One Pot Wonder: Sausage & Bean Hot Pot

I'm not normally one for sharing recipes - I love to cook and bake but for some reason I haven't done a lot of recipe sharing on this blog.
I should really.
It'd be rude not to.
Especially when I come across some real winners for the family, entertaining, or just for indulging.
And also when I've gathered some great cooking inspiration from other blogs out there and life is all about sharing.

Austin and I are self-proclaimed foodies. He's an AMAZING cook, especially Italian meals. Oh and breadmaking. While I excel more in the baking department. {But can cook a mean-as Vegetarian Lasagne!}
So I'm going to try to share more foodie goodness with y'all in the future. Hope that's ok?

For some reason tonight I just had 'good feelings' about the dinner I was making so, while my boys were being entertained by 'Ice Age 3 Dawn of the Dinosaurs'...

...I took the opportunity to document the process. Just incase it turned out to be a real winner.
And it did! {turn out to be a real winner that is...}

Funnily enough I was inspired by a cooking show on CBeebies {the UK children's channel} and I just kind of expanded on the idea.
Here's what I came up with:

1. Preheat oven to 160 degrees C / Gas Mark 3 / Warm oven.
2. In a large casserole/oven proof dish (with a lid) add 4 spring onions, sliced.

3. Add 1 cup long grain/Basmati rice

4. Cut into small pieces 1 red pepper, 1 yellow pepper and 1 courgette and add to pot.

5. Add 1 can chopped tomatoes and 1 can Red Kidney Beans {any bean would work really}

6. Stir ingredients to combine then place 8 sausages on top of mixture. {NB. I used Pork & Chorizo sausages so they added plenty of flavour to the dish overall. If using plain pork sausages you could add seasonings to give it a 'kick'. ie. tobasco sauce/cayenne pepper, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste etc. Just whatevas takes your fancy}

7.  Pour 600ml of stock over contents in pot. {I used 1 cube each of beef and vegetable stock}. Season, put the lid on and place in preheated oven for 1 hour.

8. Take it out of the oven just as your husband walks in the door and he will be singing your praises all evening. It's a tasty wee morsel. And easy-peasy.

I am so into making things in one pot or a slow cooker. I love it that you can just throw the ingredients in and let them sort it out amongst themselves as they cook. Brilliant.

:::

Gems of the week

Precious, Priceless, Pockets of Happiness during my week.

Wondering why Luca has been so quiet and, while expecting the worst, I find him happily sitting down reading through his latest book find "Cars and Trucks and Things That Go".

Baking my own bread every day. It's so ridiculously easy I don't know why I have bothered with the shop-brought stuff up until now!
The boys love it. No crusts left on their plate anymore!
And the aroma that fills the house when the bread's in the oven? Oh. My. Word.

The H&M voucher my most dearest friend gave me because she knows I can't buy any clothes for myself this year.
As explained here.
Seeing my need she willingly gets me a voucher for my birthday (for an incredibly generous amount!) to spend at one of my all time favourite stores.
Now that is friendship. Seeing a friend in need and meeting that need. God bless you Sweetpea.
And so I went shopping this week and spent it ALL and WOW OH WOW it felt GREAT!
To be back in my Retail Therapy = I am whole again.
I felt like I had come 'home'.

The massive stack of Peanut Butter and Chocolate Cookies I made.  
So yummy.  
So chewy.
So good for one's bum and thighs...

My 10.5kg 10 month old chunky monkey. He's getting all big now!

The little pockets of time I get during the day to chase my boys around the house and tickle them silly. This is the best job ever!

Cheese and Pickle. Can't get enough, no. You could say it's my first craving...

Enjoying the Fruits of the Season

Blackberries.
Not just any ol' blackberries.  
We're talking Wild blackberries.
Lovingly and carefully hand-picked by Luca and his Papa during their Father-Son outing today.

After a quick run-around in the playground right next to the blackberry bushes (how convenient!)

