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4th of July Mini Greek Yoghurt Berry Tarts

July 4, 2016 By Laura Leave a Comment

The perfect healthy treat or dessert for 4th of July - mini Greek yoghurt and berry tarts! A simple base, yoghurt filling and colourful berries on top!

Happy 4th of July!! I realise that this is completely irrelevant given the fact that we are in New Zealand and 4th of July means absolutely nothing to us buuuuut let's keep in mind a few things as we make these mini Greek yoghurt berry tarts.:

1. 2 days ago, we WERE in the United States. I'm still in denial that we aren't there anymore

2. We spent the last 3 weeks hearing ads, seeing displays and driving past hundreds of pop up fireworks stands in preparation for today

3. I also spent the last 3 weeks eating as many blueberries and raspberries as I could get my hands on and even though we can't get fresh ones here at the moment, frozen is almost as good so I'm gonna keep eating them

4. I have friends and family in the US who will be celebrating today so if we can celebrate with them from afar, why wouldn't we?!

5. Um, these tarts are adorable - mini dessert > regular sized dessert

So remembering all of that, and that we sometimes need a healthy little treat that feels super desserty, and that we are really feeling the summer berry vibes even though it's freezing cold here, and that these treats actually only take 15 minutes to make + a little chilling time...let's do it!...

Easy Banana Bread

July 1, 2016 By Laura 25 Comments

Classic easy banana bread recipe made in 1 bowl, and is ready to eat in 1 hour! It's delicious, easy home baking at it's finest!

We are almost on our way home!! It's been 3 weeks exploring and eating our way through the Southern USA and I can't wait to tell you all about it. We've had the best time but we're both pretty excited to get home and see these cuties. And I know I'll regret this within 2 minutes of being back in the cold but I'm kinda excited to not be sweaty...it has been HOT here!! I'm also really looking forward to getting back in the kitchen and making a whole bunch of new recipes for you...I'm feeling super inspired by chocolate and peanut butter (no surprises! ????) wintery gumbo, coffee creamer, sweet pies and um...doughnuts...that may or may not be loaded with even more deliciousness. Feeling fat already? Me too! But until then, grab those ugly brown bananas that have been forgotten in your fruit bowl...we're making easy banana bread!

This easy banana bread recipe is one of my current favourites. There are so many ways you can make banana bread fancy but when it comes down to it, sometimes it's the classics that stand the test of time, and this banana bread is one of those recipes.

It's made in 1 bowl, and is ready to eat in 1 hour. I'm speaking your language right? All the busy/lazy people say heeeey! Me too....

Sage & Tilly

June 28, 2016 By Laura 4 Comments

So I'm not really sure how it happened but in the space of 6 weeks we went from having no puppies to having 2 puppies!! How lucky are we!! In case you hadn't read about it already Sage is our black lab pup and Tilly is Josh's dad's new Huntaway farm pup. And these two!! They are the most mischievous little pups in the world.

It was love at first sight - in a play fighting/not sure if they're seriously fighting sometimes kinda way. We thought they could be cute and sleep together which was hilarious. Poor Tilly was so tired after playing but Sage wouldn't let her sleep...she just wanted to play! So like little kids, they have separate kennels now!

They are really good at winding up Sue, our older farm dog who does NOT like playing.

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Best Ever Fluffy Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

June 24, 2016 By Laura 8 Comments

I have a real breakfast treat for you today guys.

Best. Ever! Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes.

It's not going to come as any surprise to you at all that Josh doesn't like pancakes. Sweet things for breakfast are most definitely off the menu for him. I on the other hand am a HUGE pancake/waffles/anything covered in syrup for breakfast kinda girl.

It's taken me about a year to nail the perfect pancakes. Mostly because week day mornings and pancakes are not friends and slow lazy weekend breakfasts take one of two directions. 1. We get up and make bacon & eggs because Josh is a boy and that's what he likes or 2. we get up so late that we are in dire need of coffee and drink 4 litres of it and then don't really feel like eating so breakfast kind of turns into lunch.

Yooooou know.

Life....

Classic Mojito

June 21, 2016 By Laura 8 Comments

My version of a classic mojito - my all time favourite cocktail, perfect for summer, holidays or honeymoons! Make one or make a pitcher to serve a crowd!

We are on our honeymoon, so what better way to celebrate being married and on holiday than with a classic mojito!

