Kitchen Organizer

I love Christmas and the many opportunities it brings to make pretty things!  I just want to share with you a few handmade ideas that I've done this year.  People always love receiving handmade things and they don't always take too much time or effort to do.  I've done some decorating around the home too, to get into the spirit - and it always gives me joy to see it!

I've handmade my cards for the last few years and always love doing it.  People don't receive many home-made cards anymore, so it's something I like to put the effort into.  These supplies were from Spotlight & super easy to make!

Using the same Spotlight paper, I whipped up some bunting and some hanging decorations for the entry.  The stensils were from old Better Homes & Gardens Magazines.

A little display I set up in the entry using bits & pieces I've collected over the years.  The butterflies were made from the same Spotlight paper.

Hard to get a good photo but here's my Christmas tree!  I LOVE it and I love seeing the special decorations have fun memories attached.  The kids know which ones are their own significant ones and love to look and touch!

Hope's special decoration this year :-)

A friend made me this beautiful fabric bunting - it fits so perfectly, I love it!

My daughter's name has special significance at this time of year :-)

I prettied up our deck with some handmade baubles attacked to ribbon - easy and very effective!

My little piano display of bits and pieces.  I got the Advent Calendar this year and had so much fun filling it - and the kids are absolutely loving it!  Some of the things inside the drawers have been Christmas stickers, stamps, chocolates, beaded decorations and special messages.  It'll be fun thinking of more age-appropriate ideas in the coming years.

Some handmade gifts by the kids (with a little help from me!)  I'll be sharing the recipe for these tomorrow.

It's so special and fun to make handmade things and to step back and remember that Christmas isn't just all about spending and buying.  I'd love to hear your handmade ideas too!

This is a fascinating recipe that I made a little while back after being given a few boxes of mushrooms.  It was the perfect way to use up a heap before they went slimy.  This preserve really highlights the mushrooms' natural flavour and can be used mixed through pasta, on a pizza, as part of a savoury snack (like on dry biscuits with cheese) or anything else you can think of!  It's a really unique flavour, but it totally works!  I made a few changes to the recipe (taken from Simon Bryant's website), but I've given you the original here.  Let me know how you go!

Ingredients
1 cup dried porcini
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 shallots, diced
3 sprigs fresh oregano and fresh thyme
4 Portobello mushrooms, 2mm diced
6 fresh shiitake mushrooms, 2mm diced
6 button mushrooms, 2mm diced
4 Swiss brown mushrooms, 2mm diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon salt
½ cup dry white wine
50ml red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil for covering top of jar at the end

Method
Soak the dried porcinis in a bowl of warm water. Let sit for 20 minutes or until they are soft. Strain through a fine sieve reserving the liquid, squeezing out the juice. Chop finely.

In a large sauté pan, heat the olive oil until warmed. Fry the shallots and stir until fragrant, add the porcini, stir then add the fresh herbs and garlic. Continue to stir then add all the mushrooms and sauté until cooked adding “a bucket load of salt”. It takes quite a lot of time to really cook out. Deglaze pan by adding white wine then red wine vinegar and continue to cook until evaporated. Add the reserved porcini liquid and reduce until liquid has evaporated.

Remove from heat and pour into sterilized jars, (these can be sterilized in the oven) let settle to get the air pockets out (knock the jar on the bench to help it along). Top with the extra oil and seal while hot making sure that the jar is full to the top. This should keep about 3 months in the fridge.

Perfect to use on bruschetta, in pasta sauces topped with a little grated parmesan and basil, or tossed through warm potatoes, in risotto, or as a base for pizza.

This recipe is adapted from the Women's Weekly Best Recipes book. It would have to be one of the most filling low-calorie meals I've had (just 240 calories per serve!) We all really loved this one, kids included - it really ticks all the boxes for me! Oh and try not to get so preoccupied with making pasta necklaces for your kids that you let the milk boil over on the stove and have a huge mess to clean up - sigh...happens to the best of us!

Ingredients ingredients (serves 4)
2 zucchini, diced
300g pumpkin, diced
1 cup sliced mushroom
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive oil spray
1 tablespoon Moriccan seasoning
2 cups low-fat milk
2 cups water
1 cup polenta
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
250g frozen spinach, thawed

Method
Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius/200 fan-forced.

Combine zucchini, pumpkin, mushrooms, garlic and seasoning in a large baking dish. Spray with olive oil. Roast for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, combine the milk and water in large saucepan; bring to the boil. Gradually add polenta, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring, about 5 minutes or until polenta thickens.  Stir in cheese and spinach.

Divide between plates; top with roast veges.  Sprinkle with extra Parmesan if you like.

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This is another recipe I made for my son's first birthday party - and they went like hotcakes!  I think people really go for savoury options at parties - and I loved that it was something I could do so easily in the shape of stars and rocket ships!  Would be great as a lunchbox snack too.

Ingredients (makes 30)
150g butter, softened
1 cup finely grated Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (plus extra for sprinkling)
1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted (plus extra for kneading)

Method
Cream butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Stir in cheeses and beat until just combine.

Fold in flour, mix to combine.  Turn out micture onto a lightly floured board and knead lightly to form a round dough ball.

Roll out dough to 5mm thickness. Cut into rounds (or other shapes) using a biscuit cutter.  Place onto lightly greased baking trays, sprinkle with extra Parmesan cheese and lightly dust with sweet paprika if desired.

Bake in a preheated 180 degree celsius oven for 10-15 minutes or until cooked and golden.

Cool biscuits on trays for 5 minutes before transferred to wire rack.

I was searching for a gluten-free slice to take along to a group and found this one in the "Generous Helping" cook book.  As I was making it, I started to wonder if oats really are gluten free.  I found this interesting explanation online, which was a perfect answer to the question.  So, for the 1 in 5 people who are gluten free but CAN'T eat oats, I'm sorry - this recipe is not for you!  But for everyone else, it's fabulous!  I've included the nuts in this recipe, but I didn't add them, just so I could keep it gluten, nut and egg-free.  I hope you enjoy this one!  You can hear Liam & Robbie's review at the bottom of this post!

Ingredients
400g tin condensed milk
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
3.4 cup raw peanuts
1 cup mixed seeds (eg pumpkin, sesame, sunflowers)
3/4 dried fruit (eg sultanas, apricots, raisins, cranberries)
3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius.  Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.

Place the condensed milk in a glass bowl and warm in the microwave (about 30 seconds).  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Press mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.

Here's another great leftover ham recipe. I love it because the base recipe has just four ingredients, it's super easy and freezes well so you always have an afternoon snack on hand. I added chopped capsicum & dried herbs to mine - you could also add corn, grated carrot or zucchini, fresh herbs or a dollop of fruit chutney on top. My little Mr loved these so much he chose to have one for dessert instead of yoghurt!

Ingredients
2 cups self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated cheese
125g ham, chopped

Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Sift the flour and make a well in the middle. Pour in the milk, cheese, ham and any other ingredients.

Mix until combined.

Spoon into a muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.