Keeping Water Bottles Cool

Fill you water bottle with a little water, freeze sideways over night.
Before you leave the house, remove from the freezer - top up with water - easy.

This way you avoid waiting for a whole bottle to defrost and also don't need to purchase ice trays designed for water bottles.

Cleaning Wax Crayons off walls.

What child doesn't love to draw on the walls?


My favourite way to remove the crayon is using Bicarb and making it into a paste using vinegar... 

There are no 'measurements'. You just poor some Bicarb into a bowl and add a small amount on vinegar, it will fizz - then mix.

I find this works so well, I don't worry about turning my back on a toddler with crayons.

Home Made Paint

Ingredients
1 Egg Yolk
2 Tablespoons Water
1/3 Tablespoon Vinegar
Food colouring

Start by cracking the egg and separating the whites from the yolk, use your hand to catch the yolk because you need to wash away all the egg white from the yolk under a gentle warm running tap.
You can use your left over white Here.

Please excuse my blue hands there was a toddler + food dye incident today....

Once your yolk is washed, try drip away as much of the water as possible.
You now need to break the yolk sac with a sharp knife and let the yolk drain without the membrane. (throw away the membrane)
Mix with a folk and add water and vinegar, once well combine add food colouring. (if you want a very bold colour cut back on water to make up for the extra food colouring so you don't dilute the paint) 

Done!

Fish Fingers

The amount of ingredients you need will vary for how many people you cook for, there is no exact science, just make it up and i'm sure you will do great!


1 fillet of White Fleshed Fish 
1 - 2 Cups fresh Bread Crumbs 
Parsley 
Lemon rind of one Lemon
Lemon Juice 
Knob of Butter 
1 Tbs Oil 
1 Egg 
Salt and Cracked Pepper


Put bread in a food processor to make bread crumbs. (You could use dry bread crumbs.)
I have used the left over bread from a loaf of Sour Dough.

Cut fish into fingers.


Add parsley, lemon rind, Salt and Pepper to taste to the bread crumbs.

Roll fish in a whisked egg, then roll the eggy fish into the bread crumbs and place on a plate.

Heat frying pan to a medium heat, add the knob of butter and oil - when pan is hot, put the fish fingers in, cooking them for about 4min each side.


When cooked remove from pan and squeeze lemon juice over all the fish fingers.

You will never eat a box fish finger again! These are so tasty!


Enjoy!

Chocolate Dips

These taste like the shortbreads from a biscuit tin... Delicious! 


Ingredients
225g Softened Butter
55g Icing Sugar
175g Plain Flour
55g Corn Flour
Few drops of Vanilla Essence. 
Chocolate for melting


Cream Butter and Icing Sugar together.
Add Flour, Corn Flour and a few drops of Vanilla Essence. 
Mix with a spoon until well combine.
Spoon mixture into a piping bag and squeeze on to a tray lined with baking paper. (If you wish, you can just spoon the mixture straight onto the try without piping it).
Bake in a oven preheated to 180c for 15min.
Cool on wire rack

Melt Chocolate and dip the ends of half the shortbread into the chocolate and set on wire rack, with the other half paint the backs with Chocolate and sit upside down on a plate.

Birthday Party Planner - Harry Potter -

Got a birthday coming up? Stuck for ideas? On a Budget?


Check out this great birthday party, organized by an awesome Mummy.


These photos are sure to get the ideas flowing....

.Harry Potter Party.

Party Entrance ~ Platform 9 & 3/4

The house tables (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff.) and the sorting hat - Which will pick where your guests sit!

Honeydukes sweet shop

 ButterBeer

Gringotts Bank

Zonkos Joke Shop.

Golden Snitches made from Ferero chocolates

Cake!!!

What great ideas

Photography by Yellow Garnet 

Peppermint Creams

Ingredients:

1 Egg White
Peppermint Essence

340g Icing Sugar

Food colouring - optional -

Beat egg whites till fluffy, but not stiff.
Sift in icing sugar and mix until dough starts to form.

Add a few drops of peppermint essence (food colouring if using) and kneed dough until smooth.
Roll teaspoon size balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper.
Press each ball flat with a fork.
Leave to set for 12 hours.

Cheese and Bacon Puffs

Aprox 1 and a 1/2 to 2 Cups of Tasty Cheese
Aprox 2 - 4 Short Cut Bacon Rashers
1 Cup Self Raising Flour
1 Egg
1/2 Cup Milk

Finely grate cheese
Wizz Bacon through food processor so very finely chopped - Almost minced.
Add Cheese, Egg and Milk to Bacon in Processor and mix until combined.
Add Flour and Mix until a sticky dough forms and everything is well mixed.

Spoon teaspoon size balls onto a tray lined with baking paper.
Cook in a oven pre-heated to 200C for 15min..

Serve Warm or Cold.