Everyone has a favourite cocktail right? Well, mine has always and probably will always, be mojitos. The crispness of the mint, the tanginess of the lime and the bubbles. And nothing screams summer vacation like a tropical white rum mojito.

Even Josh likes them...fancy!...

Cranberry Almond Snack Bars

June 16, 2016 By Laura 12 Comments

Crunchy, full of flavour and chock full of goodness these Cranberry Almond Snack Bars are the perfect healthy snack!

I am officially "that person" who takes their own food on the plane. Gah! Am I 90 years old? No. Do I have 5 children in tow? No. Do I care? Nope! Because I had cranberry almond snack bars to keep me satisfied on the whole. 13. and a half. hour flight. Phew. Side note <--- look how optimistic I was...I 100% ran out of time to make these before we left...other things took priority, you know...packing my bag 2 hours before we left...

Buuuut on the plus side, we're on our honeymoon!! Wheeeeeee!!!

I'm going to keep it brief because as I write this we are 5 days away from going on our trip and I'm currently in the middle of writing out alllll the posts so that even though I'm away, you guys won't know it! I've got all sorts of goodies lined up for you to add a little sunshine to the winter cold...think of me, in 30 degrees+ weather, and don't be too jealous!...

May in photos

June 13, 2016 By Laura Leave a Comment

First things first - if you follow me on snapchat (username laurathorrold...find me!) you may have seen that we have another puppy!! She's not really ours, she is Josh's dads new farm pup but as we are all on the same property and because Sage is such a social butterfly it's pretty much like we have 2 puppies.

I actually can't handle to cuteness overload that is happening at our house right now. Sorry in advance for the 100's of puppy posts that are coming your way.

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Salted Caramel Kettle Corn Epic Milkshake {with pretzels!}

June 9, 2016 By Laura 2 Comments

Salted Caramel Kettle Corn Epic Milkshake!!! With pretzels!!!

I have your attention right? I guess I'm feeling the movie snacks at the moment. Kettle corn anyone? Maybe it's because we're getting ready to get on a plane and watch movies for 13 whole hours while I'll be sad - (not about being on the plane!! - but wishing I had these sorts of ridiculous things to snack on, whiiiiich I won't. "Uh, ma'am, you can't take that epic milkshake through customs..." Dammit!

I think it goes without saying that this is pretty much the worst thing you could possibly eat today. But it's winter, we are not wearing bikinis and we're snuggled up on the couch watching movies. With slippers and a couch blanket. And puppies??? Please! Not us 🙁

Unless Josh isn't home...hehe 😉

So we're in camp "I don't care what I eat today as long as it makes me feel good" right? Great. Because Josh totally confirmed this and claimed that this is possibly the worst thing for you that I have ever made. Agreed....

Homemade Kettle Corn (plus the secret to perfectly popped popcorn!)

June 6, 2016 By Laura 2 Comments

Today I ruined Josh's favourite food. I am the meanest wife in the world. But the good news is, if you love kettle corn like me, you're in luck! We are making homemade kettle corn aaaaand I've got the secret to perfectly popped popcorn. No popcorn maker needed. Just good old fashioned stove top popcorn. Let's be kids again!

Josh's favourite food is actually movie popcorn. As in, he will buy the biggest bucket of buttered popcorn you can get and I have to get my own small one.

No sharing.

Apparently I missed the memo that "what's yours is mine" does not apply to movie snacks. Which doesn't actually bother me too much. I'm more of a kettle corn kinda girl (especially when you throw a bag of Maltesers through it...do it!)

If you're unfamiliar with kettle corn, it's basically popcorn with salt and sugar. Team salty & sweet strikes again. Don't get me wrong, I do love buttered popcorn but kettle corn is my jam....

Cheesy Spinach, Mushroom & Feta Quiche

June 2, 2016 By Laura 13 Comments

This cheesy spinach, mushroom & feta quiche is the one thing I could eat for lunch everyday of my life and be excited about it.

Ok maybe not the one thing. Probably more like one of the many things in a cycle of "omg this is the best thing ever." Eat it exclusively for 2 weeks. Make something new. Start cycle again. Anyone else?

What's really getting me is that this food is actually breakfast, lunch and dinner. YES!! Make one, eat it all day, win at life.

I know you've been hanging out to put something in the pie crust we made earlier in the week...well here it is. My absolute favourite cheesy spinach, mushroom & feta quiche. I've made this quiche 3 times in the last 2 weeks. All in the name of recipe testing for you guys....uh, yea that's why (see above ;))...

