A step by step guide to canning/bottling peaches using a water bath canner. Perfect for beginners, home canned peaches are a delicious way to enjoy in season peaches year round.
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How to Bottle Peaches (water bath method)
Blog
How to bottle diced tomatoes
A step by step guide to canning/bottling diced tomatoes, perfect for beginners - they are a pantry staple and the perfect way to preserve an abundance of tomatoes in the garden.
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Life with Finlay - 1-2 months
I just cannot believe how perfectly Finn has fit into our family! Maybe because he's the third baby and he doesn't have a choice but also probably because he is such a content, peaceful baby that unless he's hungry or mid nappy change we barely know he's there!
Although in saying that, he is not getting left alone for one minute - between the girls wanting to cuddle and kiss him all day long and me making the most of every sleepy newborn cuddle I can get, this baby is barely ever put down!
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Introducing Finlay Colin
Our baby is a boy!!!
We are so excited to share that this handsome wee man, Finlay Colin MacDonald (Finn), joined our family on Monday 25th October 2021 at 10.23am weighing in at 8lb 4oz. We could not be more excited to have him here!! And still sort of in shock that after 2 beautiful girls we have a little boy!
His birth went really well and despite being in Level 3 lockdown, Josh & I were able to spend 48 hours at River Ridge birthing centre after having him at the hospital, just like we did with the girls. The only difference this time was that we were not allowed any visitors but it actually ended being a really relaxing 2 days getting to know the newest member of our family and having him all to ourselves before heading home to introduce him to his very excited big sisters!!
I will write up his birth story to share soon and plan to try and keep up with the monthly updates like I did with the girls but you know, third child, so we will see how that goes!!
Until then, enjoy a few brand new baby pictures of our precious wee baby!
Mum's Chocolate Truffles
Simple to make, this easy recipe for decadent chocolate truffles will be your new go to when you need to take a plate. Made using pantry staples with only 30 minutes hands on time, they can even be made ahead of time and frozen! They are the perfect no bake dessert.
When you think back to your childhood, is there a particular recipe that just stands out? For me, it is definitely my Mum's famous chocolate truffles. No family event was ever without a huge plate of them for good reason - they are an absolute treat, popular with adults and kids alike and are just SO darn good!
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Sadie turns 4!
Boysenberry & White Chocolate No Bake Cheesecake
Simple but impressive, this no bake cheesecake is a real crowd pleaser. The white chocolate and boysenberry flavours make it an absolute treat!
Disclaimer: This post is a paid partnership with Countdown Supermarkets. All content and opinions are my own.
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Pesto Cheese Pull Apart Bread
Pull apart bread is such a useful recipe! It makes a great side dish for dinner, goes perfectly with soup for lunch and is the best thing to take to a potluck!
It's been a while since I've shared a new bread recipe, so why not get everyone back into bread making in time for the cooler months of comfort food with a made from scratch bread challenge! This is the April "made from scratch" challenge - if you missed the last ones, you can check out all of the previous challenge recipes here.
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Peach Cobbler
This fruity peach cobbler is the easiest dessert to make. Use any fruit you have and enjoy all year round!
Oh hey there dessert lovers! It's been way too long between delicious desserts around here so I'm back with one that is going to knock your socks off!
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Chicken Fried Rice
Chicken fried rice is a quick and easy meal that the whole family will love. It comes together in less than 30 minutes and is a really budget friendly meal!
Disclaimer: This post is a paid partnership with Countdown Supermarkets. All content and opinions are my own
When it comes to dinner, especially after a busy day I am all about something that is quick, easy, healthy and that my kids will actually eat. This chicken fried rice is exactly that!
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Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce (for canning)
The perfect sauce to make the most of fresh summer tomatoes and basil. You can bottle it, freeze it or eat it right away. Perfect for pasta, on pizza, with meatballs, in spaghetti bolognese or in lasagne.
It's the March "made from scratch" challenge! If you missed the last ones, you can check out all of the previous challenge recipes here.
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Homemade Tomato Salsa (for canning)
A simple recipe for canning tomato salsa - easy to follow step by step instructions, even if you are a newbie canner!
First up, a HUGE thank you to Mel from Mel's Kitchen Café for allowing me to share this recipe here - it is Mel's original recipe that I have been making for a few years now, I've just adjusted the ingredients and measurements to make it easy to follow for anyone in New Zealand. Make sure you check out Mel's website for an unbelievable collection of tried and true recipes!
