Garlic and Chilli Focaccia

 recipes  4 Responses »
Jan 212012
 

Thought I would put my breadmaker to use when on Friday night I had Drew, Sam and his friend from the UK home for Dinner – Homemade Pizza and Garlic and Chilli Focaccia!

I couldn’t find any recipes using fresh minced garlic – so I created my own recipe!

Ingredients:
500grms Pizza & Focaccia Bread Flour
4grms Dried Yeast
330mls Lukewarm Water
2 Tablespoons Minced Garlic
3 teaspoons Chilli Powder
2 tablespoons of Garlic Olive Oil (or any flavoured Olive Oil you have or just plain Olive Oil)

Instructions
Place Flour, Yeast and Water in Breadmaker – Select Pizza (if no Pizza setting use Dough).
Once finished, place in large bowl and allow to rise for 20 minutes.
Add 1 tablespoon Mince Garlic, 2 teaspoons Chilli Powder.
Mix into the dough well.
Allow to rise for 35-40 minutes (or until doubled in size).
Knead dough down and press with lightly oiled/floured hands into a well oiled jelly-roll pan (15 x 17 inch pan) and allow to rise, cover lightly with teatowel, for 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
Dimple dough with your fingers, drizzle with Garlic Olive Oil and spread over the dough.
Sprinkle remaining Chilli Powder and Minced Garlic.
Bake for 25-30 minutes (checking after 20 minutes you might need to rotate tray) until Golden Brown
Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.

About to go out of date Pizza and Focaccia Flour.

Just out of the Breadmaker

Allowed to rise and Garlic and Chilli added.

All mixed in

Allowed to rise again

Spread onto pan

Dimpled

Olive Oil added with Mince and Chilli

 Baked in oven – Picture doesn’t do it justice

Golden Brown and fluffy!

Eat with Pizza!

This is my Chilli Jam, Chicken, Salami, Sweetcorn, Bocochini & Chedder Cheese with Mushrooms Pizza.. pre-oven!

Recipe: Chicken Meatballs

 Baby Led Feeding, recipes  2 Responses »
Jan 172012
 

I’ve just popped oven baked chicken meatballs in the oven 
Great for BLF and freezer friendly!
Perfect for a snack or quick spag bol :) 


Ingredients:
500grm Chicken Mince
1 small very finely chopped onion
1/2 cup Cheese (I use Colby for BLF – but Parmasen is great for parties!)
1/2 cup Bread Crumbs (someone said Gluten Free Cornflour works well too)
1 Egg lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon Minced Garlic
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Mixed Herbs (dried or fresh if u have it!)


Instructions:
Preheat oven 180c – line 2 trays with baking paper
Put everything in a big bowl and use your hands to really mix it together.
Roll into small bitesize balls and place on tray
Bake for 20-25 minutes pending size until golden brown.


Notes:
Chill in the fridge until cool and freeze on tray, then place in ziplock bags.
Defrost in fridge.

 Add Chicken Mince, Cheese, Breadcrumbs and Egg
Add Herbs and Spices
Mix together
 Form into bitesize balls and place in oven on baking paper
Take out when golden brown

6 Things To Do Before/After Every Morning Shower

 General  19 Responses »
Jan 172012
 
Ok I looked in the mirror the other day and saw a big bushy eyebrow. 
Not two.. ONE!! 
And I am not a ‘hairy’ person! 
It had been about 6 weeks since I last went and got them waxed, let alone plucked! I was surprised Drew hadn’t said anything!!


Until three years ago, I had what I call my sexy mojo. Having to be prim and proper for the London Corporate World, and then when you head to the pub and clubs in the evenings, I always looked my best. 

That all went out the window when I became a mother, I often leave the house with no makeup, severely unplucked eyebrows, messy hair and sometimes even clothes with baby stains down them, without even realising I look a mess. 


It wasn’t until I discovered the 6 things to do everyday, that I realised I needed to put this practice into what I do before/after the morning shower! Because it will only take 2 minutes!

So this is my list I figured I need to do every day! 