Homemade All Butter Pie Crust

May 30, 2016 By Laura

How to make the best homemade all butter pie crust. This simple recipe uses no shortening and is perfect for sweet or savoury pies!

Before I turn your attention to the novel on how to make homemade all butter pie crust I have really cool news - Josh & I are officially an uncle & aunty!!! Josh's brother's wife had a little baby girl on Sunday morning...it's the first baby in our family so as you can imagine we are all SUPER excited!!

Right...I'm having a moment with sweet pie.

Any pie. Apple, pumpkin, chocolate? Maybe not after The Help.

It's a new thing for me because typically in New Zealand, pie is a savoury thing.

Mince pies, mince and cheese pies, steak and cheese pies, maybe if you're feeling super adventurous a butter chicken pie from Wild Bean. But other than those pathetic little apple pie wannabes from McDonald's, sweet pies are few and far between.

Well, I'ma change that.

I'm officially becoming a sweet pie girl. I don't know if it's because in a couple of short weeks I will be heading back to the USA where I became obsessed with so many new foods last time I was there but not pie (!!?) so I feel like I have some making up to do.

I'm gonna eat alllllll the pies....

March & April in photos

May 26, 2016 By Laura Leave a Comment

Whoops...it's been ages since I've done a monthly round-up post! Sage has kind of taken over our lives so I could pretty much just show you pictures of her and that would be it...you're cool with that right?

Please? She's so cute!!

So other than puppy snuggles here are a few of my favourite moments of the last couple of months.

I remembered how much I love autumn with all the harvesting to do! Apples that went in these bars, pumpkins that went in this salad, beets...all my favourite things! I've been obsessing over autumn baking and flavours...I'm working on lots of things with delicious warm cosy spices...think chai, pumpkin spice and LOTS of cinnamon.

Don't forget, I love getting requests for recipes so if there is anything you would like to see, let me know!...

Chocolate Chili Cookies

May 23, 2016 By Laura 4 Comments

These Chocolate Chili Cookies are a twist on a classic. Soft and chewy chocolate cookies with a hint of chili and cinnamon plus chili chocolate chunks!

Does it seem a little weird to you that the girl who puts the teeniest amount of chili powder in enchilada sauce is suddenly adding chili powder to cookies?? Yea, me too. But I've become a bit obsessed with spices lately. Not just any old spices but the warm autumny kind of spices that make you feel all cosy inside...you know, chai things, chili things, cinnamon everything.

The killer blow was when I got into a conversation with my workmate (the one who I am blaming 100% for my current chai latte addiction) about the combination of chili and chocolate. I haven't been able to get it out of my head since! And then a block of Whittaker's Kaitaia Fire Chili Spice chocolate just happened to jump into my trolley at the supermarket.

It was fate.

Chocolate chili cookies were going to be a thing.

Poor Josh. When I told him that I was making chocolate chili cookies he pretty much did a double take. That guy is a farmer through and through. Don't be messing with his food by spicing it up. So when I was testing these cookies I made plain chocolate cookies to get the texture right and then made them with the spices. He like the plain ones. Duh. Which was awesome. Lots for me and my work taste-testers! In his defence Josh did try them, but he thought they were weird. High praise.

At least everyone else thought they were awesome...so....you know....

Honey Mustard Ham & Cheese Pizza Rolls

May 20, 2016 By Laura 10 Comments

An easy recipe for ham & cheese pizza rolls with honey mustard sauce...perfect for entertaining, after school snacks or weekend lunch!

I'm having a bit of a moment with bread right now. Lately, our kitchen has actually become a bakery. And by bakery I mean permanently flour covered surfaces, dough rising in weird places and ciabatta, bread rolls, banana bread, croissants, you name it, coming out my ears. I don't know what it is but I am obsessing over bread. I need to make allthebreadthings. Like, right now. Seriously, my weekly shop makes it look like I am anticipating a worldwide shortage of flour and yeast. Which, given the state of my kitchen is probably kinda accurate.

Also, there have been some failures. I'm talking a loaf of bread that spreads out over the entire baking tray, a cloud of smoke coming out of my oven because when you bake croissants on a flat baking tray the butter kinda starts melting and goes everywhere covering the bottom of your oven and setting off the smoke alarms. But, homemade croissants...I'm still winning right? They tasted good. And my oven totally needed to be cleaned anyway.

But the good news is that my house officially smells incredible. All the time!

Lucky we're coming into winter and I'm going to need allthebreadthings to eat with allthesoups I'm about to make. I'm gonna be busy!

