The Sleeper Wall

I am very PLEASED to announce, we have started Phase 2 of our backyard project. We are now officially done ripping things out, and it is time to start putting them back!! Building a retaining wall in our side yard was the first step in the process. 

Once we had it all down to a level (as seen here in my previous post), we dug out a trench for the foundation of the wall. 

Rich and I measured, designed and drew up the wall on our own. We also picked out and ordered all the materials. Our amazing friend Benny the carpenter helped us with the building process. Luckily we did a good job on the planning phase, because it all came together nicely! Once our materials arrived, we were ready to start building. Here are a couple of pictures from the process:

The Midpoint

Here are some shots of the finished project:

Benny used his carpentry skills to finish it off. Looks much better than we could have done ourselves! We are so thankful to have his help!! We also put the shed back. 
Here are some before and after pictures:

Before

After!

Step by Step, we are definitely getting there! Can't wait to sit out back and BBQ!!

Calling All Choc-O-Holics!

With everything that has been going on lately, I completely forgot to post up this fabulous brownie recipe. I came across it a few months ago, and it quickly became one of our favorites. This is a great recipe to make when you are craving something rich and chocolatey. These are by far the BEST brownies I have ever had. Warning: they may ruin brownies for you forever!


Nutella Brownies


Ingredients

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

4 eggs
1 cup flour
3/4  cup cocoa powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1cup Nutella
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  In a medium bowl sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.  Then set the bowl aside.

2. On low heat, melt the butter sticks in a small pot.  Then add the vanilla and sugar while stirring the mixture until well combined. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool.  I poured the butter/sugar mixture into a medium bowl to cool.

3. Once the butter/sugar mixture is completely cooled add the eggs one at a time, making sure to mix each time.

4. Add the cocoa/flour mixture to the egg mixture gradually, until completely mixed together.

Heat a Nutella container in the microwave for a bout 40 seconds.  You want the nutella to have a runny consistency which will allow the nutella to pour easily.  Add the nutella to the batter and mix well.  Lastly add the chocolate chips and fold into the batter.

5. Pour your batter into a buttered rectangular pan… I use parchment paper instead of butter. This makes it easier to take your brownies out after they bake and cool.  Bake for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and cool completely.  

These brownies are really fudgy, so I usually put them in the fridge for 2-4 hours before serving. It helps them set so they don't fall apart when you eat them.

Updates & Apologies

Hey guys!! Sorry for the lack of postings lately, a lot has been going on around here! We bought a car - a silver VW Golf with black interior. I have been getting out on the road as much as I can. Rich has been a great driving instructor, and he says I am doing really well. I have been driving by myself, and I am starting to navigate on my own too. It's nice to have my own wheels again, and the Golf is fun to drive! I still order my groceries online - and I don't think that will stop any time soon!

I am also VERY pleased to report we have finally bought a new couch!! We have been looking for about 6 months, so I am thrilled we found something we both like. It will be bigger than in the picture above, with an extra section added on in place of the foot stool. We, of course, got the foot stool too! This thing will fill up the whole corner of our living room! We are really excited for it to get here, so we can start having more people over to watch UFC, movies, etc. But we still have to wait for it to be made - hopefully about a month or so. I'll be sure to post up when it arrives.

A Work in Progress...

Our first "really big" DIY project is well underway. We have plans to transform our backyard over the next couple of years, starting with the patio! This post is dedicated to Phase 1 of the project - removal!! Pictured above is a 6 yard skip. We filled the first and now the second skip! That's a lotta dirt! As a reference, here are some "before" pictures from last year:

Before: Overgrown & Neglected

We wanted a bigger & more attractive patio, and to get some usable space out of the side yard. So we decided to rip out the planters and all of the plants along the fence and ended up with this:

Step 1: before we knew better...

Step 2: bringing down the level

Step 3: starting to level off

We had some guys over last weekend to help dig, and they really made some progress!! They filled an entire skip in one day! The major part of the digging is now done, we need to get the whole thing level and then we can start laying some paving!

The First Slabs come up...

No more patio!! The thing in the middle is an inspection hole for the drains

I'm so stoked this project is coming along. With the side thrown in, it's a lot more work than we first thought. While digging, we discovered a lot of roots coming from the woodland towards the house. Since this can potentially damage the foundations, we are glad to be getting the project done now. Especially because once it's done, we will never have to do it again!! Stay tuned for part 2: the finishing...

