Recipes

Ready for another installment of “SEO Scones”?What does Search Engine Optimisation and scones have to do with each other? Well, odds are you’re reading this page because you searched for a scone recipe on Google and you found your way here.

The first time I made this recipe it happened by accident. It was one of those nights where I had a handful of ingredients that needed to be used up quickly and they just came together so perfectly.

Lemonade Scones Without Cream UPDATE: Click here if you’re looking for a Dairy Free Lemonade Scone recipe. These recipes come with a bit of a back story. A couple of years ago I attempted to make lemonade scones without cream. Actually without self raising flour as well. Quick tip – …

I was a little nervous baking this for my birthday because I pretty much just blended together two different recipes with absolutely no experience making either of them. By some miracle it turned out great (but admittedly I have done a lot of baking, so I’ve got a little base knowledge to go along with it…. And perhaps just a bit of a lucky fluke!)

Super Easy Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup! I was staying at a friend’s house recently and she cooked for me the most amazing – and simple – broccoli and cauliflower soup. I loved it so I asked for the recipe. Instead she told me the list of ingredients – broccoli, cauliflower, …

As promised - this is my new and improved “Butter Chicken” recipe. I’m putting “butter chicken” in quotation marks at this point because I feel like I’ve altered this so much that it doesn’t exactly resemble the traditional dish.

Okay, I’m calling it - this is the easiest butter chicken recipe ever. EVER. So easy. I promise if you have the capacity to saute onions, brown chicken, measure spices and stir you can make this easy butter chicken recipe.

So, technically this sugar free banana cake has sugar in it, because there’s sugar in the bananas. You can’t take the sugar out of banana cake without also removing the bananas - completely defeating the whole point of a banana cake!

Easy Toum The Not-So-Traditional Recipe I was introduced to Toum by my partner’s family. My mother in law makes toum regularly and they consume it in much the same way that my family would use tomato sauce – it’s used on meat, vegetables, sandwiches, as a dip, on chips, etc. …

If you're anything like me you probably have a couple of brown paper bags lying around the house - usually on a Friday or Saturday evening... It does really seem like a match made in heaven that wine comes with craft material for kids, it's almost like the bottle shops have thrown in a free activity for the kids to help get you through your wine time.

My littlest asked for a Pocoyo cake for her birthday - and after an extensive internet search I could not find any tutorials on how to make it. SO, not only did I have to wing it, but I also documented my process so I could create a tutorial for future Pocoyo cake topper making.

Saucy Thermomix Bolognese is a one-pot wonder has hidden veg that your kids will never suspect and a cheeky secret ingredient. Okay, it's not very secret because a- I'm telling you about it and b- it's a very Australian addition to Bolognese sauce that's been around for yonks.

I dropped the ball entirely on Halloween. Not only have I completely failed to organised my children any kind of costumes, I’m actually going to be away for Halloween so I won’t be able to take them out AND worst of all - I haven’t written any kind of blog relating to the upcoming night of fright.

Have a look over the following 10 ‘sensory spelling ideas’ and choose some of your favourites to try this week during homework time.

You will need Cupcakes Icing Green food dye Coconut Fads (lollies) Red jelly beans (mini jelly beans if they are mini cupcakes. 1. Bake a batch of your favourite cupcakes…packet mix are fine. Use green patty cases if you can. 2. Place 1/2 a cup of desiccated coconut into a …

I've engaged in many "cook vs no cook playdough recipe" debates. Yes, such a thing exists and can be quite divisive! SO - what is the happy middle ground?!

Adding freshly boiled water instead of cooking it on a stove top.

My family consists of two adults, a teen, two tweens and a toddler. We are literally cooking for six- thank god for the thermomix! In the colder months, the thermomix is awesome for winter warmer style dishes that can feed a tribe with ease. Here’s 3 of our staple winter …

Granny Squares are a great little beginner project. I'm hoping these videos are easy to follow, I've broken them up into three rounds, so you can go at your own pace. Also, I'll include the written pattern as a guide if that helps.

This is a simple activity that can actually be done at any time of year, (using any small, flat objects, e.g. pressed flowers, herbs, petals) but I love autumn leaves, so this is an autumn activity for me!

Substituted Lemonade Scones - a recipe for disaster life.

