A Juggling Mum

It's been a long, long time!

2010-03-25T14:00:00.003+11:00

I know, it has been a really, really long time since I last posted here, and to be honest I didn't think that I would again. You see I read this little book called Twilight and all of a sudden this whole new world opened up to me. I fell in love with the story and the characters and I wanted more, so I started a Twilight Fansite and then a Twilight forum for Aussie Mums and the website for that followed soon after. All of which, along with my partner and 5 kids have keep me quite busy for the last year.

So what am I doing back here? Well.... my eldest Chloe was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes last October, it has been a huge adjustment for Chloe and our family but everything has been going well. She has adjusted amazingly to giving herself 4 insulin injections each day, watching the food that she eats and just managing all the day to day stuff that goes along with diabetes!

But now we have had a spanner thrown into the works! We just had confirmation that she also has Coeliac Disease, which means that she can no longer eat anything containing gluten. So now she is on a carb controlled, low sugar, low fat and no gluten diet..... hmmm this is a little overwhelming!

Anyway, I have decided to get this blog back up and running again so I have a place to put the information and recipes I find as we go on this little journey!

Any input would be greatly appreciated from anyone who is also on the gluten free or diabetic journey :)

If You Are Reading This, Please Update Your Feedreader......

2008-09-17T19:11:00.002+10:00

Some people have mentioned that they are not getting my new posts in their feedreaders since I moved over to WP. If this is happening to you (and the fact that you got this message shows that it is :) you can update my feed by using this address http://www.ajugglingmum.com/?feed=rss2 rather than just using www.ajugglingmum.com.

Thanks everyone :)

I've Moved...........

2008-09-01T10:37:00.002+10:00

My blog has moved so could you please update your bookmarks and feedreaders with my new address, which is www.ajugglingmum.com

Thanks :)

Fab Five on Friday

2008-08-29T22:00:00.000+10:00

Fab Five on Friday is a regular feature here on A Juggling Mum. Each Friday I am going to list five blogs. These will include my favourite blogs, blogs I have been reading lately or new blogs I have found. It's my way of spreading a little link love around :)

I'd love for you to join me. All you have to do is write a post on your blog listing 5 blogs you'd like to give some love and then come back here and link it using Mr Linky.

I promise to come and visit everyone that joins in.

This week I am going to list some of the crafty blogs that I have in my feedreader, so here are my FAB FIVE crafty blogs for this week:

Now link up your Fab Five on Friday:

Fab Five on ummm errrrr Friday???

2008-08-23T22:59:00.003+10:00

I'm sorry, I know, I forgot about Fab Five yesterday.

I do have an excuse! I had my 2 little cousins stay here with us last night, so that meant 7 kids under the age of 10 years all in my little house all at the same time!!!! Ok, so they were all good and they all went to bed and went to sleep without any fuss, so I can't really use it as an excuse for forgetting about Fab Five, but I'm going to use it anyway :)

Anyway let's get on with it,

Fab Five on Friday is going to be a regular feature here on A Juggling Mum. Each Friday I am going to list five blogs. These will include my favourite blogs, blogs I have been reading lately or new blogs I have found. It's my way of spreading a little link love around :)

I'd love for you to join me. All you have to do is write a post on your blog listing 5 blogs you'd like to give some love and then come back here and link it using Mr Linky.

I promise to come and visit everyone that joins in.

I have been reading a few homemaking type blogs lately trying to get myself motivated to do more than the basics around here, so here are my FAB FIVE homemaking blogs for this week:

Now link up your Fab Five on Friday:

2008-08-21T23:41:00.001+10:00

August's New Release Family DVDs - http://ping.fm/xRaPD

Help Me To Help Little Briana

2008-08-16T07:59:00.004+10:00

My friend Nicole's 4 year old daughter was recently diagnosed with Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes. This disease not only effects the children with the disease but also the whole family.

Nicole's other daughter Madison recently sent me this letter:

My name is Madison and I am 8 years old. My family lives in Winmalee NSW. I am writing to tell you a little about my very brave 4 year old sister and her life which is unlike many other kids lives because she has type 1 (juvenile) diabetes.

Briana has had diabetes for 4 months now and it has changed the lives of everyone in our family. Type 1 diabetes is different from type 2 as type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease and that means that there is nothing that the Doctors or my Mummy and Daddy could have done to prevent Briana from getting it. Because of this disease Briana's little body has stopped making insulin which we need to turn food into energy, so instead Mummy has to give Briana 4 injections every day or she would starve to death. Mummy and Daddy also have to do lots of finger prick blood tests every day and even during the night just so she can stay alive.

Briana and Mummy have to be very brave. Briana is not allowed to eat any foods with added sugar so me and my two brothers Jay and Zane don't eat any either. I miss having ice cream or lollies and cake at birthday parties but we do not want her to feel left out.

All or the needles hurt Briana alot and it hurts Mummy's feelings to give them to her, but if Mummy and Daddy don't keep good control of Briana's blood sugar levels then she is at even greater risk of getting diabetic complications like heart disease, kidney failure, blindness and amputation from nerve damage. These are all very scary things and that is why finding a cure for type 1 diabetes is so important to me and my family and the other 140 000 Australians who live with it.

The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation's (JDRF) mission is to find a cure. The research costs a lot of money. One of the ways they raise money for this research is through the walk to cure diabetes, which my family and I are doing in October. I would love to raise lots of money and was hoping you could help my family team by making a tax free donation. I would be very happy if you could help me to try and make a difference.

You can get more information about Briana's disease or the JDRF walk at www.jdrf.org.au

Some more facts about Type 1 Juvenile Diabetes are:

Type 1 diabetes is one of the most chronic diseases of childhood. It is more common than cancer, cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and muscular dystrophy.
An individual with type 1 diabetes will take around 65, 000 injections and 80, 000 finger prick tests in their lifetime. ( much more for Briana as she developed it so young)
The incidence in children under 5 has doubled in the past 5 years and we don't know why.
Around 1 in 700 children in Australia have type 1 diabetes

If you would like to help Madison reach her target, you can donate here!

If you are interested in approaching your school about hosting a walk ( around the school grounds) or a mufti day(gold coin donation) with all money donated to JDRF then you can contact Nicole by emailing me at jugglingmum at hotmail dot com and I will pass on your email to her.

Fab Five on Fiday

2008-08-15T20:42:00.002+10:00

Fab Five on Friday is going to be a regular feature here on A Juggling Mum. Each Friday I am going to list five blogs. These will include my favourite blogs, blogs I have been reading lately or new blogs I have found. It's my way of spreading a little link love around :)

I'd love for you to join me. All you have to do is write a post on your blog listing 5 blogs you'd like to give some love and then come back here and link it using Mr Linky.

I promise to come and visit everyone that joins in.

As you know I have been working hard on the 30 Day Challenge this month, it has been a wonderful experience and I am really happy that I have been able to share it with a great group of people (thanks Team Lightening!). So this week I'm going to give you my team members new blogs.... (I know that there are more than 5 listed here this week, but I just couldn't leave any of them out!)

Set Up Email Address
Herb Garden
Personal Finance Babe
Baby Cross Stitch
Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera
Dark Side Of The Lens
The Fall Wedding Flowers Blog

Now link up your Fab Five on Friday:

Family Fun on a Budget

2008-08-10T00:30:00.002+10:00

Being the mother of 5 young children, I have found that family fun can be very costly. A family meal at McDonalds can cost us 40 Australian Dollars. A trip to the movies can cost us $100 if we buy popcorn and drinks for everyone and admission into zoo’s and theme parks cost us a small fortune. So I have become quite good at finding affordable and sometimes even free activities for us to do as a family.

One thing that has become quite clear to me over the years is that children don’t need to be taken on expensive trips to have quality family time. Parents need only spend time with their children, get down on the floor and drive cars around a pretend track, dress up some Barbie Dolls or have a tea party with lots of teddy bear guests. Quality time spent with your children is much more valuable than any costly outing.

Below are some ideas to keep the family entertained while sticking to a budget:

Visit the local library – Public libraries often offer free activities for families, storytelling sessions and kids craft activities.

Go for a swim at the local swimming pools – Pack a picnic lunch and spend the whole day at the pools, provided the weather is nice.

Take a walk to the local park and play in the playground.

There are some activities that you can do at home too:

Dress ups – get out the dress up box and use your imagination.

Make a home movie – get out the video camera and get the kids to put on a play or just make a video of everybody being silly.

Finger painting – Make a batch of finger paint in some nice bright colors and have fun getting all messy. Here’s a recipe for some easy finger paint:
Ingredients - 2 cups white flour, 2 cups cold water, food coloring
Directions - Put water into a large bowl. Slowly add the flour, while the children are stirring. Once it's all mixed together, divide into smaller bowls and add food coloring.

Beading – Make some bracelets, necklaces, earrings or mobile phone dongles from cheap plastic beads and fishing line.

Bake a cake or some cookies – this is always my kids favorite activity to do with me.

Camp out in the backyard – Set up a tent or make a tent out of some sheets or blankets and pretend that you are camping out.

Build with play dough – Who can resist playing with dough?. Even I can’t resist squishing it through my fingers.
Here is a recipe for Play Dough that you don’t have to cook.
Ingredients - 1 cup salt ,1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon vegetable Oil and food coloring.
Directions - Mix all ingredients together. Add a little water if the mixture is to dry. If your kids are a little older you may want to make some Salt Clay to Bake with them. Stir together: 2 cups plain flour, 1 cup salt, 1 to 1 1/2 cups cold water and 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Knead well until it forms a soft ball.
Use cookie cutters or mold the clay by hand. Your children can create refrigerator magnets, jewelry, ornaments, key chains, necklaces, and much more.
Line a baking tray with aluminum foil, place the clay creations on the tray and bake in a 300 degree F. oven for about one hour or until they are hard.
You can use food coloring to color dough before you bake it, or paint it afterwards. A finishing coat of clear acrylic or even PVA glue will make your salt clay products last longer.

Make a movie theatre at home - There is nothing better on a miserable day than curling up with some cozy pillows, a warm blanket and a big bowl of popcorn and watching a movie. Turn off the lights, shut the blinds and pretend you are at the movies.

Spend the day playing board games – Let the kids take turns choosing their favourite board games to play and get everyone involved.

These are just a few inexpensive ideas that you can try with your family. Remember the main thing is to just relax and have fun, spending time with your children is much more important than taking them on expensive outings.

Fab Five on Friday

2008-08-08T16:31:00.002+10:00

Fab Five on Friday is going to be a regular feature here on A Juggling Mum. Each Friday I am going to list five blogs. These will include my favourite blogs, blogs I have been reading lately or new blogs I have found. It's my way of spreading a little link love around :)

I'd love for you to join me. All you have to do is write a post on your blog listing 5 blogs you'd like to give some love and then come back here and link it using Mr Linky.

I promise to come and visit everyone that joins in.

With the start of the Beijing Olympics I am feeling very patriotic, so this week my fab five are five of my Aussie blogging friends:

Now link up your Fab Five on Friday:

Frugal Friday - Freezer Space

2008-08-08T09:46:00.000+10:00

A freezer runs better when it is as full as possible. If you need to fill in some gaps, just put bags of ice in those areas. It will save money, and you will always have ice ready for those hot summer days coming up. Alternatively you can fill empty soft drink or juice bottles with water and put them in your freezer to take up any empty space.

