Kitchen Steps - I would rather be here....

Isn't this an awesome house? It is on Lake Huron. I bet that you would have the most amazing views out, even when doing the housework!

Today's Little Step is about making another awful kitchen job much easier. I reckon that cleaning the oven is just about the worst job in the world. Most of all because I usually put it off for a year or 2! Now don't worry, we are not going to clean the whole oven today. BUT we can make the racks and trays positively shine, with hardly any effort at all.

The secret is laundry bleach. Yep, good old Napisan. Tonight, before bed, take out the racks and trays from your oven, put them in the laundry sink and add a good shake of laundry stain removal powder - Napisan is just fine. Fill the tub with warm water, so the racks are completely covered. Then just leave it overnight, and wait for the cleaning fairies to come!

In the morning, you should be able to just wipe down most of the gunge off the racks and trays, and have them shining like new. How hard is that?

Now, if only I could work out a way to soak the entire oven in Napisan overnight.....

Kitchen Steps - Kick up a stink!

If there is one job that I don't like in the kitchen it is cleaning out the bin. I don't mind taking the rubbish bag out, but for some reason I just don't like wiping out the bin ... and yet I HATE when the lid of the bin (ours is a swing-top lid) gets gunk and dirt all over it.

So I have come up with a method that makes me feel a bit better. When I use disposable Chux-style cloths, I wait until the cloth is on its last legs, then the last thing before it goes in the bin is to wipe down the lid and exterior of the kitchen bin. Then chuck it straight away and not have to think about it again!

I also use old face washers for my kitchen cleaning cloths, and wash them every 2second day. So when I am just about to put the cloth in the laundry, again, last thing I do is swish it across the top of the bin.

Alternatively, you could use paper towel and dispose of it immediately. Whichever method you use, you get 1 point for wiping down the lid and exterior of your kitchen bin today!

Kitchen Steps - Kettle overload

As I stood staring vacantly at the calendar that hangs in our kitchen this morning, while waiting for the kettle to boil for my wake-up cup of tea, I happened to glance down into the depths of the kettle, after filling it with water.

Eeek! Bad mistake.... it's not quite scary enough to stop me from drinking my tea. Frankly, there would have to be something swimming in it for that to happen. BUT it is enough to make me think that I cannot remember ever cleaning out our kettle. The poor thing gets used many times a day, and taken for granted.

So today the Little Step challenge is to clean out your kettle. Tip out the water, use a clean cloth and wipe out all the general gunge that is accumulating on the sides, and even the element. Then give it a good clean and polish for the outside - if you are enthusiastic, you can even wipe down the electric base part.

This is worth 1 point for the cleaning, and an extra point if you then sit down and have a celebratory cup of tea or coffee, from your shining clean kettle!

PS - isn't the duck stove-top kettle just the most gorgeous thing you have ever seen? I think it would make a great Mother's Day gift - hint hint!!

Little Step - Shopping List!

OK, this is the last part of the Monthly Menu Planning challenge...

Now that you have your calender chart with a meal for each day of May pencilled in, just look across the row for the first week, and jot down ingredients for each meal in that week. Remember to include side dishes, vegetables etc.

Then, go to your kitchen cupboards and cross off anything on your list that you already have... just be sure to check the quantities on hand, before crossing it off.

Add your "other items" (garbage bags, toiletries, paper towel, drinks, lunch items etc) and there you have it - a comprehensive shopping list, ready to take on your next grocery trip.

If you are feeling totally inspired, you could rough out your shopping list for the next fortnight, or even the whole month.... but only if you are on a roll.

Otherwise, let's Little Step our way to an easy shopping trip this coming week. Don't forget to keep a note of how much you spend, and how that compares to your usual weekly amount... did you make a saving? I'd love to hear how your shopping trip goes!

Have a great weekend - Monday is a public holiday here in Queensland, and we are off camping, so I will see you all for May, next Tuesday. I have lots of ideas for Little Steps - and if you have any ideas, or areas of the house that you want to work on, let me know so that we can all do them together.

And finally, you can email me your 'points' balance for April, if you want to... email to sashasews (@) y7mail.com

Little Step - Monthly Menu Planning (Part 2)

It is a rainy day here, and the kids are at their Daycare mum's house... bliss!

So, taking up from where we left off yesterday, we have a sheet of paper, ruled into a grid that has 7 columns across and 5 rows down. Each column has a 'category' of cooking across the top.

As next month is May, and starts on Saturday, number the last box in your top row with a 1. Then number each box consecutively along, up to 31. So now you have a menu calendar for May.