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cups Self-raising flour
1 Cup mashed Pumpkin
55g Butter
1/4 Cup Raw Sugar
1/4 milk
1 egg

Beat butter until soft, add sugar, pumpkin and egg.
Gradually add flour'
kneed until all comes together with no flour lumps and smooth texture.
Roll dough out and cut into squares or use a scone cutter.
Place on tray and cook in a oven pre heated to 200C for 15min.

Fruit Bars (Date filling)

Ingredients:
Pastry
125g butter
50g sugar
1 egg
260g flour
2 tsp baking powder
a little milk
Filling
500g dates
60g water
juice 1/2 lemon
1 tbsp syrup
40g corn flour 

Put fruit, water, lemon juice, cornflour and syrup into saucpan and cook on a medium heat for 5min constantly stirring - add extra water if starts to stick.
Put aside to cool.
Once cool, put through food processor.

In your food processor Cream butter and sugar, Add the egg and beat well.
Gradually add flour and bring together.
Add a little milk and in 30 sec it will come together into a ball of pastry.
Divide Pastry and roll into a long shape and flaten out.
Spread filling down middle of pastry.
Fold pastry in to form 'sausage roll' shape
Brush with milk and bake in oven pre heated to 180C for 30 mins.

Muesli Bars

4 ½ oz/ 6 tbsp Golden Syrup
2 sticks/200g butter
12 oz/330g porridge oats
Handful of raisins 
1/2 chopped almonds
Salt

Place the syrup and butter into a saucepan and heat gently until the butter has melted into the syrup and stir well.
Put the oats into a roomy bowl, add a pinch of salt then pour over the butter and syrup mixture and stir to coat the oats.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and spread evenly to fill the tin making sure the surface is even.
Bake in the oven preheated to 180c for 25 minutes or until golden brown. 
Remove from the oven while it is still slightly soft, they will harden once cool.
Place the tin on a wire cooling rack and cut the mixture into rectangles and leave in the tin until completely cold.

Home Made PVA Glue

Ingredients:

1 litre Skim milk
3/4 Tbsp Baking soda
1 Tbsp White vinegar
1 1/4 Cups water

Place milk and vinegar in a large saucepan. 
Cook on low heat and stir once curds form.
Drain off liquid.
Wash remaining curds with water until the vinegar smell is gone. 
Put in a clean bowl. 
Dissolve baking soda in water. 
Pour over curds and stir until a white paste forms. 
Place in re sealable containers and keep in the fridge.
The following day the glue is PERFECT and ready for use!

Chocolate Date Balls

Oh this recipe you so have to try!!! they taste exactly like a chocolate truffle but not naughty!

Ingredients:

80 gm pitted dates
110gm sultanas
1tbl boiling water
1tbl unsweetened cocoa powder
45gm milk powder
60gm desiccated coconut
Extra coconut for rolling the balls in

Method:

Place dates and sultanas in food processor, 6-10 sec - until finely chopped).
Add boiling water and leave to soak for a few minutes.
Add cocoa powder, milk powder and coconut, 5 secs (Add more water if too dry)
Roll/squash into balls and roll in extra coconut.
Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2wks.

For a dairy free option try replacing the milk powder with almond or cashew meal.

Yumo!

Quiche

Ingredients:
5 Rashers of shortcut Bacon, Diced.
100g Tasty Cheese, Grated.
2 Sheets shortcrust pastry
1 cup Cream
9 Eggs


Line Quiche pan with pastry and poke with fork.
Sprinkle half the diced bacon and half the grated cheese on the bottom of the pasty.


In a separate bowl crack 4 eggs and add 1/2 cream, whisk lightly with a fork - you don't want to over mix the eggs and cream, just a gentle mix.
Poor the egg cream mix over the cheese and bacon, use the fork to spread to the edges.


Sprinkle the remaining cheese and bacon over the egg and then mix the remaining 5 eggs with 1/2 cup cream and poor on the quiche.


Slice and top with a tomato.


Bake in a oven pre heated to 180-190c for 50min.

Home Made Cereal

Ingredients

6 Cups of  rolled Oats

1/4 cup  of milk

3/4 cup honey

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 tsp cinnamon

1  tsp himalayan salt

1 cup shredded coconut

1  cup Raisins

1 cup chopped Almonds

3 tbs Flax seeds

Mix together all the ingredients except for raisins and coconut.

Cover the bowl of sticky mixture, and sit in the fridge overnight.

Mix the oats mixture, and spread on to 2 large  baking tray/pan's and bake at 140-160 for 15mins after 15min remove and mix before baking for another 15 mins.

If the mixture has turned a light brown or golden then it's done. If not, then mix  it again and put back into the over for  another 15 minutes. Continue until done.

Serve with yoghurt or milk.


Store in an air tight container.

Coconut Slice

Ingredients:
Base

1 1/2 cups plain flour

155 grams butter

1/2 cup icing sugar

Topping
1/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
2 cups desiccated coconut
1/3 cup jam (raspberry or strawberry or even blackberry)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.  Spray a slice tin with canola oil or line well with baking paper.  
Melt butter, add flour and Icing sugar, mix and press into slice tin – then bake for 15 minutes or until golden.  Cool in the tin.