...the goods from the blackberry raid were brought home to proudly show mamma.

And what does one do when one is presented with hand-picked fresh blackberries? Well, one makes Blackberry and Apple Pie of course!
I just need to add here I even made the pastry from scratch. Yes I did.

As I kneaded and rolled the pastry while the apples and blackberries simmered in a large pot on the stove I had the feeling that if I closed my eyes and shut all the windows (to block out the noise of London traffic) I could easily imagine myself being in a cute cottage kitchen cooking a home-made pie using brambly apples from our orchard and blackberries that were collected from the forest earlier that morning.

Oh. My. Word. did it taste good!! Using stem ginger in the berry and apple mixture was ingenious!

Click here for the recipe from JamieOliver.com.

Fanks Jamie yeah. You is wicked innit.

It's all about the dinosaur

Last weekend this little boy turned 3.

But, seeing as about half the population of children in the world seem to have their birthdays in August, we weren't able to secure the day for his birthday party. Another more organised mother bet me to it... darnnit!

But we still had a family dinner.
With cake. But not just any ol' cake. We are talking scary DINOSAUR cake! RRRaaaaarrrrrr!!!

Probably the freakiest cake I've ever made - we felt very bad cutting him up and eating him, thinking he might come back to haunt us...

But most importantly the Birthday Boy was suitably impressed with his mamma's fine handiwork (whew!)

And so tomorrow is Luca's actual birthday party. It's a Dinosaur Theme (are you surprised?)
Unfortunately it's forecast for rain so I did well and pre-empted the weather and have arranged for the party to be held at Eddie Catz which is a big children's play area just down the road. It also has a large cafe space for the adults to chill-out in, drink coffee and eat cake. AND they serve wine! I am SO there!!

So the last minute extremely organised preparations were being done tonight.

Luca's dinosaur costume is brilliantly taking shape under the surprisingly skill-full hands of my one and only.

Who's a pretty flippin' awesome and amazing husband then huh?
And he's very masculine (just incase you thought he might be a bit soft because he's caught here sewing...)

The cakes are made and cooling, ready to be 'created' into a Dinosaur Spectacular in the morning. Can't wait to get making! I love this part of the process! (mostly because I get to taste-test the sweets as I decorate the cake)...

Yes there is a little part missing from the edge of the cake on the left... that's because I ate some... It literally jumped into my hand as I was gently guiding the cake from out of it's bowl...

The dinosaurs are ready to be slotted in between each layer of the 'Pass the Parcel'

The Party Packs are ready

A whole packet of peanut M&M's has been consumed.

We are ready to roll!

The thing I am looking forward to the most tomorrow is seeing my Big Boy 3 Year Old enjoying himself with his friends and people who love him. And for him to feel very special and cherished.
Because he is.

The glass is half full remember?

I would love to be able to write today and say what a beautiful and wonderful day it was with me and my darling, adorable children. But unfortunately I can't do that because that would by lying.

Oh my jolly golly goodness gracious me. Today was the type of day where I just wanted to go back to bed, pull the duvet covers over my head and sleep the day away, not having to face up to my responsibilities (children) for the day.

Today everything seemed to make Luca grizzle.
Today Beni had teething pain so was grizzly and snotty.
Today Luca refused to wear undies or use the toilet nor let me change his nappy, so he spent the whole day walking around in a wet, heavy diaper.
Today I spent approximately 40% of it yawning.

Today was a hard day. I'm not going to kid you or try to sugar-coat it. It was hard. I was strung out. But life goes on. Tomorrow will hopefully be better!

I don't like focusing on the negatives - that's not my style. I always like to acknowledge that the glass is half full.

So to round up my day I am going to focus on the good things about today. 
Things I am thankful for today.
Things that made me smile today.

Today I am thankful...

