Mini donuts with maple syrup frosting

Recently I finally had the opportunity to try out Erin from making memories with your kids maple syrup frosting. I have seen her use this recipe on a few different items and they always looked so delectable.

So in preparation for my dogs 2nd birthday -but first with me since he was adopted at 15mths old- I tried out cooking some mini donuts to share on the day.

I'm not sure where I saw it, but somewhere here in blog land I saw the concept of making donuts in a donut press using a boxed cake mix. With the only difference of following the box instructions was using only half the liquid measurement. 

So I mixed up the batter, placed teaspoons into the press and made batch after batch after batch. 

Looking good so far. 

I tried to mix the frosting up in between batches, but it was easiest to do it afterwards. Those little donuts don't bake for long. 

A dollop of frosting on each, and they were just too hard to resist. 

Honestly they were better the next day, the frosting settled into the donuts and they tasted donuty rather than cakey. 

So Happy Birthday to Toby. 

Here he is sharing a doggie friendly donut with 2 of his cousins.

It was just the humans who got to eat the maple frosting donuts.

I may be linked up at these parties.

M.I.A & Cherry Ripe Brownie Bar.

I cannot believe it has been 3 months since my last post. I have baked, crafted, sewn & DIYed and none of it has made it to my blog yet.

I can't even blame a busy life or holiday as to why it has been so long... I just had a little hiatus. 

But as its winter here in Melbourne I might as well use the cold wet weather to stay in and catch up on my blogging. 

Where to pick up again???

I've had a look through my photos and there is a bit to choose from. 

So I think the first thing I'll share is the last thing I made. 

My dad is a big influence in what I bake, he loves to create in the kitchen just as much as I do, so each week there is a new email of a recipe he'd like me to try out. 

So here it is....

Cherry Ripe Brownie Bar. 

The recipe came from taste.com.au

I followed it almost exactly, the differences I had were:

1. I used a loaf pan as I could not find a bar pan to the dimensions stated

2. The brownie needed to be baked about 10min longer (although I believe it's my oven to blame, not the recipe)

Fingers crossed some time in the next month my new oven will be delivered and installed.

It was very rich and sweet, so it's ok that it's only small, it goes a long way. 

It would be great to take as a slice to share with friends, it is best made the day before as it does take some time, but it is sooo worth it. 

I may be linked up at some of these parties.

Tuna dip

I have had a lemon tree in my yard for 5-6 years and finally I have usable lemons on it.

With my first lemon I made my favorite tuna dip.

250g-350g spreadable cream cheese.
95g tin of tuna in spring water,drained.
juice of 1 lemon.
1 tbs chopped parsley.
Blend all of the above in a food processor and serve with any crackers.

I may be linked up at these parties.

Chicken Pot Pie.

A simple and easy dinner to put together would have to be Chicken Pot Pie.

I don't have exact measurements or ingredients, just what ever takes my fancy that night.

But a basic guide is......

2 Chopped chicken thighs
1.5 cups rice (I don't actually measure this, I just pour)
2 cups of finely chopped vegetables (what ever you like, and frozen is fine)
1 can of cream of chicken (or mushroom or corn) soup.
Herbs to taste.
1 sheet of puff pastry.

I fry off the chicken in a pan and add any fresh vegetables and dried herbs, and cook until tender. I add the can of soup and stir through. (fresh herbs can be added now if they don't need to be cooked off)

In a pot of water I put the rice and any frozen vegetables and boil until the rice is cooked, drain.

Then it's a matter of assembling.

I place the rice and veg in a square baking tray and pour on the chicken/veg/soup mix, mixing them together just slightly on the top.

I then either place an entire sheet of pastry on the top or cut it up and lattice the pastry.

Bake in a medium oven until the pastry is nice and brown and ta da!!! it's done!

I may be linked up at these parties.

Tool storage in plain sight - part 2

So it took a little longer than a day to get some more paint, but I made it in the end.






I finished the purple colour and then made the decision to lace paint the trunk.

I chopped up some old curtains that the previous owners had in my house.

Using a spray adhesive I sprayed the back of the curtain, let it sit a couple minutes before pressing it onto the trunk.

I then lightly sprayed over the lace with silver/chrome paint and left it to dry before peeling off the curtain.

This was the result....not sure if it will stay this way. The silver is a little more glossy than I would like so it may get a little white wash over the top.

I still need to finish the handles and lock in a silver polish I have..... but it's a tiny tube and it hasn't come out from hiding yet.

So this trunk now sits in my dining area near the back door. It is filling up with lots of goodies and can be dragged along to any task thanks to those fab little wheels.

View part 1 here and maybe one day maybe there will be a part 3.

I may be linked up at these parties.

Tool storage in plain sight - part 1.

Living in a 2 bedroom unit, storage space is very valuable. I'm lucky enough to have a single car garage but space is minimal and often inaccessible when the car is in there.

I previously kept my tools in two baskets on top of the laundry cupboards. Handy and accessible when needing to do a little task but over time I have acquired more and more tools, bits and pieces etc. and these two baskets were overloaded. At Christmas I received my very own cordless drill (no more borrowing from family) and well it just would not fit in a little basket.

So time to create a new storage space.

I thought about getting a purpose built tool box and had eyed off one that my dad has in his garage, but it wouldn't be great room decor and as said before I wouldn't be able to get at it if it was kept in my garage.



I currently keep my sewing machine and accessories in a trunk in the living room that doubles as a side table and place to put my room decor etc.

I liked this idea for a giant tool box.

   Inside this trunk is my sewing machine

So I kept my eye out for a trunk. It took a while to find the right size and I found most had a fabric outer and I had my heart set on painting the trunk in some way.

I eventually found this trunk at 'Sam's Warehouse.'

I picked up some castor wheels to make sure this new toolbox would be portable and put my new cordless drill to use.

I started spray painting the trunk in violet, in light coats. and of course during coat 3 the can ran dry. I thought about making a quick trip to 'Bunnings' to grab a new can but the clouds heading my way put a halt to that so I had just enough time let the last coat dry before bringing it back inside. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry and I can finish the violet coat.

I may be linked up at these fab parties.

what's next.....

The past few weeks have been filled with illness and aches, so I have done very little baking/crafting/DIY.

...........A few things have been started but not finished.

I did make 5 more ticket stub memory box's for friends and have the supplies for 2 more.

I have brought home fabric for different projects and not started one........

I've had a few failed cooking experiences in the kitchen, edible and delicious but ...well... I was sure I followed the recipe both times but this was the results. 

I will be giving these another go. The original recipe was for American style "biscuits" but in truth I much preferred the 1st attempt which mine turned out like cookies (we call these biscuits)

oh well, I'm sure I will feel back in the groove soon.