Out and About

Welcome,

It's been a few weeks since my last post.  Since then, we've had school term holidays where the boys and I had fun catching up with friends we don't get to see very often.  We got out and about when the weather was fine enough.  I'm also sure there was a PJ day in there somewhere...

My love of the outdoors is rubbing off on the boys...finally!!  I would rather be outside on a nice day, and the boys enjoy getting outside exploring too.  To keep costs down, we take a packed lunch, drinks and fruit to munch on in picnic style.  If there are BBQs available we take a pack of sausages and some bread - lunch done!

We've been to Point Cook Coastal Park, the YouYangs, Trentham and most recently Malmsbury.  Next on our list of places to visit are Hanging Rock, Mount Macedon, Lerderderg State Park and Werribee Gorge.   Lerdergerg Stage Park is one of my favourite places to visit, so much to see and do, and in summer a swim in the waterhole refreshes everyone.  I have a long list of places to discover with the boys.

I have recently joined Instagram and there is one person I follow who put the outdoors into perfect words, not sure if they wrote it or if it was a quote...didn't specify:

"In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect." - so true.

The YouYangs - great spot, so many different tracks to hike along.

The boys on Big Rock (yep, that's what its called) then at the top of Flinder's Peak...that was a great hike to the top!
So many photographic moments....

On the way to Flinder's Peak, then from the top of Flinder's Peak
At Trentham, boys took a liking to this old man....
And Trentham waterfall...beautiful.

The Viaduct in  Malmsbury...its so beautiful you feel like you're looking at a painting when you first come upon it.  Classified 'A' by the National Trust, the Viaduct is the largest stone bridge span in the Southern Hemisphere and took just one year to build. Construction began in 1859 and was completed on 24 October 1860.  It contains nearly 4000 cubic metres of bluestone from a nearby quarry.  It has five spans of 18.3 metres.  The maximum height above the valley floor is 25 metres. The railway line officially opened in 1862.

And of course, boys will be boys!!

Enjoy your day and thank you for stopping by,

 Carolyn

Living The Dream

Welcome,

Do you have those days/weeks etc when you are getting lots done, but feel like you were getting nowhere in a hurry?  Last week, it felt like I was playing catch up all week.  It didn't help that I also had a cold, which was probably slowing me down a bit.

I did gather enough energy to make a canvas for my mum's neighbour.  Herself and husband escaped their country of origin, to start a new life in Australia.  She is not the first I had met that escaped from the same country.  Through a friend I have also met two lovely young women restarting their lives here as well.  To hear their stories of what they went through and what would have happened to them if they remained is heartbreaking and certainly opens your eyes to tolerance and acceptance.  I sometimes think we take it for granted how blessed we are to live in a country that offers democracy, freedom of speech, religion and supports the rights of humans.  Australia really is a lucky country, and this is where they can start over "living the dream".

What do you think?  What is your dream?


Below are some cards I also made using the same design style... very versatile!!

*****

Do you remember the humble pastie?  I have found a recipe that turns the humble old pastie into a slab! That's right, a pastie slab!!  For mums of fussy little eaters, the great thing about this recipe is that you can hide the vegetables!  As my boys are older, I don't need to hide the vegies (except the mushrooms) Shhhh, don't tell Gabriel...
Another advantage is you can use whatever vegetables you have on hand.

Pastie Slab

Ingredients:
4 sheets puff pastry
1kg sausage mince
1 egg, beaten
1½ cups grated tasty cheese
Diced Vegetables*, as much or little as you like

*Vegetables I used: celery, potato, carrots, mushrooms, pumpkin, spring onion, brown onion, frozen peas and frozen corn kernels

Preheat oven to 180°C. Line a baking dish with baking paper.
Finely dice vegetables, or to hide them, blitz them in a blender and cook until tender. Allow to cool slightly.  
In a bowl, mix vegetables, sausage mince and cheese until well combined. 
Line the baking dish with 2 sheets of pastry, making sure it comes up to the sides of dish.
Pour in combined sausage, vegetable and cheese mixture and pat down with the back of a spoon to even out.
Top with remaining pastry and brush with beaten egg.
Cook for 40-45mins or until pastry is golden brown.
Enjoy!!

My boys, the young and old ones, including myself  love this recipe!!  

What recipes do you have that are great at hiding vegetables?


Enjoy your week and thank you for stopping by.

