Tag: simple

DIY CHRISTMAS PLACE CARD GIFT IDEA

ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS PRESENT FOR YOUR LOVED ONES? SOMETHING THAT MAYBE EXTRAORDINAIRE? AND HAS STRONG PERSONAL LEVEL?

Christmas season is here…means gift hunting starts now.

However, our family loves DIY. As a family, we have one tradition that we carry through over the years – is to give something personalised to our beloved families and friends. We want the absolute best for our loved ones. Seeing them smile with genuine appreciation at something we’ve given them is enough to send us soaring with happiness. We hope they get that its more than just a gift, it is our gesture of your appreciation for them.

So…this year….we have finally prepared something pretty and practical for all the receiver. It is something that suits all ages and is versatile to be collected as your fave house decor. We were inspired by @paperplayground to make a place card / (slash) photo frame. How cute this idea is. YES! It is a place card with your name and our Christmas wishes for you, then when the Christmas season is over, fell free to change the namecard with your latest holiday photos. Yipppiiee! Sounds like a plan, huh?? I thought ot myself – Brilliant! I would love love love love to receive that sort of gift from someone.  ><

Now, let’s get onto business. 

THINGS YOU NEED:

  1. Acrylic photo block frame (with or without glitters) – I used glitter ones to create snow effect
  2. personalised name card – design by Canva (free design templates app)
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HOW TO:

  1. Select your favourite design on Canva
  2. Write the name on it
  3. Print the name cards
  4. Place the name cards on the frame instead of photo

Jared has prepared 20+ namecards this year to be given out to his friends. We are pretty much ready for this festive giving season. What a year it has been. Thankful that finally today we can press the”pause” button and reflect to the past 48 weeks. AGAIN! We found that God is faithful through our faithless season. Today we are blessed beyond to be a blessing to others.

We do hope that this simple idea will help you sort out your Christmas present this year. Easy to make at very low cost. Why not give them a try? If you have any other personalised Christmas gift ideas – please share below on the comment. I need some inspirations for next year. 😉 Bye for now….

Love,

Kenny

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EASY RECIPE // COOKING WITH 5 INGREDIENTS ONLY

Quick and Easy. 2 BIG words I always love as a mother. #likeaboss

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I discovered that being mothers, we tend to be always on-the-go. We rarely find time to putting any make up and we even do not care if we’re still in the same pj’s piece for 2 consecutive weeks. What we do care is “get things done without killing anyone”. Thus, we consecutively end up on inventing new hacks to our routines. For example, on Saturday night I dress my son up and let him sleep wearing good pair of tee/shirt to minimize any amount of drama before we left for church on Sunday morning.

Now, let’s move on to the real business. Let’s talk about cooking. When it comes to preparing daily meal for the family. I apply this super mama hack which has saved me a lot of times and cost. I limit myself to cook a meal with 5 ingredients only. YES! you hear me! 5 ONLY!! The goal is creating something quick and easy with minimal resources you mostly have around your kitchen the bench. And the result is deliciousoooo… TRUST ME!

SUPER 5 (FIVE) INGREDIENTS MEAL

Grandma’s Shepherd Pie

Served: 3-4 pax // Prep: 10 mins // Cooking duration: 45mins

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Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

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Ingredients:

500 gr            pork/beef mince

1 cup              frozen mixed vegetables

500 gr            Dutch cream potato

1 tbsp             garlic powder

1 tbsp             Kikkoman reduced salt soy sauce

1 tbsp             vegetable oil

salt to taste

pepper to taste

 

 

How to:

  1. Boil water in a large pot and season it with salt. Peel the Dutch potatoes. Cut them up into quarter. Put them into the boiling water. Cook them until soft (use fork to check their softness)
  2. Once its cooked, drain them. Put them aside and let it cool.
  3. Pre-heat up the oven to 200°C (fan-forced)
  4. Heat up a non-sticky pan in a medium hit. Put 1 tbsp of vegetable oil.
  5. Place pork/beef mince in a heated pan for 3-4 minutes.
  6. Add frozen mixed vegetables, cook for another 2 minutes.
  7. Add garlic powder and Kikkoman soy sauce. Stir and cook for further 5 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste.
  8. While waiting for the mince to be cooked. Work on your mashed potatoes. Mash / beat the cooked cool potatoes with fork till soft.
  9. Spoon the stir fry mince to a baking dish. Layer them with mashed potato on top.
  10. Baked for 25-30 minutes (or until golden). Serve while its hot.

