How to Make a Watermelon Pizza

Are a lot of different variations of a pizza and every one of us has their own idea of the perfect pizza. But we can all agree that it would be awesome if there was a healthy version of pizza out there. The great news is that there is one, but it’s made out of fruits so it’s practically a pizza fruit salad. You will need a watermelon, slices of kiwi, peach, strawberries and white chocolate. Cut a large piece of watermelon, which will be the base of your “pizza” and place the slices of fruits on it. After that use a pizza slicer to cut triangles out of the watermelon and create pizza slices. At the end add grated white chocolate or coconut on top and your healthy pizza will be ready. Delicious and very cooling for a hot summer day!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Work was kinda average today so on the way home I decided some baking would be in order.  Chocolate Chip Cookies in fact.  This recipe makes heaps and they are yum - probably because you can’t really go wrong with a choc chip cookie :)



Makes: 36          Prep and Cooking time: 30 minutes

250g butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup caster sugar
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 ¼ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
375g dark chocolate melts, chopped coarsely

Preheat oven to 180˚C.  Grease a couple of oven trays.
Beat butter, vanilla extract, sugars and egg in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Stir in the sifted flour and baking soda in two batches.  Stir in the chocolate.
Roll tablespoons of mixture into balls, place about 5cm apart on the trays.  Bake for about 7 to 15 minutes depending how crispy you want your cookies.  Leave to cool slightly on the tray before transferring to a wire rack.
Cookies will keep in an airtight container for up to a week.

*Dark chocolate can be replaced with other chocolate if desired. I actually used a mix of Nestle dark and milk choc drops. If you want to add nuts you can substitute out a third of the chocolate.

DIY Chocolate Witches Hats

I had a go at making Witches Hats as a Halloween treat.  They are pretty simple to make and the recipe will give you 15 little hats.  I used midnight cookies as a base (I’ve put the original recipe below which will make a few more cookies than you need) which worked perfectly as a delicious accompaniment to the cone of the hat.  Inside my hats I hid some candy corn lollies (found at Martha’s Backyard), but you can include whatever candy is your favourite. 
We took the finished Witches Hats around to share with Simon’s family and his nieces were pretty excited when they found the hidden lollies!

To make Chocolate Witches Hats you will need:
a batch of midnight cookies (see recipe below, or alternatively, you could try your fave store bought biscuits)
15 kid sized ice cream cones
375g milk or dark chocolate, melted
Bag of Pebbles of Mini M&M’s, to decorate
½ cup of your favourite candy, to hide inside the hats

Midnight Cookies:125g butter, softened
175g caster sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
125g flour
35g cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line several baking trays with baking paper.
Place the butter and sugar in a large bowl and beat together until light and fluffy.  Add the egg and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.  Sift in the flour, cocoa and baking soda and beat until well mixed.
With dampened hands, roll teaspoon sized pieces of the dough into smooth balls.  Place on the baking sheets, spaced well apart.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10 – 12 minutes, or until set.  Leave to cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

To make the Witches Hats:Roll the cones in a bowl of the melted chocolate to coat the outsides.  Stand on a wire rack to allow the chocolate to set.  Dip your Pebbles of Mini M&M’s into the remaining melted chocolate and adhere to the chocolate cones.
In the centre of each cookie, place the candy you want to hide inside the hat. 
Dip the rim of an ice cream cone in the melted chocolate and put it onto one of the cookies, repeat the process.
As a finishing touch you could tie a thin ribbon around the ‘brim’ of each hat.

- See more at: http://www.bakingmakesthingsbetter.com/2012/10/chocolate-witches-hats.html#sthash.AfP7JBCf.dpuf

Hot Dog Bed

If you thought your dog or cat was too cute, you didn’t saw it in this awesome pet bed. Shaped as an orange (with green stripes) hot-dog, this comfortable sofa pet bed will be everything your little special friend wants after a long day of barking at trees or chasing mice. At a weight of only 2 pounds and a size of 24 x 16 x 8 inches, the hot-dog sofa bed is easy to move wherever you want, as close as you want to your bed, so your pet won’t have to feel lonely when it takes a well-deserved afternoon nap. The fluffy material of the hot-dog bed keeps your pet warm when it gets chilly, and the cozy mat can be removed and washed if it ever gets dirty. This Hot Dog Bed can be purchased with 34$

Deep-Dish Sausage Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 2/3 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
• 1-3/4 to 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil and marjoram
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
• TOPINGS
• 4 cups (16 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
• 2 medium green peppers, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon each dried oregano, basil and marjoram
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 poun Jimmy Dean. Premium pork, Sausage Roll, cooked and drained
• 1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, well drained
• 2 ounces sliced pepperoni

Directions

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add 1 cup flour, oil and seasonings; beat until smooth. Add enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl; turn once to greased top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down; roll out into a 15-in. circle. Transfer to a well-greased 12-in. heavy ovenproof skillet or round baking pan, letting dough drape over edges. Sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella.
4. In a skillet, saute the green peppers, onion and seasonings in oil until tender; drain. Layer half of the mixture over crust. Layer with half of the Parmesan, sausage and tomatoes. Sprinkle with 2 cups mozzarella. Repeat layers. Fold crust over to form an edge.
   
5. Bake for 400° for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with pepperoni and remaining mozzarella. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until crust is browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Yield- 8 slices.

Homemade Natural Dog Treat Recipe

The relationships between pets and humans are special. You develop a feeling of care for your companion, which makes every detail of their life matters to you. An important part of anyone’s life, human or pet alike, is the food. A certain diet will give specific characteristics to your everyday activities. This rule also applies to your dog. So it’s important to know what the food you give to your pet contains. We found this awesome tutorial on how to make a natural recipe for a dog treat. Here are the ingredients necessary to make 40 pieces of 4-inch treats:

Ingredients:

•       2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
•       1/2 cup cornmeal
•       1 bunch fresh carrots
•       2-3 fresh bananas
•       1 egg (beaten)
•       1/3 cup vegetable oil
•       1 (optional) a tbsp of brown sugar
•       1/2 cup cold water

How To Build A Herb Spiral

A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential,garden, but the term garden has traditionally been a more general one. Zoos, which display wild animals in simulated natural habitats, were formerly called zoological garden Western gardens are almost universally based on plants, with garden often signifying a shortened form of botanical garden

Gardening is the activity of growing and maintaining the garden. This work is done by an amateur or professional gardenerr. A gardener might also work in a non-garden setting, such as a park, a roadside embankment, or other public space. Landscape architecture is a related professional activity with landscape architects tending to specialise in design for public and corporate clients.

These days, I saw that many people who seemed to be interested in herb spirals, so, if done properly, they need little maintenance and can keep the herbs all around the year. Basically, the idea behind them is to get in a confined area as many different herbs as possible. The spiral and the subsequent height differences mean that you create a number of different environmental conditions which wouldn’t normally be possible in a small space. The small area also means that they are ideal for a little garden, therefore harvesting and watering is easy. How it works? Start from a spiral bed in which to plant, this is held together with a structure made of rock, brick or anything that can really absorb the heat of the sun during the day which in turn heats the soil. I searched some tutorials of “how to build”, and I selected more detailed one to show you. See below a video about “how to build” a herb spiral with rocks, straw, soil, herbs, and water.