Baked Chicken Risotto

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Dani

1 whole chicken (cut in half) (you could also use whole breast fillets or thigh steaks with skin on)
500g Arborio rice
1 onion finely diced
200g mushrooms chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
100mls white wine
750mls chicken/vegetable stock  +  250mls water
50g butter – chopped
100mls cream
chopped parsley
salt and pepper

1.  Place chicken into a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, and roast at 200C for 40 minutes
2.  Remove chicken from tray, add onions, celery, garlic and mushrooms into tray with juices …… place back in oven for 5-10 minutes
3.  Add white wine, stock and water, rice straight into tray.  Stir well, replace chicken on top, wiggling a bit to settle it into the liquid.
4.  Cover with foil and return to oven for 30 minutes
5.  Remove the chicken, add the butter and cream to the rice and stir through.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.  Yummo!

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Peasant Skirt Instructions

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Dani

Peasant Skirt Instructions

How to draft an easy elastic waisted peasant skirt for any size.

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Hawkers ….. a personal hate of mine

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Dani

Specifically I dislike the “paid charity” people …. in shopping centres and on the streets outside supermarkets. These are young people usually, trying to encourage you to sign up to sponsor children, or support doctors abroad …. basically conning you into paying for something you didn’t really want or need.

Their usual tactic is to ask you your name, or say “just come here, I want to tell you about something”, or they speak to your children, coaxing them over to them, so you as a parent but have no choice but to follow (I think that girls ears are still ringing after she tried that). The latest technique is the “trapped handshake” method … where they offer to shake your hand, and then hold onto you.

So I am walking past the shops today, …. and young mr personable (with the 60W smile) thrusts his hand directly into my personal space, expecting a handshake. I take a step back, look at him and say “Do you really want to know what will happen if you touch me?” He blusters for a bit, and then tries to say “I just wanted to let you know about this fantastic ………”. My reply “if I want to know about that I will find out for myself, do not approach me again”.

I really dislike this approach. I understand they are trying to make a living, but pushing into a persons space is just asking for a negative response.

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no bargain shopping for me

Posted on December 27, 2009 by Dani

I woke up this morning with chest and back pain ….. at 4am. Put up with it for a couple of hours, but admitted defeat and called an ambulance.

Packed off to hospital, with a morphine etc in my blood stream, and oxygen mask on my face. Monitored, xrayed, monitored some more (read woken up repeatedly), blood tested and yet more monitoring. Got constantly asked about my tacchycardia.

I came home at 4pm. No signs of stroke or heart attack, but I am now booked in for a stress test, which needed to be done anyway. I also have to follow up on a thyroid test, as that has shown as abnormal. *yay for me*.

I am tired, covered in sore, sticky spots … and seriously bugged at missing out on the sales. Oh well. *shrug*

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Xmas message

Posted on December 25, 2009 by Dani

I received this today, a card  …….. and I am not embarrassed to say that it had me in tears.  So many times in my life, I feel like I love and give to my siblings …. and yet feel unappreciated.

With love to a very Special Sister …. Christmas Thoughts Especially for You

Christmas brings back memories that warm me up inside ….
A thought of you and all you do fills my heart with pride …….
I always know your special ways can make the season bright …….
For every day, in every way, you make the world just right …….
So may this special festive wish made lovingly for you,
Warm your heart all the way through.
Happy Christmas Dear Sister ………………………….from Charlie

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Xmas …….

Posted on December 25, 2009 by Dani

Why does xmas have to be full of disappointments?   It seems the older we get, the greater our expectations for xmas are, and therefore the greater the disappointment, when those expectations aren’t met.

My dad is unhappy that we aren’t spending xmas with him, mum has a mild funk over us not spending xmas with her, two BIL’s were unable/unwilling to attend xmas here…. and so on.  But I am tired of that.  Its easy to focus on the negative, and to not appreciate the great stuff we have in our lives.

So … a change of approach.

We had a great xmas.  The kids got just the right amount of presents, not so much they were overwhelmed, and not all expensive stuff they won’t appreciate.  Small handmade gifts from mum were just as appreciated as the DS games.  The parcel for my sister and my mother, arrived before xmas, meaning that all the rellies will have their presents from us at the right time.  Michael and Karen, made an incredibly long trek down from Emerald, and hopefully had a great time.  And my MIL hopefully had a great time, despite the fact that it wasn’t the big family gathering she had hoped for.  It was a good xmas this year.

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My husband the box head

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Dani

My inability to hold a conversation when there is a television in view, is a source of endless amusement for all of my family.   My mother will admonish me for watching telly, if I am a bit vague while talking to her on the phone.  Everyone loves to have a dig about me and my square eyes.

But …. at least I can live with it off.   I have learnt to ignore kids shows, but I find I function better at home, if the telly is off, and I can listen to my music.

One of the annoying little foibles of my husbands, is his complete inability to function unless the TV is on.  Most times he isn’t actually in the room, a lot of the time it isn’t something he is interested in, and his constant surfing of the channels is incredibly annoying.  Its  never surprising to come into the house on a Saturday morning, to find the cartoons running on one TV, the motor racing on the other, and hubby happily surfing the web on both his desk computer and his laptop.   If I turn anything off, I am told off, as “I’m watching that!” And holidays are a nightmare, as he continually surfs daytime TV, looking for something to watch …. or not watch.

Just turn the god damn! thing off …. and go do something constructive.  And yes I know you will be reading this.  😛

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Smart dog

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Dani

Monstorboy has decided that he is freaked out by the tinsel.  I don’t know what to be more astonished at …… that a dog is freaked out by the tinsel ….. or that he notices it in the first place.

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Stupidity on a stick

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Dani

And trust me …… there have been some awesome moments of stupidity in my life.

I take a daily medication, and as usual …. I was busy this morning getting ready for school/work/etc. I pulled down the medicine container, pick up the pill container, open the bottle, shake out a tablet, break it it half, chuck half back in the container, and then promptly swallow it.

Nothing wrong with that you say? ………

Well consider for a moment ……… my tablets don’t come in a bottle, they are in a packet. And I have to press mine out of the foil packet. And I don’t take a half dose.

So what did I take? ………..

Well ….. every night, I get out the sausage meat, cut a small piece, and slice a little hole in it. I then pull down the medicine container, pick up the pill container, open the bottle, shake out a tablet, break it it half, chuck half back in the container, stick the other half into the piece of sausage meat ………

………………. AND GIVE IT TO MY DOG.

Shocked :O Shocked :O Shocked :O Shocked :O

I took my dog’s medication today. ……. could I possibly do anything more stupid?

And before anyone questions my sanity …. I immediately called the vet and the local pharmacy …… the medication is a drug normally taken by humans, and the dosage for a 10kg dog, will hardly make a hit on my 95kg frame.

But still ……. stupid or what? Rolling on the floor laughing (rofl) Rolling on the floor laughing (rofl) Rolling on the floor laughing (rofl)

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Spark? what spark?

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Dani

It feels very comfortable right now.  Not particularly unhappy, but not particularly happy either.  Oh I know I am loved, and I love in return ….. of that there is no doubt.  But, where is the little heart flutter, the touch of excitement when we touch?  We are on the same journey right now, but not really connected.  Perhaps that is why we can’t really help each other with our work stress ….. that special spark that draws us to each other ….. is a bit weak right now.    I am not sure if there is a solution.  I wish I could fix this.  I can’t even remember what drew us back to each other the last few times this happened.  Its lonely here right now.

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