Beginners guide to water bath canning/bottling
A beginners guide to using the water bath canning / preserving method. Equipment needed, why it is important and how to do it!
I know, I know, back in the day our grandmothers all just filled up their jars, popped a lid on and called it a day. Nobody died (we hope!) and it was all good.
Well fast forward to today and we now know just a little bit more about how to process food safely to help it store longer and taste better.
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Stromboli
Make pizza night more interesting with stromboli - a pizza roll stuffed full of meat and gooey cheese that makes the perfect dinner and lunch leftovers!
Disclaimer: This post is a paid partnership with Countdown Supermarkets. All content and opinions are my own.
It's that time of year when we are suddenly back into routine but still want to feel like it's summer for a little bit longer!
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Homemade Pasta
A simple recipe for homemade pasta - 4 ingredients and options for using a pasta machine or by hand.
We eat a lot of pasta in our house. It's my favourite and of course, toddlers pretty much love nothing more than plain pasta, right?!
So it was only natural that eventually I was going to need a homemade pasta recipe that I could fall back on and make with whatever I had on hand.
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How to freeze blueberries (and other berries)
A simple method for freezing in season blueberries (and other berries) using the free flow method. Perfect for using in smoothies, baking or just enjoying as a healthy snack!
Something I have learnt about preserving food over the last few years is that the number 1 rule is to preserve what you will eat!!
If you have a glut of tomatoes but don't like tomato relish, there is no point in making jars and jars of it. But if you use tins of tomatoes in meals all the time, it makes sense to can diced tomatoes (method coming soon!)
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Simple Homemade Strawberry Jam
How to make simple homemade strawberry jam from scratch! Only 2 ingredients and easy to follow step by step instructions to help you master homemade jam!
Welcome to the first monthly made from scratch challenge! At the start of each month I will post a new recipe (or project) that you can make from scratch along with me! The whole point of this challenge is for me to learn something new to make from scratch and share it with you and for you to hopefully be encouraged to try something new. You can find all the details in this post.
This delicious strawberry jam is enough to convince any jam hater - and even if you have never made jam before, the step by step instructions should make what can seem like a daunting process, very simple!
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Monthly Made From Scratch Challenge
When I first started sharing recipes on my website back in 2015, I set myself a challenge to take something I would normally buy from the supermarket and make it from scratch. One thing per week, for the whole year.
It was such a fun challenge to set myself and some of those recipes have become the most popular recipes on my website, so I thought I would bring back the challenge but with a few changes (one per month because I have kids now!) - and encourage you to participate too!
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A Beginners Guide to Bottling/Canning Food
Do you want to start bottling/canning food but are not really sure where to start? No problem! This post covers all the basics you need to know and equipment you need to get started preserving food!
I have such fond memories of preserving food with my mum and Grandma when I was a kid. Mum would buy boxes and boxes of Golden Queen peaches, Grandma would come and stay and over the course of a few days, they would work together to put them all in jars, ready for us to enjoy all winter long. And yes, these days you can buy a tin of peaches for next to nothing, but they don't even compare to the homemade version!
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Christmas Cheese Ball Wreath
A quick, easy & delicious Christmas appetizer that can be made in advance! Serve with crackers for the perfect way to feed a crowd!
Disclaimer: This post is a paid partnership with Countdown Supermarkets. All content and opinions are my own.
There is nothing like Christmas Day for spending time with family and friends, especially after the year we have had!
But if you’ve just remembered that you’ve forgotten about a Christmas Day appetizer, don’t panic - my Christmas Cheese Ball Wreath is exactly what you need.
All of the ingredients can be bought from Countdown in advance and you can even make the wreath and store in the fridge for a few days before you need it, meaning more time on Christmas Day for eating and spending time with family and friends.
Not only does it look the part, it’s a real crowd pleaser and thanks to Countdown’s great range of own brand products, it is a very affordable and easy way of providing snacks for a big group of people. Perfect for Christmas!
The cheese ball mixture is cream cheese, feta, toasted pistachio nuts, dried cranberries, lemon juice & zest, balsamic vinegar, garlic and pepper.
Mix it all together and form into a wreath using a lined ring cake tin if you have one, or directly on the serving plate with a small bowl turned upside down in the center to create the middle. Chill it in the fridge for a few hours or for a couple of days until you are ready to serve it.
