Well it has been a very crazy last two weeks! and there has been temper tantrums and smiles all around! with most of the temper tantrums coming from Little Miss Me......

The busy blues have introduced themselves to my life. What are busy blues you may be asking.....Well I basically just made it up! It is the words I use for when life gets so busy that even if you love what your doing the blues set in because you honestly just forgot about yourself.

You forget to read that book. You forgot to watch the sunset. You forget to watch that film. You forget to visit that place you have been dying to visit and You forget to make the time to spend with that special someone.

Everything that you want to do for yourself just gets put away at the back of your mind while you run around getting everything else done and for a short while you actually manage to push those busy blues away. But eventually they come back and they tell you that enough is enough. It is time for YOU!

That time has arrived and it is stronger than ever! 

It is time for me to take care of myself. I need to get healthier and get fit. I need to set some time for myself to read and create. I need to get out and get into some more social environments. 

What I would really like to do is:

Join a Book Club

Join a Craft Group

Get Active and Healthy

Have some Facebook free days ( I know I work on there but sometimes it's too much) 

Spend more time outdoors

Save money

Have a monthly date night with my man. 

I believe that all of these things will make for a happier and healthier me. 

It has come to my severe attention that I am not feeling fulfilled in my life and the only person who can change that is me! I need to focus more on what i want than trying to make everybody happy and just sitting here doing nothing but working on my computer and turning in to a hermit. 

So starting this week is a brand new me :D 

and hopefully I can get into some social groups so i can meet some new people. 

Liane xx 

Chicken, Zuchinni and Squash Stir-Fry

Yum Yum Yum!!!!! this dish was soooo yummy and sooooo simple to make! So obviously I am going to shar the recipe with you all :D It was supposed to have red chilli in it but I chose to leave it out so that the dish wasn't too spicy for my kids......

Chicken, Zuchinni and Squash Stir-Fry

Serves 4

500g chicken stir fry strips

3 garlic cloves

4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely grated

1 tablespoon Kikkoman sweet soy sauce

2 tablespoons blanched almonds

2 and a 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil

2 zuchinni, trimmed and cut into batons

4 yellow squash, quartered

1 bunch bok choy, leaves and stems seperated, roughly chopped

2 tablespoons oyster sauce

1 long red chilli, thinly sliced

steamed jasmine rice, to serve

1. Combine chicken, ginger, garlic and soy sauce in a medium bowl. Toss to coat. 

2. Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Add Almonds, stir fry for 3 - 4 minutes or until golden and transfer to a bowl. 

3. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok. Swirl to coat. Add half the chicken. Stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes or until golden. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and remaining chicken. 

4. Add remaining oil to wok. Swirl to coat. Add zuchinni and squash. Stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes until just tender. Return chicken and any juices to wok. Add almonds, bok choy stems, oyster sauce and chilli. Stir fry for 2 - 3 minutes or until chicken is fully cooked through. Add bok choy leaves. Stir fry for 1 minute or until leaves have wilted. 

5. Serve with steamed rice.

Enjoy!

Liane xx                                           

On the Menu!!

This week in my Palace we have a variety of new meals coming up!! 

Yesterday the fiance and I cooked a Jamie Oliver '30 Minute Meal' ~ Mustard Chicken with Dauphinoise (poatato bake) and Greens, and oh my it was delicious!! although I prefer my normal potato bake which i will upload a recipe for soon :D 

Anyway! Here is the Menu for the rest of the week:

Tuesday ~ Zuchinni & Lemon Risotto with Prawns (Kids will be cooking)

Wednesday ~ Speedy Beef Stroganoff

Thursday ~ Bangers and Mash

Friday ~ Chicken, Zuchinni and Squash Stir-Fry

Saturday ~ I will be working all day so we will have some Hot Chips for tea :D 

Sunday ~ Noodle night

Kids Lunch Boxes this week will be:

Chicken wings with Salad, Gingerbread Cookies and Popcorn

Ham and Salad wraps with Lemonade Jelly and Rice Pudding

Caesar Salad with Banana Muffins and Fruit salad

(all homemade) 

Some recipes will be up later in the week!!