Read more of my Frugal posts here!

Or if you want some more great frugal tips go and check out the other Frugal Friday participants.

Resource Management For Parents

2008-08-07T09:36:00.000+10:00

Everybody has a dream. Whether you know it or not, at one time you dreamed all the time. As children grow, their imaginations grow with them. Then they become adults, and the reality of the world sets in. Have you forgotten how to dream? Do you feel as if you have no time to breath, much less make your dreams reality? Then read on.

Time, energy, and money are chronically lacking in parents’ lives. They are too tired because their children keep them up at night; they are strapped for time between juggling work and family; and they spend all their resources on their kids, the house, the car, and the mortgage. Below are some simple solutions to these chronic problems:

Time

Make a list of priorities each week. Ask yourself: what do I want to achieve this week? Put the list in a place where you see it a lot, if not every day. When you have a roadmap, you can find out where you are going much more easily. Those scarce minutes will suddenly be there when you need them most. Check off the list as you manage each task.

Cancel your cable. Sound scary? It isn’t. Really. When my husband and I cancelled our cable right before we made an international move, we suddenly had three free hours at night. We could not believe how much time we suddenly had on our hands. Unless your dream is to watch four hours of TV each night, do it. You will find much more relaxing and fulfilling ways to spend your time.

Make a schedule. Similar to your list of priorities, you will want to organize your time according to events. If you have to work late one night, don’t expect yourself to go to the gym and help your child with his or her homework anyway. Rearrange the schedule as needed. Remember: being flexible is a part of being human.

Energy

Exercise is time well-spent. Three twenty-minute activities a week is all you need to stay relatively fit. Schedule a walk at lunch time with friends; swim at the local gym or run on the weekends. If you need a support system, ask a colleague to join you. Take a class that meets once a week and carpool with friends. Chances are you will go more often if you have someone honking at your sidewalk to take you along.

Sleep management for parents with very small children is one of the most challenging areas to handle. Make certain you get in a nap on the weekends to tank up your energy. Take occasional weekends away from the children if possible and ask a relative or trusted friend to watch the kids while you are gone. It will be good for your relationship with your partner as well as assuring you get the rest you need.

Nutrition is a well-neglected realm for busy people. Instead of swinging by the local fast food chain, bring smaller snacks with you until you get home. Not only will you have more energy by eating better, you will save money, too.

Money

Make a meal plan for the week. Create a list of food items needed at the grocery store. It will reduce the urge for impulse shopping and save you time later. Instead of standing in front of the refrigerator and asking, “What’s for dinner?” you will already know because you planned it in advance.

Coupon shopping can have its advantages. It may save you a few dollars, which can add up over time. Buyer beware, however. Frequently, coupons require you buy two of one item to qualify. Ask yourself if you really need two gallons or liters of juice before jumping at the sale. If you do bulk shopping at warehouse stores, calculate the price of the item before you buy it. Sometimes it is actually cheaper to buy smaller amounts at local grocery stores. Pay attention to Sunday circulars. You can use it as a basis for making your weekly meal plan. Whatever is on sale is what you eat that week.

Entertainment doesn’t have to be expensive. Libraries often have a good selection of videos you and the kids can watch. The loan time is usually one week, which saves you time from having to run back to the video store the very next day to avoid extra charges. The best benefit? Loaning from the library is free.

Maximizing your resources can free up the time, energy, and money you need to pursue what you really want in life. Instead of spinning your wheels, you will be further along in your journey to reach the dreams you imagined as a kid.

Christine Louise Hohlbaum, American author of Diary of a Mother (2003), SAHM I Am (2005), “American Housewife Abroad” (AnotherChapter.com), has been published in hundreds of publications and has appeared on numerous parenting radio shows. When she isn’t writing, leading toddler playgroups or instructing an on-line course in book promotion, she prefers to frolic in the Bavarian countryside near Munich where she lives with her husband and two children . Visit her Web site: www.diaryofamother.com

I Haven't Run Away!

2008-08-06T18:48:00.003+10:00

I promise I am still here, just a little busy, that's all :)

I have been spending all my computer time doing the 30 Day Challenge lessons. Which I have to say have been very, very interesting, but quite time intensive. So far my 30DC 'Project" is my DVDiva blog, which I have renamed Dippity DVDivas, which focuses on Kids DVDs, in particular DVD reviews and new release DVDs. I'll also be launching a podcast called Dippity DVDivas shortly too, so keep an eye out for that.

I did mention in another post that I was going to be posting a tip a day in August but I just didn't get around to typing them all up prior to August 1st, so they are just going to have to wait. I will more than likely post them all in September. I'm sorry if anyone was looking forward to them.

Frugal Friday - Goodbye Mr Mouse

2008-08-01T09:30:00.000+10:00

One of the easiest and friendliest ways to get rid of mice is to get "mouse oil" or simply buy pure essential peppermint and spearmint oils and mix them together. Put this on cotton balls and place them wherever the mice usually frequent. They'll leave in a hurry. They absolutely hate the smell, and no one gets hurt, including pets.

Read more of my Frugal posts here!

Or if you want some more great frugal tips go and check out the other Frugal Friday participants.

Fab Five on Friday

2008-08-01T09:00:00.000+10:00

Now link up your Fab Five on Friday:

Rice Bubble 'LCM' Slice

2008-07-31T21:42:00.000+10:00

110g Butter
½ cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Honey
4 cups Rice Bubbles
½ cup coconut

1. Boil butter, sugar and honey gently for 2-3 minutes.

2. Combine Rice Bubbles and coconut in a bowl and stir in the sugar mixture.

3. Press into a lined slice tray

4. Refrigerate for 20 to 40 mins,

5. Cut into fingers and store in fridge.

How Parents Can Help Their Kids To Have Good Dental Health

2008-07-31T09:00:00.000+10:00

By Adam Hunt

How important is dental hygiene to your health? Good oral hygiene is in fact essential for good health. It is unfortunate if you are an adult and have not figured out how to take care of the only teeth that you have. But dental care is even more important for our youth who have sugary diets and may not yet know the importance of taking care of their teeth. If your teeth and gums are in poor shape, you can not chew your food properly. This can lead to digestive problems and other health conditions. Gum disease can lead to tooth loss. Tooth loss can interfere with eating because you can not chew your food well. This means that your food is more difficult to digest because the primary part of the digestive process, chewing, has been compromised. Based on some recommendations by the American Dental Association, here are the tips that you can help you to keep your teeth: Brush You should brush your 2x a day for at least five minutes. Brushing 3x daily is better of course. (For technique, consult your dentist.) Use a fluoride toothpaste that is accepted by the ADA. You should replace your toothbrush every three or four months or sooner if the bristles break down and become frayed. You should also replace your toothbrush after illnesses such as colds, flu, strep throat and stomach viruses. Children's toothbrushes usually need to be replaced more often because they wear out faster. Floss It is necessary to clean between your teeth daily using dental floss or an interdentally cleaner even if you brush regularly. Toothbrush bristles can't reach between teeth where bacteria can linger, causing decay and gum disease. Regular flossing can remove the food particles and plaque from between teeth and under the gum line where your tooth brush cannot reach. Diet A balanced diet that includes fresh fruits and vegetables can help you maintain good oral health. Limit junk foods and sugary foods, especially foods and drinks containing high fructose corn syrup. Dairy products and certain vegetables, such as broccoli, are good sources of calcium. Citrus fruits are good sources of vitamin C which is good for promoting tissue building and overall general health. Dentist Your dentist can tell you if you should come in every six months or once a year. Sometimes your dentist may suggest another schedule. Whatever the case, your dentist can recommend what types of oral care products to use. Plaque accumulates on the teeth within twenty minutes of eating! A daily mouthwash is a great idea to add to your brushing and flossing as well. Tooth decay and gum disease is caused mainly by plaque. Plaque is a combination of bacteria and food. Its stickiness is what causes it to adhere to the teeth. If it is not removed thoroughly each day, the result will be tooth decay. Eventually, if the plaque remains on the teeth, it will harden into a very tough substance called tartar which must be scraped off the teeth using a special tool. Plaque and tartar cause gingivitis, an inflammation of the gums, cavities, holes and soft spots that damage the surface and, more particularly, the structure of the teeth, peritonitis, breakdown of ligaments and bone supporting the teeth which leads to tooth loss, bad breath, abscesses and many health problems including pre-term labor and heart disease. People interested in good health are also starting to use daily glyconutrient supplements.Clinical studies have shown that the body's immune system can be boosted through glyconutrients supplements.

To buy glyconutrients and get a free glyconutrient consultation, visit http://www.ifoundhealth.com/

Source: http://www.isnare.com/

Carrot Muffins

2008-07-30T21:25:00.000+10:00

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup finely shredded carrots
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup dates or raisins
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup milk

Cream cheese frosting

80g cream cheese, softened
60g butter, softened
¾ cup icing-sugar mixture
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts

Mix first 5 ingredients. Set aside. In a small bowl beat eggs. Add butter and milk. Pour into dry ingredients. Stir just enough to blend. Fill greased muffin tins 2/3 full. Bake 15-25 minutes in preheated 200C oven.

Cream cheese frosting.

Beat cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla in a small bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy. 5. Spread Frosting over top of muffins. Sprinkle with walnuts.

Wordless Wednesday - Sophie and Clare

2008-07-30T12:57:00.002+10:00

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Taco Roll Ups

2008-07-29T21:22:00.000+10:00

500g ground beef

1 packet taco seasoning
2/3 cup water
puff pastry sheets
2 cups grated cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning and water.
Cook for 5-10 minutes; set aside.
Lay out pastry
Spread ground beef over pastry - leaving about 1 inch of pastry on one edge free of filling.
Top beef with grated cheese.
Roll up with the long edge closest to you.
Pinch seam to seal.
Slice the roll into 1-inch thick slices with a serrated knife.
Place rolls 2″ apart onto a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.
If any filling falls out just press it into the top of the rolls.
Bake at 180°C for 15 minutes until golden brown and puffy.
Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole for dipping.

These would also be great to use up any left over taco meat.To freeze: Allow to cool completely. Flash freeze and then place in a ziploc bag when firm. Label, seal and freeze.

To Serve: Thaw in fridge overnight or thaw/heat in microwave about 45 seconds on high.

Chocolate 'Yogo' Recipe

2008-07-28T21:21:00.000+10:00

I found this recipe on a forum on the internet, my kids love chocolate yogos so it was very exciting to find I could make the same thing at home :)

Chocolate 'Yogo' Recipe

40g cocoa powder
40g cornflour
120g sugar
800ml milk

Sift the dry ingredients together.
Mix dry ingredients with 300ml of the milk.
Heat the remaining 500ml of the milk in a saucepan until you hear it get hot - you know, that dangerous 'I'm about to boil over' sound!

Pour the chocolatey milk into the hot milk and whisk until the mixture thickens. By this I do mean WHISK, no stirring with a spoon or fork, otherwise you will get little lumps that won't please the kids!

Remove from heat and pour into a bowl that you can place cling wrap over securely. The plastic wrap must touch the surface of the pudding with no air trapped beneath, otherwise a skin will form.