Today's REAL challenge is to fill in a meal idea for each day, following the category of the relevant column.

So I need to come up with 4 roasts, 4 soups, 4 slow cooker meals, 4 oven meals, 4 cook book recipes, etc...

Don't stress about this - remember it's not a menu plan that is set in stone. It is just something that you can use as a guide - a fall back, so that we know that each day, we have the ingredients to cook SOMETHING for dinner that night. If you change plans, skip a day or whatever, this is no drama.

Have fun with this - make a cuppa and sit down with your favourite cookbooks (I have a crush on Nigella). Just pencil things we - you can move them around, change ideas and even change column categories if you want.

Tomorrow we are going to draft a shopping plan for each week.

Little Step - Menu Plan (Part 1)

It is getting towards the end of the month, and there is a larger challenge that I want to try, but I am going to break it down into bite-sized pieces (ha ha - pun intended!). I want to try a system I have developed for monthly menu planning.

I think we all realise that if you go shopping with a plan, and a list, you are far more likely to stay on budget, and save those impulse buys for truly important things... like chocolate.

One of the things that I struggle with the most is having healthy, easy to prepare meals ready for my family at least 6 nights a week. And yet, when it is all going well, it is one of the best Little Steps you can take, towards bringing some peace into your life.

So here is my monthly menu plan challenge. Today we are going to take a piece of paper, and rule it into 7 columns, and 5 rows - 35 boxes, in all. Then I want you to think about 7 different 'categories' of food that you cook - as an idea, I am thinking of

Sunday - Roast
Monday - Soup / leftovers
Tuesday - Slow Cooker
Wednesday - Cook book
Thursday - Homemade Takeaway
Friday - Oven baked
Saturday - Homemade Pizza

Write each category across a column in your grid.... and voi'la - you have a menu plan template!

And that's it for today!

Friday Little Step - A Trail of Crumbs...

Fridays are for quick and easy things, that make you start the weekend with a smile!

Do you have a trail of crumbs that leads you out of the woods, and into the kitchen? Or at least to your toaster?

Today's quick and easy Little Step challenge is to lift up your toaster... give it some loving! Pull out the crumb tray (if it has something that flash, which mine doesn't!), dust it out, and wipe the bench underneath. If you are really feeling the toaster love, then wipe it all over and say 'thanks for making breakfast easy'!

OK, that last bit might be a bit over the top.... but what the heck - is there a genie in your toaster? :-)

This is worth 1 point for the cleaning, and a bonus point if a genie really does come out of your toaster!

PS - the photo is from www.toasters.com Yes. There really is such a website!

Manic Monday - Bottle It Up

My Monday was yesterday. And it wasn't too manic. In fact it was rather lazy - hence this post being up on a Tuesday! But I hope everyone had a lovely Easter with your families...

My tip for this week is about something that used to drive me crazy. Do the kids cups seem to multiply in your house? Turn your back and suddenly there are 7 of them, with various levels of various drinks still in them, littering around on every surface - and just waiting to be spilled?

I used to feel that unless I was constantly 'patrolling' the house, the cups got out of hand within minutes! But who was filling up the cups and giving them to Naomi and Ryan? Umm.... me! Enter behaviour modification, exit crazy cup explosions, multiple types of drink and regular spills.

Each of my children now has a drink bottle (Ryan's has a baby sipper top on it, rather than the sports type top). That drink bottle is all they get during the day, filled with cold water (I don't mind doing this - I don't like tepid water either). Naomi also gets a proper cup for meal times. One cup, which is rinsed out after each meal, and then used for her bedtime milk.

What are the benefits of using drink bottles?

• No more cups scattered around the house, for me to collect, so reduced washing up.
• I know how much each child has drunk, just by checking the level in their bottles... I don't have to guess how much they drunk from each different cup.
• Greatly reduced the requests for drinks other than water. Only water goes in drink bottles! Naomi has watered down apple juice in a cup, when she is sitting at the table for meals. Otherwise, it is water all day. This is saving us money too.
• In a family with several children, no more arguments over whose drink it is - write their names on their bottles and that is it.
• And my all-time favourite --- no more spills of sticky juice, or water, or milk... With Ryan cruising around the furniture and reaching for everything, this was driving me crazy!

The photos of drink bottles are examples I found at The Kids Store - how cute are they?!

Manic Monday is my way of sharing tips that are helping me to survive this parenting journey. Feel free to join in - just leave a comment to your own blog post, in the comments below!

Manic Monday - Oven is not a dirty word!