Today I decided to make lemonade scones. I’d made them a few days ago and they surpassed all expectations. Having made scones the traditional way - rubbing butter into flour and so on - the concept of lemonade scones both intrigued me and horrified me.

This recipe happened sort of by accident recently and has become my go-to vanilla cake recipe; I'd started making a chocolate cake and once I'd put in the flour and sugar in a bowl together I realised I didn't have any coco, so I improvised and the result was glorious. It is a toss together, quick and easy, basic, simple but sweet and a perfect texture for cutting into shape for birthday cakes or as a base for colouring for a rainbow or "tie-dye" cake.

This post is going to be a “Here’s one I prepared Earlier” because I know if I read it I’d want to see a picture of the cake in question - and the cake will not be presented until Sunday, so basically I’m speaking to you from the past. Weird.

Anyhow, my partner and I have been having a bit of a friendly debate. It’s as friendly as a debate can be - because it’s a debate about cake.

I LOVE this bag. I've called it a "scrappy bag" because it's a perfect way to use up scraps that are too big to throw away but aren't really enough for a complete project - I've wound up with a heap of small, odd sized, pieces of fabric, so I will be able to make another scrappy bag; which I'm very excited about because my 2 year old has claimed this one for herself!

I did actually make a Christmas cake once, from scratch, in highschool cooking class. I was SO excited about decorating it, there is something so beautiful and festive about pristine white fondant icing neatly laid over a thick slab of fruit cake.But it was really messy and time consuming and by the time it actually came time to decorate the cake I was a bit over it.So, when the urge hit me again to want to make and decorate a Christmas cake I realised there was a totally cheating way to do it... all I needed was three things.Premade Fondant. Fruit cake. Rolling pin.

I’ve already started making thermomix Christmas gifts. There’s something really satisfying about giving home made goodies as presents. Last year, almost all my gifts were home made baskets of goodies that I whipped up in Thermione Grainger, my kitchen witch. Jams, relishes, sauces, fudge, fruitcake, infused oils, peppermint bark and balsamic reductions galore

These Christmas Tree Cupcakes are simple and easy, but very effective.Start off with a basic vanilla cupcake batter. This is my recipe, it's a throw-it-all-together-and-mix recipe.

Handmade gifts are wonderful. They're personal, unique and made with love. This is an easy and quick sewing project, it took me about an hour to complete and it's all very simple sewing so it should suit beginners. I've taken HEAPS of pictures of the process so hopefully this should be easy to follow and reproduce at home.

This is a follow on from Easy Pillow Case and Cotton Blanket Gift Set.

December comes quickly every year, and sometimes it can be quite a lot to take in, especially if you are trying to knock off everything off that big gift list. Sometimes we do forget our Christmas Spirit, because it is the most stressful time of the year for some parents, especially when hunting down the latest and greatest of things.So I have spent some time putting together lists of Christmas songs, movies and books that will help even the biggest Grinch or Humbug to even get the smallest ounce of Christmas spirit.

Instead of a traditional egg hunt, add some clue cards to the mix. Write a series of clues for your child to follow to find their Easter Treats!

Highly recommend doing this activity outside with a hose nearby!.Step 1 -Print your child's or baby's foot onto a piece of paper. Brown for a reindeer, green for holly or green with red toes for a Christmas tree.

Step 1 Get a white square of paperStep 2 Fold in half into a triangle.Step 3 Keep folding 3 more times until you have folded your square into 16th

Cellophane Christmas Windows Fold paper into quarters. On the folded side cut out half of a Christmas tree. Open up and tape green cellophane on one side of the tree shaped hole. Fold back in half and tape together the edges. Display on a window or hang on Christmas tree.

Family Handprint Christmas Tree Step 1 Have the family print their hands on a large piece of white card. It’s easier to do the littlest family members first then fit the large prints around theirs. Leave to dry. Step 2 Cut out and glue to a large piece of coloured card. Step …

Cellaphane Window Christmas CardStep 1 - Fold in quarters.Step 2 - Fold one quarter in half. Cut out half the tree into the folded edge Cut a star and stand shape too.Step 3 - Open out the paper.Step 4 - Tape cellophane to one opening.Step 5 - Fold in half.Step 6 - Finish with some “decorations” for the tree drawn on to the inside of the card opposite the tree.