My Menu For This Week

2008-07-28T16:24:00.002+10:00

Monday
Dinner - Crumbed Fish , Mashed Potato and Vegetables

Tuesday
Dinner - Chili Con Carne

Wednesday
Dinner - Sweet and Sour Meatballs and vegetables

Thursday
Dinner - Grilled Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Chicken

Friday
Dinner - Vegetable, Bacon and Risoni Soup with Toast

Saturday
Dinner - Beef and Vegetable Triangles

Sunday
Dinner - Dinner at Mum and Dads

Baking - Lattice Cheesecake Slice

Thanks to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday. Go and check out more great menus!.

Oriental Rice

2008-07-27T21:19:00.001+10:00

1 1/4 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. lite soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 cups instant brown rice
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup water
2 cups frozen vegetables (broccoli, red peppers, bamboo shoots, & mushrooms)

Bring broth, soy sauce, ginger and garlic powder to a boil.
Stir in rice. Reduce heat, cover. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix cornstarch with water.
Add to rice along with vegetables.
Bring to a boil to thicken.
Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

My Favourite Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

2008-07-26T21:17:00.000+10:00

350g softened unsalted butter
350g caster sugar
6 eggs
250ml milk
350g self-raising flour
2 tsp natural vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius . Line a 24 hole muffin tin with paper paper patty cases. Beat softened butter caster sugar in mixing bowl until pale and creamy. Add eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Stir to combine, then fold in sifted flour. Spoon into patty cases and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden and firm. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Macadamia Nut Fudge

2008-07-25T21:16:00.000+10:00

1 can sweetened condensed milk
225 gram chocolate
80 chopped macadamia nuts

Method:

Heat milk until warm
Add chocolate broken into pieces
Melt chocolate
Place in a shallow cake tin
Sprinkle nuts on top
Set in fridge

Quick & Easy Beef And Vegetable Nachos

2008-07-24T21:14:00.000+10:00

500 gm (1 pound) beef mince (ground beef)
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
3 carrots chopped into small cubes
1 red capsicum (red pepper) chopped small
1/4 teaspoon ground chilli
1 tin diced tomatoes (about 500 gm or 1 pound size)
1 tin cream of tomato soup (about 500 gm or 1 pound size)
1 tin red kidney beans (about 500 gm or 1 pound size)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large packet corn chips
Grated cheese to sprinkle on top
Sour cream (optional)

Place first six ingredients in a saucepan, cook for 15 minutes,
stirring frequently to split up any lumps of meat.
Add tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes without the lid on the pan.
Stir frequently.
Add tomato soup and drained beans.
Cook for 5 minutes until heated through.

To serve: Place a large handful of corn chips in each bowl, spoon beef and vegetable mixture on top. Add another large handful of corn chips and sprinkle on a handful of grated cheese. Top with sour cream if liked.

Serves 4.

Chili Con Carne

2008-07-24T01:14:00.000+10:00

500g (1lb) minced beef
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder

Sauté onions over medium heat in non-stick pan or in a touch of oil. Add beef and garlic and brown well. Add salt and pepper while beef is cooking.

Drain off any excess fat after frying meat. Add canned tomatoes, kidney beans and seasonings. Mix well, cover and cook for 1 hour over medium low heat. Adjust seasonings to your taste.

Taco Chicken Wraps

2008-07-23T21:13:00.000+10:00

6 Tortilla Wraps
300g chicken tenderloins
6 tblsp taco sauce
lettuce, shredded
2 tomatoes, diced
2 cups cheese, grated
1/2 packet taco seasoning
oil for frying

Sprinkle taco seasoning onto the chicken.
Heat oil in pan and saute chicken until cooked.
Add taco sauce and heat gently for a minute.
Place lettuce, tomatoes, chicken mixture and grated cheese in the centre of the top half of the tortilla.
Fold the bottom half up and then fold over the sides.

Wordless Wednesday - Take A Walk

2008-07-23T11:05:00.003+10:00

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Works For Me Wednesday - Baby Change Table

2008-07-23T10:53:00.000+10:00

Instead of using a change table to change my babies nappy I use a change mat which I put in her cot. That way if I have to leave her mid nappy change to grab the wipes that I left in the lounge room or if one of the other kids needs me in a hurry, I can leave her without worrying that she is going to fall off a change table.

Not only is it convenient but it's cheap too, the change mat cost me around $30 compared to a change table which are around the $100 mark for a cheap one.

So that's what works for me. Obviously this will only work while the cot's base is up high, you couldn't do this when you cot base is down low otherwise you'd break you back... hehehe :)

Visit Shannon's Blog for more Works For Me Wednesday Tips!

Some Housekeeping

2008-07-23T09:29:00.002+10:00

Just like in my life my blog is all out of routine at the moment. My life is out of routine because for the past 2 weeks my girls have been on school holidays and my partner Rob took voluntary retrenchment and has also been at home for the past 2 weeks.

School holidays always mess with my daily routine. Not having to get up and get the kids off to school leads to lazy mornings and the kids constantly making messes doesn't help when I'm trying to keep the house clean and tidy. I'm hoping that it only takes me a few days to get back in to my usual routine though and I'm hoping that as my routines in life go back to normal my blogging routines will mend themselves too.

I have missed Menu Plan Monday for the last 2 weeks as well as posting my To-Do lists each Monday. They will be back though, keep an eye out for them next Monday.

You may have seen my first Winter Wipeout post last week, I was planning to work on my bedroom this week, but decided to take a week off to have a post school holiday recovery week (basically a general house cleanup) instead. So the Winter Wipeout will be back again next week!

Readers have been asking me about my A Juggling Mum Podcast and whether I will be recording anymore episodes and the answer is Yes! I am preparing another one as we speak, or rather I type and you read :) I'm hoping to get it recorded this Friday while the girls are at school, Riley is at preschool, Rob is at a meeting in the city and Sophie is having her nap. That's the plan anyway :)

If you are a regular reader you would have noticed that every day this month I have posted a recipe. This started because I wanted to get all my favourite recipes on the one blog and I didn't want to inundate you all with a million (or 31) recipes all in one day, so I spread them out over the month. Next month I will be trying to post a tip a day. I started this a little while back but forgot to add more after my initial posts. I plan on getting them all typed up and ready to go (thank you Blogger for introducing scheduling) this week, because the 30 Day Challenge begins in August so that will no doubt take up much of my computer time.

Ok there ends my ramble :)

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

2008-07-22T21:12:00.000+10:00

500g (1lb) minced beef
1 egg
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs
1 onion, diced
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 Tabs plain flour
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 Tabs soy sauce

In a medium bowl, combine the beef, egg, bread crumbs and onion. Mix thoroughly and shape into golf ball sized balls.
In a large pan gently brown the meatballs and set aside.

In a large saucepan, combine the brown sugar, flour, water, vinegar and soy sauce. Mix well.

Add the meatballs and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring often for 30 minutes.

Tackle It Tuesday - Mop The Floor

2008-07-22T10:08:00.003+10:00

My girls have finally gone back to school today after 2 weeks of school holidays so I am excited about getting this house back in order. The main job for today is to clean the floors, I need to vacuum the carpet and mop all the floors.

What are you tackling today? Leave me a comment and I'll come by and visit your blog :)

Thanks to Carolyn for hosting Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom , your motivation to get things done around the house is very much appreciated :) Go and check out more Tackle It Tuesday participants.

Lattice Cheesecake Slice

2008-07-21T08:27:00.000+10:00

Base & Top:
2 packets lattice-shaped biscuits

Filling:
115g cream cheese
115g butter
1/2 castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons gelatine, dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water and cooled

Base:

Line a 28x18c slice tray with foil. Arrange 12 of the biscuits, sugar side down, in the tray to cover base. Set aside.

Filling:

Beat cream cheese, butter and sugar until well combined. Add vanilla, lemon juice, gelatine and water mixture.
Pour mixture over biscuits in tray... top with more lattice biscuits, sugar side up, and press down lightly. Chill until firm. Cut into sections.

Marshmallow Slice

2008-07-20T08:22:00.000+10:00

Base:
4 Weet-Bix
1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
125g copha (melted)

Topping:
3/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon gelatine
Toasted coconut

To prepare base:

Combine crushed Weet-Bix, flour and sugar in a bowl. Add copha and stir until well mixed.
Press mixture into a 18x28cm slice tray. Bake in a slow oven, 150C for 20 minutes. Cool.

To prepare the topping:

Place water in a small saucepan. Add sugar and gelatine. Stir over low heat until dissolved. Boil for three minutes. Remove from heat. Cool.
Beat mixture until thick and white and spread over biscuit base. Decorate with toasted coconut.
Chill until set and cut into squares.

Friendfeed And My Podcast

2008-07-19T22:27:00.004+10:00

If you follow me on Twitter you will already know that I found out something really exciting tonight. FriendFeed has launched audio sharing! You can now share audio files on FriendFeed, and the audio files will play right on FriendFeed’s website using an embedded media player.

What this means is that you can go into my Friendfeed Room, listen to any of my podcasts (I currently have 16 up and am working on #17) post a question, leave a comment or chat with other listeners.

Please come and join me, I'm feeling a little lonely in there all by myself :)

Pancake Sandwich

2008-07-18T15:00:00.000+10:00

1 ½ cups of flour, sifted
2 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
3 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoons of melted butter
¾ teaspoon of salt
1 egg, beaten
¾ cup of room temperature milk (or more as needed)
Cream cheese
Strawberry jam

Combine all dry ingredients. Beat the egg, butter, and milk together. Add the egg mixture to the flour mix. Cook batter over medium heat in a frying pan. Once little bubbles form, then turn it over and cook on the other side.

Once pancakes are formed make cut outs with desired shapes. Spread cream cheese on one side and jam on the other to make sandwiches.

Recipe and Image Source: Bento Corner

Frugal Friday - Seedling Starter

2008-07-18T09:00:00.002+10:00

Image Source: You Grow Girl

Use the cardboard core from a toilet paper roll to start seedlings. Fold in all the way around one end and fill it with good soil. Put one seed per "pot," starting a few weeks before you want to plant them out in the garden. When the weather is right, simply plant the cardboard tube straight into the ground. The cardboard disintegrates over time and you reduce damage to the delicate roots.

As I was searching the net for a picture to use I found You Grow Girl's Post on toilet roll seed starters. It explains in more detail how to make the pots and has some great pictures.

Beef and Vegetable Triangles

2008-07-17T15:37:00.000+10:00

Ingredients (serves 16)

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely diced
350g lean beef mince
420g can Heinz Condensed Minestrone Soup
4 sheets frozen puff pastry, partially thawed
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
salad greens, to serve

Method

Heat oil in a large, non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until soft. Add mince. Cook, breaking up mince with a wooden spoon, for 5 to 6 minutes or until browned. Remove from heat. Allow to cool completely. Add soup and stir until well combined.
Preheat oven to 200°C. Line 2 large baking trays with baking paper. Cut 1 pastry sheet into 4 squares. Place 2 tablespoons of mince mixture into the centre of each square. Fold pastry over filling to form a triangle. Press pastry edges together with a fork to seal. Repeat with the remaining pastry squares and mince mixture.
Place triangles on prepared trays. Brush triangles with egg. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden and puffed. Serve with salad greens.

