Ballina Caravan trip with meal plan.

                                                               Happy friday friends!

 

 

 Look at my pretty holiday toes...I hate my feet, ugly, ugly, short stumpy feet and toes but i have pretty 'french manicured' toe nails I did my self the night before we left for our Ballina caravan holiday.

Last Saturday we got back home from our wonderful holiday at ballina.  As mentioned in my last post, we went away with my brother, his wife and his delightful daughter, my six year old niece.  It was a mixed bag with the weather.  The first 2 days it was very hot (around 29 degrees) and the 3rd day it was heavy rain & wind, the 4th day was blowy but sunny and warm and the 5th day was nice.  So over all, it was good.

We went in the caravan, but before we left we preped everything so all we had to do was R.E.L.A.X!
As a mum, im in charge of cooking cause we all know that if it wasnt caught that day and cooked on the barbeque, the husband dont cook it.  You know, Im fine with that because I dont mind cooking AND that means husband cleans up after...win, win!  hehe.
Anyway, this time round I thought Im going to be super organised.  My goal was to plan everything we were going to eat BEFORE we left, shop BEFORE we leave and cut up and wrap everything so when it comes time to cooking on holidays its less fuss as possable with the maximum nutrition. This was my kitchen 24hours prior to leaving...

I chopped, seperated, wrapped and packed EVERYTHING before we left.  Even the snacks.  Here is a general run down of the meals we had...
MONDAY... Lunch~ Ham rolls & a bannana (on the road)
                      Snack~ Packet of chips (in the car driving)
                       Dinner~ Mexican burritos

TUESDAY...Breakfast~Bacon and egg burgers, made on english muffins.
                      Morning tea~ fruit
                      Lunch~ Crackers with avocado, cheese and ham
                      Afternoon tea~popcorn
                      Dinner~ Chicken skewers and salad with flavoured rice
                      Dessert~ chocolate

WEDNESDAY...Breakfast~ Pancakes with chopped strawberries, bannana, yoghurt and syrup
                            Morning tea~ Chips, carrot and celery sticks and dip
                            Lunch~ sausage sandwhiches
                           Afternoon tea~ friut and nibblies
                           Dinner~ slow cooked chicken (yes I even packed my slow cooker)
                                    with corn cobbs, baby potatoes and salad.
                           Dessert~ chocolate

THURSDAY...Breakfast~ Breaky wraps (bacon, scrambled eggs, baked beans and cooked
                                            tomato on a flat bread wrap)
                          Morning tea~ Crackers
                           Lunch ~ cheese and avocado and tomato on crispbread.
                          afternoon tea~ popcorn
                           Dinner ~ lamb and veges
                          Dessert ~ marshmallows
                         
FRIDAY~ Breakfast~ Toast/cereal and coffee/juice
                   Morning tea~ yoghurt
                    Lunch ~ sausage sandwhiches
                  Dinner~ Pasta cabonara and salad
                   Dessert ~ Marshmallows

SATURDAY~ Breakfast~Toast/cereal and coffee/juice
                         Morning tea ~ crackers/cheese/chips/fruit (anything we could find to eat in the car
                         for the trip home)
                         Lunch~ we had hot chip sandwhiches.  On the way home we stopped at a little beach
                         Pottsville and bought hot chips, white bread and tomato sauce.  Not real healthy but,
                         hey, we're on holidays!

Saturday night we were home and eating our regular food.  Actually we eneded up with takeaway that night as we got home late and after emptying the caravan, doing 3 loads of washing and putting everything away I justt wanted to put my feet up, have a glass of merlot and have dinner made for me, hehe.
Here are some happy snaps of our holiday...
                                          

SERIOUSLY!!! Does it get much better than this??  Me sunbaking watching the kids spalsh in the pool.

 

This was taken Thursday night.  We went for a bit of a night 4wd drive along a beachy track.  Was fun!

Lying on my towel on the beach...ahhhhhhh.....


                                     
Whats a camp/caravan holiday without a fire and marshmallows...?

Chip sandwhiches by the sea..Lovin' it!

 

GoOdByE bAlLiNa...waiting to board the ferry back home.

Ahhhh...its that time of year again!

We are in the process of getting ourselves organised for another caravan trip.  Yay! So excited and well and truly overdue.
This time we are heading to Ballina.  I cannot wait. We are heading off for 5 nights and 6 days.  We are heading off with my brother and his wife and their 5 year old daughter.
It's the start of spring and I hope the weather stays as perfect as it has.  Ive been making list {as you can see in the pic} planning and packing.  Today we aired out the caravan and washed all the curtains.  Its been closed up a little too long over winter so its nice to get in and get it ready.
Im in the process of planning meals.  Ive visted many websites for inspiration for example applevalleygirl and taste.com.au.
Even though we are caravaning I still enjoy my cooking and having a nice meal with a glass of wine after a long day reading and at the beach.  Im honestly not one for baked beans on toast or sausages on stale white bread for dinner. (although the odd sausage for lunch is good) Even on a budget we can still cook wholesome, tastey, yummy, gourmet meals.  Once ive decided on the final list I will post what Ive come up with. hehe.
Anyhoo...i will update with pics as time goes on...happy spring, all xoxo

Im so excited!!  Ahhhh....just thinking about it makes my body relax.

