Chicken With White Wine & Bacon

Nigella has to be one of my favourite cooks, mainly because she's all about the flavour and less about the fancy stuff.  My thoughts are, just get it done so you can sit down and enjoy the food with great company.

This is a prime example of one of her recipes that just so happened to pop up on my instagram feed.  I looked it up online and it had 4 ingredients.  Simple so based on all the great feedback I immediately thought I have got to try this.  

As always, I didn't quite have what she asked in her recipe so I had to improvise.  Her recipe calls for chicken schnitzel, which is simply chicken breasts flattened but I much prefer the boneless thigh because it has so much more flavour.  I also didn't have any garlic infused olive oil so my recipe has 5 ingredients as opposed to her 4.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cloves of garlic - thinly sliced
4 rashes of streaky bacon - thinly sliced
4 boneless chicken thighs
100 mlx of white wine

Method
Add the olive oil to a pan then throw in your sliced bacon and garlic.  Cook until the bacon is nice and crisp, then take out of the pan and set aside leaving as much of the pan juices in the pan.

Making sure the pan is hot, throw in your chicken thighs and cook until the juices run clear.  Make sure you turn so that both sides are nice and golden.  Take the chicken out of the pan and place on a serving platter.

Place the pan back on the heat and add the wine and bacon making sure to deglaze the pan with all the goodness from the bottom of the pan.  Pour everything over the the chicken and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Happy loving peeps!

Vintage Bench Seat Gets A Makeover

I tend to write in my blogs about how I collect things .. which usually happens when I "cleanse" and then collect more things.  This stool is a great example of how my husband and I went to the local dump to get rid of some rubbish .. and during the trip I spotted this little gem for $5.  

Before ... Really was in good condition

As you can imagine, there were many ideas of how this piece could be completed.  Painted with a neutral colour or colours such as pure white with paris grey.  Or go bold with the colours using something like florence.  Or upholster the top instead of painting it.  Or have a shabby chic finish or not.

I decided I wanted something to make a statement and be more like a piece of art as opposed to a piece that blends into the house.  I decided on a harlequin design using Annie Sloan pure white and graphite.

First coat of the design.  Gig help do the taping :-)

Pattern Finished

The finished product

I am pretty happy with the final result and right now I'm happy to look to display a few pieces on it.  If you have an old piece like this, or a piece of furniture that needs a little "lift in life", then paint it!!  

Happy living peeps!

My Treasured Terrarium

Pondering on my post MY BENEFICIAL PEACE LILY I thought it would be a great idea to introduce some other indoor plant ideas into the home.  Enter the idea to DIY a terrarium.  It has been something I've been wanting to try for a while and when Jayden woke up one morning and said "lets do it", I thought why not.

Off we went to the local k-mart and $2 store to pick up a couple of glass vases, to showcase them in.  A few miniature cacti from bunnings and some succulents from my garden, some stones (both new and those that I bought back from Wanaka), soil, dried moss and some small pieces of drift wood from Wanaka which I blogged all about in DIY DRIFT WOOD.  We were all set to go.

This is mine that I completed.

I started with my stones from lake wanaka to ensure my plants don't have wet roots.  I followed with a layer of dried moss, succulent mix, then my plants.  Finally I finished with a few pieces of drift wood.

Jayden's finished product

Jayden enjoyed making them so much, she made one to sit on our dining table using my trifle bowl & a small one using an old jar

3 of them now sit on Jayden's drawer in her room

I have to say that both Jayden and I were pretty happy with our work that day and they look absolutely fabulous in the home.

Happy learning peeps!!

DIY Drift Wood Art

Back in November 2014 we took a trip to the south island visiting Queenstown and Wanaka which was just wonderful.  We sat on the shores of Lake Wanaka to take in the beauty it had to offer.  During that time, Jayden and I collected some drift wood that had washed ashore along with some stones and decided to bring them back home.  "What are you going to do with that"  Aaliyah said to me.  "hmmm ... I'll think of something"  I thought.

Just over 12 months later and Aaliyah's question is answered!!

It was pretty easy to make.  I simply drilled a hole in each piece and threaded some craft string through making sure to knot it on both ends.  I also made sure there was enough string to hang the piece.  A quick rotate of each piece of wood to give it balance ... and it's done.

It was a quick fix decor idea for my verandah .. and who knows, I might end up pulling it apart at some stage and making something else.

Happy living peeps!

 

Buttered Spinach & Herb Potatoes

I do a little bit of work for my marae and after serving some herbed potatoes for an event late last year, I decided to change that recipe up a bit over the xmas period and invent this variation for my whanau.