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!

MMMMMMM. That's all I can say about this recipe, people. This one is a KEEPER! super easy to make, and the cookie really comes out looking and tasting like a "professional". I suggest you try...


I halved the recipe to make 2 dozen, but the original recipe can be found here on allrecipes.com 


Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar, eggs & vanilla until fluffy
3. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda & salt. Stir into butter mix.
4. At this point, I added about 2 tbsp of milk because my dough was really dry
5. Mix in chocolate chips. Drop by rounded teaspoon full on ungreased cookie sheet
6. Bake 8-10 minutes, or until just set. Do not overbake. Cool on cookie sheet slightly before transferring.

Yields 2 dozen

I should have made the full recipe - these only lasted 2 days!! Enjoy

Baby's Day Out

Lucas & His Uncle Rich

Hello! Quick update for those interested. Last Monday Rich & I accompanied his parents to take his sister's baby for a day out. We went to Beale Park, which is a wildlife park and gardens. It was a really nice day out for all of us, we saw lots of animals, had a picnic lunch, and finished the day with a train ride. Baby Lucas loved it!

Capybara "Singing"

Train Ride!

mmmmm mmmmmmm good.....

Not actual size. Pictured larger to show texture ;)

Hello all, just a quick post inspired by my dinner for tomorrow night. Always on a budget, I scooped up some leeks on sale & a bag of new potatoes. My mind went back to an old favorite at the Neilson house, Leek & Potato soup. I modified the original recipe from Cooking Light, and the results are the best I have ever tasted! (sorry mom) 
So here we go:





Golden Potato-Leek Soup


Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter
3 cups thinly sliced leek (about 3 medium)
6 cups cubed peeled Yukon gold potato (about 2 1/4 pounds); I substituted New Potatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper (like you put on pizza)
Ground black pepper & Spike to taste
2 Cups chicken broth
3/4 cup water
2-3 pieces bacon, cooked & roughly chopped
1 small onion, finely sliced and caramelized
2 thyme sprigs
1/3 cup whipping cream


Melt butter over medium heat in a dutch oven or pot. Add leeks, cook 10 mins until soft. Stir in caramelized onions


Add potatoes, salt, broth, red pepper & 2 thyme sprigs. 


Bring to a boil, then reduce & simmer for 20 minutes, until potatoes are very tender.


Slightly mash potato, add cream and bacon (mmmmm...) Remove from heat and serve.

This smelled so good, I ate a bowl already! We are having it tomorrow for dinner, which should be even better! Soups always taste better the second day, don't they? The pictures aren't very appealing, but it's more to show texture. Since I used New Potatoes, my soup wasn't as golden as it would be with Yukon Gold potatoes. But it tastes just as good!


Compared to the Cooking Light recipe, this is much thicker. And the bacon adds something really special... I also like the little bit of heat the crushed red peppers add. Simple & delicious!

Pizza Day!

Pizza Day was always my fav at school... Now that I'm older, delivery pizza isn't quite as delicious as it used to be. So, to add a little bit of excitement and subtract the guilt of a few slices, I make my own! Homemade pizza also lets you to control the amount of sauce & toppings (more or less) on your pie. Pizza night is one of our favorite meals of the week. In our house, the most popular variety is BBQ Chicken pizza.

I usually get refrigerated pizza bases from the supermarket. They definitely leave something to be desired. They are a weird texture and don't have that yummy crust around the edges. I thought I would try to make my own & improve the taste and texture. Not to mention 2 bases cost the same as a bag of flour - enough to make 10 bases!

Anyway, enough rambling. On to the recipe! Pictures to follow...


