birthday.
A pretty cool someone.
A pretty fun someone.
So I pulled out my brand new giant cupcake baking tin and decided to give it a go.
I explored new recipes and picked this one from Not Quite Nigella.
White Chocolate & Honey Mudcake.
Yum!

I love baking.
But I love decorating even more.
I had so much fun making this cake!
I have never really used fondant before, except for some cookies a while ago, so this was a bit new to me.

The rich, fudgey cake was a chocoholics dream.
White chocolate in the cake.
Smooth dark chocolate smothered over the base of the cake, with a creamy layer of chocolate frosting sandwiched between it and the top.

Oh yes, LOTS of chocolate.

Amazingly enough I still had batter left over after filling the giant cupcake tin.
I poured it into my new muffin trays.

I brushed the tops with dark chocolate and poured sprinkles on top.

The cake itself was so dense. It was more like fudge than cake!
The flavour was lovely, but because it was so rich, only a very small amount could be eaten.
Probably a good thing!

So do you have a good mudcake recipe?
I did have one many years ago but it has been lost!
Please share!
:)

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies! One Recipe, Three Ways.

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000+11:00

Cookies, biscuits, whatever you call them, they are a household staple.
Dunked in coffee, dipped in tea, or by themselves, there is no wrong way to eat one.
I love having a tin filled with delicious cookies ready for when visitors pop over.
I noticed lately that my tin was looking very empty.
I had some baking to do!

I used a simple recipe, doubled it and then divided into three parts and made them all very different.

I made some festive spiral cookies, with strawberry and mint flavouring.

And a sprinkles and crushed candy cane coating...

Colourful and tasty!

Then the next were the classic jam drop cookies...

Wonderfully crisp on the outside and soft on the inside...

Perfect with a cup of coffee!

And the last, a decadent blend of white chocolate and vanilla wrapped in dark chocolate and espresso. Yum!

I used wholemeal flour for the dough and the texture is deliciously crumbly, a perfect cookie!

You can find the recipe HERE. The only difference I made was using wholemeal flour instead of plain.

Sunday

2011-11-20T07:00:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-11-19T10:15:00.000+11:00

Mums United Healthy Changes Challenge Giveaway Winners!

2011-11-18T14:35:00.006+11:00

Here it is, finally the day our winners are announced!
Thanks everyone for entering, I loved reading all the healthy tips, and I hope we all learned a little more about our health and food.

A big thank you to the Soup team who invited me to do this with the help of the Heart Foundation's Mums United campaign. I have definitely learned a lot about nutrition and food, and always welcome any new ideas for keeping the family active together.

So now the fun part!

The winner of the third prize, a $50 Woolworths Gift Card is.......

........

Kelly Shuttlewood !

Well done Kelly, please send me your address and I'll get your voucher off to you!

The winner of the second prize, a $100 Rebel Sport gift card...

.....

Eeycee!

Please email me with your address and I'll get your voucher off to you!

And here it is.....
The winner of the grand prize, a whopping $200 Kmart gift card....

....

Muz2299!

Well done Maria! I know where you live, so you'll get your gift card soon!

Thanks everyone for entering, please check back here often as I have frequent giveaways, next one is an amazingly delicious (a little naughty) cook book.

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-11-17T09:00:00.001+11:00

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY, ENDS THIS FRIDAY, 18TH NOVEMBER.

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-11-16T07:00:00.002+11:00

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY, IT ENDS THIS FRIDAY!

Strawberry Picking & Super Fast Salad

2011-11-15T13:22:00.008+11:00

A long time ago I snapped up some very cheap strawberry plant bulbs from our supermarket.
Three in the pack, two died in a heatwave but one grew and grew.
It has taken over the pot and is now providing us with delicious, sweet berries every few days.

Eve spotted this one straight away, and lunged down to pinch it off.

Straight in the mouth, no need to wash, we don't use any chemicals here.

"You try?"

The rest of my little garden is going well.

I have one empty pot that I cannot decide what to put in, and I need to get some coriander seedlings since mine keep getting killed by the heat as soon as they begin to get leaves.

The crystal apple cucumber plant is dripping in tiny fruit, slowly swelling up.
I can't wait til we get to pick these!
Sliced in thick chunks with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and chilled to icy perfection, they are the best Summer snack!

Lunch today has been super healthy and super delicious.
I had some brown lentils (canned) left from dinner preparations and wanted to use them somehow with the brown rice sitting in my fridge.
This is what I ended up with...

It was very tasty but so filling, I served myself up half and couldn't even finish it!