Recipe and photo source: Taste.com

Safety Tips for Children if They Get Lost

2008-07-17T10:31:00.000+10:00

What would you do if your child got lost or separated from you?. It’s a terrifying thought isn’t it?. For many of us it is something that we don’t want to think about but it is essential that we all think about what we want to happen in this situation and teach our children how to stay safe.

Below are a few tips to help you find your children quickly and to keep them safe if they do get lost.

Give your child your mobile phone number

We all teach our children our addresses and home phone numbers, but if a child gets lost the handiest thing for them to know is Mommy or Daddies mobile phone number. A good idea is to use a clothing label with your mobile phone number on it. Make sure that your child knows where the labels are placed on their clothing. You could also write your number with a permanent marker or write the number directly on your child.

Dress your child in bright colors

Bright clothing is much easier to spot in a crowd. If you have a large family you could try and have your children all wear similar colors.

Teach your children to ask another Mommy for help

Think about who you would want your children to approach if they get lost. Oh course if they get separated from you in a store you would want them to ask an employee for help. But what if you are at a fair or the beach?. Teach your children to ask another mother for help. I know that I would feel better about my children approaching another mommy rather than just anybody. We have always taught our children to find a policeman or woman if they get lost, but think about the last time you were at a park or shopping centre, how many police people did you see?. Not many I bet!.

Teaching our children what to do and giving them the resources to get help when they need it will help to keep them safe. I hope that these few tips help you if you find yourself in this situation.

Honey Chicken

2008-07-16T09:49:00.001+10:00

Chicken
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 egg white
1 1/2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut in thin strips
2 cups peanut oil, for deep-frying

Honey sauce
160ml (2/3 cup) chicken stock
125ml (1/2 cup) honey
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
1 small red chilli, deseeded, thinly sliced
1 tbs cornflour
1 tbs water

Directions
Mix the batter ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl; it should be thick and smooth.
Allow the batter to sit, covered for at least 30 minutes.
Combine the chicken with the batter.
Heat a wok or large deep skillet until it is hot and add the oil for frying.
When the oil is barely smoking, deep-fry the chicken for 2 minutes or until the batter is just firm.
You should do this in several batches.
Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

To make the honey sauce, combine the stock, honey, soy sauce, ginger and chilli in small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil. Combine cornflour and water and add to the honey mixture. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until sauce thickens slightly.

To serve drizzle chciken with the honey sauce and serve immediately.

Mum's Mailbox - Time Spent Blogging?

2008-07-16T08:02:00.005+10:00

It has been a while since I've done a Mum's Mailbox post but I have had an excellent question from Multi-Tasking Mommy which I thought I should answer here for you all to see.

She says "I am curious how much time per day on average you spend on the computer in order to keep up with all of the blogging you do.

Sometimes I wonder how people do it, because to keep up on two blogs, I find I can barely do it in a day!

And with 5 children in tow? And all of the home cooking you do. How do you do it? I'm just so impressed and jealous!"

I have never sat down and worked out how much time I spend on the computer. I think that if I did the answer would shock me and I'd feel guilty. I think to answer this question it might be easier for me to tell you what an average day is like in my household. Here we go:

Sophie (1) wakes me up between 6.30 and 7am and we stagger out of bed. I give Sophie a quick nappy change and I go and have a quick shower. By this time Riley (4) and Caitie (6) are also getting up. I go and wake Clare (8) and Chloe (10) up. Chloe gets up straight away and makes her own breakfast. Clare doesn't!.

I make breakfast for the younger kids and get them settled and I go back to tell Clare to get up again. I go and make Clare's breakfast and that's when she usually gets up. While the kids are eating their breakfast I finish packing the girls lunchboxes for school.

I have already laid out the kids clothes the night before so once they have finished their breakfast they get dressed. I help Riley get dressed and then get Sophie dressed for the day.

Next it's time to do hair and teeth and then the kids pack their bags for school or preschool. I then put on a load of washing and then I turn on my computer for the first time. I check my emails before it's time to head off to school.

We walk to school because it's just around the corner. When I get back I'm back on the computer (it's usually about 9:15am) while Sophie and Riley are happy to play by themselves. This is usually when I am checking on my eBay Auctions progress and packing things to post. Sometimes I manage to get a bit of blogging done but not often.

If I need to go to the shops or do any errands I go around 10am. That way I am back by 11-11.30 for Sophie's nap. If I don't go out I get to do a few more things on the computer and then play with the kids for a while.

Once I have put Sophie to bed I set Riley up with something to do, either he plays on the computer or he sits at the table with some craft or colouring in. I hang the clothes on the line and reboot the washing machine, unpack and pack the dishwasher, tidy the dining room and lounge room, vacuum, make the beds and clean the bathroom. Then I make Riley and myself some lunch and we eat it together. I do a few more things on the computer and then hang out the next load of washing. I do any baking or dinner prep and then Sophie usually wakes up not long after this and I give her some lunch while I finish what I'm doing on the computer.

Around 2pm if it's a nice day we will go and play out in the back yard until it's time to go and get the girls from school at 3pm.

Once we are home I get them all something to eat and drink and they all go off and do their own thing. Usually watching tv or playing on the computer or PS2. Sophie is happy to potter around, happy that the girls are back from school so I do a bit more on the computer.

At 4.30 the girls all come to the dining table to do their homework. Riley will usually join them with some colouring in or will draw pictures or try to write letters. I set up my laptop at the table with them but I don't get a great deal of blogging done in between helping them.

At 5pm I do a quick tidy up, picking up toys that sort of thing and then at 5.30 it's the kids bath and shower time.

At 6pm I start dinner and then it's a blur of feeding the kids, getting them into bed, ironing and preparing clothes for the following day and making lunches.

Usually I am able to get back on the computer again around 8pm and I have a few straight hours to get the majority of my blogging done.

I try to go to bed by 10.30pm but I have been known to stay up till midnight, not often though.

So that is my day in a nutshell. Looking at that I guess I would probably spend between about 5 and 6 hours a day on the computer. One thing that I find really useful is to keep a notebook. I jot down ideas throughout the day and I have a running to do list so that when I get on the computer at night I know exactly what I want to get done and I do it. This helps enormously because I know that if I don't have that list I get sidetracked and spend the night on Facebook or playing games.

Thanks for your question Multi-Tasking Mommy :)

Mini Banana Muffins with Cream-Cheese Icing

2008-07-15T21:47:00.000+10:00

Makes 12

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (225g) self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) mashed ripe banana
1/3 cup (80ml) vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly whisked
3/4 cup (185ml) milk

Icing
125g light cream cheese, softened
2 tbs icing sugar mixture
1 tsp finely grated lemon rind

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 12 x 1/3-cup capacity muffin pan. Combine flour, bicarbonate of soda and sugar in a bowl. Make a well in the centre. Whisk mashed banana, oil, egg and milk together in a jug. Pour into the well and gently stir until just combined.
Spoon mixture evenly among prepared muffin holes. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Use an electric mixer to beat cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon rind in a small bowl until light and fluffy. Spread the top of each muffin with a little of the cream cheese mixture.

Notes & tips
These muffins can be frozen and put straight into a lunch box to defrost. Store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Recipe and Image Source: Taste.com

Winter Wipeout - Week 1

2008-07-14T09:58:00.002+10:00

My house is starting to drive me nuts. Everywhere I walk I see something that needs to be cleaned or picked up or dusted. With the kids being home on school holidays for the last week and Rob at home (because he has now finished up with the bank and is looking for a new job) my normal cleaning routine is not getting done and I feel like I'm living in chaos.

So to help get me motivated again I have decided to start the 2008 Winter Wipeout ( yep it's winter here in Australia). Each week I'm going to pick one room in the house to focus on. Each Monday I will post a list of all the things that I would like to do in that room and hopefully that will motivate me to get it all done.

This week I am going to focus on one of the kids bedrooms - Caitie and Riley's bedroom in fact.

Here is what I want to do:

Wash the bed clothes
Air the mattresses
Sort the toys
Store some toys in the garage
Store outgrown clothes
Dust on top of the wardrobe
Put the fan in the garage
Wash the walls
Wash the curtains
Wash the windows
Detailed vacuum clean

As I accomplish each job I will come back and cross it off the list.

If you want to join me with the Winter Wipeout leave me a comment below :)

Easy Fried Rice

2008-07-14T09:06:00.000+10:00

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 tbs peanut oil
150g rindless bacon rashers, cut crossways into long thin strips
300g medium green prawns, peeled with tails left intact, deveined, chopped
1 small red capsicum, halved, deseeded, finely chopped
300g (2 cups) frozen peas (thawed following packet directions)
3 eggs, lightly whisked
600g (4 cups) cooked long-grain white rice, cooled (see tip below)
65g (1 cup) bean sprouts
2 tbs soy sauce
2 green shallots, trimmed, diagonally thinly sliced

Method

Heat the oil in a large wok over high heat. Add the bacon and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the prawns, capsicum and peas, and stir-fry for 1 minute.
Reduce heat to medium-high and pour the eggs into the wok. Use a wooden spoon to break up the eggs until just set.
Add the cooked rice to the wok and cook, tossing often, for 2 minutes or until well combined and heated through.
Add the bean sprouts and soy sauce to the wok. Reduce heat to medium and cook over medium heat, tossing, for 1 minute or until well combined. Divide the rice amongst serving bowls, sprinkle with the green shallots and serve immediately.

Tip: You will need to cook 300g (1 1/2 cups) raw long-grain rice for this recipe. For best results, cook the rice the day before (this allows time for the rice to dry slightly so the grains will be less sticky). Keep in an airtight container in the fridge. If you are cooking the rice on the day, drain it very well in a colander before using.

Recipe and Image Source: Taste.com.au

Crockpot Pumpkin Soup

2008-07-13T20:54:00.000+10:00

Ingredients

1 fresh pumpkin(doesn't matter what type)
4-5 medium size potatoes(or for a sweeter soup, sweet potato)
2 beef, chicken or vegetable stock cubes
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon really to taste mixed Italian herbs
2 large garlic cloves
3 small onions, diced

Directions

Roughly chop the pumpkin and place in the crock pot.
Chop potatoes up into cubes, dice onions, place in crock pot.
Put remaining ingredients in crock pot.
Turn crock pot to low and cook for 6 to 8 hours.
When the pumpkin and potatoes are very soft use either a blender or a hand held blender and blend until very smooth.
If it is thicker than you like then add a little water or milk and blend again to mix it through.

Serve with crusty bread and a dollop of sour cream.

This soup freezes very well, to reheat it after freezing simply put it back into the crock pot or reheat in a saucepan.

Chocolate Crackle Cups with Marshmallows

2008-07-12T21:48:00.003+10:00

Makes 24

Ingredients

80g (2 1/4 cups) Rice Bubbles
65g (1 cup) shredded coconut
60g (1/3 cup) icing sugar mixture
30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder, sifted
100g copha
40g pink and white marshmallows
100g white chocolate, chopped

Method

1. Kids task: Place the Rice Bubbles, coconut, icing sugar and cocoa in a large bowl and stir to combine.
2. Place the copha in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat for 3 minutes or until it melts. Add to the Rice Bubble mixture and mix until well combined.
3. Kids' task: Place tablespoonsful of the mixture into 24 mini (30ml/ 1 1/2 tbs) muffin pans. Use a teaspoon to press the mixture towards the edges to make a well in the centre. Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes to become firm.
4. Kids' task (with adult assistance): Meanwhile, use children?s scissors to cut the marshmallows into 1cm pieces.
5. Use a round-bladed knife to help loosen the chocolate crackle cups from the pans and place on a wire rack over a baking tray. Divide the marshmallow pieces among the chocolate crackle cups.
6. Place the chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until it melts and is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan.
7. Kids' task: Use a fork to drizzle the chocolate over the marshmallow pieces. Set aside for 5 minutes for the chocolate to set.