Perfect Pizza Dough


Ingredients


1 to 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 tbsp active dried yeast
4 1/3 cup Tipo 00 Flour (or strong white flour) extra flour for dusting
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp clear honey
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing


Preparation Method


1. Pour about a half cup of the water into a bowl and sprinkle over the yeast. Stir to dissolve, then leave to rest in a warm place for 10 minutes. 
2. Sift the flour, salt and pepper into a large bowl. Stir the honey & olive oil into the yeast mixture until well combined.
3. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the yeast mixture, mixing to form a soft and slightly sticky dough. Add enough of the remaining water, little by little, until you have achieved the correct consistency.
4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and lightly flour your hands. Knead the dough for ten minutes until it is smooth and pliable. 
5. Lightly oil a large bowl - it should be big enough to allow the dough to double in size. Put the dough inside and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside in a warm place for 1-2 hours.
6. When the dough has doubled in size, remove the plastic wrap and punch the dough down. Remove from the bowl and knead again until smooth & air bubbles are reduced. Divide into 5 round balls and let the dough rest before shaping.
7. To shape the dough, lift a ball of dough on to a lightly floured work surface and lightly flour the top. Flatten the dough with your fingers before picking it up and slapping it onto your work surface. Repeat this a couple of times. Now drape the dough over your clenched fist
and stretch it gently from the outside rim.
8. Place the dough in well-floured pizza tins or baking sheets, top with your choice of toppings and bake in a hot oven until the topping is melted and the edges are crisp

BBQ Chicken Pizza

We always chop the chicken up small and season it with garlic, oregano, Spike, crushed chilis, S&P, and whatever else we are feelin'. 

Pre-cook your chicken & coat the base with BBQ sauce. 

Add your toppings and you're done.

Results were a success! Yes, I threw the dough in the air like an Italian. It works, OK? 

Bake at 400 for about 10 minutes. The crust puffs up in the oven & came out really nice and chewy. I suggest topping your pizzas on the cookie sheet they will be baked on. Once you see all the cheese melted and the crust turn slightly golden, they are good to go! Here are some pics of our final result. They don't really do the pizzas justice, but I was hungry, so this is all you get!

The dough recipe takes time - definitely one for the weekend. But the best part is, you end up with 5 bases. So you can easily freeze the dough balls to use later. You can also use it to make breadsticks or garlic knots like Pizza Bakery in Newport.

My Daily Mugshot...

Most Recent Mugshot

In the pursuit of staying connected, I have decided to try a website called Daily Mugshot. It's kind of an interesting idea. You take a head shot of yourself every day, in a similar pose. The website collects your pictures and plays them in succession. You can find my daily mugshots on the right panel of this blog. To slow it down, just slide the white circle towards the left.

I just started, so it's less than exciting looking at 2 pictures of me, I know. But I'm going to try and take a new picture every day, and hopefully it will turn out to be something... interesting? Anyway, check out the website, as there are lots of people on there who have been doing it for a long time!! Like this chick...

Enjoy!

The Blue Wall...

Let me start by saying I hate the color blue. It sounds harsh, I know. But our latest project involved a Royal Blue "accent wall". Namely, covering it up with 5 total coats of paint!! This project makes me so happy! Now that it's done, I love going up there to enjoy the feeling of space. Just so you can appreciate the after, here are some pictures of the process. 

Originally, we were hoping 2 coats of white would do it, but it ended up needing 3 coats! I swear we could still see blue underneath. We painted the remaining walls, the ceiling and closet white as well.

Finally, we painted the entire room Egyptian Cotton by Dulux. It's a nice neutral that looks different through the day. It ranges from looking tan in the morning to almost grey at night. We also painted both doors, the baseboards & all the trim!

This project felt like it went on forever, and it took a lot of work. It turned out better than we expected, and the room feels so much bigger now!! So for those of you coming to visit, your room is done! Well, almost... I wouldn't make you sleep on the floor!

spring has sprung!

The first signs of spring are starting to show! The ground has thawed & new flowers, plants and leaves are growing. We have also had some beautiful sunshine! The warmer weather has given us a chance to get outside & make some progress in the back yard. So far, we have spent about 8 hours back there. It feels like we have made a dent, but we still have so much to do! I'll keep you updated as we get more done, but here are some before and after pictures of what we have done so far.

Before: Brambles coming over the fence!

After: All Clear

The next 2 projects we have planned are installing decking where we now have cement pavers. 

After that, we will be ripping up all the grass and laying new turf. These are both big projects, but we are really excited about them. We are going to start on the decking in the next couple of weeks. 

Since I can't really plant anything in the ground, I have to plant in pots for now. We got a couple to start with at the garden center. I LOVE the glazes! I potted up some Daffodils and some flowers with a couple creepers to add some depth. It's nice to have some color now that we have ripped out 15 black bags of plant life!