It was so quick and easy to make, and much better for you than convenience foods!
I have no idea what to name my creation so feel free to call it whatever you want!

{insert creative salad name here}
Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 carrot, grated
1 Roma tomato, finely chopped
1/2 Lebanese cucumber, chopped
1/2 red capsicum, chopped
1 can flavoured tuna, I used herb and garlic
1/2 cup cooked and cooled brown rice
1/4 cup brown lentils (canned)
Sprinkling of chopped parsley

Method:

Mix it all together!

Add some grated cheese if you like...

And EAT!!

Fill up your tummy with yummy salad and green tea and try to resist the freshly baked biscuits lurking in the pantry...

I made these using wholemeal flour yesterday with a few variations, recipe coming soon!

Chocolate Cherry Coconut Bites { RECIPE }

2011-11-14T09:00:00.000+11:00

I did some baking the other day.
A recipe has caught my eye and ignited my love for all things chocolate and cherry.
I found the recipe from an old magazine clipping but I tweaked it a little to make these delicious little bite sized treats.
Try them, you know you want to!

Chocolate Cherry Coconut Bites

Ingredients:

Base

150g butter or margarine, softened.
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder

Filling

3 cups desiccated coconut
395g can sweetened condensed milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
200g red glace cherries, chopped

Topping

50g good quality chocolate, chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 180*C
Grease a mini muffin tray.

Base:
Beat butter and sugar in a bowl. Sift flour and baking powder over and stir to combine.
Press teaspoon fulls of mixture into tray and bake for 5-10 mins or until light golden.

Filling:
Combine coconut, eggs, condensed milk and cherries in a bowl and mix well. (Here is where I added a little red food colouring)
Spoon mixture over warm base and bake for a further 15-20mins or until light golden and firm to touch.
Allow to cool completely.

Melt chocolate and drizzle over top.
Refrigerate until set.

Perfect layering of soft biscuit and chewy cherry coconut....

Sunday

2011-11-13T07:52:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-11-12T07:43:00.002+11:00

Vintage Beauty

2011-11-11T08:05:00.001+11:00

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-11-09T08:23:00.001+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-11-09T08:05:00.002+11:00

Recipe Index

2011-11-08T08:43:00.003+11:00

You may have noticed this new little thing on the side of the page....

I have (finally) rounded up all of the recipes I have added and popped them in one convenient spot for you.
Hopefully more to come soon!

At the moment Blogger won't let me do what I want when editing the page (grr, frustrating!) so there are no labels, just delicious pictures. But apparently pictures speak louder than words, so just go where your tummy leads you!
:)

Sunday

2011-11-06T09:00:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-11-05T09:00:00.002+11:00

Mums United Healthy Changes Challenge Giveaway!

2011-11-04T08:00:00.001+11:00

So, here it is!

The big giveaway has arrived!

So let's get back to where it all started...
Love Your Heart.
We have been making changes in our house.
I set goals.
Did we reach our goals?

Less tv for the kids.

We have made a difference on this one, I have been planning little crafting and cooking activities with Eve and Eli has a new bouncer which he loves to play in or he sits in his high chair and sucks on some oranges and watches us cook. They still watch more tv than I would like, but it is a slow process, hampered by rainy weather.

More family walks to the park.

Yes, we have been out and about as a family, walking to the park, wandering on the beach or exploring new parks to run around in. I would still like to get out a little more on weekdays though.

Meal makeovers.

Our diet has been thrown upside down and shaken all around over the last few weeks. I have experimented in the kitchen with new recipes and have had Eve in the kitchen with me, learning about vegetables and tasting new ones, raw and cooked. Eli has tried new foods too, and he loves to chew and suck on oranges and toast.

Healthier snacks.

I feel like we have achieved something good here! My snacks have been mainly vege sticks with hummus and Eve has started to eat apples by herself, no chopping, straight off the core. I still buy her bananas as well, even with the high prices. I find that it is mainly our choices, I still buy her snack foods but I choose things like rice wheels and popcorn which I can have too. They are a much healthier alternative to oil soaked chips!

Less takeaway food.

We have had a little bit of takeaway food, but less than usual. My husband and I have date night on Saturday night and we always get take away for dinner so it's a little special. I decided to try something different and cook a nice meal for us, one we both like, but tweaked to be a bit healthier. Another alternative was buying just a naan bread to have with home cooked spicy vege soup, instead of buying the usual other fried goodies and curries as well. I make my own brown rice at home instead of ordering white with our meals and I buy a healthy quick meal or two for those nights where we are all exhausted and hungry and tempted to eat bad foods.

