Beef Stirfry & Tuna Mornay w/sweet potato

Now these two recipes I'm writing about are extremely common and well known but thought I would share how I do them....well I can't actually take claim to the beef stir-fry as Troy cooked this one and I chopped it up very small so that Huddo could enjoy it too!

Beef Stir Fry
Ingredients:
300g Rib-eye or sirloin ..we got some great rib-eye steaks!...and finely slice
500g Hokkien noodles
Vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves
100g snow peas
200g bean sprouts
1 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 spring onions, finely chopped

Marinade
2 tsp cornflour
1 tbsp rice wine
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Method:
1)Combine ingredients for marinade and leave beef to marinate for 30 minutes
2)Pour hot tap water over noodles, gently working them apart with fingers. Drain, rinse under cold water, shake dry and rub in a little oil.
3)Heat wok, or fry pan add 2 tbsp oil. Add the garlic and snow peas, toss well over high heat for 1 minute.
4)Add the beef in its marinade and toss well until coloured, then tip out onto a plate.
5)Add a little extra oil to the pan toss in the noodles and sprouts for 2 minutes on high heat.
6)Return beef and snow peas to the pan.
7)Add rice wine, soy, oyster sauce and sugar and toss well.
8)Scatter with spring onions and serve...

Note: This is a recipe by Jill Dupleix from the 'Good Living Summer' recipe book....

Huddo's looked liked this:

I'm trying to avoid using the food processor for Huddo's meals now. I either cut things up very very small or I just loosely mash his food. He is still enjoying everything I cook which is great. I have however found that he is not enjoying his finger foods as much at the moment. He looks oddly at his food and doesn't like the feel in his fingers so I did invest in some little forks and spoons specific for trying to teach toddlers to use utensils. Let's just say we have a long way to go with that process but I do take the time at each meal now once he has had half his meal and isn't so hungry that he can relax and focus on practicing.

Now due to working on a Saturday and starting my cake course tonight...I've been expressing decent quantities of milk on a regular basis and had a bit of excess that I chose to use in tuna mornay I cooked last week....

Now I normally just do tuna mornay with broccoli and cauliflower, but this time I added garlic and sweet potato....it looked quite yummy and was devoured by Mr Hudson.

Tuna Mornay w/sweet potato

Ingredients:
90g tin of Tuna (I like to use the 'Sirena' brand)
Half a sweet potato peeled and diced
Head of broccoli broken up into small florets
Half a head of cauliflower broken up into small florets
1 tbsp flour
150mL breastmilk (full cream milk or formula can also be used)
Handful of grated parmesan
small handful of grated tasty cheese
1 cup of baby rice cereal

Method:
1)In a saucepan place all vegies and just cover with water. Cook until soft with lid on.
2)Add tuna, flour and milk.
3)stir and cook on low until mixture thickens
4)add cheeeses and baby rice
5)Mash to desired consistency.

Just a few Sultanas...

As I've mentioned in a previous post I like to give Hudson sultanas as either morning tea or afternoon tea snack from time to time. This week I actually took a bit of a recipe idea from McDonald's and cooked Huddo for breakfast: Porridge and added a few sultanas and cooked in 3 frozen cubes of  my apple puree. Definitely a nice warm brekky and something that kept my boy going.

Then later that day while I was on a sultana mission I made some Oat & Sultana cookies from the Annabel Karmel Top 100 Finger Foods book for a morning tea option for Huddo this week. 

The recipe is as follows:

Ingredients-

50g butter

40g soft brown sugar (I used 25g)

1/2 tsp of vanilla extract

30g wholemeal flour

30g rolled oats

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

a pinch of bicarb soda

30g sultanas

Method-

1) Pre-heat oven to 180oC

2)Beat together butter, sugar and vanilla.

3)Add all dry ingredients

4)Form into balls using one tablespoon of the mixture and arrange spaced apart on two baking sheets.

5)Bake for 12 minutes until golden. Allow to firm up a little before lifting on to a wire rack to cool.

They were yummy! And yes as usual Huddo was a fan! Never fail with Annabel's recipes!

Play Dates & iPhone Thumb...

