Slow Cooker Mongolian Beef

I love a good slow cooker recipe whether it's Summer or Winter and this one will not disappoint.  It's a matter of putting your ingredients in and turning it on which is great with sports starting up soon in the evenings.  I've made this before with the beef coated in the cornflour (corn starch) and I have stood at the stove browning in batches. This recipe is so much easier and the meat is so tender.  We all loved it.

SLOW COOKER MONGOLIAN BEEF

INGREDIENTS

1 kg of skirt steak (or flank steak)

1/4 cup of cornstarch (corn flour)

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1 Teaspoon mince garlic

3/4 cup of Soy Sauce

3/4 cup Water

3/4 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup of grated/julienne carrots
1/2 capicum (optional...I added this as extra veggies)

2 Onions sliced

Green onions (sliced for garnish) I also stirred some into the pot 5 minutes before serving

Rice (for serving)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Slice onions and carrots.
2. Slice spring onions/shallots and set aside for garnish.
3. Place olive oil, minced garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, onions and carrots into slow cooker and stir ingredients.
4. Slice steak into thin strips and place in a ziplock bag with the cornstarch (cornflour) and shake until all pieces are coated.
5. Place into slow cooker and stir until meat has been coated in sauce.
6. Cook on high for 2-3 hours or on low for 4-5 hours until cooked throughout and tender.
7. Serve on a bed of rice and garnish with spring onions.

The Easiest Bread Rolls ever

It's been a while since I've baked any bread and yesterday decided I would make bread rolls for lunch today.  You need to start these 3 hours before you want to eat them but in total it took me 10 mins to measure ingredients and mix in the Thermomix then 1 hour rising and 5 mins to shape the rolls and that's it ...just another 45 mins rising time on the tray and then bake them.  These are the best bread rolls ever..... a little bit crusty on the top and so soft and fluffy in the middle.  Whilst this recipe is done in the Thermomix I also have the instructions to make them from scratch.  If you ever want to make your own bread seriously this is your recipe.  You could make it into a loaf of bread if you wanted to rather than rolls.  I've written about it previously and here is the link to the recipe.  You must try and make these as they are so easy and turn out perfectly every time.  This is a lot simpler than any sourdough recipe (in my opinion).  I know this is not sourdough but if you want to make bread give this recipe a go.

This is the proved rolls ready to go into the oven.  

Fresh out of the oven.

OMG...so yummy..........and it's so easy to look like a professional baker with this recipe.

Lunch today ham rolls.....my kids love these rolls.

Around Here 2017

Around here we have taken down the Christmas decorations and are still very much in holiday mode although the heat is taking it's toll and you don't feel like doing much when it's so hot.  I've taken the kids to a nearby park a couple of times which they love to get out of the house.  We also had a lovely day trip to Rainbow Bay and the water was so lovely.

This park is loads of fun for the kids.

Glad my 13 year old still loves going to the park.  

This one loves any outdoor activity.

Chilling out on holidays with You Tube videos.

Chilling out in her room where she made a chubby house with sheets and is watching a DVD on her new portable DVD player that Santa got her.

At Woollies shopping for a new kettle with me.

Keeping cool in the hot weather.

Sienna has lost 2 teeth in two weeks....she's getting richer by the day.

I made some mini quiches for New Years Eve get together with my family.

Our family Christmas Cake is made by my Mum and my sister.

James got these fabulous speakers with water in them that when the music is played the bubbles go up and down and light up...they are really cool.

Happy New Year 2017

Happy New Year to everyone I hope you all had a lovely Christmas with your family and friends as well.  I find these years are going by much quicker as you get older however it's always nice having a fresh start and think about how you want to live your life in 2017.

In the last few years I've stopped buying "stuff" because I have too much stuff, most of the stuff doesn't make you happy and it costs money.  I have been decluttering using our local Buy & Sell FB group for the past two years and that money has gone a long way towards paying bills like electricity, rates, water and at the same time getting items out of our home.  I still have a long way to go however this has been a huge help toward our finances and also getting rid of things that I don't need, want or doesn't bring me joy anymore has been great.  

When Kmart brought out their decorating range a couple of years ago everything was so "cool" and so "cheap" I remember seeing a silver camera that looked like a chunky money box but wasn't a money box just something to put on your shelf if you know what I mean in terms of size etc and it was $7 which I thought was a bargain.  I love photography and loved this $7 decor item but I had got into the habit of not purchasing "stuff" anymore and even though it was $7 and I would have loved it I decided I didn't need it. 

The week before Christmas I was doing the Christmas shopping and Kmart had a lovely "Ho Ho Ho" print fully framed for $9 which I thought was great and thought for a moment about buying it.  As it was a week before Christmas I thought it's $9 and looks good but I'm just going to have it out for a week and then put it away for a year and I don't need another thing to store so I decided not to buy it at the time.  Fast forward one week when I had ti take some items back that were the wrong size and Kmart had a section for their Christmas items that were reduced and I saw the print for $3 which I thought I would buy it.  Again I stood there and thought I liked it when it was $9 and chose not to buy it and it's a bargain at $3 but again Christmas is over and I'm going to have to store that 33x44 cm frame away for a year and I decided not to buy it.  I really don't need it even though I still like it and it's now only $3.  I picked it up to take one last look at it nothing the shelf price said $3 however the framed print had a yellow sticker on it for $1.50.  I immediately bought it.  At $3 I could resist it but at $1.50 it was an absolute bargain so I brought it home and now I'm going to have to store it for a year but I'm okay with that.

Often when I see clothing that is on sale something that I ask myself when I'm standing in the shop is .... is it because the top was $40 and it's now down to $10 that has drawn me into the shop or is it because I really like the top.  If this top was $40 would I love it enough to buy it and wear it, and if so I buy it for $10 if not, I would not spend the $10.  Yes it's only $10 and you can justify it by saying to yourself if you wear it a couple of times you've at least got your $10 worth.  If it was $40 would I have stopped and wanted to buy the top.  This often answers my question and I walk away not buying the top.