More vegetables.

Yes, yes, yes! I did some experimenting in the kitchen the other nit and threw some vegetable in my wok with a little olive oil and garlic and they came out divine, I had a huge serve of those with my dinner and definitely got in my days worth of veg!
Every week when we get our food shopping I chop up celery and carrot into sticks and pop them in a big container in the fridge for snacking.
Each week when we get our shopping I make up a big bowl of salad, no dressing so it lasts longer. It's great to have as sides for our dinners and I also throw a big handful in a tortilla with some tuna and cheese for a nice quick lunch. I like to mix it up a bit with different salads each week so we have good variety.

All in all i think we have made some great changes, and will continue to do more.
I have learned quite a lot along the way, but my best tip for you....
Try doing your food shopping online!
I did our food shopping online last week, it was so easy to just pop on the computer and find what I was after and put it in my virtual trolley. I ordered only the necessities and was stunned to see I had saved us $100 off our usual grocery bill!
I bought no junk food.
No chips or chocolate were thrown in to the trolley while my back was turned.
No temptation to lead you astray.
Give it a try, it is easier than you think!

To help you on your way to a healthier diet and lifestyle I have three awesome prizes up for grabs:

**Third prize is a $50 Woolworths Gift Card.**

I understand that some of the healthier foods can be more expensive, but my advice is to give them a try, try online shopping, or skip the aisles that you don't need anything in. It will save your waist and your wallet!

**Second prize is a $100 Rebel Sport Gift Card**

Looking for some inspiration to get the family involved in some fun activities? Why not try something new? Get some equipment from Rebel, they have a great range of fun games to get the whole family involved! (who can resist giant water blasters?)

**First prize is a whopping $200 Kmart Gift Card**

Oh yes, how awesome is this! I love Kmart, it has everything there. Everything you could need to change your lifestyle to a healthier one. Grab some comfy workout clothes to exercise in, get your kids a new bike to ride, grab some fun outdoor toys to run around and play with, pick up a heart healthy cookbook and maybe a grill or steamer. They really do have it all, and at such great prices.

So here are the boring but necessary details.
I've made it easy to enter.
Each of these will get you one entry:

Follow my blog

Become a fan of my blog page on Facebook

Leave a comment with your a healthy tip.

So you can get your extra entries (and mr random.org can work his magic) PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE AN EXTRA COMMENT TELLING ME IF YOU ARE A NEW FAN ON FACEBOOK OR FOLLOWER OF MY BLOG.
(E.g. "Hey there, I liked you on Facebook, my name is Daisy D)

The giveaway will end two weeks from today, on the 18th of November. I will random.org three times to find the winner, if the same number is drawn again after already winning, I will draw again.

It is only open to Australian residents (prizes wouldn't be of much use elsewhere!)

Good luck everyone!!

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-11-03T09:43:00.002+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-11-02T09:00:00.000+11:00

Soak Up The Sunshine

2011-11-01T09:52:00.005+11:00

Remember this way back here?

Well, a part of the challenge we have undertaken is to be more active.
I go to the gym every day but I still need to teach my kids about being active themselves.
So we go and do things as a family.

Like explore new parks...

We found the perfect tree house tree...

And Eve discovered some beautiful blossoms...

We ran, we played, we walked.
We had fun.

The sun was shining again so we went to the beach...

While the big kids went to dip their toes in, myself and the little one dipped our toes in the warm sand...

The water was icy cold so we spotted the pools in the distance and went for a wander.
We collected shells along the way...

The water was still cold but we went in, splashing and playing in the children's pool.
After a while the little one got tired and cranky, so we headed back to the playground just off the beach.
The big girl played, made new friends.
It started to get cool, and late, so we packed ourselves up into the car and headed home for a delicious dinner of grilled fish and veges with couscous...

So all in all, a good day!

Cheese, Bacon & Smokey BBQ Onion Pull Apart {RECIPE}

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000+11:00

I had this urge to bake this morning.
I saw a delicious recipe for orange zest cookies.
I had to resist.
I knew that if I made them, I would eat them.
Naughty, naughty!
I'm currently doing a 4 week boot camp and my trainer would KILL me if she saw in my food diary that I had been eating cookies.
I say cookies because I know that having just one would not be possible.
So I browsed through a pile of magazine clippings that my husband had pulled out from my recipe folder and spotted one.
Cheese, bacon & Corn Pull Apart.
Well, it sounded exactly like the kind of thing my man would love.
I checked the pantry....
No corn.
Bummer.
Oh well, I'll do what I always do and tweak it a little...
Not too much later and I pulled this treat out of my oven...