Liane xx 

My Week!

A lot has been happening in my palace this week. I have been busy busy busy organising my Once Upon A Market. Which involved typing up, printing and folding up all the info for my welcome packs which all got distributed to each stall-holder. Then I had to fill out lots of forms and ask lots of questions as i went through the insurance process and ABN process. There was also lots of Polkadot Bitz and Pieces work going on which included an overload of sewing and gluing, which resulted in my poor hot glue gun blowing up! 

But throughout my busy week I found time to appreciate some simple things!!! 

This week we had some lovely rain in Adelaide and everybody knows that I love love love the rain. And as I was typing away on my computer I saw a little friend Mr Snail who popped out to say hello next to my back door :) And I just had to get a pic!

I can't wait to get some more rain soon :) i'm definitely a winter girl!!

While it was raining I got lots of work done as well as lots of baking. Because we all know that baking is so much more fun when it is raining out. I also got to rug up on the couch with my Heat Pack (which I make at Polkadot Bitz and Pieces) and I got to read my books and catch up on the latest movies.


Another thing that brightened up my week was my Kitty, Tsuki!! She is growing up soooo fast from when we got her near Christmas last year and when she isn't whining at me food she is my best friend always coming up for a cuddle and trying to help me sew........which doesn't really work she just pulls all my threads apart and then looks at me with this dopey face! haha It is lovely to have her as part of the family! This photo was taken of her when I had a headache in bed and she came in for a snuggle.........

On Tuesday we had a dinner party with my Mother in Law. And oI just had to try one of the Jamie Oliver 30 minute meals out again! and once again it was a huge success!! and loved by everybody. My fiance and I worked together to create Tasty Crusted Cod with Mashy Peas and Warm Salad (with a tartare sauce on the side) Oh my gosh that Tartare sauce was delicious I won't be buying tartare sauce ever again!!!  


As you can see my mashy peas didn't turn out too good as I actually forgot to buy peas so it was actually just mashed potato and broccoli with some mint added in there!! delicious all the same!! but next time I won't forget to buy the peas :P

And lastly to end my week! I sat with my mummy to come up with a pattern for some drawstring bags to add to my Polkadot Bitz and Pieces range. And this is what we came up with. I am so excited! and so far they have been very popular at my markets and online! I can't wait to make some more!

So that was some of the highlights of my week! I hope your week was just as eventful and enjoyable!! 

Liane xx 

Mini Spinach, Feta and Mushroom Gozleme

Mini Spinach, Feta and Mushroom Gozleme

Makes: 8 

Ready in 40 minutes

2/3 cup warm water

2 teaspoons (7g sachet) instant dry yeast

1/2 teaspoon caster sugar

1 and 1/2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup olive oil

1 green onion, thinly sliced

200g button mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons currants

100g baby spinach

50g feta, crumbled

50g tasty cheese, grated

lemon wedges to serve

1. Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in a jug. Whisk with a fork to dissolve yeast. Stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until frothy.

2. Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Add yeast mixture and 2 teaspoons olive oil. Mix to form a soft dough. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes or until elastic. Place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Stand in a warm place for 20 minutes or until dough doubles in size. 

3.Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion. Cook stirring, for 1 minute or until softened. Add mushroom. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes or until softened. Add currants and spinach and cook for 1 minute or until spinach has just wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Transfer mixture to a sieve placed over a bowl to drain excess liquid. Cool for 10 minutes.

4. Divide dough into 8 equal portions. Roll 1 piece dough into a 10cm x 15cm rectangle. Combine feta and cheese in a small bowl. Place one-eighth spinach mixture over one half of the rectangle. Top with cheese mixture. Fold dough over to enclose filling. Press edges together to seal. Repeat with remaining dough, spinach mixture and cheese mixture.

5. Preheat a barbecue plate or frying pan on medium-high heat. Brush one side of each gozleme with remaining oil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until base is golden. Brush uncooked side with oil. Turn over and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden and crisp. Transfer gozleme to plates. Cut in half and serve with lemon wedges.

This dish was so simple and so delicious! I will definitely be eating these for lunch more often!! 

Liane xx