1. for the wonderful warm sunshine

2. that, because of the wonderful warm sunshine, I was able to wash and dry three full loads of washing on our balcony

3. for my slow cooker that made a kick-butt chicken casserole for dinner

4. for 2 strong healthy boys

5. for my husband who goes to work each day so I can be at home with our children

6. my pot-plants which are thriving and looking so healthy and green

7. for coffee

8. the boys are now both sleeping

9. for my health, that I can run around after Luca and throw him and Beni in the air when I play with them

10. that God's grace is helping me, guiding me, teaching me along the way about being the best Stay At Home Mamma I can be!

In between load 1 and 2 of washing we went to the playground to stretch our legs and to get out in the sunshine. Luca took his Thomas bike with him. It would go to bed with him too if we let him!

Something that has been making me laugh lately is that Beni has finally 'discovered' his Third Leg (so to speak)...
Everytime I take his nappy off his hand immediately goes in search of this Third Leg phenomenon to make sure it's still there and, upon finding it, gives it a firm tug. 
Duuuuude! That's got to hurt?!

And on that note, ci vediamo domani (see you later alligator) X

Lessons Learned, a Chick-Flick & Rainy Day Tuesday

Yesterday was a Bank Holiday here in the UK which means there's now only 4 days before the weekend again! Love those loooong weekends.

So to fully take advantage of the fact that hubby was home, I made a break for the door and went for a run in the morning, then swiftly moved on to the cinema in the afternoon.

Awesome day (for me... I don't think Austin was toooo happy about being 'left with the kids' so to speak...).

Anyhoo, so I went for run around Richmond Park and loved (nearly) every moment of it! So lovely to get out in the wide open space of the park, in amongst the trees and with dirt tracks underfoot. Running the off-road trail nearly makes me feel like I'm running in New Zealand.

Upon reflection, apart from burning 990 calories (I KNOW!!) and getting fresh air in my lungs, my experiences from yesterday's run can be lessons learned for future outings in the park. They are as follows:

1. Ensure I have more than a smoothie for breakfast before going for a 1hr 20min run.

2. Steer clear of old ladies on bikes who obviously haven't ridden a bicycle since they were 8 years old and, although they fully intend to avoid me, in doing so they will actually hit me with their handlebars.

3. Remember to take money with me just incase half way around the park I strain my calf muscle and should really get a taxi home.

4. There's no need to be scared of dogs in Richmond Park because it is only ever big black dogs in Italy that will attack me and bite just under my bum when out running in the Italian countryside. The Richmond Park dogs are much to rich to bite my cheap white ass.

5. Christian worship music is not good to listen to while running as it makes one want to fall to their knees...
Foo Fighters, Evanescence, Pink are all good. Anything with dirty guitars that makes me feel ever so slightly agressive is good as it makes me go faster and forget about the pain!

Limping in the door I had a quick shower, made a quick lunch for the boys and limped back out again to get to the chick flick with my favourite chicks.

Yep, Sex and the City 2. In a word - AWESOME! (believe it or not!...)
I loved, loved, LOVED this movie and I actually didn't go in with high expectations because the first was so good. But what totally took me by surprise was the great morals portrayed in the movie about the sacredness of marriage. If you haven't seen it I'm not going to spoil it for you, but just GO! Fabulously rediculous outfits (of course). Made me appreciate and cherish my girlfriends even more. Makes you want to go home, get fancied up and meet up with your best friends for cocktails and chats.

_______________________________________________________


There's just something about a rainy day that makes you want to get all cosy.
Today was a rainy day in London which also means an 'inside' day for us. This would normally freak me right out because 'Oh my gosh I have to entertain the children by myself INSIDE THE HOUSE ALL DAY and what will we DOOOOO?'
But I guess that 'normal' response is not who I am anymore. I think I'm actually getting my head around motherhood and having 2 children. And I must be relaxing more into this role of Stay At Home Mamma because I'm definitely enjoying it so much more. Wahoo!!