Looks good, doesn't it?

Golden, cooked to perfection.

And oh, the cheese! Yum!

So here is the tweaked recipe:

Cheese, Bacon & Smokey BBQ Onion Pull Apart

Ingredients:

250g bacon rashers, rind removed, finely chopped.
3 cups self raising flour
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp salt
40g butter, chopped.
1/2 Spanish onion, finely chopped (I had half sitting in my fridge but you could use a whole one)
1/2 cup smokey bbq sauce
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated tasty cheese
1/2 cup milk, plus extra, to brush

Method:

Preheat oven to 200*C/180*C fan forced.
Grease a 7cm deep, 21x10cm (base measurement) loaf pan.
Heat a medium sized frying pan over moderate heat. Add bacon, cook and stir for 5mins or until browned. Drain on paper towel.
Using the same frying pan, fry Spanish union until slightly softened, then add bbq sauce. Cook, stirring until onion has softened further. Leave to cool.
Sift flour, pepper and salt into a large bowl. Using fingertips, rub in butter.
Stir in half the bacon, parmesan and all of the tasty cheese and Spanish onion mixture.
Make a well in the centre, and using a round bladed knife, briefly stir in milk and 1 cup of water to combine and form a sticky dough. (Note: Instead of mixing and kneading by hand, I placed all dry ingredients in my Mixmaster and used it to mix and then knead, saving myself a big mess!)
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly to combine. Dough should be soft and sticky. Divide into 6 pieces and roughly shape into balls.
Place balls into prepared loaf tin and brush with extra milk. Sprinkle with remaining bacon and cheese.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden and loaf sounds hollow when tapped.

Enjoy!

Sunday

2011-10-30T10:28:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-10-29T10:14:00.002+11:00

Food & Fun

2011-10-28T09:29:00.000+11:00

A while ago I wrote in to my favourite magazine and won an amazing prize pack...

Well I finally used one of them!
It was a tough choice.
But my gorgeous girl helped to decide.
It came down to the bunny rabbit of the butterfly...

She chose the butterfly of course!

I followed the basic chocolate cake recipe on the packaging.

It was quite nice. Not the most amazing flavour, but it was still good. Even better when warm with a little butter spread on top.
The recipe was simple, great to do with a little one and the perfect amount for the mold. I was worried I would have excess batter, but it was perfect!

I whipped up this yummy crustless spinach quiche for lunch last week...

I'm doing a boot camp at my gym, so my food has been very healthy lately!!
I made this yummy vegetable and polenta pie (from my favourite vegetarian cookbook)...

I had fun with my girl making a big mess of ourselves...

We did some splatter paintings with food dye...

And then some painting...

(PLEASE, Blogger, WHY do you rotate my photos, no matter how many times I delet and upload again!!!)

And in other news......

We rescued this gorgeous, fat fluffball from our local animal shelter...

His name is Cedric, he is 5 years old, and a very fat cat who LOVES his food. (Fits right in here!)
He is getting over his shyness but still gets a bit scared around Eve. He has given her a few little scratches but I'm sure he will get used to her with time.

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-10-27T07:48:00.001+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-10-26T07:31:00.002+11:00

10 Things You Really Don't Need To Know About Me

2011-10-25T07:29:00.003+11:00

1. Me & heights do not mix. I get nervous just seeing things like this...

2. I have always wanted to do a photoshoot like this with me and the kids. I have so many photos I want to take, but never do.

3. I love hugs. I am a very affectionate person.

4. I don't have my driver's license. But I love vintage cars.

5. Computers can be my best friend but also my worst enemy. Sometimes I wish they never existed (Gasp!).

6. I am terrible with money when influenced by others. If it's just me I am a frugal queen, always saving, never spending. If my husband asks if he can buy something, I always lose that battle.

7. I love the idea of a tropical island getaway, but I am unable to sit still and do one thing so the thought of doing nothing all day bores the heck outta me! Thank God I have kids to play with now, no more lying there sun baking and deliberating whether to jump into the icy water.

8. I hate blogs or websites that are over the top and unorganized. You know the ones. They have oodles of ads running down the page, the "follow my blog" is hidden at the very bottom of the page, they don't show the full post, only enough to make you want to read more so you end up with 50 tabs open of things to eventually read, the background is black, the background is so bright it could glow in the dark. I am a fan of simplicity, but not boredom. I don't like washed out with no colours at all, it is like the life has been sucked out and I find myself bored just looking at it. I could go on, but I will stop there.

