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Showing posts from 2011

Ripped off

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Over the last few months i have quietly been noticing various loss of movements in fingers, toes, feet & hands & also been suffering sharp immense pains from this. Also having problems with my neck and back i kept pushing it to the sideline all the while having other more important matters to deal with. Relocating,  Having a sick baby,  The list could go on and on. But its now got to a point where i had to get this sorted and find out whats going on with me. Went to the Dr's finally on Monday & expressed my issues to which i was devastated after having x-rays and examination to find i have Psoriatic Arthritis  and would have a long list of medical issues for the rest of my life also requiring pain relief treatment etc in Brisbane asap. Being so young for this the Dr felt really sorry for me and was just so lovely. I went home feeling really ripped off Really REALLY RIPPED OFF "Why me?" Seriously why me???? Have i not been through enough this

Reindeer Cookies

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3/4 cup peanut butter 1 1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup shortening 3 tablespoons milk 1 tablespoon vanilla 1 egg 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 3/4 teaspoon salt Chocolate-covered mini pretzels Mini brown M&Ms Regular-sized red M&Ms Preheat oven to 375°F. Combine brown sugar, peanut butter, shortening, milk, and vanilla in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended. Add egg; beat until just blended. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to creamed mixture at low speed. Mix just until blended. Form dough into 1-inch balls. To make reindeer-shaped cookies, pinch the bottom of the ball slightly to form a point, then gently flatten with your hand. Space cookies about 2 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet and bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until set or just beginning to brown.  Remove from oven and immediately ( and gently)  press two mini pretzels into the tops of the cookies for the reindeer's antlers
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Smoked salmon bites recipe These little smoked salmon bites are just like salmon latkes with cream cheese but made with a lot less effort. Using store-bought hash browns makes these a great cocktail party option so you can enjoy time with your guests. Category: Budget ,  Christmas ,  Finger food ,  Party food ,  Seafood ,  Fish Ingredients: 100g smoked salmon 250g cream cheese 12 hash browns 1 small bunch dill vegetable oil for deep frying Method: Take a serated knife and trim the sides off the hash browns. Cut the trimmed block into 6 squares. It works well if you stack 2 hash brown on top of each other to do this. Deep fry these squares until golden and drain on kitchen towel. Leave to cool. Take half teaspoons of cream cheese and place on top of the potato squares. Cut the smoked salmon into 5mm strips and wind up. Place on top of cream cheese. Garnish tops with dill. Makes about 48 bites. Notes You can buy hash browns individually in the deli section of the supermarket or b
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Christmas trifle recipe Everybody loves trifle and it just screams Christmas to me. It's a special occasion dish that requires a bit of preparation but it's always worth it! Category: Australian ,  Christmas ,  Dessert ,  Kids food ,  Party food , Fruit Ingredients: 1pkt strawberry flavoured jelly 1 pkt lime jelly 6 cups milk 6 tbsp custard powder 6 tbsp sugar 600ml cream, whipped 1 punnet strawberries 1 tin (825g) sliced peaches 1 tin (425g) mango slices 1 swiss roll 1/2 cup or sherry or orange juice Method: Prepare jelly as per packet instructions and refrigerate. Prepare custard as per instructions using the custard powder, sugar and milk. Refrigerate. Whip cream and refrigerate. When ready to assemble, drain the peaches and mango. Slice the swiss roll and lay in the bottom of the bowl. Sprinkle over the sherry or orange juice. Lay ingredients in the following order: Green jelly, half of the custard, peaches, red jelly, custard, mango and then cream. Smoot