Cut potato’s in half, cut shapes into the potato draw the desired shape and cut around 1/2cm deep.Put blobs of paint onto flat trays (or plates) and print onto butcher paper.Peeled potatoes can be cut with a butter knife so school aged children may want to make their own stamps.

You will need:Coloured paper (left over wrapping paper works well!) Scissors Sticky tape

Ingredients: 1 cup salt 1 cup flour 1/2 cup of water.

You will need:A collection of leaves and flowers. Two sheets of clear contact Two plastic bowls or plates

This activity is pretty self-explanatory. Combine toddlers, paint, brushes and a window, then clean up with the water and towels. The clean-up is as almost as much fun as the painting.

Buy a cardboard mask from a craft shop. Alternatively you can use a paper plate, just cut out the eyes and cut in half with a curve inwards for the nose. This is an activity you can do with your child, or to make a dress up mask for a party, or for dress ups.

Ingredients 1 tin of sweetened condensed milk. 3 cups of rolled oats. 1 cup of mixed dried fruit/Santanas/nuts.

Ingredients:Gingerbread Cookies150 grams butter 1/2 cup firm packed brown sugar 1/2 cup honey 1 tablespoons of ground ginger 1 teaspoon of mixed spice 1 egg 3 cups self raising flour

Make your own chocolate in moulds with your kids. This recipe is SOOO simple, no heating involved so its great for children as they don't have to handle any hot ingredients.

This recipe is simple and easy for little helping hands.

These are a seasonal twist on an old favourite and make a good homemade gift for teachers, friends or family at Christmas time.

You will need:1 cup Sr flour 1/2 cup of yoghurt. Mix together and knead on a floured bench until smooth

It’s a nice low-sugar recipe and it’s easy enough to get my 4 year old to help combine the ingredients

Ingredients 250Grams butter – softened 1 cup castor sugar 2 cups of self raising flour 2 eggs Optional – sprinkles, choc chips, jam, saltanas.

Step 1 : Cut up puff pastry sheet into 6 rectanglesStep 2 : Lay slices of “processed cheese” on the pastry.

You Will Need:Very Riepe bananas Food processor Milk/soy milk/water (optional)Step 1 : Peel bananas, chop in 1-2cm wide pieces Place on a tray and cover firmly with cling wrap or in a snap lock container. Leave in freezer for several hours or overnight until fully frozen.

Baby "Hide and Seek" This is a fun game to play with babies who are just starting to understand "Object Permanence"

Taped up the lid of an old cereal box and cut a hole big enough for baby to reach in and pull things out.Then fill with toys and objects that are safe for baby to pull out and explore.

I believe while it’s important to have dangerous areas of the house properly gated or blocked off from little people, it’s also important to take time to familiarise your growing baby with these areas of the house, to eventually be able to be independent through all areas of the house

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a grumpy, bored or unsettled baby can be calmed and settled by simply taking them outside. Nature provides a wide variety of different sensations and experiences.

Babies love faces. It’s no coincidence that at birth a newborn baby can focus approximately the distance from being held at their mother’s breast to their mothers face. Within a couple of days your baby will recognise your face and as they get older they’ll quickly learn the faces of their immediate family.

Lay a large sheet of paper in the base of the activity centre. Put a blob of paint on the paper.Pop baby in and let them squish the paint between their toes to create their very own piece of art!

Collect a few items from your yard, or go on a walk. Try to gather some things that will float – such as leaves and feather, a few things that will sink – rocks and a few things that you aren’t sure about, such as tree bark or twigs, which may float or sink depending on how dense they are.

This is very simple. You don’t necessarily need a low wide box as in the picture, any sized box will do as long as it has one surface large enough to attach a few burners to and opens up with a flap for an “oven”.

If you have old cardboard boxes why not turn them into a mini fridge for role playing fun.

Homemade play dough is cheap, easy to make, lasts ages and is made entirely from edible ingredients so is ideal for toddlers (though it tastes horrible, at least you know it's safe).

If your child is starting to retell and make up stories, ask them to tell you a story while you write it down.Make a book by folding a few A4 pieces of white paper together.

Coloured rice is fun to make and great to use for craft activities, sensory play, or you can put a handful into an empty plastic bottle for a quick and easy colourful baby shaker.

These bunny ears are quick and easy. Perfect for last minute Easter Hat parades!