9. I love vintage fashion, mainly from the 50s-70s. Someday I will sew up a retro inspired wardrobe of vintage glory!

10. I hate super muscly men. It grosses me out. Of course a bit of muscle is nice but this kinda thing makes me vomit a little in my mouth...

I grabbed this from Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim who was tagged by Rachael from It Must Be Coffee Time! Like Chantelle, if you want to join in please do on your blog or in the comments. Would love to have a read about your ten things.

Sunday

2011-10-23T11:31:00.000+11:00

We Have A Winner!

2011-10-22T10:18:00.003+11:00

Short and sweet post today, my hubby has been called in to work and I am catching up on some Spring cleaning!

Random.org says the winner is....

Number 1!

Rosie Curtain!

Congrats hun, I am sure you will love this book, it's such a great way to get the kids (and men) to eat more veges!

Stay tuned for my next giveaway....Very soon!

Home

2011-10-22T09:00:00.000+11:00

Happy Words & Inspiration

2011-10-21T08:44:00.001+11:00

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY, LAST CHANCE, IT IS DRAWN TOMORROW!

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration to Feed the Inner Craft Monster.

2011-10-20T10:08:00.000+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-10-19T08:29:00.002+11:00

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY, ENDS SOON!

30 Day Photography Challenge - Day 13 Yourself with 13 Things.

2011-10-18T08:23:00.001+11:00

I know it has been a while since my last 30 Day Photography Challenge picture....

All I can say is that with two little kiddies to run around after, there is not much time left in the day to go out and play with my camera!

But I will keep going, sporadically, whenever I can.

Me with 13 things.

I have a lot of cookbooks.

Some of them I haven't even used at all.

Not even once.

But I will!

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY, TIME IS RUNNING OUT!

Peace Park Play

2011-10-17T10:06:00.002+11:00

There is a lovely little park on our street called "Peace Park"

It is to commemorate our friendship between our shire and Japan.

It is lovely.

There are glistening white pebbles and large stepping stones, well tended shrubs and grass, and dividing it is a wooden bridge, full of character.

The park continues up with lush grass and cascading water features.

Kids love it.

Getting used to the stepping stones with daddy to help...

Can't stop me now!

Our little spectator...

Up and onwards to the water feature...

Of course she has a little splash...

Onward!

Family fun :)

DON'T FORGET TO ENTER MY GIVEAWAY!

Sunday

2011-10-16T11:31:00.000+11:00

Home

2011-10-15T09:28:00.000+11:00

Baked Tuna Casserole

2011-10-14T09:00:00.000+11:00

Remember this?

Well, I have had this on my "to do" list for a long time.
Finally, I decided I would actually cook it.

Of course, as with everything, I strayed from the recipe.
It looked like it needed a little oomph in flavour.
So I decided to add in a can of this...

I used spinach fresh from my container garden...

As well as fresh parsley from a neighbouring tub.
I omitted the peas.
I hate peas.
I added some wholemeal pasta, to bulk it up a bit.
But it still looked good...

Fresh from the oven and the smell was divine...

I scooped out a big serving...

And had a tasty and terribly healthy lunch...

It keeps well in the fridge, and has been another dinner and lunch after that as well.

So here is the recipe, tweaked a little from the original found here.

FILLING

1 leek, finely sliced
3 large zucchini (courgettes), diced
200 g spinach leaves
400 g tin tuna in spring water, well drained
2 tablespoons chopped oregano
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Cracked pepper

400g tin diced tomatoes

1 Cup Wholemeal pasta

WHITE SAUCE
500 g ricotta
pinch of nutmeg to taste
cracked white pepper
50 g grated parmesan cheese

Combine all the ingredients, except parmesan, in a food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.

TO MAKE THE FILLING:

Preheat the oven to 180°C .
Sauté the Leek in a saucepan with 1 tablespoon olive oil over a low – medium heat until soft.
Add the zucchini and spinach.
Cook for 5 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted and zucchini has slightly softened.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and fold thorough the tuna, tinned tomatoes and herbs.
Season with pepper.
Spoon the tuna mixture into individual ovenproof dishes or one large baking dish.
Spread over the white sauce.
Grate over the Parmesan cheese.
Bake the casserole for 30 – 40 minutes until golden on top and heated though.
Serve and enjoy.

Tutorials, Recipes & Inspiration To Feed The Inner Craft Monster

2011-10-13T08:18:00.000+11:00

Funny/Cute/Pretty

2011-10-12T09:00:00.000+11:00