Recipe and Image source: Taste.com.au

What's The Best Thing About Having a Large Family?

2008-07-12T20:46:00.003+10:00

You can have a sleep over party without even leaving your house!

The Wizard of Oz is on the tv tonight and all the kids wanted to watch it, so Caitie and Riley asked if they could have a sleep over in Chloe and Clare's room so they could all watch it together.

How sweet!

Where Did The Last 10 Years Go?

2008-07-11T16:51:00.004+10:00

On this day 10 years ago I gave birth to my first baby, Chloe Grace.

I am so proud of her, she is beautiful, smart, funny and caring.

Happy birthday Princess Chloe!

Ham and Tomato Cheese Scrolls

2008-07-11T08:46:00.000+10:00

Makes 12

Ingredients

2 cups self-raising flour
30g butter, chilled, chopped
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup tomato pasta sauce
1 cup grated tasty cheese
100g shaved ham, chopped

Method

Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Sift flour into a large bowl. Add butter. Using your fingertips, rub butter into flour until combined. Make a well in the centre.
Pour milk into well. Using a flat-bladed knife, stir until mixture is almost combined. Using your hands, bring dough together into a ball. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Gently knead dough until almost smooth. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out to a 24cm x 36cm rectangle.
Spread pasta sauce over dough, leaving a 3cm border along both long edges. Sprinkle cheese and ham over sauce. Roll up dough firmly like a Swiss roll. Cut into 12 slices. Arrange scrolls close together on prepared tray, ensuring join is turned inwards so scrolls don't unroll while cooking. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until light golden and cooked through. Serve.

Image and Recipe Source - Taste.com.au

I love this!!!!!

2008-07-10T08:17:00.001+10:00

Embedded Video

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Vegetable, Bacon and Risoni Soup

2008-07-10T08:04:00.000+10:00

Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 brown onion, finely chopped
125g 97% fat-free bacon, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
1 parsnip, peeled, chopped
1 celery stick, chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
6 cups reduced-salt beef stock
400g can diced roma tomatoes
1/3 cup dried risoni pasta
1/3 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Method

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, bacon and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add carrot, parsnip, celery and zucchini. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.
Add stock and tomatoes. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
Stir in risoni. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes or until risoni is tender. Season with salt and pepper. Stir through parsley. Ladle soup into bowls. Serve.

Recipe Source - Taste.com

Grilled Roasted Garlic Teriyaki Chicken

2008-07-09T09:00:00.000+10:00

2/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 Tablespoon garlic

Combine teriyaki sauce, sugar, oil and garlic, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour mixture over chicken in large plastic food storage bag. Turn bag to coat chicken with mixture. Refrigerate 2 hours, turning bag once. Remove chicken from bag. Grill chicken.

Thanks to Forever Daisies for posting this recipe.

Sweet Potato And Rice Soup

2008-07-08T09:00:00.000+10:00

1kg sweet potato, diced
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp marjoram
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder 2 pounds yams diced
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 cup wild rice uncooked

In a saucepan combine the chicken with curry powder, marjoram, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder and bring to the boil over medium heat.
Add sweet potato and onion, and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the rice and cook for another 20 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Baby Food - Sweet Potato Pasta Sauce

2008-07-07T09:00:00.000+10:00

This pasta sauce is suitable for babies over 10 months.

Ingredients
a little olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes
100mls milk (use breast milk or formula if you wish)

Method
Saute the onion and garlic in the oil over a low heat until tender.
Add the sweet potato and enough water to just cover it, then bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat, then simmer very gently for 20 mins.
Cool, then place in a food processor with the milk and blend well.
Serve over cooked pasta.

All About Me

2008-07-06T21:50:00.002+10:00

When I am reading a person's blog I like to learn a little bit about them so I thought that my readers might like to learn a little about me. Please tell me you do!!! :)

Anyway here goes:

My name is Rachel. I'm a 32 year old Australian mother of 5 children. I live in the Western suburbs of Sydney with my partner of 12 years, Rob and our children Chloe (10), Clare (8), Caitlin (6), Riley (4) and Sophie (1), oh and our cat Chelsea.

Before children I ran a home based child care where I cared for between 5 and 8 children each day, so it has been no surprise to my family and friends that I have ended up having a large family.

I have been a Stay at Home Mum (thanks to my hard working man) since I had my first baby in 1998 and I love it. Staying at home with my family is very important to me and while I say that I am by no means devaluing mothers who work outside of the home. I believe that all Mothers try to do the very best for their families and for me, my family and our circumstances, staying at home is what is best for us.

I have been blogging since January 2006. I really only started because I had begun podcasting and I needed a blog to help publish my podcasts. I started noticing other Bloggers and began reading there blogs. Not long after I was posting on my blogs regularly.

I currently have eleven blogs, some I post on regularly and others I only post on when I am interested in there subject. I tend to flit from topic to topic, one week I will be really into cupcakes and blog post after post on cupcakes and the next week I will be posting about gardening or playing the Sims.

I have been a seller on eBay since June 2002. I started out selling scrapbooking papers and accents and then I started selling DVDs, mostly popular kids DVDs, which I have been doing for the last 5 years.

In April 2008 I launched Fun & Funky Blog Design. Blog designing has given me a creative outlet and has allowed me to make a little extra spending money.

Having a large family and a relatively small house has forced me to be creative when it comes to organisation and home management, as well as, at times forced me to live frugally.

I wouldn't call myself a greenie but I have been trying to reduce my families footprint on the earth by recycling, using less water and energy and wasting less.

I work hard each and every day to keep our home neat, clean and clutter free while encouraging my children to be the best that they can be. Some days it is a struggle and other days it's a piece of cake but everyday it's an adventure!

Taco Casserole

2008-07-06T09:00:00.000+10:00

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup water
1/2 cup taco sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1 pkg yellow corn shells, broken
2 cups shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375 F and grease 12x9 baking pan. Cook beef and onion until beef is brown. Stir in water, taco sauce, and seasoning mix. cook over low heat for 3-4 minutes. Layer half of the shells on bottom of prepared baking dish. Cover and half of meat sauce and sprinkle with 1 cup cheese. Repeat with remaining. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Top with tomatoes.

Thanks to Forever Daisies for posting this recipe.

Chipolata Sausage Rolls With Spicy Tomato Sauce Recipe

2008-07-05T08:35:00.001+10:00

Chipolata Sausage Rolls With Spicy Tomato Sauce Recipe - Taste.com.au

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 sheets (24 x 24cm) ready-rolled frozen reduced-fat puff pastry, just thawed
1 x 500g pkt extra-lean beef chipolata sausages (Peppercorn Food Company brand)
160ml (2/3 cup) tomato sauce
2 tbs Worcestershire sauce

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Cut the pastry sheets in half. Cut each half crossways into quarters. Wrap pastry around the centre of each sausage. Brush edges lightly with water and press to seal. Place the sausage rolls, seam-side down, on a baking tray. Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown and puffed. Remove from oven.
2. Kids' task: Meanwhile, combine the tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce in a small serving bowl. Arrange the sausage rolls on a large platter and serve immediately.

Meat Ball Casserole

2008-07-04T09:00:00.000+10:00

Ingredients:

500 gm beef mince
1 onion, chopped very finely
1/4 cup seasoned flour
Extra onion, chopped roughly
2 carrots sliced thinly
2 sticks celery, sliced diagonally
1 capsicum, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 tin condensed tomato soup
1 tin water
1 teaspoon favourite dried herbs
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
4 - 5 potatoes, pre cooked and sliced thickly
1/2 cup grated cheese

Method:
Pre heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Mix the mince and finely chopped onion together and form into small meatballs. Dust in the seasoned flour. Put aside.

Into the casserole dish put extra onion, carrots, celery, capsicum and peas. Place the meatballs on the top.

In a separate bowl mix together the soup, water, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour over the soup mixture.

Bring to the boil on the stove top and then transfer to the oven.

Cook with lid on for about 45 minutes.

Place sliced potato on the top, sprinkle with cheese and return to the oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and golden brown

Serves 4 - 5

Quick & Easy Dinner Rolls

2008-07-03T09:00:00.001+10:00

1 packet yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
1 egg
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup oil
3 cups flour, sifted

Dissolve the yeast in lukewarm water. Add the egg, sugar, salt, and oil.
Add half the flour & beat until smooth.
Add rest of flour & beat again until smooth. Fill greased muffin pans half full & let rise until double.
Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Makes 12 rolls.

Wordless Wednesday - Riley

2008-07-02T14:06:00.003+10:00

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Crispy Potato Wedges

2008-07-02T09:00:00.000+10:00

4 med potatoes cut into large wedges
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic, minced

Place potatoes in large bowl, add cold water to cover. Let stand 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray a nonstick sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Drain potatoes. Spread over paper towels and then cover with paper towels. Press to dry. Transfer potatoes to a clean large bowl. Sprinkle with oil, pepper and salt; toss gently to combine. Arrange seasoned potatoes in a single layer on prepared baking sheet. Bake potatoes for 20 minutes. Turn and sprinkle with garlic. Bake until golden.

Thanks to Forever Daisies for posting this recipe.

Asian Risotto

2008-07-01T09:00:00.000+10:00

Ingredients (serves 4)

90g (about 1 bunch) coriander
2 1/2 tbs vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbs grated fresh ginger
1 onion, sliced
1 stem lemongrass, white part only, finely chopped
1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 red capsicum, seeds removed, finely sliced
1 1/2 cups (330g) arborio rice
1 cup (250ml) white wine
800ml vegetable stock
100g snake beans or thinly sliced green beans
100g fresh shiitake mushrooms (optional)
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbs ketjap manis
2 tbs fish sauce
1/2 cup mixed Asian herbs (such as Thai basil and Vietnamese mint)

Method

Separate stalks and leaves of coriander and roughly chop both. Set aside.
Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons oil in a deep frypan, add half the garlic, the ginger, onion, lemongrass, chilli, capsicum and coriander stalks. Cook for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, then add the rice, reduce heat to low, and cook for a further minute. Stir in wine and continue to cook until there's no liquid left. Add stock 1 cup at a time, stirring continuously to prevent from catching. Stir in beans and cook for 2 minutes. Turn off heat and cover loosely with a lid.
Heat remaining oil in a frypan, add remaining garlic and shiitake and cook over high heat for 1-2 minutes or until mushrooms start to soften. Set aside.
Add the lime juice, ketjap manis, fish sauce and herbs - including coriander leaves - to the risotto, and stir to combine. Serve the risotto in bowls topped with the lightly-fried shiitake.

Recipe and Image Source: Taste.com.au

The $20 Challenge Ends

2008-06-29T10:00:00.000+10:00

The first week of the $20 Challenge didn't go so well for me. I ordered some wax to make wax melts (tarts) but the package never arrived. Thankfully though I was refunded my money but I wasn't able to make and sell the melts and therefore I didn't make a profit :(

How did you go?. Leave me a comment below or you can send me an email if you prefer.