Last Friday I took Huddo on a playdate to meet up with a friend of mine named Melinda whom I haven't seen since highschool and her 23 month old daughter Emilia. Mel & I actually met in year one, which was now twenty years ago and here we were meeting up with our children.
Hudson can be quite touch and go meeting new kids. He will either be excited and show rough signs of affection or just cling to me. In this instance he decided to do a bit of both. The kids played nicely while Mel and I chatted and caught up on filling in the gaps between what we had seen on eachother's facebook page. The funny part however was food time. When you put 2 children together who are both extensive food lovers, they tend to just play a game of try to steal the others food from the other.....hmmmmm definitely going to have to work on social skills with Huddo there.
Melinda and I both then proceeded to pull out out iPhones and take happy snaps of out kiddies together. Afterwards I then witnessed something I had heard of but now I had actually seen for myself......Emilia's 'iPhone Thumb'...not even 2 years old and not only can she get herself into her mother's number password coded phone, she then proceeds to go to the app button for the photo library and was eager to preview the pics Melinda had just taken. I was stunned, impressed and couldn't stop laughing.....now this was something I had to get a pic of!

some other shots from the day...

 "Oi MumMum, let me try to work your iPhone thingy"

Emilia after her babychino...

Having a little chat.... :)

Sunshine Coast 10km Run Event?...

I seem to be surrounded by people getting fit or challenging their fitness in new ways so I have decided to set myself a challenge. I initially posted a status on my facebook page that I was going to run the 'Bridge to Brisbane' in September. Then after talking to Troy worked out that the logistics of getting down to Brizzy at a rather early time along with thousands of other people probably isn't going to be the easiest thing in the world to do. I looked online and discovered that the 'Sunshine Coast Half Marathon, 10km & 5km Event' is on the following week up here just at Mooloolabe the weekend after.....so I'm going to give the 10km a crack and train appropriately (have started this week!). It will be on 8 weeks from tomorrow, I would love to be able to finish it in an hour, but I'm thinking 1 hour 15 is more like it!

To give a special mention to those that are inspiring me with their fitness...
My beloved Troy: Despite the long tiring hours my man works he has recently invested in a new road bike and working to increasing his cardio fitness through riding.
My friend Alex: He has been running for several months now and as a result has run off a whopping 40kg! He also put in an extraordinary effort recently at the Gold Coast Half Marathon.
Then there are my in-laws....: My mother-in-law Leeanne ran the London Marathon back in April and raised $10 000 for the Heart Foundation. Both Leeanne and my father-in-law Graham ran the Gold Coast Half Marathon recently. But their greatest achievement to date was last weekend they completed the 96km long Kokoda Challenge in 30 hours and 22 minutes. As you can imagine Troy & I along with many other friends and family are just so proud of their determination and dedication to health, fitness and achieving the goals they set for themselves. So when I look at these people I just have to say "10km in an hour....it's do-able" I will keep you posted with my progress.

First Daddy & Hudson Alone Time...

The last few weeks seem to have disappeared really. I've been quite busy with several things at home and one thing that has been a change to routine is me working on a Saturday morning. Which meant the first time Troy and Hudson have had alone time.
Firstly I have to say the preparation was a bit of work. Over the few days leading up I was expressing often to ensure Troy had enough milk on hand. And then there is labelling and informing Troy of different meal times and what to feed our growing boy.
Then Saturday morning was here and it was quite surreal getting up early to express milk followed by putting on a face of makeup and running the GHDs through my hair. Even the trip to work without Hudson in the car was just strange and I kept feeling like I was missing something and kept telling myself that feeling was due to not having my child with me. But then after I would remind myself of this I would get the same funny feeling wash over me and have to remind myself all over again. ...I'm a slow learner!
The whole time I was at  work I thought about my boys...there were a few calls to check in and see how things were going and of course they were doing great. I had to laugh though the day that I go to work Hudson decides to have a two and a half hour nap and Troy still got in some decent computer game time. The big thing that gave me a laugh and something I asked each time on the phone "Have you had to change a poop yet?"...... "YES! He's done 2 the little destroyer!".........hehehehe.."Awwww poor Daddy"....NOT! :)

Tuesdays - A Full Schedule!..

Tuesdays have become quite the day for Hudson and I. It's busier than it appears due to the fact that we get around on foot so places that are 'just down the road' take a good 30-40 minutes to get to. But I love it particularly with the great sunny weather and the goal to lose a bit more weight (oh I've lost 2kg in the past couple of weeks...WIN!)
So first up is 'Baby Rhyme Time' at the Kawana Library at 10am. A 20 minute session lead by one of the librarians with Nursery Rhymes, songs and a story being read to a group of bubbas up to 2 years old. Hudson can be a bit of a 'stunned mullet' in public situations and doesn't normally like them so I've been trying to get him amongst things like this to be around kids particularly since I don't attend things like Mother's Group. Yesterday was hilarious. Whilst all the children were sitting nicely with their parents, I could not keep Huddo still for the life of me. The librarian liked it and told me not to worry. He hung right up the front with the librarian and by the time the 'ABC's' song came on Huddo was the only bubba standing up the front clapping and bopping up and down and looking back to make sure I was still there and having a great old time. It was so cute to see him come out of his shell like this and I've made it that we are definitely heading back each week! After the session had finished I got Huddo to pick out a few library books to read for the week. It sort of looked like he was just simply trying to destroy the joint when he first pulled out a book but he seemed to stand and study it's cover so closely and then just as I thought he was going to throw it on the ground and go to the next one he looked up at me and handed it to me. "Ok mate you can pick a couple more if you want"....