Luca came out of his room at one point with felt pen all over his feet saying "Look Mamma look!". So proud he was of his new markings. He took my hand and led me into his bedroom where he proceeded to 'tattoo' my legs and feet with all the colours of the rainbow.

NOTE to unsuspecting parents: the green crayola 'washable' felt pen stains the skin. Unfortunately this was the main colour Luca used on our legs...!

And then it was straight onto painting with his special paints from Aunty Gretchen

I

I love watching this little boy create. His facial expressions are wonderful and he just goes for it! No holding back. No delicate strokes. Just straight in there boom bang boom and TA-DAA! A masterpeice. Literally.

Of course my child is an intellectual and creative genius. Doesn't every mother think that of their precious little ones?








Casserole was in the slow cooker by 12:30. Children lunched and in bed for their afternoon nap (at the same time mind!) by 1pm. Well done mamma!

There was a bit of Pingu watching when they woke from their naps. At one stage I looked from the kitchen out into the lounge and Beni was doing big gummy-grinning at something on the computer, so I went to see what it was and it was a photo of ME that had come up on our screensaver! Flip. How to make a mamma feel special and loved! Cute little guy.

Rainy days are also a good opportunity for BAKING! So Luca and I made a banana loaf for Papa to let him know we love him and miss him during the day when he is at work.
And baking is always an exciting time for Luca as there are many opportunities to slip the mixture into your mouth when mamma's not looking/pretending not to notice...
At one point I was busy telling him to keep his fingers out and just use the wooden spoon to stir and he sticks his finger in the flour and then looks at me and grins.
 "Well sure, you can eat it" I say (cos you're going to anyway no matter what I say) "but you won't like it."
So he puts his floured finger in his mouth.
"Mmmmm!" says the cheeky little boy sitting on the bench in his undies and T-shirt.  "Nice" and pats his belly.

*cue sigh from Mamma while lifting eyes heavenward*

And now it's off to bed, off to bed. Time to join the little people in their slumber.

Finishing is better than starting

Finishing the dishes is better than starting the dishes.
Finishing having a baby is better than starting to have a baby...
Finishing a run is better than starting out on a run.
Finishing cleaning the toilet is better than starting to clean the toilet.

Although there is often joy in the process (with cleaning the toilet being the exception here...), there is always a great sense of satisfaction and achievement upon completion of a task or project.

I am currently experiencing a great sense of satisfaction upon finishing sorting out all my summer and winter clothes and putting my winter clothes away. There has been a jumbo-sized rice bag FULL of my summer clothes sitting just outside our bedroom door which I have been trying but failing to sort through for the past 3 weeks.

But today I have completed this task and I feel like a new woman! This bag is now full of winter clothes and maternity clothes that I am more than happy to put away out of sight.

I have also put away all my winter coats and boots (in a seperate suitcase...) and replaced them with summer dresses and sandals. HOORAH!!

Now although there was great joy and satisfaction experienced upon completing this task, there was tremendous jubilation and high-fiving to myself when I discovered I fit into all my pre-Luca clothes! Big Ups to you Mamma. Whoop whoop!

I also gathered quite a large bag of clothes that I don't need anymore (don't worry Sweetpea, you will get first dibbs on these!). And now that my drawers and wardrobe are choca-bloc full of clothes for the summer this has just reinforced my decision to not buy any clothes this year (reasons for which are explained here).

Note to best friend Sarah: I think we now need to start putting money or a decent bottle of wine on this as I have made it to the 6 month mark without even sniffing new clothes and, although I have learned from experience that you are always right about everything, I feel you have severly misjudged my abilities with this one. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

I'm loving this feeling of satisfaction upon completion so much that I think I'll continue with doing big clean-outs and re-sorting of cupboards and drawers. I've learnt to make the most of this sudden urge to re-organise my household as this doesn't take hold of me very regularly. I don't think it takes a-hold of my husband at all as he is most definitely the hoarder of all time.