 Carolyn

Bargains, Baking & Beautiful Things.

Welcome,

It seems we have four seasons in one day today.  Currently the sun is out and our backyard is glistening after a short burst of rain.

School is closed today, so this gave me an opportunity to spend more time with my boys.  It has been a relatively relaxing day....a quick trip to the shops this morning, then back home to chill out together.

Our trip to the shops was specific...I was after this weeks sale items at NQR.  It's great to stock up on goods that can be frozen when they're on sale, as well as pantry fillers.

We stocked up on:

5 boxes of battered fish fillets 6 fillets per box
3 tubs of 1kg margarine
1kg of chunky chips (oven fries)
and of course the boys got a 500mL bottle each of creaming soda

All of this came to a total of: $19.90! Bargain!






Having done a large grocery shop over the weekend, our fridge, pantry and freezer are now well stocked.

Over the weekend I was also looking through one of my old handwritten recipe books.  I came across a simple savoury muffin recipe.  We had some ham in the fridge that need to be used up, so for something different, I decided to make some for our Sunday lunch.

Simple Savoury Muffins

Makes 12 average size muffins

2 cups Self Raising flour
2 cups grated cheese
2 cups milk

Preheat oven to 180°C
Add flour and cheese to bowl, mix in milk, pour into greased muffin tray. 
Bake for 30 minutes.  Enjoy!
Let your imagination run wild with additional ingredients.  We used ham, corn kernels, spring onions and a pinch of chicken stock powder.
You could use capsicum, grated carrot, pineapple, salami, olives, mushrooms....the list goes on....

*****

On a different note, my cousin is getting married next month, so I decided to make them something for their special day.

The E & D represents their initials.... Eleanor and Daniel.
I also made a card to go with it.

....and finally I also made a card to go with the "wish it, dream it, do it" canvas that I added to last weeks blog post.

What did you get up to on the weekend?  
Do you have any easy recipes you would like to share?  Would love to hear from you.
Enjoy your week and......

Thank you for stopping by.

 Carolyn

Long Weekend

Welcome,

We have just had a long weekend to celebrate the Queen's Birthday.  It was an extra long weekend for myself and the boys as their school had a student free day yesterday allowing their teachers a full day of report writing.

The boys got to spend a full 3 days with their father and 1 full day with their mum.

Brad and I had a quiet day at home on Saturday and headed out to Chapel service Sunday morning, ended up staying until lunchtime, having a cuppa, catching up with the rest of the congregation and helping out in the 'Welcome Garden'.  The rest of the day was spent mowing lawns, walking the dog and playing Yahtzee!! Love that game!!

Monday morning Brad had planned to go fishing....the weather was perfect for an early start.  I decided to join him and take the opportunity to photograph the area. Unfortunately no fish were caught.  We both had a wonderful time though!

Brad fishing....

....while I enjoy a walk

Perfect morning!

Enjoying the view

The beach has so much to offer photo-wise

Love the scenery....

There is beauty everywhere

Water awaits

Pelicans lapping up the sun

Best of both worlds....the beach is across the road!

As the weather was mild for a winter's day it gave the boys and I an opportunity to spend time out and about.  We drove out to our local Coastal Park, another one of our favourite places to visit. There is so much to do and see.  So with lunches, snacks and of course the football packed we headed out.

Skimming shells!

Will it skim the water???

Which track would you take?

So many things to do and see....

What did you get up to on the weekend?

Finally, I found a super easy focaccia recipe for the slow cooker.  This is a great addition to any meal.  The best thing is that you can use whatever toppings you like.  Let your imagination run wild!

Slow Cooker Focaccia 

Ingredients:
3 cups Self Raising flour
2 cups warm water
½ teaspoon salt

Toppings:
Your choice!! (we used chilli, cheese and bacon)

• Line slow cooker with baking paper.
• Mix flour, water and salt together.  Don't overwork.  I used a spatula and mixed only until all combined.
• Pour into slow cooker and top with toppings.
• Place tea-towel under lid to prevent condensation settling on focaccia.
• Cook on high for 1½ hours.
• Enjoy!!

Note: I use a 6L slow cooker, so cooking times will vary depending on size.  I also added some of my topping ingredients to the base mixture.  (Add these to flour before adding water to prevent over mixing.)

What ingredients would/have you used?

Would love to see your focaccia...send me a photo!!  

Thank you for stopping by,

 Carolyn