Well, my Monday has definitely been a little crazy (here I am at 9.40pm doing this blog post!) -- but I did get dinner on the table at the regularly scheduled time. And why? Because I am very very good friends with my Oven!

I love the oven. I used to pan-fry most of our dinner meats - time consuming, hot, spitting oil and difficult to do when holding a child. Even the griller requires frequent checking, and turning, of whatever you are cooking.

Instead, my tip is to invest in a good quality roasting dish, preferably with a rack tray insert, so everything is up off the bottom of the dish. I oven cook all the usual casseroles and roasts, but also sausages, chops, chicken legs, even fish (sprinkle with your favourite herbs & spices, then wrap in foil). I can't remember the last time I pan fried meat for dinner.

I can concentrate on veges, side dishes, and trying to get Ryan to eat his dinner instead of smearing it in his hair, without having to also constantly check on whatever is in the pan!

Oven baking most of our meats is certainly making for a happier Mum in our house, at 5.30pm!

Do you have anything that you love to oven bake? Want to leave a tip to help us all make Mondays (and every other day) a bit less manic? I love to read comments and links!

Manic Monday - What's for Dinner?

"Just another Manic Monday.... "

Now, as much as I would like kissing Valentino by a crystal blue Italian stream, I am not a big fan of Mondays. Kissing goodbye to hubby, as he goes off for another long week at work, and realising that it is just me and 2 lovely, but sometimes crazy, kids, for the next 11 hours... and the next 5 days!

I am not the queen of organisation, and I am certainly not a model parent! But I would like to devote Mondays on the blog to sharing one small tip that just might help to make your Mondays, and every other day, slightly less manic.

Menu Planning on the run....

Menu planning is fantastic, I always feel so much more in control when I have a menu plan, for the week. BUT if this is too much trouble, (and for me it frequently is!), the best tip I have learned is to at least menu plan for the day. This involves 1 simple thing --

Decide what you are doing for dinner, by 10.00am at the latest.

Write it down if you want, or just keep it in your head, but either way mentally decide on your evening meal, before you sit down for your morning cuppa. That way, you have time to defrost meat, time to fit in a trip to the shop for extra ingredients, time to do that long slow-cooked casserole, or whatever it is. And you avoid the 5pm - "Oh, Lord, what I am going to do about dinner?" prayer that I used to frequently cast to the heavens.

Anything you can do to make the end of the day 'Arsenic Hour' more bearable is well worth it, in my humble opinion!

Please feel free to join in with my Manic Mondays - leave a link to your own blog post or tweet of an organising tip. Together lets make Monday more about kissing Valentino, and less about craziness!

Incidentally, if you do want to give weekly menu planning a go, check out this fantastic pre-printed planner and shopping list, available from Paper By Forget-Me-Not!

Satay Chicken

While shopping in a variety store a few weeks ago, my eye was caught by a series of cook books, which were well-priced at A$10 each. There were about 7 different titles, but the one I bought is simply called "chicken". It is published by Murdoch Books, here in Australia.

We eat a lot of chicken - it is reasonably cheap, and easy for a 2 year old to eat. So the idea of having 75 new recipes for chicken appealled to me!

Here is the one we tried last night, for Satay Chicken:

1 1/2 tbsps oil
6 spring onions (scallions), cut into 3cm lengths (I actually used eschallots)
800 gms (1lb 12oz) of chicken strips / pieces
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
4 tbsps crunch peanut butter
270ml (9 1/2 fl oz) coconut milk
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 1/2 tbsps lime juice

Method:

Heat pan to very hot, add some oil and spring onion, stir fry for 30 seconds. Remove from pan. Add extra oil and brown the chicken. Remove chicken from pan.

Add more oil to pan, and curry paste. Fry paste for about 1 minute, until fragrant. Add peanut butter, coconut milk, sugar and 250ml (1 cup) water and stir well. Bring to the boil, and boil for 3 - 4 minutes or until thickened. Return chicken and spring onions to the pan, stir in and cook for 2 minutes, until heated through. Stir in the lime juice, and season with salt / pepper to taste. Serve with steamed rice.

I actually skewered the chicken into kebabs, with some red capsicums (bell peppers), grilled them in the oven and just poured the satay sauce over the top. Naomi had fun skewering the meat, so it was a good child-entertainer as well!!

And the verdict? In Naomi's words .... "Mmmm.... 'licious".