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Chocolate Caramel Slice

May 17, 2016 By Laura 6 Comments

This slice is an absolute Kiwi classic and is one of our all time favourites. Perfect for a shared morning tea or for an extra special treat!

Triple layer chocolate caramel slice - coconut base, gooey caramel filling & dark chocolate topping

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Homemade Oreos (Vanilla, Mint & Peanut Butter Flavoured!)

May 12, 2016 By Laura 12 Comments

Oreos, oreos, oreos!

Homemade oreos!!!

Guys, I haven't been this excited since I made these! But I'm super super excited to share these homemade oreos with you...and to make them even better, not only have we nailed the classic chocolate vanilla oreo, we have mint filling...and peanut butter!!

Life goals complete.

I don't buy a lot of cookies but if I do, it's always Oreos. Mostly because I like using them to make other things (hey, cheesecake crust) but also because they're delicious. So of course, I had to make them.

When I decided I wanted to give these a go I thought about how to get the cookies perfectly round. Rolling out the dough, cutting circles and then transferring them to a tray seemed tedious and time consuming so I racked my brains until I remembered my Mum's super simple slice & bake cookies. Duh! Make a round roll of cookie dough and just slice em up. Perfect! I even used pretty much the same recipe, just subbing out the brown sugar and adding cocoa powder...and lots of it to get that super dark chocolately colour and flavour of oreos....

Simple Mushroom Pasta with Garlic, Herb & Butter Sauce

May 9, 2016 By Laura 2 Comments

Super speedy simple mushroom pasta with garlic, herb & butter sauce - a perfect throw together meal, ready in 20 minutes!

We survived opening weekend!

The first weekend in May is opening weekend for duck shooting which in our house, is Josh's equivalent of Christmas. His friends all come out on the Friday night, they are so excited they can barely sleep and then are up before the crack of dawn down at the dam where I then don't see them for the rest of the weekend.

Except when they want food.

They were even planning on staying down at the mai mai (duck shooting hut that Josh built on the dam) so I had my own wild night planned. You know...painting my nails, comfy pants, wine and Friends re-runs. Epic night in.

And then at 8.30pm they came home. And wanted food. Thank goodness for this lifesaver. ...

Autumn Harvest Roast Vege Salad with Orange & Maple Dressing

May 5, 2016 By Laura 10 Comments

The perfect meal for the cooler weather - an autumn harvest roast vege salad with pumpkin, beets, feta, pinenuts & an epic maple orange dressing.

Guysssss guess what?? We have booked our honeymoon! YAY! We fly to Houston, Texas in June for 3 whole weeks! I'm SO excited! We're going to hire a car and do a ton of driving...it's going to be awesome! And hot. But mostly awesome. So if anyone has any suggestions of things to do in the Texas/New Orleans/southern states sort of area, let me know!

Knowing we are going to have a 3 week summer soon has made the transition to autumn a whole heap easier and I think a more appropriate name for this would be "we have officially let go of summer and embraced everything that is autumn with this salad salad"

Because that is totally what happened.

Well, sort of. This pumpkin was actually destined for soup. Pumpkiny, maybe a little bit of spice and some coconut creaminess if we're ok with that and can be on board with me adding coconut milk/cream to everything I eat at the moment? Yes? 😀 Except that it was super summery and hot over the weekend so I really didn't want to make soup. So I went and raided what is left of my garden, found some beets, spinach leaves, one of the pumpkins from the shed and made a perfectly autumn actual legitimate harvest salad. With things I GREW!! From seeds!!!...

Apple Crumble

May 2, 2016 By Laura 11 Comments

This is simply the best healthy apple crumble recipe! It's easy to make and is made healthier with oats and only a small amount of sugar in the topping!

I have to tell you, I was ready to pull out my woolly socks, make soup and get cozy on the couch. But then we had 2 GORGEOUS summery feeling days in a row...over the weekend! YAY!

So sorry, soups and socks will be making an appearance at a much later date.

But I am ready to start easing my way into autumn foody goodness, starting with all the apple things. We have an apple tree that we planted in spring but right now, it's teeny. Not even big enough to support the weight of a single apple let alone provide me with enough apples to satisfy my autumn apple cravings. But luckily for me, I picked a gigantic bag FULL of apples from our neighbour Jamie's tree that is pretty much ground level with the weight of all the apples covering it. Short person win! I have so many apples. So even though it's super sunny and warm and we had the FAN on last night, I've compromised.

