Posted in Uncategorized

Using up your Christmas Ham.

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Christmas Ham leftovers

Like many households this time of year we have our Christmas leg of Ham sitting in its calico bag in the fridge. Each year we have one and its delicious but there’s only so many ham sandwiches a girl can handle! So each year I try to get creative about what to do with all the ham. the pictue I horrid right? My ham looks like we’ve hacked it!!

Here’s some ideas incase you’re stuck!

  • Did you know you can freeze ham? It doesn’t quite have the same flavour but it can be used for cooing later if desired. Cut off pieces or cubes, put in a snap lock bag and freeze!
  • Egg and ham quiche- one of my favourites! makes for great breakfasts too, bake them in muffin trays for a quick go to snack.
  • Baked potatoes- ham, pinapple, cheese, corn, sour cream, sounds fabulous right?
  • Penne carbonara– just replace the pancetta with your Christmas Ham, even the kids love it!
  • PIzza- who doesn’t love ham on a pizza
  • Schnitzel Parmigiana- ham, tomato paste or pasta sauce, cheese on top of a schnitzel…mmmm..
  • Doorstops- these were a favourite in my house growing up- chunky bread piled with ham and cheese and grilled so the cheese melts down the sides.
  • Cob Loaf Dip- Ham, sour cream, Cream cheese, tin of corn kernals and a packet of Spring Vegetable Soup all mixed together over heat till the cream cheese melts, pour into a cob loaf. Pull off the chunks of bread and enjoy the dip!.. Actually I think I’ll make this for New Years!
  • And there’s always grilled ham and eggs for breakfast!
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Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized

Christmas Joy and a little cooking

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Well Christmas is over for another year. It was sure busy here and the weather was hot. The littlest musketeer wasn’t too impressed with the heat and lots of people! The other two however, were all over it! So excited to see that the Reindeer ate the carrots and that Santa drank his milk. The meaning of Christmas sure changes when you have kids.

We took the boys to the Carols and they saw their first fireworks and they loved every minute of it! The joy on their faces was priceless. We have been inundated with Batman accessories of every kind.. and diggers and trucks! I’m feeling pretty exhausted now after 4 days of festivities, but we’ll do it all again for New Years Eve! Hopefully you had an enjoyable time with family and friends also.

Eating is always high on the agenda for Christmas and Boxing Day. I love making desserts I was even called the dessert Queen Boxing Day!

Christmas Eve I made a gorgeous dessert that I think everyone enjoyed. Its a Polish recipe that translates to Birds Milk. It looks so festive and I think it tastes delicious. The recipe was given to me by my Aunty.

Ptasie Mleczko

  1. Make 3 different coloured jellies, but only add one cup of water not 2 like you would to make regular jelly.

2. Once they are set firm cut the jellies into cubes ( about 1-2cm square) and arrange in a silicone dish (or a greased tray)

3. Place 1/2 cup water and 1/2 cup caster sugar into a saucepan and bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar.

4. Dissolve 5 teaspoons of gelatine in 1/2 cup hot water, add the gelatin mixture to the sugar water and allow it to cool.

5. Add 500ml of sour cream (lite works too) and mix with beaters (I used Thermie of course to mix it Sp 5 with butterfly in). Beat until it looks foamy.

6. Pour the sour cream mixture over the jellies and mix carefully to disperse the cream throughout the jelly. Refrigerate until set.

Enjoy!

A quick tip for a cheats dessert at the last minute… Woolworths ready made pavlova, top with cream, drain a tin of berries and arrange on top of cream.. Perfection!!

🙂

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Posted in Uncategorized

New Years Traditions

New Years Eve as a parent is very different to New Years pre-kids! Luckily we have a long standing tradition with a close group of friends that is super kid friendly. This year marks our tenth year of the New Years party. Ten years ago ( at this one I met my husband!) the first party was a 70’s theme. Trashy brown dresses and hoop earring, lots of wines and laughs. Each year is a dress up theme, and these have ranged from Olympic sports, medical, Hawaiian, carton characters, kids movies and this year a pool party theme.

Over the years our party has gone from no kids to kids outnumbering adults. Glow sticks, sparklers and kid friendly food are the required items. The kids have a ball playing with their friends and the adults have a great catch up too. Such a special night and a tradition I hope continues for years to come!

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Hawaiian dress up New Years 4 years ago!

 

Posted in Recipes

It’s officially hot!

watermelon

Its hot here! Forcast for 44 degrees tomorrow! Summer is officially here. Keeping the three muskateers entertained in this weather is certainly a challenge. The boys decided to create their own library! They piled books, set up rugs and cushions and made signs. The best part was they were passionate about being quiet in a library! It was a short lived bliss, but take them when I can!

We made iceblocks today, perfect for this weather

Watermelon iceblocks

-watermelon,

-2 oranges

-splash of water

Blitz until smooth then freeze in iceblock containers. I have these Ikea Iceblock Moulds. Super yum, healthy and the kids love them on a hot day!

A scorcher here tomorrow, we’ll see what the boys invent tomorrow!!

Posted in Time Saving Tips

A trolley full of kids!