I used chopped fresh parsley and chives, dried cranberries and rosemary sprigs to make it look just like a wreath, but use whatever you like to make it your own. You can also play around with what you add into the cheese ball - I have a sneaking suspicion that a bit of bacon wouldn't go astray!
Christmas Cheese Ball Wreath
A quick, easy & delicious Christmas appetizer that can be made in advance! Serve with crackers for the perfect way to feed a crowd!
Servings: 15
Calories: 217kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup pistachio nuts
- 450 grams cream cheese (2 x blocks at room temperature)
- 400 grams feta
- 4 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 4 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- Ground black pepper to taste (be generous)
To decorate
- ½ cup chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley & chives)
- 2 Tablespoons dried cranberries (or red pepper, finely chopped)
- Fresh rosemary sprigs
Instructions
- Line a ring cake tin with glad wrap and set aside. If you don't have a ring tin, you can place a small bowl upside down in the middle of the serving platter you will use and create the wreath around the bowl.
- Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/350°F and place the pistachio nuts on a baking tray.
- Bake for 8 minutes (keep a close eye on them around this time as they can burn quickly) and remove from the oven. Chop the nuts coarsely (or use a food processor) and set aside.
- Using a stand or hand held mixer (or a bowl and wooden spoon) beat the softened cream cheese and feta until smooth. Add all remaining ingredients and combine.
- Spoon the cheese ball mixture into the prepared tin. Spread into an even layer using light pressure to ensure the mixture holds together. Cover and place in the fridge for 3 hours (or longer) to chill.
- Remove from the fridge, uncover and invert onto the serving plate. Use a spatula or knife to smooth the edges.
- Sprinkle with the chopped fresh herbs and garnish with dried cranberries, red peppers or pomegranate arils (anything red) and fresh rosemary sprigs.
- Serve with crackers or toasted bread. Cheese ball can be made 4 days in advance and stored in the fridge until needed.
Nutrition
Calories: 217kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 409mg | Potassium: 100mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 532IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 166mg | Iron: 1mg
DIY Santa Sack Tutorial
A simple step by step tutorial for how to make a DIY Santa Sack. An affordable way to create cute personalised stockings for your kids!
One of the things I love the most about having kids is getting to experience things like Christmas through the eyes of a child all over again. It truly is one of the most magical things, especially now that Sadie is old enough to understand and be as excited about Christmas as I am!
When Sadie was first born I bought stockings and named them - these were perfect for the first couple of years but last year we really struggled to fit much at all in them! Not that our kids get over the top spoilt at Christmas but bigger items such as balls and books just didn't fit. So this year, I decided to make life easier and make pillowcase sized Santa sacks for the girls.
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Classic Eggnog Recipe
Classic homemade eggnog - the perfect festive drink! Cooked and uncooked versions of this simple recipe and the option to make it spiked for the grown ups!
This post was originally published in December 2015 – it has been retested, rephotographed, rewritten, and republished (to make it better for you!) in November 2020.
Saturday was our end of year dance show. It was a whole week of dancing every night after work plus late night rehearsals Thursday and Friday and then the 2 shows on Saturday, so by Sunday I was well & truly tuckered out. Especially considering the dressing room FULL of teenage girls I was in! Phew! But after a big sleep in, cookies for breakfast, redecorating the tree because it fell over, catching up on a week's worth of advent calendar chocolate, cookies for lunch and then 1 glass of substantially spiked eggnog (it was the afternoon) I was feeling pretty festive!
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Elf on the Shelf ideas for toddlers
30 easy Elf on the Shelf ideas to do for your toddler or young kids. How to plan ahead, keep it simple, avoid stress and still have all the joy that comes with this magical Christmas tradition!
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting The Kiwi Country Girl.
Last year we started the elf on the shelf tradition in our house. I wasn't sure if Sadie would be old enough (she was 2 ½ years old) but I thought hard about it, made it age appropriate and she LOVED it! (As did we!) We bought the elf that came with the story book (affiliate link)
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How to freeze spinach
Simple, step by step instructions for how to freeze spinach from the garden for use in soups, stews, quiches, muffins or smoothies!
Over winter and in early spring, about the only thing I usually have growing in my garden is a few brassicas and an abundance of spinach. I tend to let it go wild over winter but come spring when I need the space for summer seedlings, it's time for it to go.
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