A day in the life of our spring holidays.

School holidays again! yay! Once again we've had fun! Here I will share a snapshot of one day during the holiday that we had at home...

I had a delivery in the morning which came with dry ice.  I put the dry ice in a polystyrene box and added a bit of water and a drop of red food colouring {just to add to the fun}.  I was very definite in explaining to the kids DONOT TOUCH!!!!  They had so much fun just watching the ice "steam" up.

My crazy nutter kids! We did some art and they discovered the 'crazy' eyes...

The rightful owner of the 'crazy eyes' and the beautiful art we made with them.

We then finished with a face for lunch! 

The big smoke!

Yep, holidays are great but wow, its great to be back home! 
Sydney was a whole lotta fun.  We were busy, busy.  Did alot and caught up with alot of friends. We enjoyed ourselves and the kids had an absolute ball.

It all started early last wednesday when we all rose out of bed early at 5am to get to the airport by 7am.  It was super exciting!

After an hour and a bit, on the plane we were in sydney!!!!

Next we picked up our rental cars and were on our way to our accomadation in Cronulla. 

Little T and his cousin waiting for the big plane to take off...

Miss Mimi on the big plane holding her baby (Timmy) just before take off.  Her little cousin is in the back ground.

We spent the next few days just relaxing and catching up with friends...

With my most favorite gal pal...

One day we went for a drive to Kurnell, which is pretty much neighboring to Cronulla.  We got fish and chips and went for a walk along the headland.  It was soooo beautiful.  I didnt relise it until we got there but this was the actual site where Captain James Cook landed on Australia.  There were all these monuments and the kids had fun looking at them...

It was such a beautiful place.  Very green and lush and as we walked around the headland, I found my dream home....check it out..........

Cant you just imagin sitting here in the morning with a cuppa tea or in the afternoon with a glass of wine?

The kids admiring the view from the house.

I mean seriously, this house came out of nowhere and has everything....Ocean views, fireplace, beautiful big massave trees.  It was just stunning!

Dont you just love these little steps?...

We then did the whole city thing.

The kids Loved the city.  The last time we were in the city was when Miss Mimi was 2 and Little T was 4 months old so they dont realy remember it, this city trip was fun for them.  Unfortunalty, the day we travelled to the city it was cooooold, wet, windy and grey...but we had fun anyway!  We made sure we found a cute little german pub (yes...underground it was) for a warm cosy lunch.

The boys ordered 1litre beer jugs (as they do) and it was Shnitzels all round...

The kids loved the opera house, harbour bridge and seeing the big face of Lunar Park.

The bridge!

The amazing Opera house.

You can see Lunar Park in the background.

So, Thats our trip....I must admit, I am glad to be home.  I relise I love my own bed, my own car and my own food, my own surroundings...but it was still great.

I am so thankful to have shared this with my family xoxoxo

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Before I start todays Blog, I must apologies for my female sookie la-la blog last time.  I must warn you, its "that time of the month" right now for me and I tend to get.....um........a little hormonal, LOL....so again, I apologies.

Now, getting on with it...Once again it has been QLD school hols for the past 2 weeks and the kids have been home.  We havnt done alot which has been nice.  We have been to the movies.  Toy story was pretty awesome.  We saw it in 3D and that was good...not amazing but it was good.  The kids enjoyed the whole experience, wearing their 'special' glasses, so it was worth it for that.  HeeHee.
Anyway, I thought that seeing its been cold (have I yet mentioned that in my Blog...hmmmmm...) I would make sausage rolls.  I have never made them and Im not exactly fussed on those icky mass produced ones that you can purchase in the super market *ugh*.   I had a recipe sitting in my recipe box for some time and so I made a lot, they were pretty yummo, even the kids liked them.

Here is the recipe....Give them a try...

HOMEMADE SAUSAGE ROLLS

Ingredients


Makes approx. 20



Basic Mince Mixture

500g Lean Beef Mince,

1 grated brown onion,

1 peeled and grated carrot,

2 crushed garlic cloves

1/3 cup roughly chopped parsley in a bowl.



Additional Ingredients

2 slices white bread, crusts removed, roughly chopped

2 tbs tomato sauce

1 tbs barbecue sauce

1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

1 egg, whisked

2 sheets frozen ready rolled puff pastry, partially thawed

1 egg, extra, whisked

1 tbs sesame seeds



Method

1. Combine all the ingredients for basic mince mixture in a bowl.



2. Preheat oven to 200°C. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Soak bread in warm water for 2 minutes. Drain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Combine bread with basic mince mixture, sauces and egg in a large bowl.



3. Lay pastry sheets on a flat surface and cut each in half. Form 1/4 of the mince mixture into a long sausage shape along the long side of the pastry. Brush opposite edge of pastry with egg wash. Roll up to enclose filling and with join underneath. Cut into 5 even portions.



3. Place rolls onto prepared tray and brush with egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serve.



Tip

The bread in the mince mixture prevents the filling from shrinking in the pastry and also absorbs any fat that may soak through.

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These little sausage rolls are so delish.  We had them for dinner one night with a salad and we had leftovers for a yummy warm lunch the next day.  Great for freezing too.

Im defintly making these again, especialy for our next party.  So give these a go, your family will thankyou.