Green Juice

I'm experimenting with juicing and today I made the best green juice and some how fluked the perfect mix. If you have a great green juice recipe can you please share below. 

Today I used, 1 apple, 1 kiwi fruit, half a lemon- adding 1slice to the bender with the skin and juice, a really good handful of English spinach, about a 2 inch piece of cucumber, 1/2 cup of ice and 1/2 cup of water. Perfect! 

I like to use my kitchenAid blender! 

Even little miss 2 loved the green juice. Great way to get lots of goodness into her diet.

I must say I was scared of green juice but it really is so good!

Share your recipes if you can. Enjoy!

Pancakes

I know we all have a recipe for pancakes and really I think maybe I'm taking simple and easy to the extreme ...... I have used this recipe for as long as I can remember and it never fails.  Great for Saturday mornings when I have more time on my hands. Nevertheless I just had to share.

You'll need

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 egg

1 tsp of vanilla

2 cups of self raising flour

1/4 tsp of bicarbonate of soda

1/3 cup of sugar 

Melted butter

Method

1. Combine milk, egg and vanilla and whisk in a medium size jug.

2. In a mixing bowl combine flour, bicarbonate of soda and sugar.

3. Make well in centre of flour mixture, add milk mixture and whisk until well combined.

4. Heat non stick pan  on medium and brush with butter. 

5. Using large spoon, spoon in mixture and cook for 3 mins or until bubbles appear. Turn and cook for another 3 minutes or until cooked.

* remember to brush pan with butter between batches

The great thing about this recipe is you can add anything to the mixture, blueberries, banana, chocolate chips and the list goes on.

Enjoy! 

CHRISTMAS WHITE CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD TRUFFLES

Ok, so I am starting to think about Christmas treats and I think having something that is not rum balls and white Christmas for a change is great! Last year I was given this recipe but can't remember who gave it to me. I made these super easy, only three ingredients and addictive gingerbread truffles for end of year school celebrations and to give as a small christmas gift. They were a big hit! 

What you'll need

2 packets of arnotts ginger nut biscuits 

250g of white chocolate 

250g of Philadelphia cream cheese

Coconut to sprinkle on top of truffle, to look like snow or/

   Crushed candy canes sprinkled on top of truffle

Method

1. Process biscuits in processor, very finely.

2. Add cream cheese, process well.

3. Roll dough into small bite size balls.

4. Melt white chocolate, using a double boiler or the microwave. If you decide to use the microwave melt on medium heat for 1 minute, stir and melt for a further 30 seconds,  repeat if needed.

5. Use a skewer to make dipping the balls in the chocolate easy and less messy. Cover completely in chocolate and place on a tray lined with baking paper. At this stage sprinkle with decorations while still wet.

6. Place in the fridge until ready to wrap or plate and serve.

These little treats are not to overly sweet, they are just so perfectly scrumptious! They look truly gorgeous put in clear cello bags and tied with a festive ribbon. 

Enjoy! 

Daily Planner

I'm a list writer and planner. I love crossing jobs off my daily list. I have daily job lists, monthly and yearly .  I have found a great daily planner at my new favourite shop, Typo! It has a daily goal list, appointment list, notes section, it also has a workout section but I use that for our daily menu plan. It has a daily star rating, weather, glasses of water I've drank, fruit/veg I've eaten and the section the kids like to check ' My stress levels are'.

I feel like it is keeping me more organised and I can keep on top of all the kids appointments and activities and it's all written on the one page! 

How do you all plan your busy days? 

My little ray of sunshine

She makes us laugh! 

Risotto

One of our family favourite meals. I have wanted to share this meal for such a long time. One of my very dear friends gave me this recipe after the twins were born and I had three children under two, she could see my need for fast and easy recipes. Well as this family has grown it has certainly become a regular around here and a huge favourite. The variety of combinations you can use when making risotto is endless.

This recipe is not made the traditional way, if it was I just wouldn't have time to make risotto. As I have mentioned before I need to create yummy meals fast and they need to be easy. Nights can be very hectic when you have seven to cook for. The method used makes a beautiful risotto. 

I hope you try this recipe and enjoy it as much as we do.

For this weeks dinner I made it with a seafood marinara and cream combo.

You will need a Microwave for this recipe. I think maybe this recipe is the only time I use my microwave. 

 What you'll need

Risotto base

2 cups of arborio rice

1 medium onion

2 tbsp of butter

1/2 cup of white wine

1 litre of stock

125g of Parmesan cheese

Pepper

Seafood Marinara Combination

1 kg Seafood Marinara mix

400ml cream 

Olive oil

1 bunch of Dill

Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Melt butter in microwave on high for 1 minute.

2. Add chopped onion to melted butter and cook for 2minutes.

3. Add rice and white wine to butter and onion mix and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add stock to mixture and cook for 8 minutes. 

     a. When stock and rice mixture is cooking in microwave, on your stove top heat olive oil on medium

          /high and add seafood mixture to pan.

      b. Cook seafood well, add Aspargus, mix through dill, pepper and cream. 

      c. Turn heat to low and keep an eye on cream so it doesn't separate.

5. Stir rice and stock mixture and cook in microwave for a further 10 minutes.

6. Remove from microwave and stir through Parmesan cheese and pepper.

7. Finally, stir through seafood marinara cream mixture and serve.

# This made enough for 8 serves. 

You have to love a risotto with no continual stirring, always good when you have a two year old wanting to be held during dinner prep. 

ENJOY! 

Salads

Well, I was sent a email during the week from a lovely reader Angela wanting some recipes for salads that I had posted on Instagram last week. The salads are super easy and oh so yum! As I have mentioned before with four children and many activities and homework I need for dinner to be super fast, healthy and EASY!  Of course it helps when the younger people in this crazy house love them to.

I hope you enjoy it! ..... skip the shop bought dressings and try making your own, they are always so much better and way more economical. 

Four bean salad

1 -2 cans of four bean mix

1 cucumber diced

1 punnet of cherry tomatoes or 2 large tomato diced

1 large carrot diced 

1 medium red onion finely diced

Dressing

2 tablespoons of olive oil ....optional

1 tablespoons of balsamic or white wine vinegar

1 clove of garlic crushed 

Salt and pepper

1/4 of a bunch of coriander roughly chopped

1. Rinse four bean mix and add to large salad bowl.

2. Chop the rest of the ingredients and add to bowl.

3. Mix dressing ingredients, taste, adjust as needed, now add to salad.

Rustic Parsley, Spinach and Tomato Salad

1 bunch of parsley

150g of English spinach leaves

2 tomatoes diced

1/2 bunch of shallots 

1/2 cucumber diced

1 red onion diced

Dressing

1 lemon 

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove of garlic crushed

Salt and pepper

1. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Make dressing in a small jug or jar and whisk together, taste and adjust as needed, now add to salad. 

Any questions just leave a message!