Aparently most men have a 'man-drawer' (as described most brilliantly by comedian Michael McIntyre below), but my husband has a 'man-cupbaord' which he actually gets angry at everytime he tries to find anything in it...



So as my household gets organised and de-cluttered, as the days get longer and warmer, as my jeans get looser and my boys get cuter by the minute, life is feeling pretty darn good. I like feeling like this.

Today I am feeling strong and like I can be a really great wife and mother.
(better get off the computer then and cook my husband some dinner!)

And so I will leave you with a few pics of those with the cuteness-factor goin' on.

With love from Texas

While feeding the younguns breakfast this morning a parcel arrived for us all the way from Texas. Some very special friends of ours from waaaaay back are living over there and they obviously felt the need to show the Boksers some love by sending some goodies for us. Bless their cotton-pickin socks!

The Pingu toy is actually Luca's and we left it in Italy when we had a summer holiday together last year. They fortunately happened to find it and took it all the way back to New York and it was then packed up in their move to Texas shortly after.
So one of the gifts today was a photo journal titled "Pingu's Trip Around The World" and it's FULL of photos and captions and little stories of Pingu's time away from Luca since last summer.

So flippin cute. So flippin creative. I'm SO feeling the love with the amount of time that must have gone into this little project.

It's also given me an 'itch' and a tingle in my fingers to get creating again. I've got so many projects that I'm only half way through completing and it's really starting to frustrate me. I mean, come on Brigitte, your youngest is nearly 6 months old, what have you been doing all this time??...

Staring at me in the corner of the room is a jersey I'm knitting for Luca for the winter that's just been.......

I also tried my hand at scrapbooking while on holiday in NZ - the idea was to record days and events as a holiday memory for Luca and Beni. I've got up to Day 5 and still have over 4 weeks to complete.

But while I was in NZ I got inspired again. It was a good feeling. Inspired to make my home look lovelier just through little 'touches' here and there (gotta love those NZ House and Garden mags, I became addicted).
Unfortunately I have yet to start doing this though as I still haven't even unpacked properly! And the weird yet wonderful and slightly crazy thing is this doesn't really bother me (...ok... maybe just a little bit... but I'm doing pretty good at ignoring it really).

I picked up these at the Mangakino Op Shop for $5 - A complete collection of 'Golden Hands' manuals which is "The complete knitting, dressmaking and needlecraft guide" first published in 1966.

I remember my mum having these and I used to look through them all the time. She was impressed (and possibly envious) of my good buying on that particular day.

These books include ideas and designs such as the following:

Hold me back...

Woof Woof Ladies!

 Titled "Italian Smocking Neglige". Beautiful. Sexy. Yet Demure...

Although I mock there are actually some pretty groovy items (as you would expect from 1966) and great tips on everything from dressmaking pattern drafting, crochet stitches, beading, lace work, quilting, upholstery etc etc.
Just a couple of things I'm keen to put my hand to are these:

It's a crocheted rug - I hope I'm not the only one who thinks this is funky-cool.

This is a knitted heirloom baby's blanket

My wonderful and gorgeous Nana went to be with her Lord at the end of last year and my mum gave us all little bits and bobs of nanas that we really treasure and are a very special reminder of a very special lady. Mum has items of nanas that were given to nana by her own mother and even by her grandmother. Beautiful things, handcrafted things. Things that speak volumes of the generations of mothers and grandmothers who took pride even in the small things which they laboured over for many hours in order for their homes to look lovely and their children to be clothed smartly and in warmth.
This significant event in my life has made me come to appreciate so much more the value in family heirlooms and in leaving a legacy. And so that's why I would like to think I can, even now, start to be making some beautiful things such as this for my children, and even my grandchildren (scary thought though that is!).

So watch this space as I shall endeavour to impress you all with my craftyness skills!...

And a big big big THANK YOU to our wonderful Texan/Kiwi friends for sending over these gifts. We feel loved and I feel inspired! X