In a small bowl whisk the eggs and sugar until combined.  Stir in the coconut.  Spread the jam over the baked base evenly and smooth out with a spoon.  Spread the topping over the jam evenly and bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden.  


Cut into squares when cool.

Potato Salad

Ingredients
10 Washed Potatoes
4 Tablespoons Mayonnaise
3 Tablespoons Sour Cream
1 Tablespoon Cream
2 Tablespoons Italian Dressing (optional)
1 Tablespoon Parsley (fresh or dried)
5 Rashers Shortcut Bacon


Add some salt to the water used to boil the potatoes, and boil for 10 - 12min, they still want to be a little firm.


Once cooked strain and let cool to room temp.


Mix Mayo, Sour Cream, Cream, Dressing, diced Bacon and Parsley in a bowl and poor over potatoes and mix well.

Cheap, Quick and Easy!

Pasta Salad

Ingredients
300g Pasta 
125g Corn
1/2 a Red Capsicum
3 Rashers Shortcut bacon
Kraft Coleslaw Dressing


Dice Capsicum and Bacon, add to cooked and cooled pasta along with Corn.
Mix together dressing the pasta with Coleslaw dressing.

Cheap, Easy and Quick.

Garlic Potatoes

Ingredients
8 - 9 Potatoes
400mls Cream
2 Cups Grated Cheese
Salt and Cracked Pepper
Crushed Garlic

Peel and slice potatoes.

Using half the potatoes layer the bottom of an oven dish.

Poor 200mls cream over the potatoes, 1 cup grated cheese, add some salt and pepper and approx 4 teaspoons garlic - feel free to add more or less.
Cover with the remaining potatoes and the renaming cream, cheese and some more crushed garlic.
Bake in a pre heated oven at 180c for 1 1/2 hours or until potatoes are soft when poked with a fork.

Pavement Paint

Who needs paper? or expensive non toxic paints?


It's just equal parts Cornflour and Water with a added food colour, make the perfect medium for painting the cement!

Warning, it gets messy with all the fun!

But there is no need to worry about clothes or stains as it all washes away with ease.

Weetbix Slice

Base Ingredients:
4 Weetbix
1 Cup SR Flour
1 Tablespoon Coco
1 Cup Sugar (I use raw sugar)
1 Cup Coconut
150g Butter


Top Ingredients:
2 Teaspoons Butter
1 1/2 cups icing sugar
2 Tablespoons coco
2 Tablespoons warm water

Base
Crush weetbix in a mixing bowl, adding Sugar, Coco, Coconut and combine.
Melt Butter and poor over dry ingredients, mix together.
Press mixture into a lined slice tray and bake in a oven pre heated to 180c for 20min.


Top
Melt butter in saucepan and add icing sugar, coco and the water, mixing until smooth.
Poor over the top of the slice base, sprinkle with coconut and leave to cool.


Once cool remove from tin and slice.

No Knead Sour Dough Bread

Using this recipe, for the last 3 months I have baked bread every morning! A personal record!
My family doesnt want to eat any other bread, so tasty!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups sourdough starter

3 cups filtered water

1 1/2 tablespoons Himalayan salt
6 1/2 cups white flour

Start by mixing  your sour dough starter and water in a bucket  also adding the salt.

Once it is well combined start adding the flour.

Add the  first 4 cups and  mix well until all combined, then the remaining 2.5 cups one at a time.

Can  be easier if you use your hands, I use my hands.
Once there is no dry flour or lumps, its done.


Put the bucket with a loose lid into the fridge, it needs to be in the fridge for at least 8 hours before it is ready to use.


When the dough is ready, flour your hands and simply scoop out the amount you want into a bread pan and place on the counter and leave it to rise over night until it has doubled in size.


Bake in a pre heated oven a 220c for 50min, turning the oven off at the end of cooking and leave the bread in the cooling down oven for a further 20 - 30 minuets.


Cool on rack.


Easy!

Spring Declutter. The Wardrobe.

In the spring, my mind turns to not only decluttering and clearing out my home, but also cleaning up and getting a breath of fresh air through my house.  


A great project to get you going is to tackle the bedroom, more specifically - Your wardrobe!


Lets be honest. It takes time and effort to maintain a closet to be proud of, both of these things are easy to loose - Which results in something shoved here and something dropped there.


My wardrobe has been frustrating me for MONTHS and with the arrival of a public holiday, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to delegate Daddy to child minding duties, leaving me free to tackle my wardrobe...

Here it is.... 

Look at that mess!!!


There are items that don't belong in a wardrobe, things that need throwing out, clothes that need moving on....and the rest...


This was a all afternoon Job, it wasn't until the last hour that I could finally see the end it sight!


And now...

Wohoo! Complete!


The best part was discovering clothes I had forgotten about!


Next on my list is my dresser...But, i'll save that for another day.