This is a simple 3 colour Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Face Paint tutorial.Step OnePrepare their skin - give their face a wash and dry.

This Doll Mei Tai Tutorial is a good beginner project, there's nothing too tricky in it and less than an hour to complete (well, an hour without interuptions - mine took a little longer with an eager toddler bouncing around trying to "help") but it's pretty straight forward.

This experiment requires a few things you probably already have in your home right now:Full cream milk Dish washing liquid Food dye - a few different colours Plates Cotton buds Step onePour milk onto a plate until the surface is completely covered.

This is such an easy meringue recipe. It contain 2 ingredients - egg whites and sugar - you can add some food dye if you want coloured meringues but that is entirely optional.The key to making fluffy, crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth meringues is patience.Meringues are also a great way to use up left over egg whites if you're cooking something that calls for egg yolks only because all you need to know is the ratio of egg whites to sugar and you can adjust the recipe to suit however many egg whites you have on hand.

This recipe for Air drying clay couldn't be more simple - you just combine 1 part non-toxic PVA glue with 2 parts corn flour and mould it into whatever shapes you want and leave it to dry over night! That's it! Too easy!When it's completely dry they can be painted. We found the bigger the shape the more fragile it was, so this may not be ideal for hand prints but it was great for making beads and smaller cookie cuttings.

What happens when you mix bicarb and vinegar together? It quickly foams up! What happens when you put them together in a drink popper with the lid on but the cap open?You get a FOUNTAIN!First pour vinegar into the bottle, followed by a spoonful of bicarb. It takes a bit of practice getting the lid on and screwed down before the big foam up, otherwise it just overflows rather than shoots upwards - which is still fun to watch!Experiment with different sized bottles, different ratios of vinegar to bicarb, add food dye to make it even more fun! ENJOY!

I don't think this masking tape car track activity requires much explanation. All you need is some wide masking tape, a flat space on carpet or floorboards and a marker if you want to draw lines on the "road" for effect.We've added wooden blocks, trains, cars, some small figures and a few small buildings to extend the role playing of this activity.Try to make the roads different lengths, angles, add in a round about or complicated intersections rather than just a grid of roads (though that would be fine too).Here's our masking tape car track:

Ice cream in a bag is an incredible simple, versatile and FUN recipe that you can adapt easily to your own tastes or what you have on hand.You will need:250 mls of Milk A flavouring and/or sweetener Several handfuls of ice A few tablespoons of saltSome flavours you could try:Dried fruit Choc-chips Nuts

Gardening with kids is a great way for children to learn about nature, where food comes from some basic biology. (and if you're gardening skills are anything like mine they may also learn about disappointment when the garden doesn't grow - fortunately this isn't "my" garden so it should be fine!) It may even help persuade our fussy eater to try to eat some vegetables if he grows them himself.

A couple of weeks ago our son decided to start collecting toilet paper rolls (again - this is not the first time he's started ensuring that no toilet roll wind up in the bin) They started piling up so we needed to find a way to use them (or lose them!). A Google search found hundreds of f things to do with toilet rolls (really there is 101 things to do with a toilet paper roll on Pinterest!)Below are the 6 best pics that we liked. We've had a go making the car with bottle top wheel - ours didn't look as good as it does in the picture but the kids were very happy with it! Although now my son is collecting bottle tops as well...Next we'll try to make the car garage in a shoe box.

Oobleck is pretty much what it sounds like. "Ooh! BLECK!" Otherwise known as a non-newtonian fluid. Which means it's a fluid that doesn't act like a fluid according to newtons laws of physics. It's often referred to as Oobleck based on a Dr Suess story called "Bartholomew and the Oobleck".This particular non-newtonian fluid is a sheer thickening fluid, which means the viscosity increases with the rate of shear strain.Or more simply - it's a fluid that acts like a solid when it's pressed on, squeezed and rolled, but goes runny when it's handle gently.Still confused?