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Waiting for the Woolworths truck

One running down the isle, one demanding food and one trying to grab everything in reach. This is my reality! Grocery shopping with 3 young kids in like an obstacle course designed for the pro athlete.

I find it ‘easy’ enough to pop in and grab one or two items, but any more than that and the littlies lose interest. So every fortnight I do my big shop online. I use Woolworths online but all the big chain supermarkets do it now. Before having kids online groceries was a novelty I’d use when we were hosting a large party. Now its a god send.

A lot of people find it difficult manoeuvring the website and finding the groceries you need… nope! My big tip is to have a list going on the fridge. We have one of the magnetic ones that we just add to each day when we need something, so by the time the fortnight is done we have a long list!! its especially convenient when you need large items like nappies and washing powder (two kids in a trolley does not leave much room!).

I use the search feature at the top of the website and type in what I’m looking for, I have found this easiest and quickest way to add things to your online trolley.

One reason I like the Woolworths site is that if I order things in the mornig before 10 they are delivered that afternoon! I mean really, why would I bother dragging the carnivores around the shops when I can click away while they eat their breakfast and have it delivered. Its also not crazy expensive, when you think about the stress and frustration of the shopping and chasing kids around the store.. $9-10 is nothing!

And the absolute best thing is that the boys love waiting for the truck to come (see photo!) and bring the shopping and they love putting it all away.. not always in the right spot but that’s a different issue! I saw its  win all round.

 

Posted in Lifestyle, Uncategorized

Last day of Preschool

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End of preschool emotions! 

Emotions were running high today as my eldest finished Preschool! I was teary before I even got to the building. It’s such a big milestone in their lives isn’t it? I know we don’t remember much of our kindy year or even Junior Primary but as parents we witness the growth in our children. The confidence, self awareness, new skills, new friends, new adventures. Their brains are soaking up all they see and do and when they’re in the right environment they are like little sponges! The early years of education are so important and provide the groundwork for years to come. Not only in their learning but they really develop a sense of self and an identity. No tricks for time saving tonight, more of a reflection of time. It sure does go fast, they said it would but you don’t realise it until it’s actually upon you.

Posted in Lifestyle

The Perfect Bath

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Relaxing Bath Tips

Having a long, hot, bubbly bath is the holy grail of relaxation for many. Once the kids are all tucked up and quiet I try to have a long soak once in a while! I take a glass of Red and my book and enjoy the solace while it lasts!! I thought I’d investigate various ‘ingredients’ to add to a bath to enhance the relaxation.

Here’s what I found..

No big surprise here- Epsom salts help aid muscle relaxation. I use both the liquid and crystal ones.

Green Tea- Add 4-5 Green Tea bags to your bath to ale your skin soft. Green tea is recommended to help with anti aging.. so I say dunk away!!

Milk Bath- well it worked for Cleopatra right?! Simply add a cup full of milk powder to your bath and float away.The lactic acid in baths helps to soften your skin. It’s also soothing on sunburn!

Lemon Bath- I found this one to be quite interesting! Apparently of you squeeze lemons into your bath water ifmts helps to tighten and refresh skin. I knew it reduced pores so it makes sense! I think it would be super refreshing!

Sea Salt Bath– Using Sea salt not the iodised cooking salt this is great for detoxing your body. Found this great recipe for DIY detox scrub here.

Lavendar Bath- Sprinkle some lavender into your bath and boy it smells fabulous and helps with getting to sleep afterwards!!

So give one of these a try and let the bubbles melt you away! As a working Mum, or a Stay at Home Mum getting some valuable ‘me’ time is important. Try to schedule some time in this week. X

 

Posted in Recipes, Time Saving Tips

The Biscuit Exchange

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Peanut Crunchy Cookie

For as long as I’ve known my husband his family has had the Biscuit Exchange a few weeks before Christmas. Admittedly years ago I didn’t really appreciate or understand the concept. However, over the years I have developed an appreciation for the custom.

The idea is every family bakes a batch of biscuits of your choice. The biscuits get collected and resorted so at the end of the day you take home a large batch of various home made biscuits. My favourites are always the Meringues! It’s a lovely tradition that all the extended family partakes in. It’s a way of giving everyone a gift without spending hundreds and let’s face it, who doesn’t love a bikkie with their cuppa!!

I’ve yet to find my one biscuit that I make each year. Yesterday I made mine for this year. I tweaked a recipe my Mum found in an old book.

Peanut Crunchy Cookie

225 g butter

2 cups caster sugar ( it makes a lot of biscuits don’t worry!)

2 eggs

2 cups Sr. Flour

1 cup well crushed peanuts

2 cups rolled oats

2 cups cornflakes

1 cup choc chips

Method

preheat oven to 180/160 fan forced

Crush or blitz your peanuts first!

In a mixer ( or I used my Thermomix) Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs while still mixing.

Add flour and mix until combined.

Stir in oats, peanut, cornflakes and choc chips. Use a large bowl for this as it makes a big batch of dough!!

Place small balls onto a tray and bake for about 10 minutes. ** my best batch were slightly golden not brown!!

I’m looking forward to tomorrow to see what everyone else makes this year!