Coconut Ice

When I was a child, my mum had a stash of cans of condensed milk. It was left over from when we lived on a remote island and she had to order food for 8 weeks at a time, to come in by barge. Somehow they just sat in the back of the cupboard for years, after we moved back to the mainland. When we finally opened a can, we discovered that it had turned to caramel all by itself, over the course of time. So if you have a spare decade, this is an easy way to make caramel!

In my opinion, condensed milk should be a food group all of its own - rich, creamy, sweet - and yet I can pass it off as dairy, and therefore good for us, right??

Coconut ice is a great recipe to make for your next church fete. Or just because it is yummy!

Ingredients:

5 1/2 cups icing sugar

2 1/2 cups dessicated coconut

1 can condensed milk

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Method:

Sift the icing sugar into a large bowl. I squish mine through a sieve, to get the lumps out. This is quite important, to get a smooth consistency. If you use the icing mixture (with cornstarch in it), instead of pure icing sugar, this step is a whole lot quicker!

Then, add the coconut to the sugar and stir together.

Tip in the condensed milk and egg white, mix well together. The mixture will be very thick and sticky. Yum.

Press half the mixture into a tray lined with baking paper. Then add pink food colouring to the other half, and press it in on top.

Refrigerate for 3 - 4 hours, until completely set. Slice into small pieces and enjoy!

This is a good recipe for kids, as it is just measuring, mixing and squishing into a tray. However, it does require some patience, waiting for it to set. I make it before nap time, and then take Naomi off to bed for a while, to pass the time.

Tuesday Tips for Mum - Playdough recipe

Which child (or adult, for that matter), doesn't love the squishy feel of playdough between their fingers ... or toes? Of course, we all know it is a great activity for development of fine motor skills, creativity, colour / shape recognition etc etc etc. And it keeps sweet darlings entertained for hours!

My favourite playdough recipe is simple, and uses only ingredients that you will have in the pantry, so you can whip it up at a moment's notice.

Ingredients:
4 cups flour
1 cup salt
1/2 cup water (approx)
1 tbsp oil (approx)
Food colouring of your choice

Method:
Mix flour and salt together. Mix food colouring into the water and stir well. Divide the water into several cups and mix up a few different colours, if you want.

Add the oil to the flour and mix. Divide flour mix into several bowls if you are making different colours. Then add water to flour mix, stirring well. Add more water, or flour, to make a good squishy (but reasonably dry) dough.

Play!

Keeps well in the fridge in an air-tight container, for about a week.

To make playdough a bit more educational, and add another dimension, have a look at this website: Sparklebox . They are playdough mats that you download, print off and cover with plastic. Then you can play the various games, which are mostly focussed on basic counting skills. Of course, you could make your own, with addition, subtraction etc for older children.

This is a Tuesday Tips for Mum post. For more great idea, check out Raising Olives.


http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/md/counting/mats.html

Chicken, corn & tarragon pie

I am not much on buying magazines - I can usually think of better ways to spend the money (like feeding my fabric addiction). But the cover of the Notebook: magazine does grab my attention, whenever I see it on a shelf. They look more like real women than those on the cover of any regular glossy. And there are usually some very pretty flowers, or vintage type furniture or something. So this month, I went ahead and bought it.


What does this have to do with the title of this post? Well, there were some totally scrumptious sounding recipes - including this one for chicken, corn and tarragon pie. Naomi and I baked it on Monday night - it was received with the great accolade of "mmm... alicious" from Naomi, and a totally scraped clean plate from Brad. It is going in the family favourites recipe book.

Apologies for the dodgy photo - for some reason, I can cook food but photographing it nicely is beyond me!

• Ingredients:
• 1 tbsp olive oil,
• 4 chicken thigh fillets, cut into small pieces
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stick, chopped
• 2 tbsps plain flour
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 large (420g) can sweet corn, drained
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp chopped tarragon (I used dried tarragon)
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry
• 1 egg, lightly whisked

Preheat oven to 220 deg C (hot oven). Heat oil in a pan and brown the chicken. Remove from pan. Brown onion, carrot and celery in the pan, for 5 minutes. Add flour to vegetable mix and stir for 1 minute or unti well combined. Add chicken and stock and stir until mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Add corn, cream and mustard and stir. Remove from heat, then add tarragon and salt/pepper to season.

Spoon into a pie dish (or 4 individual dishes). Cover dish with pastry sheet and brush pastry with lightly beaten egg mix. Bake for 15 minutes, or until pastry is golden and puffed.

Yummmm.... and just as good for lunch the next day!

This post is part of Thursday's Ultimate Recipe at www.lifeasmom.com . Head on over there to read more yummy things to do with food.