For all you mummies out there

I found another great and resourceful website for all my fellow mum's out there.
This one is called how does she and it's a great place to share ideas for our everyday lives. Their motto is women.sharing.ideas. It's run by three lovely mum's who between them have 11 children, so they know what they are talking about and also the types of stuff we seek. They have tips on cooking, fashion, running a household, family, relationships and more. 



I've only scraped the surface so far but already I have some great print-ables and recipes for a bake sale tomorrow night at our school.
They have also shared links to some amazing giveaways such as a free hard back photo book from Picaboo  and a free printed canvas from canvas people.

If you have a minute....or an hour, I hope you can find the time to go check it out. Don't forget to share with other mummies!!!!

Flour less peanut butter cookies.

I have to be honest here, I am not a fan of peanut butter flavoured things, Reese's peanut buttercups make me gag....too much peanut....however today I made some cookies that even I enjoyed.

I'm sure my family thought all of their Christmases had come at once as I'm also not a cookie person, but to avoid another trip into town for school lunch supplies I hit my recipe stack full of untested recipes. I think I may have found a keeper, this recipe has only four ingredients, all of which are a constant in my pantry...peanut butter, brown sugar, eggs and baking soda.

All things considered I was feeling pretty proud of myself today until I remembered that peanuts and school do not mix. So I will pick another recipe tonight that is more school friendly and bake while the kids are in bed.

For now here's the cookie recipe that's a keeper! Flour less peanut butter cookies.

2 cups of smooth peanut butter

2 cups of brown sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons of baking soda

Preheat oven to 350f.

Beat peanut butter, sugar, eggs and baking soda for 2 minutes or until smooth and blended.

Drop level tablespoons of dough 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheet. bake for 10 minutes or until cookies are slightly golden. Cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet, remove to wire racks and cool completely.

The cookies were great just like that but I couldn't help myself and made a chocolate ganache for half of the cookies to push the yummy factor way over the edge.

Well hello Mr ravioli maker

Yesterday was a good day.

I went to watch my Zoe sing at the Performing Arts Centre in Vernon with her fellow choir members and was so blown away at their talents I actually had tears in my eyes. What a great experience for the kids to stand proud on a real stage and sing in front of a real audience, granted there was no possibility of them having rotten tomatoes thrown at them or getting booed off the stage, but they were truly fantastic.

Followed by a yummy lunch at Pho fusion with my wonderful friend Louisa and a very impromptu visit to a new store in town called Epicurean Food Equipment, on 27th Street.

I've been meaning to drop into this great new store as I am a bit of a kitchen gadget junkie, but never seem to manage it.

WELL, I'm amazed I was able to leave with only having spent $25 buckaroo's.

Here's what I picked up.....

Is anyone as excited as me?? Homemade Ravioli, oh the possibilities are endless. Butternut squash with feta, chicken and rosemary, beet and ginger (thanks for the inspiration Natalie), spinach and ricotta, chicken and prosciutto.....or even sweet blueberry ravioli.

Anyone want to join me for a ravioli weekend extravaganza. I think I will make a bunch and freeze them for quick weekday dinners. My kids are going to never want to move out.

We have the kitchen aid pasta roller attachment too so I can't wait to get a little production line going. I'm taking names.......anyone up for it?

I get to go to work again today, yaay for me!! I think I'm getting the hang of things, I so look forward to hanging out with Brenda and spending time in such a pretty environment where everything has a place and nobody can come along and mess it up.

Yes, that was a dig at my kids, I'm only human! I love them, just not their mess.

Tootles

Vintage book wreath.

Here it is...all done and in it's new spot in my house. It's not overly christmassy is it? You'd tell me if it was...right????

What a quick and rewarding project for an icky outside day. Nothing beats a good session with the hot glue gun.

I'm not going to get all ellaborate with a tutorial as this one is so easy, even my 10 year old could do this.

Step 1. If you don't have a styrofoam wreath to use as a base you could do what I did and simply make one from an old cardboard box....like so....this way you get to make whatever size you like.

Old books are great if you can get them, these ones were on the side of the road free, free, free....a little smelly but free I tell ya.
Step 2. Tear pages from your book, giggle because it feels so naughty....and set them aside. Warm up your hot glue gun.

Step 3. Curl, fold or scrunch your pages however you like to get the desired effect, glue them onto the BACK of your wreath form.
I tried to overlap mine just a tiny bit to make sure the the cardboard was not exposed.

Step 4. Flip your wreath over. Begin a second row of pages, followed by a third and forth if you like. You can keep going for a fuller wreath, it's completely up to you. glue, glue, glue.

To complete the final row I folded the edges of the page slightly and wrapped it back onto the backside of the wreath and a shot of hot glue to hold it all down.

 

You can glue a hook on the back or a piece of folded ribbon or string for hanging.

Taaadaaaaaaa!!

Craft Talk

If you need a giggle take a minute and watch this fantastic new break out artist Leslie and the Ly's. She's not for everyone but I think she is hilarious.
This one's called craft talk and if you're a crafter yourself there is no way you cannot see the humor in this video.
Her other hits include such classics as Gem sweater, gold pants lullaby, don't blame my booty and ring a ding ding.





Have a great day my fellow crafty ladies.

Pressure cooker love....

One attempt under my belt, I would not call an absolute success, but the final result was tasty, beef on a bun with caramelised onions and peppers. 

This pressure cooking stuff is a bit challenging without the original manufacturers info for my new toy. Thank goodness for the Internet, I'm planning some apple sauce for this afternoon.

Last night I cooked a roast in an hour but I definitely think it could have been done in half an hour.

I tried a new spice profile. Red peppers, star anise, garlic, paprika, bay leaf, salt and pepper with some beef broth.

If anyone out there has helpful hints or recipes they are willing to share PLEASE feel free to pass them on. I'm itching to use my new toy for canning as well, but I think I need to keep my training wheels on for a bit longer before I start putting glass jars into this wondrous machine.

OMG...I'm in love

I woke up this morning thinking about the blog entry I was going to do this morning about my new pressure cooker, well, new to me ($10 at the thrift store). It was to be more of a plea of sorts as I've never owned one let alone cooked with one and I have no idea how to use it. I was hoping my readers out there could pass on their recipes, techniques or tips.

But then I stumbled across this....SWEET PAUL. It had been reviewed on another of my usual stalks Simply modern mom.

It's a digital magazine, I guess all the cool cats are doing them now. And the creator Paul is my new hero.

There are a few back issues on the site for you to drool over, they are seasonal so Spring, fall, winter etc. His latest one is a special kids issue and it is the most inspirational adorable thing I've seen in a while.

AND total do-able, there's nothing in there that we ordinary folk can not make, bake or create.

So if you have a few minutes or a whole afternoon take a look, I promise you won't regret it. I'm planning on getting my "stuff" done at turbo speed today so that I can kick back with a cup of tea this arvo and go over every lovely page.