Next up was Swimming Lesson at Sink or Swim School at 2pm. Huddo started swimming lessons a few weeks back. It is very cute and lots of fun and feels good to know he is on the track to knowing how to be water-safe. After swimming we stopped in at Kidzown for Huddo to have a run around the toddler area. I wanted to let him exhaust himself a bit more before the 40 minute trek home. They had a ball pit in the toddler area at Kidzown which Huddo had never been in before and he found it lots and lots of fun....

After a good 45 minutes of playing we hit the road and whilst walking along back home we played a good old game of 'peek-a-boo' ( we call it 'Hide-ies'.) Huddo was getting so exhausted and with his hands up over his eyes during round 4 of "Where's Huddo Huddo?...I can't see him. Where did he go?"......."Huddo? Huddo?"....I reached into the pram and gently moved his hands......sound asleep. Sooooo cute!

As I walked down my street back to the apartment with my Huddo sound asleep in the pram, my legs started to feel a bit jelly-like. About 11kms of walking for the day. Tuesday is good for Huddo and great for my fitness. LOVE IT!

Fruit Snacks....

There were some good specials on in the fruit section this week. So I got this 3kg bag of oranges that worked out to about 66c/kg. Then I got a few kiwi fruit, some granny smiths and a really really beautiful punnet of strawberries. I like to give Hudson quarters of orange to suck on to get a bit of vitamin C into him that way and I know he likes to squish them around and make a mess also. This bag is seriously epic and I've been working through them as snacks for myself.
But my fruit combo of the week is Kiwi, Strawberry & Apple puree. I put some straight into an icecube tray to mix in with Huddo's porridge and weet-bix throughout the week and the rest I mixed with 2 tablespoons of rice cereal into small containers as an option for morning or afternoon tea on days when he might have eggs for breakfast. I snuck a spoonful myself ....Delish! That is one yummy fruit combo and a good way to introduce small amounts of strawberry and kiwi fruit into little diets as these are foods that can be popular on allergy lists.

Also with some apples I decided to create a little dessert. I diced 3 apples and stewed them in water, half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a quarter of a teaspoon of nutmeg until soft. Then in a separate pot I made some custard which consisted simply of 2 tblspoons of custard powder, 2 cups of b/milk (note: formula and cow's milk are also suitable options) and a teaspoon of sugar. I then 2/3 filled a few little containers with apples and topped with the custard. 



 

Some Fun with Shapes...

For Christmas Hudson got the Fisher Price Turtle Shape Sorter and he has really just started to get the idea about what to do with it. I've been trying to teach him about different shapes and play with him and this toy alot. So yesterday I decided to take my teaching one step further...to the thing that I love...FOOD!
Afternoon tea was just a basic vegemite sandwich yesterday except I used my shape cutters from my cake kit to cut the sandwich into the 4 shapes on the Turtle.......

As I gave him each piece of sandwich I would say the name of the shape and make a game of it. I think he was a little confused at first as to why I was giving him 'star-shaped' sandwich pieces when he just eats little squares normally but after he inspected it very closely with a concerned look on his face for about a good 30 seconds, he quickly shoved it in his mouth and was happy to scoff the rest like most foods he eats!

You never know what information they are absorbing but oh well I had fun trying to teach him.

From A Hairdresser's Dream....To Their Worst Nightmare.

Before I start this post properly a little back story:
Once upon a time not too long ago I was a shopaholic. Any of you that have seen Confessions of a Shopaholic with Isla Fisher would understand and laugh to know that similar to her I used to hide all of my bills and statements under my bed and only on the rare Friday night while trying to calm my nerves at the thought with a glass of wine would I attempt to total up the damage I was accumulating. Even on these nights I would just then continue to have a few more glasses of wine and justify every single spend I was making and quickly put the bills back under the bed but leave out and tend to only the ones that said something like "FINAL NOTICE: Failure to respond will result in referral to debt collection" or from weird places I had never heard of but realised they were Debt Collection agengcies! Oooops!!!
Then I got together and fell in love with Troy and 3 months later I was pregnant with Hudson. Ok time to fess up to Troy and fix this FAST! I very quickly and honestly examined every expense in my life and cracked down in a big way to try and eliminate as much debt as possible before I finished work to be a stay-at-home mummy to Hudson. As much as Troy was going to become the sole income earner I didn't want him to have to be responsible for my debt.