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Spinach cobb dip recipe This is a spinach cobb dip recipe made for kidspot.com.au. A creamy, tasty dip in a crispy edible bowl that is popular for entertaining. Category: Australian ,  BBQ ,  Easy recipes ,  Finger food ,  Party food , Snacks ,  Vegetarian ,  Dip recipes Ingredients: 1 white Cobb loaf, unsliced 250g spinach, frozen chopped ½ white onion, diced finely 300ml sour cream 2/3 cup mayonnaise 1 pkt Continental spring vegetable soup mix Method: Defrost spinach and squeeze out excess water. Combine onion, spinach, sour cream, mayonnaise and soup mix in a bowl. Refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Preheat oven to 180°C. Take a lid off the Cobb loaf and scoop out bread in bite size pieces and put aside. Spray all the bread with non stick cooking spray and bake for 10 minutes on an oven tray to crisp up. Leave to cool and fill with spinach mixture. Serve with lid and reserved bread.
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Reindeer cupcakes recipe These cute little reindeers will be loved by all the kids and grown ups alike. They are chocolate-y good and cute to boot. Give them as gifts in cupcake sized boxes or make a platter to take along to a party. They will disapear fast! Category: Cakes & Baking ,  Christmas ,  Chocolate ,  Cupcakes ,  Kids food ,  Party food Ingredients: 1 pkt Betty Crocker Mud cake mix 3 eggs 1/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup water 1 tub of Betty Crocker chocolate icing / Or make your own choc icing  1pkt Jaffas Smarties or M&M's candy coated choc chips or cachous 1 pkt pretzels Method: Preheat oven to 200°C. Place silver foil patty pans in a 12 cup tray. Prepare cake mix as directed and place 1/3rd cup measures in each patty pan and bake for 20 minutes.Leave to cool on a wire rack. When cooled take the icing and give each cupcake a generous coating. Place Jaffas on each one for the nose and smarties etc for the eyes. Cut the pretzels to make the antler shapes and
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Mars Bar Christmas crackles recipe Chocolate crackles are a kids-favourite at every birthday party. Now you can amp up the chocolate flavour with this Mars Bar version of the traditional chocolate crackle. And if you want to make them a little bit healthier, you could add a handful of dried fruit too. Category: Christmas ,  Chocolate ,  Kids cooking ,  Kids food ,  Party food Ingredients: 200g Mars Bars, chopped 2 tbsp of pouring (thin) cream 2 tsp cocoa powder, sifted 3 cups Rice Bubbles Canola spray 100g white chocolate 24 red Smarties or M&M's Method: Spray a little canola spray into 2 x 12 cup mini-muffin trays. Melt the Mars Bars, cream and cocoa in a glass bowl over simmering water. The bowl should not touch water. Stir the mixture until smooth. Put the Rice Bubbles in a separate large bowl, pour in the chocolate mixture and stir until well mixed. Spoon the mixture into the muffins tray and press down gently. Refrigerate for 2 hours and turn out onto a tray to dec

Santa Hat Brownies

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Aren’t these Santa Hat Brownies just so cute?    They’re so good and easy to make, especially since I bought Trader Joe’s Ready to Bake brownie mix (just pour the ready-made brownie batter in an 8X8 pan and bake for 22-25 minutes).  I whipped up some vanilla-mascarpone buttercream to simulate the white trim on the hats.  Voila!  A festive dessert to get everyone into the spirit of the holidays.  It really is beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! Santa Hat Brownies Yields 12-16 brownies Ingredients: 1 pan of your favorite brownies, cooled and cut into desired size and shape (I used a round cutter) 12-16 small strawberries, cleaned and hulled vanilla-mascarpone buttercream (recipe below) Mascarpone Buttercream Ingredients: 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 8 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature 2-1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pinch of salt Method: Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter and ma

Cupcake flowers

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Cupcake flowers Supplies New wooden spoons Paddle pop sticks Small cupcake papers Double sided tape Method Open up the cupcake papers and flatten colour side up. Arrange them around the spoon head, placing some front and back. Attach with tape. Add one in the centre for the face. Decorate by drawing eyes and mouth or add buttons and googly eyes. For the leaves just fold green cupcake flowers in half. Attach with tape. For smaller flowers just attach one paper to paddle pop stick.