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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas

April 29, 2016 By Laura 11 Comments

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchiladas with homemade enchilada sauce - the perfect fuss free, delicious Mexican dinner!

Friday!! We've nearly made it through another week, YAY!

Now put on the TV, make yourself a margarita and let dinner (almost) take care of itself. It's the return of the lazy girl with slow cooker chicken enchiladas!! Now is when we go back to that perfect little 5 minute blender enchilada sauce that you all made and turn it into a meal!

Chicken + enchilada sauce, into the slow cooker for a couple of hours. Shred it up, roll up the enchiladas, top with grated cheese and bake. This is a meal you want in your life. Fast, easy and super tasty!...

5 minute Blender Enchilada Sauce

April 26, 2016 By Laura 4 Comments

This homemade Enchilada Sauce makes dinner time a breeze! Made in the blender, in 5 minutes, it's almost as quick as opening a jar of sauce!

You know what's hard? Mondays. Duh. But you know what's harder? Tuesday after a long weekend! 3 whole days just pottering around at home, in the kitchen, playing with the puppy and just being pretty relaxed about life. I'm pretty sure I still did the same amount of stuff I would normally do in a weekend but slower. Which is how it should be!

At least it's also now a short week so let's do this!!

And by this, I mean throw a bunch of Mexican looking ingredients into a blender and call it enchilada sauce.

Remember how I was only using my blender for smoothies for so long and suddenly now I've opened my eyes to the possibilities. Aaaaand we're on a roll - blender this, blender that, all in the hopes of becoming the ultimate lazy girl. We tell people we are "efficient" but in all reality it's the pure laziness that is deep within everyone. Don't deny it. Even people who live on farms and get up at the crack of dawn. You can't tell me you know ANYONE that would turn down this 5 minute blender edition of your favourite enchilada sauce in favour of at least 20 minutes slicing and dicing and sauteeing and simmering.

No way friends, we are lazy girls....

Chocolate Banana Blender Muffins

April 22, 2016 By Laura

The easiest muffins in the world - 5 minutes prep and a blender is all it takes to make these chocolate banana blender muffins! They're refined sugar free and perfect for baking with kids!

You might remember that back in January I took part in a 30 day green smoothie challenge - which btw I would recommend to anyone to do...you'll feel SO good! Anyway it was during this time (of course) that my trusty blender of 7 years decided to give up the ghost. I went back and forth trying to decide if I was going to buy a replacement blender or go with what EVERYONE told me to do and buy a little nutri-bullet type thing.

I totally did not give into peer pressure and decided that I actually use a blender for more than just smoothies so I went for it and bought a replacement regular blender. Since then, naturally I've only used it for smoothies {face palm} Until last weekend when I suddenly decided to use my blender for everything! YAY!

Starting with breakfast food. Actual breakfast food. Sometimes I say it's breakfast food and you have to kind of take it with a grain of salt bc hi, I eat chocolate for breakfast. But these muffins. Actual 100% healthy breakfast food....

Anzac Biscuits

April 19, 2016 By Laura 11 Comments

Chewy, sweet, golden oaty Anzac biscuits - a celebration of our soldiers and a home baked Kiwi classic!

Anzac Day, Anzac Day, Anzac Day!

It's been exactly 21 days since the last long weekend and I am so ready for this one!

Anzac Day is one of the really great New Zealand public holidays. It marks the anniversary of the day that the ANZAC troops (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) landed on the beach in Gallipoli during WWI and it is a day of remembrance for our troops, past and present, that fight for our little country with the big guys. If I could bake them all biscuits, I would.

Because I'm a curious George, I did a bit of looking into what these biscuits actually have to do with Anzac Day and why they are called Anzac biscuits. It turns out that they weren't actually eaten on the front line but they were one of the different types of home baking made and sold at bake sales around NZ to raise money for the war efforts! The first time they were mentioned in a cookbook was in 1921 so these are pretty much the epitome of a Kiwi classic....

Meet Sage

April 13, 2016 By Laura 6 Comments

Guess what? We have a puppy!! This is definitely old news if you've been following for a while, but considering that the little rascal is most definitely a part of our farm family now, I think she deserves a proper introduction.

So friends, meet our little girl Sage!!

Sage is ¾ black labrador, ¼ border collie. Her dad is a chocolate lab and her mum is a ½ black lab, ½ border collie, the pets of friends of ours who live out here, not too far from us....