One very big expense in my life was my hair. Even though I went to this awesome place with the most amazing hairdressers who were considerably less expensive than most on the Gold Coast where I was living at the time. The truth was I was going every 5-6 weeks and always having at least, a tint, half a head of foils, a cut and a blowdry. Sometimes a treatment too. And oh, I was quite the experimenter when it came to my hair. I would try most colours. I'd go from blonde to brunette to red and back to blonde again numerous times in a year and as for my haircuts I would not be afraid to try something new. On quite a few appointments I would just have the time slot booked but get in there and simply go to my hairdresser "What do you think? Just go for it." I got bored of my hair very easily and loved a look change.
However, when working out my expenses and looking at where I could cut back at first a little tear came to my eye thinking about becoming a DIY girl!
Here were my numbers on my hair:
Average cost of the salon visit: $140 (every 6 weeks on average)
Products: $70 (5 times a year)
TOTAL PER YEAR: Approximately $1600!

I had decided that since I had just become engaged I was going to grow my hair long for the wedding. (Even though we didn't and still don't have an exact date) So there was the 'cut' issue solved. I would just get a basic trim every 4 months to keep the ends healthy. As for the colour I had decided I was just going to keep it blonde. I'm a dark mousy blonde naturally so it tends to suit me best. Now here was the challenge. Find an inexpensive way to do my own colour without any blonde disasters that may cost more in long run repairing!
I looked around quite a bit and after talking to my stepmum Suz who does her own colour, admittedly she is brunette but she used this Colour Royale brand that she purchased from Hairhouse Warehouse and it works out even less expensive than most packet haircolours at the supermarket which I was quite weary of using anyway. Oh and just briefly backing up a touch, I had never thought I would be one that would be concerned about colouring my hair when I was pregnant but I did wait until I was 18 weeks before I did and throughout my pregnancy stretched out between applications that instead of every 5-6 weeks I would wait about 8-9. (Worked out I coloured it 3 times when I was pregnant)
So I went to Hairhouse Warehouse and had a good lengthy chat to the hairdresser there and got myself a tube of Professional Hair Colour Conditioning Creme 60mL for $13.95 and a one litre bottle of 40 Vol Creme Peroxide also $13.95. Plus I got myself a sachet of Napro Live Color Silver Toner for $4.70 to cut any excess yellow/gold if need be. (I'd been using this one for years!) Total spent:  $32.60.
Now here is the great part- the 60mL tube.....I get 2 applications out of.
The 1L bottle I use 60mL per application, so about 16 goes out of that bad boy.
I use one whole sachet of toner each time...so a standard $4.70 there.
Total spend per application- $12.55!........PRICELESS!

The ratio of 40vol to tube of tint is 2:1 and I like to be exact....so I enlist my digital scales I use for cooking (the hair products go into a measuring cup I use only for my hair stuff so the scales do not come into direct contact with the chemicals) for the process of measuring and have a bowl, measuring cup and brush specifically for my hair.

I have quite the little lab going in my ensuite on 'Hair Colour Night' and only apply to my regrowth section by section just like at the hairdressers...and as for the back.....Troy does that for me. Now some of our friends laugh because particularly knowing Troy is very much a man's man that some think this is out of character and odd for him but he will quite point blankly defend himself with... "Hey for $13 a go as oppose to $140 I'm more than happy to help!"
So I started being a DIY girl in March last year. Touch wood no disasters and always very happy with the results. With 3 trips to the salon for only a trim, and a switch to some still good quality but less expensive hair products my total hair cost for the year has come down to .....$245! .....a whopping $1355 saved and put towards repayments instead. A bonus to DIY is that some nights like last night, once I got my colour on I set up the ironing board in my bedroom and got organised for the week ahead. By the time I was due to hop into the shower to rinse it out and put the toner on, the ironing basket was empty....ahhhhhhh.

Please note: Like anything I write about on this blog, it is simply my experience and I am more than aware is not the be-all-and-end-all way to go. I am very much about natural health and being as healthy as possible but these hair products I have suggested do contain ammonia and some other bad-ies that some people may like to avoid but I don't have any allergies to such products and therefore not phased. I do however ensure I colour my hair in my ensuite with the exhaust fan on at night once Hudson has gone to bed (he sleeps in his own room) so that the fumes from me colouring my hair are away from him.