6 Things To Do Before/After Every Morning Shower

1. Do you need to shave your legs. Check before you get in the shower, if there is more than 3 days before you are going out on the town (and getting your legs out) to shave your legs. If not, leave them until the day otherwise you may end up with red bumps by shaving your legs when the hair is so small.

2. Shave underarms every day. Getting into this habit means that you know where ever you are you can lift your arms up in the air and wave them like you just don’t care!

3. Wash your face and body with a daily scrub. This helps clear the blackheads and get rid of dead skin.

4. Check if your eyebrows need plucking. You will get in a habit of checking and ensuring that stray hair is plucked! It will save you a fortune at the salon. 

5. Moisturise your face and body. Making sure you moisturise your face and body when you get out of the shower (especially after you shave your legs) will ensure that you don’t leave the house with dry scaley skin on show! I am proned to dry flakey skin if I don’t moisturise! Preferably with a min 20+ factor sunscreen in it. 
Tinted Moisturiser is always good because if you make an unexpected dash to the shops, you know you have a little bit of makeup on! 


6. Spray a little perfume on. I have so many bottles I’ve collected over the years, I am sure they would have an expiry date. So use them up and smell pretty all day! 
(Also a great excuse for hubby to buy you new ones at birthday/christmas when he has no clue what to get you!)
Now I have printed this out and stuck it up in the bathroom, and both Drew and Sam (our friend from the UK) have laughed at me.. But if Drew wants me to get my sexy mojo back, it all starts in the bathroom! 

Have you checked out my Six things to do every day – Martha Stewart Style?




Linking up with Jess from Diary of a SAHM for IBOT.
Linking up with The Organised Housewife for Link It, Love It, Like It.

6 things to do every day – Martha Stewart Style

 General  14 Responses »
Jan 112012
 

I have currently been bitten by the Martha Stewart bug.. after going to a craft store to pick out my wedding invitation paper, and chatting to the sales assistant about Martha Stewart and her crafts (and the love of spending the credit card at Macy’s in New York on all her products..) she reminded me of the 6 things to do everyday. 
Something so simple that even I .. self proclaimed unorganised housefiance, can do. 
1. Make the Bed
Tidiness begets tidiness. A crisply made bed makes the whole room seem more orderly, which makes it less likely that you’ll let other things — such as clothes and papers — pile up around it.

2. Manage Clutter
Whenever you leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that isn’t where it should be. Pick it up and put it where it belongs. Insist that everyone in the household do the same.

3. Sort the Mail
Take a few minutes to open, read, and sort mail as soon as you bring it inside. Keep a trash bin near your sorting area for junk mail. Drop other mail into one of four in-boxes: personal correspondence, bills, catalogs, and filing.

4. Clean as You Cook
Instead of filling the sink with pots and dishes, wash them or put them in the dishwasher as you prepare a meal.

5. Wipe Up Spills While They’re Fresh
Whether it’s tomato sauce on the cooktop or makeup on the bathroom counter, almost anything is faster and easier to remove if you attend to it immediately.

6. Sweep the Kitchen Floor
Every evening once you’ve finished washing up after dinner, sweep the floor. This will keep tough-to-clean dirt and grime from building up, which will make the weekly mopping much quicker.



Now I KNOW I can do this. So this is now my regular routine. I have even printed it out and put it on our kitchen cupboard, so when Drew gets home, he can ask me if I have done the 6 things today and if not why not! I want to be more active, and since I have been a rubbish housefiance for the last 3 years.





Drew never asked if I was a housewife type person.. he is definitely better at this job than I am..! but I am learning and slowly getting better.. Motivation is the key.. Keeping Drew happy is definitely another key.. and making myself happy and proud of what I do each day is the most important thing when it comes to my housework.


Update: As Vanessa has mentioned in her comment: Yes I think the lounge would be left until the end of the day – due to toys and crawling babies!! :) But as long as I wake up to a tidy house, I think I will be happy!


My list of Things to do before and after a morning shower.

 Older Entries