It's quick, easy and very tasty!  If you are not a fan of butter, then replace with some olive oil or avocado oil but please DO NOT use margarine.

Ingredients
10-12 baby or gourmet potatoes - halved if necessary
1 cup fresh Spinach - finely chopped
1/4 cup of fresh italian Parsley
Pinch of chilli flakes
Fresh ground pepper
Sea salt
50 grams of butter - cubed

Method
Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked and turn off the element.  Drain the water, then replace the lid on the pot and place back on the element for about 2-5 minutes until most of the liquid is evaporated from the potatoes, watching they don't catch.

Place the potatoes in a serving bowl, then throw in the spinach, parsley, butter and chilli flakes.  Toss quickly until butter is melted, then season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Serve and enjoy!

Serves 4.

Happy living peeps!

Freedom Dresser Gets Funky

I purchased some furniture from the local freedom furniture store for my daughters when we built our first home.  They suited the style of house we had then, however when doing Jaydens room she decided to give hers a facelift. 

She decided to paint the face of the drawers Annie Sloan paris grey with clear wax.  I think it turned out pretty good.

Happy living peeps!!

Fresh Tomato Pesto Salad

I made this recipe over the xmas holidays and it was absolutely delicious.  It's one of those recipes that was thrown together with what I had in my vegetable garden.

I love pesto!!  So what better idea than to use those ingredients in a salad and with the baby tomatoes being exceptionally sweet at the moment, I guarantee your family will love this.

If you don't have pine nuts in your cupboard, use walnuts or almonds or cashews instead.  You can even replace the basil or parsley with puha or whatever pungent flavoured green you might have in the garden.  As always the opportunities are endless!

Added bonus - this is a very healthy dish!

Ingredients
200 grams cherry tomatoes - halved
1/4 cup of fresh basil - roughly chopped
1/4 cup of fresh italian parsley - roughly chopped
1/4 cup of pine nuts
1 clove of garlic - finely diced
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese - shavings
Olive oil to dress
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Ingredients
Mix the first 6 ingredients in a bowl then toss through olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Happy living peeps!

Happiest Holidays

As soon as you wish the xmas holidays would hurry up and happen, they go by so quickly you find yourself wishing they didn't end and you didn't have to go back to the reality of work!!

Today is my first day back at work and I find myself reflecting on how great the holidays were for me and my whanau.  The girls were determined to head to Matarangi for new years but for me and Gig, we were happy to go with the flow.

The end result?  Xmas in Hamilton, New Years in Matarangi, then road tripping north to the Kaipara, Hokianga, Northland, Bay of Islands and everywhere in between - not to mention day trips to Raglan and back to Coromandel.  

It was such a wonderful time to spend with whanau and friends during this time that I thought I'd share some photo's taken of my holidays.

Xmas Eve on the Ponderosa

 

DIY Xmas Gifts - From Me

DIY Xmas Gifts - From the Girls

Believe it or not we had to do our hay the afternoon of Xmas Day... whanau weren't happy

Bright moon on Xmas evening

View from my deck on Boxing Day

Heading out for a days fishing & diving from Te Kouma

Fishing the mussel farms in the firth

Matarangi Beach - Low tide

Matarangi - New Years Eve ... Chilling before the big night

 

No need to water the gardens with all the rain that came on new years day!

Stuck in traffic heading north due to a major car accident

Holiday problems in Maropiu - cleaning the shed & washing the cover sheets

View from the shed in Maropiu.  Loved listening to Kiwi and Morepork throughout the night

Another view of Maropiu ... listening to Tui all day from the shed

Kai Iwi Lakes. Such a special place for my whanau #nothappythewaterlevelsaredownsolow

Opononi!! Absolutely stunning

Ahipara on a rainy day.  Still as wonderful as ever

Ahipara - I took this photo as a fishing trawler was pretty close in land :-(

Moureeses Bay - Surfs Up in Whananaki

Mangaiti Bay - No panoramic view used for this shot

The homestead in Mangaiti Bay - A great example of sustainable living.

View looking down on the vegetable gardens, fruit trees & miniature horses

Whananaki

Me time with my sister at the movies - first day back home!  #shemissedme

Hydrangea's everywhere!  An inexpensive way to have fresh flowers.  Pick roadside, I do!

Day trip to Raglan - Whale Bay & Indicators - I just love this photo!

Happiest Holidays from the my homies

One thing is definite with my travels these holidays is that we really are apart of something special with our beautiful country.  #NZissuchanamazingplace #whanautime #makingmemories #livelovelearn

Happy living peeps!