Wind Ups, Sweets and Treats

It's that time of the year again when we start the sporting change over from winter sports to summer. Gone is the early Saturday mornings, muddy white football shorts, freezing cold kidlets running to the car after a game and driving across the area for a football and netball game. Now we have summer. For us this means basketball on Thursdays, Baseball on Fridays for the Sparky, Cricket on Fridays for my 9 year old boy, and my youngest lad is trying to convince us that we have time for him to partake in tennis. All whilst we continue Ballet/Cheer on a Thursday for our 3 year old girl.
Our schedule is going to look a bit like this
Sunday : Church and then jobs/family time (Providing we are home and not away on the farm)
Monday: Nothing, yet............
Tuesday: Basketball training
Wednesday: Cricket, Baseball and maybe Tennis Training
Thursday: over lunch Cheer and Ballet, Basketball
Friday: Baseball and Cricket (both for which are in different towns anything up to 50 km apart at the same time)
Sat: Possibly Tennis.........

There is travel time to consider for cheer/ballet, baseball, cricket and tennis matches. One of the few downfalls of country living. Sport matches for us can take place up to 100km away. More if the child is on the local swim team. It is a huge downfall, but the atmosphere is great, kids love it and it also helps give a reason to savour being home when we are home.

Then I get asked regularly why we can't do play dates, sleepovers, and late nights. Hmmmmmmm, let this Mum think about that. :) My goal is to be more organised, Have meals pre-planned, pre-prepared, ready to go so that we can have a more relaxed night time, in and around it all. Also to help prevent last minute buying of fast food/take away and frozen boxed meals. So this summer my  planner and diary will be my BFF I think.

Tonight is the windup, for the mini teams, where awards are handed out, coaches get thank you gifts. There's a BBQ dinner put on, parents bring shared sweets and salads.

We are taking a pasta salad, and after a huge success with my kids a Chewy Chocolate Slice. Which I got from the recipe book "Women's Weekly- Recipes To Remember"

The recipe is below

Chewy Chocolate Slice

125g butter, melted (I used margarine and it turned out fine)
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self raising flour
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon of desiccated coconut, extra

ICING
1 cup of icing sugar
2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
10g butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoon hot water

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg Celsius/ 350 deg Fahrenheit. Grease a 20cm x 30 cm rectangle pan, line with baking paper.
2. Combine butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl. Stir in sifted flours and cocoa powder. Then add coconut. Spread mixture evenly over base of pan. (It is a think layer but trust me its ok)
3.  Bake base for 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile make chocolate icing.
5. Spread hot base with chocolate icing, sprinkle with extra coconut. Cool in pan before cutting.

ICING
Sift icing sugar and cocoa powder into a medium bowl. Stir in butter and water. Mix until a smooth spreadable consistency.

Yummy, Enjoy

Instagram, Twitter and Social Networks....... and a snack while you browse

Once again sorry for the absence, I will get into the hang of actually updating this blog more often. In the meantime. If you wish to follow me I am also on Instagram and Twitter under the name PathSimplicity, something we are aiming for. I am also looking to change the things I blog about and adding not only my recipes etc that work but those that don't. Sometimes the only way to success is via admitted defeat. Plus someone might have an idea to help me out, and we can all use a good idea.

My goal for the rest of this year is too start making more snacks and various lunch options for my kids. See my previous entry The Great Lunchbox Conundrum So far I have had a very hit and miss year. We have had leftovers, muffins, pies, sausage rolls, salads, wraps etc but more often than not we still refer back to the same old boring sandwiches.

My kidlets are finishing off a batch of double choc chip muffins today. Miss 3 has finished her devastated lip dropping moment because someone else ate the last yellow wrapper covered muffin. Poor girl had to have a pink one. This apparently is heart-breaking. So in good Mummy form I did some more baking, as the 3 cookies we have left in the jar (from a 1700s oatmeal cookie recipe, ill post that another day) isn't enough to fight off starvation and kitchen raids after school and work for hubby.  So today I made some muesli bars/slice, which are similar to granola bars I believe. Now all mine are nut free as well some of us don't like or can't eat nuts. No major reactions just can't stomach them.
Problem with today's recipe is I lost my original, created by me, worked every time recipe. This is what happens when I forget to put it in my little purple book. So I found another one and fingers crossed it worked. This recipe has no link as it was written in an old book I found in the cupboard of recipes I've found along the way and wanted to try.

Choc Chip Muesli Slice

2 1/2 cups of rolled oats
3/4 cups desiccated coconut
1 cup milk choc bits
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2/3 cup plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup milk
1 egg

Preheat oven to 180 deg Celsius, Grease or line a slice tin.
Combine oats, coconut, choc bits and sugar in a bowl. Sift flour and baking powder together over the top of the oat mix.
Whisk oil, milk and egg together in a separate bowl. Add to the oat mix and stir until well combined.
Press into prepared pan and bake for 20 mins until golden and set.
Stand in pan for 15 minutes., lift onto wire rack. Allow to cool before cutting.

  

VERDICT:
Cooked this looks amazing, and like a real winner. However, it is more crumbly than I would like for a bar/slice and fairly dry. But it still has a nice flavour. I am thinking that maybe next time I could switch the brown sugar for honey ?? This may result in a sticker bar, but more moist. It also would have helped if I hadn't of been distracted and forgot about it and cooked it for 5 minutes longer than it needed.