Remember the person who made the highest amount of profit from their $20 gets an extra $20 Paypal credit.

How to Enjoy Cleaning Your House

2008-06-29T08:27:00.000+10:00

I used to hate cleaning my house, and some days I still do, but with five children, a cat and a husband that works hard at his full time job if I don't do it, it just does not get done and quite frankly I like my house to be clean. I like to be able to walk through the lounge room and not have to negotiate my way through toys. I like to walk into my bedroom and see my bed freshly made and my bedside table clutter free. I like to be able to walk into the dining room with out food crumbs crunching under my feet and sticking to my toes and I like to see my kitchen sink without a single dirty dish in it.

I don't know about you but I have noticed that my mood changes when the house is a mess. I become cranky and irritable and snap at my family members if they even glance my way. It really isn't fair on the family to be snapping at them just because I let the house get into an ungodly mess so I set out to change the way I cleaned my house and to change my attitude towards cleaning the house.

I began by breaking my chores up in to smaller 15 minute jobs that I could do through out the day. For example I now hang the clothes on the line then play with the kids for a while or do some things on the Internet. I usually set the timer for 30 minutes when I'm playing and when it goes off I get up and go and do another job for 15 minutes, maybe I'll unpack the dishwasher or make the beds or take the rubbish out to the big outside bin and then I get to play again for another 30 minutes and so on for the rest of the day.

If I am feeling really unmotivated I will set a timer for 15 minutes and do as much as I can in the kitchen or in the bathroom in that time and then I stop and either move on to another room or I go and play. Then I set the timer again later and off I go again. I have found that it is usually just that initial chore that is the hardest to start but once you get started housework tends to be infectious and you move on to another area anyway.

I also try to make the time that I spent doing housework special time for me. I like to hook myself up to my iPod and listen to my favourite podcasts while I am vacuuming or making beds or dusting and I have started to fold clothes in my bedroom using my bed as a table while I watch a movie or a tv show. My kids generally leave me alone to do this so it gives me a chance to have some me time in peace and quiet and get my chores done at the same time.

Housework is never going to be my favourite activity but it is an essential part of life so it helps to make the tasks more enjoyable.

Christmas Lights in July?

2008-06-28T08:21:00.003+10:00

Ok people it is almost July and if you haven’t done so already, it is time to take down those Christmas Lights. I was driving through my town the other day on my way to my girls school athletics carnival and I saw three houses (yes three!) with their Christmas lights still up!!! They didn’t have the lights turned on but you can still see them. Take them down people!

Now don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas lights. We put them up on our house each year (ok well Rob puts them up – that’s why I love him). We have the hanging icicle lights, they are my favourites. I even bought an extra set last year to put along the back of our house so that I could see them while I was in the kitchen, dining room and laundry (because let’s face it, that is where I spend most of my time).

See I really do love Christmas lights, but I think that if we kept them up all year waiting for Christmas to come around again, the magic would be lost and it just wouldn’t be as special at Christmas time to see those lights blinking at us.

Image source - Flickr

Chocolate Butterfly Cakes

2008-06-28T07:54:00.000+10:00

As promised here is the recipe for the delicious chocolate butterfly cakes I made for Clare's birthday.

Ingredients for the cakes:

110g (4oz) butter or margarine
110g (4oz) caster sugar
2 medium size eggs
75g (3oz) self-raising flour - sieved
25g (1oz) cocoa powder - sieved

The cream filling:

188ml thickened or whipping cream
1 tspn icing sugar

To decorate:

sieved icing sugar

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180ºC (350ºF)
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Gradually beat in the eggs.
Fold in the flour and the cocoa powder with a metal spoon.
Place spoonfuls of the mixture into a muffin tin and bake for 15 - 20 minutes until well risen and firm to the touch. Remove from oven, leave to cool on a cooling rack.
Take a sharp knife and cut a circle out of the top of each cake at an angle about 1cm (½ inch) from the edge.
Cut each circle in half and set aside.
Beat the cream and the icing sugar until thick. Fill each cake with cream.
Place two halves of cake on top to resemble butterfly wings.
Dust the top of each cake lightly with the sieved icing sugar.

Makes: approx. 16

Happy Birthday Clare Bear!

2008-06-26T20:29:00.003+10:00

Today is Clare's 8th birthday and to celebrate we had Pizza for dinner (Clare's choice) and I made chocolate butterfly cupcakes for dessert. They were really, really yummy! I will post the recipe tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Wordless Wednesday - My Baby Girl

2008-06-25T12:55:00.003+10:00

Hallie is running a Photography 101 course over at her blog From The Rubber Room.

Assignment 1 was to read the manual and then take the best photo you can.

I read my manual (although it is still all gobbily goop to me!) and then I took a heap of photos of the kids playing in the backyard and this is the best of the bunch. It's not a magnificent photo but then if I could take magnificent photos I wouldn't need Photography 101 would I???

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Works For Me Wednesday - Cold Water Bottles

2008-06-25T12:47:00.000+10:00

This is a pretty simple thing but it works for me so I thought I'd share it with you.

To keep kids drinks cold in their drink bottles half fill the drink bottle with water or your drink of choice. Pop it in the freezer overnight, in the morning top the bottle up with more drink and the drink bottle should stay cold for most of the day.

Visit Shannon's Blog for more Works For Me Wednesday Tips!

The Igloo In My Freezer

2008-06-24T10:01:00.004+10:00

I think there is an igloo in my freezer and there very well may be a group of Eskimos living in there too!

Defrosting my freezer has been on my To-Do List for a couple of weeks now and the ice is getting so bad in there now that I am having trouble getting anything in or out of it. So today is the day that I am going to claim back my freezer space and evict the ice :)

What are you tackling today? Leave me a comment and I'll come by and visit your blog :)

Thanks to Carolyn for hosting Tackle It Tuesday at 5 Minutes for Mom , your motivation to get things done around the house is very much appreciated :) Go and check out more Tackle It Tuesday participants.

Weekly To-Do List

2008-06-23T10:58:00.002+10:00

Last Weeks To-Do List

- Defrost the freezer (this is on the list once again - I will do it one of these days :)
- Prepare and record a podcast (I said I was going to do this last week, but never got around to it)
- Make cookies to have in the freezer
- Plan DD7's birthday party

As you can see I didn't do any of the things I had on my list last week so they are back on the list again this week.

This Weeks To-Do List

- Defrost the freezer (this is on the list once again - I will do it one of these days :)
- Prepare and record a podcast (I said I was going to do this last week, but never got around to it)
- Make cookies to have in the freezer
- Plan DD7's birthday party
- Make donuts (apparently they are like Krispy Kreme donuts... yum)
- Make cupcakes for Clare to take to school
- Make a birthday cake for Clare.

If you publish your To-Do List on your blog leave your url in my comments and I'll stop by and have a peek :)

Menu Plan Monday

2008-06-23T10:22:00.002+10:00

Monday
Dinner - Crumbed Fish , Mashed Potato and Vegetables

Tuesday
Dinner - Taco Stuffed Potatoes and salad

Wednesday
Dinner - Pizza Chicken chips and vegetables

Thursday - Clare's 8th birthday
Dinner - Clare's choice - probably McDonalds or KFC

Friday
Dinner - Roasted Tomato Soup with Toast Stars

Saturday
Dinner - Tacos

Sunday
Dinner - Dinner at Mum and Dads

Baking - Buttermilk Donuts, Favourite Vanilla Cupcakes (for Clare to take to school) & Fully Silly Cake for Clare's birthday cake)

Thanks to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday. Go and check out more great menus!.

Mummy Bloggers Can Make Money Too!

2008-06-22T20:41:00.002+10:00

Let’s face it if you want to grow your blog you are going to have to, at some stage spend a bit of money on it. Maybe you will shell out your hard earned money for a domain name, a hosting package, some advertising, a new design or maybe some bigger and better equipment. All of these things are going to cost you money and for us Mummy Bloggers spending money on our blogs is not always an option. Not an option unless we make a little bit of money through our blogs. Even if you don’t want to spend money on your blog, you may just like to have a little bit of extra spending money, which is always nice or maybe you need to make some extra money just to make ends meet.

SocialSpark is one way that Mummy Bloggers can earn some extra cash. You can earn money by writing reviews or placing ads on your blog. It is ideal for Mummy Bloggers because it’s quick and easy and allows us Mums to do what we love to do best, care for our families and blog.

SocialSpark helps me to pay for my monthly expenses involved with running my blogs as well as giving me some extra spending money. It has allowed me to purchase things that I wouldn’t normally have purchased, like DVDs for my kids or trips to the movies etc.

If you have a blog and need some extra cash, I encourage you to go and check out SocialSpark for yourself.

Top 11 Tips For Photographing People

2008-06-22T12:51:00.001+10:00

By: Martin Wilmott -

There are very few rules to portrait photography. The few rules there are can be broken and still result in good images. What I have attempted to give you here is some quick tips to hopefully help you to improve your image taking.

1. Make it Personal

When photographing people involve sopmething that makes it more personal and about that individual. One of my favourite images shows a little girl in what is to her a very natural environment. Her grandfather breeds and races pigeons and since she could walk she has helped him in the daily tasks of cleaning and feeding them. The photograph shows her with the pigeopn on her lap as she feeds it peanuts. I always look to try and capture images that tell stories and capture a little bit of the true spirit of the person being photographed making it so much more personal.

2. Have Fun

False smiles are hideous and should be banned. Asking someone to smile or say cheese is a last resort. If you want natural smiles and laughs you need to create things for people to smile or laugh about. Personally I much prefer images with people laughing out loud to a posed straightforward Victorian styled portrait.

3. Always be Ready

I always remember a certain portrait session. I had been photographing a family on the beach. The little girl decided she wanted to climb onto a small pier that led out to sea. Luckily I had my camera out and managed to capture a few frames as she crawled along. Had I attempted to set this image up there are a million things that would have got in the way. As luck had it everything went right and a fantastic image was captured.

4. Get in close

Don’t be afraid to get in close and clip the tip of peoples heads out of the frame. Very often it helps the image, giving it a more dramatic approach.

If your camera doesn’t have a zoom facility then move closer physically.

5. Take Photographs Outside

You will get far far better images of young children if you allow them to play. As long as you pick a safe area you can let them run loose and do as they wish leaving you free to concentrate on capturing some magical moments. In my portrait business I take 98% of my images outside. I know this works as I continually receive more and more referral business from happy clients who recognise the joy and happiness in their childs expressions.

6. Catch people unawares

Very often the best images are when people don't realise they are having their photograph taken. I recently shot a portrait session in London of a young couple. The girl had large ties to a market and wanted some atmospheric images. However her partner wasn’t keen to be photographed in public. I solved the problem by using a long lens and concentrated on capturing some totally natural images as they were walking around the market.

7. Change the angle you are shooting from

I always have a change of clothes with me when I am on a shoot because I tend to end up covered in mud. Don’t be afraid to lay on the ground. You will be rewarded by the images you take.

8. Capture natural reactions

Encourage people to react normally as they would every day. One of the joys of my job is taking images of new mums and their babies. I know if I ask mum to get in close to the baby nine times out of ten I will get a totally natural reaction as the baby and mother react to each other. All that is needed is for me to them judge the right time and capture the image.

