WE ARE HITTING THE ROAD

Hubby and I are packing our bags and heading off on an adventure without the teens.
Lets repeat the shall we WITHOUT THE TEENS.

We are taking our chances, leaving the mild Queensland Winter weather behind us and heading south into the not so mild, rather freezing temperatures of Melbourne.

Can you believe that we have never been there ?
Can you also believe that we are driving, all the way from Mackay ?

I have been spending the past week or so scouring the shops, looking for "appropriate" clothing. Living where we do, it has almost been a "mission impossible" look out Tom Cruise  to find clothes that will be warm enough. So as I have only been able to find a few pieces to fit the "warm" criteria, we are just going to have to layer up...

Look out Nikki I will be stalking your blog this week for all your tips :)

So as we continue to prepare our for our journey south, and I continue to stock the fridge for the teens being left behind to fend for themselves, I was rather hoping that one of my lovely Melbourne readers, or anyone who has had the pleasure of being a guest in the beautiful state of Victoria, may be able to point us in the right direction of the "must see sights" for first time visitors pretty please, it would be very much appreciated.

beck xx

for those of you who are not familiar with our family and are concerned that we are leaving our teens at home, our eldest son is 22 and the boys Grandparents are not very far and will be stopping by often. 

MONDAY MUNCHIES - Zucchini Slice

ZUCCHINI SLICE

Full to the brim of veggies, this zucchini slice packs a punch on the flavour scale. The dish is delicious both warm and cold, and is even better made the night before.

INGREDIENTS

*2 whole eggs
*3 egg whites
*2 cups of grated zucchini
*1 cup of grated carrot
*diced celery
*1 large onion diced
*1 cup of frozen corn kernals
*1 large chopped tomato
*3/4 cup self raising flour
*1 cup grated cheese

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

In a large bowl, beat the whole eggs and the whites well.

Add all the other ingredients and 2/3 of the cheese. Mix well.

Spoon the mixture into a greased quiche dish and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy

beck xx

MONDAY MUNCHIES - Easy Lemon Tart

Easy Lemon Tart

Lemons, simply the best. I am never without them, and always looking for new and delicious ways to use them.

This easy lemon tart was literally whipped up in minutes and the end result was fantastic.

INGREDIENTS

Pastry                                                                                Lemon Filling

*75 grams of butter                                                           *3 eggs
*4 tablespoons icing sugar                                                *200 grams caster sugar
*125 grams plain flour                                                      *1 tablespoon lemon rind
                                                                                           *4 tablespoons lemon juice
                                                                                           *3 tablespoons plain flour
                                                                                         

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 160 degrees.

Pastry - Beat the butter and the icing sugar until well combined. Add the flour and beat until the mixture looks like crumbs then kneed into a dough.

Stretch dough into a greased tart pan pricking the base with a fork, bake for 10 minutes, remove and let cool.

Filling - Combine eggs, sugar, zest, lemon juice and flour. Mix until smooth in texture.

Pour mixture into the cooled based and bake in oven for 15 minutes or until filling is firm.

Enjoy and have a wonderful Monday.

beck xx

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS - WINTER 2015

I can't remember the last time our temperature hit single figures here in Mackay. The last few mornings, we have hit a low of between 7 and 9 degrees. Time to dig out those warmer PJ 's and cozy slippers. Normally I am a lover of hot weather, but after such a long, extremely hot and tiring Summer, this Winter chill is very munch welcome.

There are so many things to enjoy at this time of year.
And these are a few of my favourite things.....

Last month I cut all our rose bushes back, hacked them really, but its done them the world of good and both are full of blooms again putting on a real show. There is nothing like masses of flowers to brighten the cold chilli days.

I'm loving how the afternoon sunlight is filling my front hallway, bouncing off some of my favourite household items.

And my very favourite thing about Winter....
Snuggling down at the end of a busy day with a good book and fresh linen on the bed. There is nothing like clean sheet day.

Linking up my favourite things over at With Some Grace for FYBF

beck xx

AROUND HERE LATELY

It doesn't take long for old habits to return once school goes back, and the sudden cold conditions here have not helped. We are only on day two of term three, and already getting the teens out of bed and into the shower is proving a difficult task. Seems some things never change :)

Can you believe that I missed my blogs birthday !
On the 23rd of last month, Crafty turned three. I know right. I can hardly believe it myself.
I just want to thank you all for sticking around for this long.

A week a go we celebrated our sons 22nd birthday, another milestone for our family. I still cant believe that we have survived this parenting journey for so long. It has been far from easy, but at least we can say that we have fought and won many battles along the way.

 The home renovations are still kicking along slowly, and by slowly I mean barely crawling along. On the upside, the front door has been painted in a test run colour Sheer Paradise to make sure that I can live with such a bold statement. So far I'm loving it....

I've read a couple of must read novels for those of you who are book worms.
If you are looking for something new to read, A Mothers Story and Perfect Daughter, both by author Amanda Prowse are must read page turners that will have you glued to the very last page. I cant begin to tell you how much I enjoyed these novels. Two of the best that I have read this year. And I have read a lot these past months.

Has anyone else been watching Wayward Pines ?
With only three episodes left, I am thoroughly enjoying it, yet still waiting for the big bang of surprise ! Something that is going to blow me away.

I hope everyone enjoyed these past school holidays and is rested up and ready to tackle term three of the school year.
To those of you in the southern states, I hope you are keeping warm. Remember, the cold weather will be gone before we know it, and we will all be complaining about the heat again. And so the cycle goes.

Linking up with Essentially Jess for IBOT

beck xx

MONDAY MUNCHIES - Simple Passion Fruit Slice

SIMPLE PASSION FRUIT SLICE

Can you believe that school is back already here in Queensland. Gone are the lazy mornings and late dinners, the unplanned Winter days and movie marathons at our leisure. Instead the struggle to get the teens out of bed and in the car on time have begun, and the never ending homework arguments that threaten to send me grey before my time have taken over the afternoons.

On the upside, the fridge stays closed for more than five minutes at a time.

A neighbour gave us a BIG bag of delicious yellow passion fruit this week. They smelled divine and tasted of Summer, and immediately prompted me to make a delicious slice.

INGREDIENTS

* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 cup of coconut
* 1 cup self raising flour
* 125 g melted butter
* 395 g condensed milk
* 6 passion fruit

In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar and coconut.
Add the melted butter and mix well to combine.
Press the mixture into a lined slice tin and bake at 160 C for 10 - 15 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool for 20 minutes.

Combine the condensed milk and passion fruit pulp in a large bowl and mix well.

Pour passion fruit mixture into the base and return to the oven for a further 10 - 15 minutes or until topping is just firm to the touch.

Chill until set and serve.

This slice is one of my favourites, and is light and delicious. Perfect for the school lunch box or afternoon tea.

I hope everyone enjoyed the time they shared with there kids these past holidays, and for those of you who are still out of school, enjoy every last remaining minutes of the lazy routine.

beck xx

MONDAY MUNCHIES

Its the second week of the school holidays here, and the hungry hoards are biting at my heels at every opportunity. Trying to keep the worms from biting is beginning to become a chore. I'm running out of energy and ingredients fast.

Today I decided to revisit some of the more popular posts of Monday Munchies, just in case you missed one.

Over night oats
Chicken & Fennel seed sausage rolls
Slow cooker cheese and bacon buns
Orange cake with orange icing

Enjoy

beck xx