We love honey in this house! It’s part of our weekly staples and we have it on cereal, toast, yogurt, pancakes and tea – it even gets eaten from the spoon. So it’s no wonder that these super easy Honey Cakes were a hit in our house! Ingredients: Easy Honey …

I’ll start by saying this isn’t a complaint, I do actually get a bit of a thrill every time someone says to me “Oh, did you make that ?! It’s great! You should sell them!” Or I get the more forward “So, Rach, when are you going to open a …

I timed myself – including setting up and threading the machine, and a little bit of a toddler wrangling – this skirt took under 20 minutes from start to finish. So, lets get right to it! You will need: Fabric Wide Elastic Scissors A pin Sewing machine and thread… obviously… …

I love pumpkin pie! It's one of my favourite treats. My little boy who turns his nose up at most vegetables love it also, and enjoys helping me make pumpkin pie!

Want a Queens Birthday craft activity for the kids?

Mr Maker has it covered!

Oh Em Gee I love TUTUS! I love tutus so much. They’re just absurdly cute and anything the wearer does in a tutu is made infinitely cuter because they’re wearing tutu.For example – sitting on the couch reading a book becomes sitting on the couch reading a book WEARING A TUTU! Playing totem tennis becomes playing totem tennis WEARING A TUTU! Breastfeeding a toddler becomes breastfeeding a toddler WEARING A TUTU! Climbing on the back of the couch becomes climbing on the back of the couch WEARING A TUTU… and so on…

Keeping Cool In Summer Keeping cool is one of the best parts of summer! We don’t have aircon and I don’t drive – and even if I did we’re no longer near the beach and I have no desire to go to a public pool during a heatwave, let alone …

Family Car Pic - this is us on the way to the park Front left - FamousDAD, Back left - Magic Famous, Front right - Missus FamousDAD, (Who took the Picture) Back right - Turbo Famous

This is a step by step of my nursery furniture renovation. Outlining the basic "how to" of a simple make over for a cot that was about 15 years old, drawers that are I have had since the start of High School and a “barely used” good quality change table.

No Sew Tutu Do you have any fabric just laying around? Maybe you have a stock pile of fabrics, you never had a project – or time – to turn them into something? Or you have scraps that are too good to throw away, but not really enough to make …

Ingredients: (serves 4)1 3/4 cup self raising flour 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder 2 eggs 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence 2 teaspoons sugar 1 cup of milk - add more or less as required.

A simple twist on the party favourite “Fairy Bread” Simply cut open small dinner rolls, leaving one side attached to form a Butterfly shape. Now simply spread with butter and cover in sprinkles. You can all add detail by using Milo or cocoa powder for the body.

Initially we were going to buy a new set from Baby Bunting to cover everything. It was a convertible cot/change table/draws with a bassinet attachment that converted to a toddler bed with change table and draws, that then once again changed to a single bed with bed side tables/draws. I was impressed. Especially after comparing the cost of all these things to buy separately it just seemed like the sensible way to go.

DIY Fabric Memory Game Cards Materials Fabric scrapes Coloured Cardboard (so that you can’t see through them) Pinking Shears(Zig Zag scissors) Laminating sheets (Optional) Self adhering velcro (For the bag, Optional) I made 20 cards (10 pairs) of matching fabric.  Make sure that your background paper is bigger than the fabric. …

MaterialsPaper - Water Colour Paper / Card Stock / Poster BoardWatercolour PaintWhite School GlueTable SaltDirectionsWith the glue, make designs on the paper. Than sprinkle generous amounts of table salt on glue, pouring excess off.

Foot Path Writing Do you walk your kids to and from daycare, preschool or school? On the way home, using their drink bottle, use the water to draw or write letter, numbers and shapes as you walk along. Ask your child what the shape or number you’ve drawn is, or …

This is simple and easy for a kids party of special occasion or as an activity to do at home with the kids.You will needCupcakes Blue and white icing Candy rainbow straps Piping bag or zip lock bags

Butterfly Sock Puppet You will need An old sock Stiff card (or laminater and paper) Stapler or hot  glue gun Optional – pens, pencils, testers, glitter and glue, paint, stick on “googly eyes”, pipe cleaners (for antenna) Directions Step 1 –  Draw or ask your child to draw the outline …

You will need3/4 cup sugar 125ml olive/vegetable oil 2 eggs 1 medium banana (mashed) 1 medium Carrot (grated) Handful of dates (roughly chopped) 60 ml milk 2 cups s/r flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

When I make this fruity crumble, it almost always vanishes within a few minutes! You can’t really mess it up.

6 Easy steps on how to make a Rainbow Cake/Cupcake