Cherry slice 🍒😍

Here’s the recipe to this delicious slice! ENJOY! 🙌🏼

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 CUP plain flour
• 1/4 CUP cocoa powder
• 1/4 CUP caster sugar 
• 200g PACK of Glacé cherries (finely chopped)
• 125 GRAMS butter (melted)
• PINK food colouring
• 3 CUPS desiccated coconut
• 200 GRAMS of dark chocolate (chopped, or I used melts)
• 20 GRAMS copha 
• 397 GRAM can of condensed milk

METHOD

1. Preheat oven 180c
2. Line slice pan (any size really)
3. Combine flour, sugar and cocoa in bowl
4. Add butter, stir to combine
5. Spoon into slice pan
6. Bake for 10min or until firm
7. Combine cherries, condensed milk and coconut in a bowl then add 1-2 drops of food colouring, stir well to combine 
8. Spoon over slice base making sure you have a smooth surface
9. Bake for another 20 – 25 minutes or until firm to touch -set aside to cook for 30min
10. FOR CHOCOLATE TOP – Place the chocolate and copha together and either double boil over stove or melt in microwave stiring well, pour over cherry/coconut layer and smooth top.
11.  Pop into fridge to set for 30 + min and cut into pieces to serve

Yippeeeee! 🍒

CARROT/SULTANA/COCONUTMUFFINS 😍

3 cups grated carrots

2 cups brown sugar

2 cups self-raising flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 cup sultanas

1 cup shredded coconut 
Preheat oven to 180°C

Peel and grate the carrots, and set aside.

In a bowl combine sugar, flour, spices and oil into a large bowl. 

Add eggs, one at a time, stir in carrots, sultanas and coconut and combine until all ingredients are moist.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then cool further on a wire rack.

Staying Tidy and organised? Is there such a thing?

The pictures you see are just some of the rooms/areas in my house that are tidy one minute and a disaster the next. Am I the only one who can’t organise myself? I feel like I’m never on top of anything in this household and when I am it’s short lived. 

My question is, how do you stay tidy? How do you keep the kids mess to a minimum? Is there such a thing or do all these photos I see of rooms quickly cleaned, taken a photo of and then let go again. I feel stuck in this routine of picking up everyone’s crap every day and I feel as though I don’t spend enough time through the day with my kids because I’m always cleaning! Argh! 

Yes some of the stuff is my mess

Yes that is popcorn on top of my tallboy 

No I don’t expect the kids to hang their washing… Yet…

Tips? Advice? Can anyone relate?? 

One very frustrated mum 😤

Banana & Coconut bread with a raspberry swirl

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup self-raising flour
1 cup brown sugar

1 cup coconut flakes

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

125g butter – melted and cooled

2 eggs – whisked

3 ripe bananas – mashed

2 tbs rasberry jam
Preheat oven to 180°C

Grease and line the base and side of a loaf pan.

Combine flours, sugar and coconut in a large bowl. Whisk in butter, vanilla, mashed banana and eggs to flour mix.

Spoon into prepared pan and dollop rasberry jam on the top swirling around.

Bake for 45-50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack. 

Enjoy warm or cold with butter or jam and cream 👌

School lunch blues

My daughter just started 3 year old Kindy this year and she’s due to start back tomorrow after the holidays, she only goes one full day a week and tonight when making her lunch I scoured my fridge for the cherry tomatoes I thought I’d bought on my food shop yesterday. I couldn’t find them. I struggle to think of things to pack as her Kindy is so very strict on the nut and egg allergy protocol so anything even with possible traces of either product will not be allowed.
The usual lunch I make is either a ham/polony/cheese/tomato sandwich with either a fruit cup or yoghurt, a cheese stick or “fruit bar” which I know are just totally full of sugar… A banana and some either cut up tomatoes or strawberries – plus they take two pieces of fruit for morning and afternoon tea. I would love to give her other things but a lot of “lunch box snacks” I try to look for in my food shop has those traces of eggs and nuts. 
Some weeks I think wow this lunch is great! I’m the best lunch maker and other weeks I just stare into her lunch box and think how boring. 
My kids are healthy eaters! They eat loads of fruit and actually like their vegetables but I’m not a food nazi when it comes to the treats, if they’ve been good or they’ve eaten healthy all day, the odd freddo frog or small piece of chocolate is fine, and not every day.
So I guess my question is… What do you pack your kids for lunch? And how do you make it healthy/ allergy safe and fun?! 
This struggling lunch making Mum E xxx