I find if you ask people to get closer than they would normally do it will cause them to laugh. However this is not the case with teenagers as they see it as uncool to like brothers / sisters so with this age group differant approaches are needed.

9. Consider your background very carefully

The background is as important as the subject you are photographing. Ensure it is pleasing to the eye without distracting away from the image. Some colours are worth avoiding. Red for example will trigger the eye to look at it immediately and drag attention away from the main subject. People far cleverer than me have attempted to explain why (something to do with it being nature’s danger colour). The best thing to do when lining up your photograph is to avoid red altogether.

10. Practise

You can read a million books and visit every website on the planet but I believe there is no substitute to actually doing something and learning by experience. I personally run training days for people who like yourself just want to have a go at a new style of image making. The people who attend have various skill levels but as I place the emphasis on being as low tech as possible they are of use for everybody from the amateur through to the seasoned professional.

11 Be different

Try and do something out of the ordinary. Use your imagination to create images that stand out. If everyone else does a top ten do a top eleven, it will bring more interest guaranteed because it is out of the ordinary.

I wish you luck on your future image making and hope we can talk at some stage in the future.

Have Fun

Article Source: http://www.articleinterchange.com

Martin Wilmott is a highly successful lifestyle photographer based in the UK who undertakes work all over the world. People with an interest in portrait photography can sign up for his free online course at www.martinwilmottphotography.com.

Martin also runs regular portrait classes for people with an interest in his style of work.

Frugal Fridays - DVD Players

2008-06-20T14:09:00.002+10:00

Extend the life of your DVD player (and your game console) by turning it off and taking the disc out when you are not using it. If left on with a disc inside the laser will burn out much faster.

I was wondering why we were going through DVD players so quickly until I found this little secret and now we have had the same player for years :)

If you want some more great frugal tips go and check out the other Frugal Friday participants.

Related Posts -

Frugal Friday - Lower Petrol Costs

Some Friday Link Love!

2008-06-20T13:24:00.002+10:00

I will admit it, I am addicted to my Google Reader. I can't wait to get on the computer and check to see what everyone is blogging about each day!. Here are a few posts that stuck out to me over the last couple of weeks:

Skelliewag posted The Pocket-sized Guide to Blogging
Amy from Split Decisionz posted How to Choose the Right Colors for your Blog
Ali from Divine Domesticity posted a recipe for Banana Split Brownie Pizza
Tay from Super Blogging posted How To Create An eBook Without Spending A Dime

Buttermilk Donuts

2008-06-19T10:45:00.001+10:00

Apparently these donuts are similar to Krispy Kreme donuts.....mmmmm. I'm going to give them a go next week, so I'll be back to let you know my verdict :)

Buttermilk Donuts Recipe

Ingredients

1 tablespoon dry active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons shortening, melted (DO NOT use oil)
3 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2-3 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil for frying
2 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar
1/4 cup milk

Directions

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes.
Add buttermilk, shortening, sugar and 1 1/2 cup flour, baking powder and salt; mix well.
Add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead several times.
Roll dough to 1/2 inch thick and cut with a 2 1/2 inch circle cutter.
Place donuts on lightly floured surface, cover and let rise for 45 minutes or until double in size, or leave in the refrigerator overnight.
Heat 2-3 inches of oil to 375°F.
Drop in 4 or 5 donuts at a time.
Cook about 2 minutes or until lightly golden in color, turning once.
Drain well on paper towels.
Combine 2 1/2 cups icing sugar with 1/4 cup milk, stir until smooth.
Dip each donut in glaze while still warm; allow excess glaze to drip off.
Cool on wire rack or serve warm.

Wordless Wednesday - Chalk Graffiti

2008-06-18T12:53:00.003+10:00

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Come and join me for a $20 challenge and you could win a Paypal credit!

Works For Me Wednesday - Freezing Food Flat

2008-06-18T09:45:00.001+10:00

Freezing food flat works for me. It not only keeps the freezer looking neat and tidy but it also helps to find what you are looking for easily.

What I do is put the food into a zip lock bag, I use the large bags so I fold them in half and lay it in a plastic container. I put the container in the freezer and when the food is frozen solid I take it out of the container and put the bag standing up in the freezer.

That's what works for me :)

Visit Shannon's Blog for more Works For Me Wednesday Tips!

Come and join me for a $20 challenge and you could win a Paypal credit!

Tackle It Tuesday - Games & Craft Cupboard

2008-06-17T09:32:00.001+10:00

My eldest two girls who share a bedroom have been having trouble lately keeping there bedroom clean and tidy and it's all because the cupboard they have in their room where they keep all their games and craft stuff is a mess. There are bits and pieces just shoved in everywhere. So today I am going to spend a little time sorting out the cupboard, throwing away any rubbish and organising it so that the girls have space to put away the things that are lying around on the floor.

Come and join me for a $20 challenge and you could win a Paypal credit!

Weekly To-Do List

2008-06-16T12:44:00.003+10:00

Last Weeks To-Do List

Flylady's Home Blessing Hour
Sort Sophie's wardrobe (remove clothes that she has outgrown)
Mend Chloe's school pants and Clare's school dress
Defrost the freezer
~~Take my car to get a pink slip (it's rego time)~~
Prepare and record a podcast
Make a birthday cake for Rob and Riley
Wrap birthday presents

This Weeks To-Do List

- Defrost the freezer (this is on the list once again - I will do it one of these days :)
- Prepare and record a podcast (I said I was going to do this last week, but never got around to it)
- Make cookies to have in the frrezer
- Plan DD7's birthday party

If you publish your To-Do List on your blog leave your url in my comments and I'll stop by and have a peek :)

$20 Challenge - Week 1

2008-06-16T12:10:00.003+10:00

It is Day 1 of the $20 challenge are you going to join me?

Here are the rules:

The 1st challenge begins today, Monday 16th June 2008 and will run until Sunday 30th June 2008

The idea is to take $20 and purchase items to resell for a profit.

You may buy items from anywhere you like and sell them anywhere you like. It's that simple :) Some examples are, buying from garage sales and reselling on ebay, buying materials from a craft shop, making it into a bag or clothing and selling it at a market stall etc, the list is endless.

The only rule is that you must start with an outlay of $20 (the $20 can be spent on a number of items) and you have 2 weeks to sell the items.

You may take your profit from the first sales and reinvest it to resell again as many times as you like but for the challenge competition only profit made between the beginning and end date will count.

Now for the fun part, for the first Challenge I am going to give the person who can make the most profit a $20 AUS Paypal credit (that's a little over $20 US).

Leave me a comment if you are going to join in and don't forget to come back and let us all know what you are spending you $20 on and how you are going to sell it.

I will post again on the 30th June and we can all share our sucesses then :)

Menu Plan Monday

2008-06-16T12:07:00.003+10:00

Monday
Dinner - Feta Cheese and Bacon Stuffed Breasts, Oriental Rice and Vegetables

Tuesday
Dinner - Taco Stuffed Potatoes and salad

Wednesday
Dinner - Pizza Night

Thursday
Dinner - Curried Meatballs, Oriental Rice and Vegetables
Baking - Carrot Muffins

Friday
Dinner - Pizza Chicken and vegetables

Saturday
Dinner - Crockpot Pumpkin Soup and Toast

Sunday
Dinner - Dinner at Mum and Dads

Thanks to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday. Go and check out more great menus!.

Come and join me for a $20 challenge and you could win a Paypal credit!

KFC Twister and KFC Twister Sauce

2008-06-15T21:47:00.001+10:00

KFC Twister and KFC Twister Sauce

Makes 6 serving

3 tablespoons plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon onion powder
12 boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
Olive oil spray
1 egg white
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 1/2 cup bread crumbs
6 burrito-size (10-inch) low-fat flour tortilla
1 tablespoon KFC Twister Sauce (recipe below)
Shredded iceberg lettuce
2 Diced tomatoes

In a resealable plastic bag, combine flour, pepper, salt and onion powder. Shake to mix well. Add chicken. Shake to completely coat the chicken with the flour mixture. Refrigerate at least 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees C. (475 degrees F.)
Lightly mist a nonstick baking sheet with oil spray.

In a small bowl, combine egg white and milk. Beat with a fork until smooth. Place breadcrumbs in a shallow dish.

Dip one of the chicken tenders into the egg-white mixture, being sure to coat completely. Allow any excess egg white mixture to drip off. Dip into the crumbs to coat completely. Repeat dipping a second time into the egg white mixture and the crumbs. Place on the reserved baking sheet. Continue with the second piece of chicken. Place, not touching, on the baking sheet. Lightly mist both sides with oil spray. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bake 5 minutes. Carefully flip the chicken. Bake 4 to 6 minutes, or until the breading starts to crisp, and the chicken is no longer pink inside.

Meanwhile, preheat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place the tortilla in the skillet. Heat for 1 to 2 minutes per side, or until warm.

Starting at the 9 o'clock position on the tortilla, spread the sauce in an even strip (about 3 inches wide) running across the tortilla, leaving about 1 inch bare at the end of the strip.

Top the sauce-covered area evenly with the lettuce, tomato and chicken. Fold the bare end over the filling ingredients. Roll the tortilla tightly, finishing it seam-side down on the plate. One end of the wrap will remain open.

Note:
Want a Twister on a whim? Bread a few batches of the chicken and freeze it before baking it. When you're ready for your Twister, pop the frozen chicken into a preheated 475-degree F oven for 5 to 7 minutes per side. Keep the Twister Sauce stored in your refrigerator, and you'll be able to assemble the wrap in minutes.

KFC TWISTER SAUCE

(Makes 1/4 cup, enough for 4-6 servings)

1/4 cup plus 1/4 teaspoon light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, sugar and pepper. Stir to blend well. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for up to one month.

Plurk v Twitter

2008-06-14T13:00:00.001+10:00

I have heard a lot of buzz about Plurk lately and to be totally honest I am still undecided about it. There look to be some advantages to Plurk, two differences are that you can follow grouped conversations easily and your contacts can be put into groups or cliques so that you can send out messages to only the cliques that you want to hear you. Both of these have their advantages and I wonder how long it will be before Twitter integrate the same features. I think that for the moment I might just sit back and wait and see :)

Anyway I just watched this YouTube clip from Caroline Middlebrook on her first impressions of Plurk and thought it was worth sharing.

What do you think?. If you already Twitter, do you think you will Plurk as well?

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Join me in a $20 Challenge and Win!

2008-06-13T12:23:00.007+10:00

I am participating in a $20 challenge on a forum and I thought it might be fun to have a challenge for my blogging friends.

So here are the rules:

The 1st challenge begins on Monday 16th June 2008 and will run until Sunday 30th June 2008

The idea is to take $20 and purchase items to resell for a profit.

You may buy items from anywhere you like and sell them anywhere you like. It's that simple :) Some examples are, buying from garage sales and reselling on ebay, buying materials from a craft shop, making it into a bag or clothing and selling it at a market stall etc, the list is endless.

The only rule is that you must start with an outlay of $20 (the $20 can be spent on a number of items) and you have 2 weeks to sell the items.

You may take your profit from the first sales and reinvest it to resell again as many times as you like but for the challenge competition only profit made between the beginning and end date will count.