My First Fondant Cake....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TROY! xxx

 Friday was Troy's birthday and for the occasion I made him a cake. With the help of the 'Planet Cake' book and advice from my awesome friend Kelly....who has recently started her own cake business Sinful Sensations, I attempted a fondant icing cake. As I've mentioned in a previous post I am actually doing a 4-week course in cake decorating next month and Troy has suggested previously I just wait until I complete the course to make one...but I wanted to make him a cake and attempt a better one than the packet mix one I made him last year!... Also I really wanted to give it a go and take notes of particular problems and difficulties I had so that I had the appropriate questions on hand at the course to ask and make sure I get as much info from the course as I possibly can. (I'm not exactly the fastest of learners!....) Oh and seriously the list of questions is long to say the least. My cake was no where near as awesome as my mate Kelly makes but I'll improve I'm sure. And hey, what do I always say on here? ....I tried!

The most important part was I'm definitely sure I'm not going to be wasting money in regards to taking this course because as much as I had difficulties with such things as working the fondant to the correct consistency and finding the correct surface, .... I certainly had heaps of fun!! Well, drum roll please because here is my creation.....

It is definitely flawed and no where near professional but I thought it was ok for a first attempt. And it tasted good. I did manage to get the fondant quite thin which is good since it is so sickly sweet! ....Most of all Troy thought it was great, mind you he kept having a joke going "It's not as smooth as those ones in your book! What's going on babe?" .......I'll get there! .....Happy Birthday Troy. I love you. xxx

Baking. Baking. And more Baking....

On Wednesday my young cousin Charlie came over to play with Hudson and help me with some baking to get ready for Troy's birthday on Friday. Since I had planned to make Troy a fondant cake, and on Wednesday all I needed to do was bake the cake I decided that as well as this I would bake some cupcakes with Charlie for her to take home to her brothers and sisters. We made Vanilla mini-cupcakes with White Chocolate Ganache and fondant icing shapes. They were very tasty and most importantly Charlie thought they were pretty great and was very proud of her baking efforts with her big cousin.....

(this is 16 of the 50 we made...)

I was very very keen to send them all home with her as we had a birthday cake worth of sugar to come in this house this week!

...but I kept these 3 aside for my Troy when he came home from work. They were yummmmmy! And a very fun day with my cousin. Huddo was also very happy to play with his big second cousin.



The Little Things are so BIG!..

This week Huddo seems to really be coming into showing signs he is completing his latest 'leap' according to The Wonder Weeks. His awareness and response to cues is getting more frequent and it's so cute and exciting.

The first is in regards to our Kiddy Gate (this link is the seller on eBay I purchased ours from if you looking for one!) which we use to keep Huddo in the living area. The gate has two parts to securing it shut and the final is pushing down the lever. In regards to Hudson's progress with understanding the sequence of when we go from his room into the living area, if I simply shut the gate but leave the leaver up. I put Huddo on the ground and say "Please shut the gate for Mum Mum" he instantly reaches up and locks it down.

Then there is "Peek-a-Boo" he frequently will look at me now and with a big grin get his hands and cover his eyes and I do the "Where is Huddo? Where is he? I can't see him!" ...Then he takes his hands away and looks at me with such excitement! And of course I do the surprised "Ohhh There you are!!!"
The next is his interest in playing with his blocks and I have been having heaps of fun building block towers with him. (Mum Mum do one block, Huddo do one block)....however something I learnt about Huddo, the colours of the blocks in the tower HAVE to be the same colour! Here is his achievements from 2 nights ago.

There was lots of clapping when he finished this and even sat back and just looked at it in amazement while I went and got my phone to take a pic. He then even tapped my phone wanting to have a look at the pic. The funniest part was 10 minutes later when I said it was pack up time for dinner. He was reluctant and took a few blocks off to put in the container then just giggled and smashed them down. So cute!

Finally, the latest is Huddo's getting up from the ground to stand. No pulling himself up on furniture....or my leg. He now can stand all by himself......he just needs to link the standing with his walking. Currently he just gets into the standing position and is so happy he claps his hands so hard he generally just goes back down to the ground after 10 seconds. ...Won't be long.

All these things though it's amazing how they are so little and simple but as a parent they might as well be winning gold medals at the Olympics. I'm a bit of sook though too, lost count with all these little things this week how many times I get a little tear in my eye and so excited and proud of my Huddo. The little things create big moments!