Salmon Dill Pasta

Served: 3-4 pax // Prep: 5 mins // Cooking duration: 20mins

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Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Ingredients:

240 gr            spaghetti (or any preferable pasta)

250 gr            salmon

1 tsp               lemon juice

6 cloves          garlic (finely chopped)

1 handful       dill (finely chopped)

4 tbsp             olive oil

salt to taste

pepper to taste

 

 

How to:

  1. Pre-heat oven 180°C (fan forced). Take off the salmon skin. Put the skin aside. Place the salmon on a aluminum foil, seasoned with salt & pepper. Add 1tsp of lemon juice and chopped dill. Wrap the salmon and bake it for 15-20 minutes, till cooked and soft.
  2. Boil water in a large pan. Season it with salt and place the pasta in. Cooked it for 8-10 minutes.
  3. Heat up a non-sticky pan, place 4 tbsp of olive oil.
  4. Wait till it’s popping hot, dip in the chopped garlic. And drain them aside.
  5. Place back the non-stick pan on the stove. Heat up some oil. Season salmon skin with grounded salt. And place them upside down till its crispy. Put it aside.
  6. Stir cooked pasta into heated garlic olive oil on tha pan for another 2 minutes.
  7. Served them with cooked salmon and top it off with the crispy salmon skin.

Stir Fry Butter Chicken with Bok-Choy

Served: 3-4 pax // Prep: 5 mins // Cooking duration: 12 mins

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Processed with VSCO with a6 preset

Ingredients:

500 gr            chicken thighs/ chicken breast (for healthier lean option)

1                      brown onion (chopped)

2 tbsp             sweet soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp      tomato ketchup

2                      baby bok – choy

60 gr               reduced – salt butter

salt to taste

pepper taste

jasmine rice to serve

How to:

  1. Heat up a non-sticky pan on high heat, place butter on it, then chopped brown onion. Sautee them for 2 minutes or until golden soft.
  2. Diced the chicken thighs. And place them in the pan for the next 5 minutes, then turn the other side for the next 3 minutes.
  3. While waiting for the chicken to be cooked, steam the baby bok-choy, season with salt & pepper (add some garlic for more zingy taste).
  4. Stir the sweet soy sauce and tomato ketchup into the fried chicken. Cook for another 2 minutes until all chicken equally covered by the sauce.
  5. Place steamed baby bok-choy on a round plate, top it with rice on the side and stir fry butter chicken in the middle.

 

I hope you enjoy these recipes and more in love with homemade cooking as I do. I am working on some more new easy recipes. So stay tuned for more inspiration. And feel free to share some feedbacks or recipes on the comment below. I would love to try them too. X

 

Love,

Kenny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EASY RECIPE // BANANA CHOCO ICED POP

Summer with kids requires many short stop at ice cream stall. Especially with my strong headed toddler, he’s tall enough to peeking on the ice cream trucks and get himself his preferred ice cream flavour. But then, I saw bold rainbow colour on his tongue and tee.  hhmm…that’s not so good, I thought. This was put my attention to any extreme artificial food colouring which may cause any damage to my son’s body. (ahhh..sorry for being so overprotective to my kid, it’s just I want everything the best for him) Any other mums who are over-thinking about almost every thing related to their kids? Who almost google every thing which about to get into their tiny mouths? Then, I FEEL YOU….

Therefore, I decided to make some homemade iced pop batch for the family every week.

Why iced pop? It is so easy easy to make, you need minimal kitchen utensils, and less time consuming than ice cream. Perfect for the season.

Why homemade? It enables me to control the daily dietary intake.

And our current house favourite is a fruit sorbet with a twist. What I truly mean is adding some natural sweetener to it. Thankfully, we were introduced to Fangks sugar free chocolate powder. Fangks is made with Natvia, and is also free from gluten, dairy, eggs, nuts, GMOs and artificial colours and flavours. It is safe for Jared; who has mild nuts allergies. Great product, great flavour.

BANANA CHOCO ICED POP

  • 2 peeled banana
  • 2 tbsp of vanilla yogurt
  • 2 tbsp of honey
  • 1 tbsp of Fangks sugar free chocolate powder

Steps:

  • slice bananas and freeze them for 30 minutes
  • blend frozen bananas with vanilla yogurt, honey and chocolate powder together until smooth
  • Pour them into the iced pop container, put them back in the freezer for another 1 hour
  • Ready to cure the heat

This recipe is a total winner. Jared said it’s a finger licking good. Happy kids – Happy mumma.

Fangks chocolate powder can be served in many other ways. Sprinkle them on your french toast, add them to your chia pudding recipe, or simply mix them with any kind of milk. It’s time to take your breakfast/dessert to another level.

If you have any other exciting recipes you’ve tried using Fangks or any other chocolate mix, feel free to share yours on the comment below. Because, we would love to try them! x

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Love,

Kenny