Now for the fun part, for the first Challenge I am going to give the person who can make the most profit a $20 AUS Paypal credit (that's a little over $20 US).

If you are interested in joining me for this challenge leave me a comment and then come back on Monday for the first Challenge post.

Frugal Friday - Lower Petrol Costs

2008-06-13T11:58:00.004+10:00

With petrol prices hitting an all time high it is good to know that there are ways we can lower our petrol usage and therefore our petrol costs.

Here are a few tips to try:

Be gentle on the accelerator - increase your speed slowly.
No heavy braking - brake early and slowly.
If possible remove roof racks.
Empty your boot (trunk) of unnecessary weight.
Don't tailgate - it forces you on and off the accelerator and brake. Leave enough room in front of you so you can control your speed with just the accelerator.
Keep your tyres properly inflated.
Don't use air conditioning if you don't have to.

If you want some more great frugal tips go and check out the other Frugal Friday participants.

Come and join me for the $20 challenge and you could win a Paypal credit!

I Have Just Been Paid My First $20

2008-06-11T16:53:00.003+10:00

Put your hand up if you have heard of Project Wonderful!

For everyone left without their hands in the air (are your family members wondering why you are sitting at your computer with your arm in the air?) Project Wonderful has reinvented online advertising. They have made click fraud impossible. They give advertisers the power to choose what sites their ads appear on - and publishers the freedom to choose what ads show up on their sites. They don't have absurdly high minimum-payout levels. And they have made the entire online advertising experience transparent, trustworthy, and fair - as well as more profitable, for everyone involved and they have paid me my first $20. I actually having it sitting in my Paypal account right this very minute.

I have been with PW for a few months (I can't remember exactly when I started up with them) and I know that $20 isn't a great deal of money for a couple of months, but honestly I put the ad code on my blog and haven't done anything since. So $20 for not doing anything isn't to bad really :)

Wordless Wednesday - 5 of a Kind

2008-06-11T09:25:00.005+10:00

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Works For Me Wednesday - Shower Timer

2008-06-11T09:24:00.000+10:00

I tend to spend to long in the shower. It's my own personal little sanctuary away from the world, so when I get in there, I don't want to get out. This is not a good thing when I am needing to get the girls off to school in the morning and it's not good for our environment (Australia is currently in drought and we have water restrictions) so I have found that using a timer helps. I set the timer for between 5 and 10 minutes depending on what I need to wash and when it goes off I get out.

It's also great to make the kids have quick showers. So that's what work for me :)

Visit Shannon's Blog for more Works For Me Wednesday Tips!

Sustainable Living and Frugality Go Hand In Hand

2008-06-10T21:52:00.002+10:00

I was reading Jess' blog post at Sustainable Suburbia on 10 Simple Steps Towards Sustainability. It got me thinking about what I do and what I could be doing better to live a more environmentally friendly life and as I was thinking about these different environmentally friendly habits I realised that they more than often go hand in hand with the frugal habits I have been trying to establish in my day to day life, for example:

I like nothing better than to have a nice long hot shower. It's my time out, generally the kids will leave me alone and I enjoy the sauna like atmosphere and the hypnotic and soothing sound and feel of the water, but over the last couple of years while our country has been in drought these showers have become few and far between for me. I started to cure myself of my long shower addiction by setting a timer first for 15 minutes and then 10 minutes and most days I am in and out of the shower now in 5 minutes. It has been a weening process of sorts but one that not only benefits our environment but also my bank balance.

I grow my own lettuce and herbs. Ok it's not much but it's a step in the right direction and again it is helping the planet and saving us money.

I have started to get quite good at turning off lights and appliances that are not in use. This includes the washing machine, dryer (I turned it off permanently but more about that later), the dishwasher, toaster, tv's, dvds, and computers. Again this is helping to cut down the carbon that my family is contributing to the world and my power bill is going to look so much healthier for it.

I have been making smarter decisions in regards to what I buy and more to the point what I don't buy. My clothes dryer died just last week. I had been running the poor thing all day after having a few days of rain here and it decided that it had had enough. Thick black smoke started pouring out of it, so the only thing we could do was put it out into the back yard, unfortunately we don't have any covering in the back yard so the poor smoking dryer had to be left out in the rain. Anyway instead of rushing out to buy a new dryer and believe me I had visions of purchasing a nice big dryer that would dry a whole 8kg load of washing in one go, I decided to make do with out one. It means that I am going to have to be more organised and wash clothes more often so that the kids always have clean and dry uniforms and sports uniforms when they need them and it also means that when we have rainy days (like we are having at the moment) I am going to have to turn my dining room into a chinese laundry (honestly I have clothes on hangers hanging off my curtain rail and I have a makeshift clothes hanging rack made from a broom suspended between two dining rooms chairs.... it's very classy. But it works, my clothes are drying and it isn't costing me any money and it is not impacting the environment.

I am not using my car as much as I had been. I am planning my trips, so that I can get two or three errands done at once, rather than going out on two or three separate occasions. With the price of petrol about to tip $1.70 a litre this is going to be saving us a lot of money .

I have been composting our waste. This is helping to reduce the amount of landfill that my family is contributing to the planet and is saving me money by not having to purchase fertilisers and potting mix etc for my garden.

I am by no means living a fully sustainable life nor do I think I ever will be, there are times when I slip up and use plastic bags, leave a light on all day while we are out of the house or have a 20 minute shower but I am trying to change a lifetime of habits and teach my children better habits that will benefit the environment and our families finances.

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Roasted Tomato Soup with Toast Stars

2008-06-10T17:02:00.002+10:00

Ingredients (serves 6)
1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1kg vine-ripened tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp caster sugar
600ml vegetable stock
100g alphabet or risoni pasta
2 slices toast

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
Heat oil in a shallow ovenproof casserole, add onion and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes or until softened. Add tomatoes, garlic, and sugar, and season well with salt and pepper. Roast uncovered in oven for 20 minutes, then allow mixture to cool. Puree in a blender, adding a little of the stock if the mixture is too thick. Return to pan and add remaining stock. Bring to the boil, add pasta and simmer for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cut stars from toast slices with a star cutter, and serve with soup.

Image and recipe source: Taste.com.au

Weekly To-Do List

2008-06-09T08:00:00.004+10:00

Last Weeks To-Do List

Flylady's Home Blessing Hour
Sort bedroom drawer (It's full of papers that need to be filed)
Sort Sophie's wardrobe (remove clothes that she has outgrown)
Mend Chloe's school pants and Clare's school dress
Weed the vegetable (or should I say lettuce) garden
Change Caitie and Riley's sheets and quilt covers
Change mobile phone billing to paperless
Defrost the freezer

This Weeks To-Do List

Flylady's Home Blessing Hour
Sort Sophie's wardrobe (remove clothes that she has outgrown)
Mend Chloe's school pants and Clare's school dress
Defrost the freezer
Take my car to get a pink slip (it's rego time)
Prepare and record a podcast
Make a birthday cake for Rob and Riley
Wrap birthday presents

If you publish your To-Do List on your blog leave your url in my comments and I'll stop by and have a peek :)

Menu Plan Monday

2008-06-09T07:53:00.003+10:00

This week is my non grocery shopping week, so this is the week that I try to use up what is in the fridge, freezer and pantry.

Monday
Lunch - Birthday Celebration Lunch at Lone Star Steakhouse
Dinner - Cheese on toast or something light and easy after having a big lunch

Tuesday
Dinner - Crumbed Fish, chips and streamed vegetables

Wednesday
Dinner - Shepherds Pie and steamed vegetables

Thursday - Rob and Rileys Birthdays
Dinner - Rileys choice - more than likely McDonalds
Baking - Chocolate coconut friands with chocolate fudge sauce

Friday
Dinner - Spiced lentil & Vegetable Soup and Quick & Easy Dinner Rolls - I didn't make this last week.

Saturday
Dinner - Cheese on Toast

Sunday
Dinner - Family Dinner at my parents house

Thanks to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday. Go and check out more great menus!.

Another 30 Day Challenge

2008-06-07T08:33:00.003+10:00

But this one isn't of the weight loss variety!!!!

I just wanted to quickly tell you all about an online course that I am involved in this year. It’s called the 30 Day Challenge and basically it’s an online course that shows you how to make your first $10 online. They show you step by step how to start your own internet business and start earning money online. The course is now running in it's 4th year and has helped many people create their own businesses. Some have even made their first million! Don't be fooled this IS NOT a get rich program and you are actually going to have to do some work but the course is totally free so if you have a little spare time why not give it a go!.

Who is this course for? The course is for beginners that have no knowledge of internet marketing or people who want to learn a little more.

The course starts on 1st August 2008 but they are currently running pre-season lessons to help you get familiar with the tools that they will be using in the challenge.

If you are interested and sign up for the 30 Day Challenge leave me a comment and we can form a team. Apparently teams are important in the whole process!

30 Day Weight Loss Challenge

2008-06-05T21:22:00.002+10:00

I just read about this challenge on Tina's Blog. The Domestic Diva is holding a 30 day weight loss challenge. I wrote a little while back about my weight loss roller coaster ride and I think that this challenge may just be the thing that pushes me to get started.

So anyway today is day 1 (actually technically yesterday was day 1 but because of the time difference I will be starting today - Thursday and weighing in each Thursday)

My Starting weight is 73kg (160lbs)

My Goal weight for this challenge is 68kg (149lbs)

13 Things I Love About the Internet

2008-06-05T13:26:00.000+10:00

My Thursday Thirteen today is 13 Things I Love About the Internet:

Email - I can contact family and friends no matter what time of the night or day and no matter where in the world they live.
eBay - Allows me to make a little extra spending money.
Blogging - Allows me to get stuff off my chest and out of my head, as well as allowing me to meet and connect with other great bloggers.
Facebook - Allows me to reconnect with old friends as well as keeping in touch with family and friends.
Forums - Helps me connect with other people that have things in common with me.
Recipes - I can always find the recipe for anything I want to cook.
Sharing photos with friends and family
Sharing videos with friends and family
Friendships - I have made many new friends over the internet
Instant Messengers - Allows me to talk instantly to family and friends
iTunes - Lets me download my favourite podcasts
Google - I can find everything about anything.
Kids Activities - I can find games and printables to keep the kids occupied and me sane :)

Wordless Wednesday - My Baby Has a Boo Boo!

2008-06-04T09:55:00.002+10:00

Sophie ran into the wall last night and hit her head on the corner of the door way, poor little Bubba Boo!

Head over to 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday to see more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Works For Me Wednesday - Foam Shapes

2008-06-04T09:00:00.000+10:00

This weeks Works For Me Wednesday theme is the "Mum I'm bored" theme!

Every school holidays I get a huge packet of foam shapes - similar to the ones shown below. They can be bought really cheaply and they keep my kids entertained for hours. The younger kids like to simply glue them on to paper and the older kids like to make intricate patterns with the different foam shapes. I usually lay a plastic tablecloth over the table, poor the shapes in the middle, give them plenty of paper and glue and let them go for it. It keeps them occupied for hours.

Another idea especially good for when the weather is warmer is to give each child a small bucket or bowl of water and a paint brush and send them outside to paint the path or the fence. It's lots of fun and there isn't any cleaning up involved :)

Visit Shannon's Blog for more Works For Me Wednesday Tips!