Sharing Saturday

I have been MIA for a few days now. A family of 7 takes some work and some days I find myself flopping into bed along with my husband and closing my eyes for what feels like 15 minutes before I am either woken by Cinderella needing a feed/nappy change/dummy or the alarm going off telling us it is time to start yet another day.

Basically, I have decided I will be popping in here as often as possible. I am hoping to try to make this one of the first or last things I do on the computer every day.

So, today is Sharing Saturday and here is what I am sharing with you all today;

Smoked Salmon Pasta

• A packet of dried pasta - we used bucatini (hollow spaghetti pasta)
• 1 tbls olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 300mls of cream
• Salted capers, rinsed, finely chopped - however much you like. We used 3 tbls in total
• 1/4 cup grated tasty cheese
• 150g smoked salmon, cut into thin strips - or more if you like

Method

1. Cook pasta in a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, following packet directions, until tender. Drain and return to saucepan.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add cream and capers. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 to 4 minutes or until cream is reduced slightly.
3. Add grated cheese to cream mixture and stir until it is melted through. Add Smoked Salmon then add the sauce to pasta. Toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
   
   You can make variations of this recipe by adding things like shallots, parmasan cheese etc. Regardless, it is an easy & yummy recipe.
   
   Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! :)

Thinking Thursday

Today I have been thinking about how much I love the labels I recently purchased from Bright Star Kids.
With Mini Him recently starting day care, I recalled just how many things need to be labelled. It has been a while since Teen Queen went to daycare and back then all I did was write on her stuff with permanent marker.

The Bright Star Kids labels are so much better than permanent marker! Not only do they look amazing, they last!!! The iron on labels are fabulous and so easy to use.
I decided today that I need some more regular labels, so I got some for Princess Kewpie. Because her clothes will be passed down to Cinderella, we're just going to have our surname put on her clothing labels but her name & surname put on her regular labels. I think she is going to love having big stickers just like her brother.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the speed of delivery. There was no way I thought they would be here in time for Mini Him's next day care day, but they were. They got heer 2 days after I ordered & paid!!! Gotta love that.

So, I am a bit of a fan. I admit, it is nice to farewell the permanent marker.

Website Wednesday

Todays Website is the wonderfully beautiful

Bridiejo Handmade Clothes

I am a MASSIVE fan of Bridiejo. Sinead, the wonderful woman behind Bridiejo is amazing. Everything she makes is just so beautiful, so girly and oh so special. I have purchased many Bridiejo dresses for Princess Kewpie and my beautiful niece and I will continue to keep purchasing many more if I can. Sinead is a busy working mum to beautiful twin girls so Bridiejo is her hobby so her dresses can be hard to come by. It can be difficult to buy a piece from the collections but it is so very worth it when you do. I am going to try to buy 3 dolls in the very near future. Fingers crossed!
Check out the website and like her facebook page. If you have a special little girl in your life I am sure you will find it hard to resist wanting something from Bridiejo!

Sharing Saturday - Lawrences Favourite Choc Cake

This cake is so easy. The good thing is that this recipe makes a decent sized cake which is freezable!!! Who doesn't love that?



Chocolate Cake

• 2 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 1/2 cups caster sugar
• 150g butter, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb soda, sifted
• 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
• 2 eggs

Chocolate Icing

• 50g butter, chopped
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 3/4 cup icing sugar mixture
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Combine sugar, butter, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa and 1 cup cold water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 2 minutes or until mixture doubles. Transfer to a large bowl. Cool for 15 minutes.

2. Add flour and eggs. Using an electric mixer, beat mixture until pale and smooth. Pour mixture into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean. Stand in pan for 10 minutes. Turn, top side up, onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. Icing: Place butter, caster sugar and 2 tablespoons cold water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil. Remove from heat. Sift icing sugar and cocoa into a bowl. Gradually add butter mixture. Stir to combine. Cover. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or until frosting thickens. Beat with a wooden spoon until spreadable. Spread cake with icing.

Family Friday

Princess Kewpie

Prince Charming & Mini Him

Metal Man, Teen Queen & Mini Him

Cinderella

Teen Queen & Cinderella

Yes, we're one of THOSE families!

Big plans

I have some plans for my blog. They may change as I go along, but this is what I am thinking right now.

I am planning to have;

Moaning Monday - The one day a week where I will have a moan. 1 day out of 7 sounds pretty good to me.

YouTube Tuesday - I will post my favourite thing from YouTube. I might even give an explaination why I chose to post this one.

Website Wednesday - I will share my favourite webpage.

Thinking Thursday - I will post my thoughts & plans and maybe some reviews.

Family Friday - I will post pics of my family and blog about our lives.

Sharing Saturday - I will share a favourite recipe.

Funday Sunday - This will be my do-what-I-want day.

I'm excited about the news changes I am planning to make to the blog. I'm not sure if there is anyone out there that actually reads it, but I am kinda doing it to amuse myself more than anything :)