Just saying..........

My shelves are full- but that does not mean I cannot fit the fabric that will be delivered soon.....

When is it too early to think about Christmas?

Some would say in January!! BUT I have had interest in the Christmas stockings that I was selling last year already. A few emails have come through and a few comments on my photos. I loved making them last year even after making 60 or so of them I loved to think that a Skip Chasey product was there on Christmas day in so many homes.

I am making more this year and have so many wonderful new fabrics for this years range too. I hope to start making them throughout the year so there is not as much of a rush towards the busy Christmas season.

When do you start thinking about Christmas? Do you like to be super organised?


2011- stocking collection

Cooking for one does not have to be boring.

Hubby was away last week and I wanted something warm for dinner. Miss 4 is so fussy when it comes to any food! So I was cooking for one. I am also a Weight Watchers member so I like meals to meet these requirements. SO........ looking in the freezer I had some prawns and fish. I looked up what I could make and came up with Fisherman's pie. I broke the recipe down to make a one person serve. It was really yummy and I would make it again. I did make a few changes to the recipe below. I upped the peas as I had no corn and also added some garlic- I think the garlic is really good in this.

I hope you love it.

Fisherman's pie

ProPoints™ Value: 9
Servings: 4


Ingredients
350 g potatoes
1 1/2 Tbsp low fat dairy spread
4 individual shallots, trimmed, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp plain flour
1 cup(s) skim milk, (250ml)
1/3 cup(s) frozen peas,
1/3 cup(s) frozen corn,
600 g ling fillet(s), cut into 4cm pieces
200 g king prawns, peeled
2 Tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
35 g low fat grated cheese
1 x 3 second spray(s) oil spray


Instructions
Preheat oven to 200°C or 180°C fan-forced. Lightly spray a 1.5L (6-cup) capacity ovenproof dish with oil. Steam potato for 10 minutes or until just tender. (I used the microwave like i was making a baked spud in there)

Meanwhile, melt spread in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until softened. Add flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually add milk and whisk until smooth and combined. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring, for 1 minute or until sauce has thickened.

Add peas and corn and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes or until heated through. Add fish, prawns and parsley and stir to combine.

Spoon fish mixture into prepared dish and top with sliced potato. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 25–30 minutes. Serve.

Note: For a browner topping, preheat grill on high and grill pie for 2–3 minutes or until golden.

As time moves forward

It seems not that long ago that Miss 4 came into this world. She has brought us so much joy and seriously amazes us every day.

Today saw her first day of Prep and well even though she did do schooling when we lived in Chile it was still a bitter sweet moment. It was made all that more easier to see that the little girl she played with last week would indeed be in her class and they have totally hit it off. She was so ready to head off to BIG school and I think she will really thrive.

So now I will have no one home with me for the 5 weekdays during the day. Which hopefully means more creating time for Skip Chasey.

For those that sent their little ones off to school, I hope the transition is a wonderful one with so many new and exciting experiences.

MARKET MARKET!!!!

Tonight I am holding a mini market night over on my Facebook Page. www.facebook.com/skipchasey I hope you can come on by and see what I have available tonight.....


I have also been sewing for my new Nephew. We went to see them today and drop off these little goodies.




I hope your weekend has been filled with fun.

Monday's madness

I crave weekends, a time to spend together with my little family. THEN Monday rolls around and it just makes me feel like I have SO much that I need to do. Soon Miss 4.5 will be at Prep and Mondays will be a mad rush getting her to school. Today I am going to try to get all the Library Bags sewn up that will be added to my Facebook page at the end of the week.



On another note- I need to find a better way to keep my house clean- might need a schedule to clean parts of the house each day. My plan this year was to be more tidy- I am not doing so well at this at the moment.... Any ideas??

Christmas lights- Avoid getting all tied up...

It is amazing what a few extra mins will make the next time you have to take out your Christmas lights. I remember the days of pulling a tangled mess of lights out of a box and spending not just a few mins but a lot longer untangling the mess. These days I simply wrap my lights around some cardboard and I label them too- just so I know if they are indoor or outdoor lights and also the plugs on then ( we lived in Chile so have some with Chilean plugs).

Here is what you need

tangled mess of lights





Cardboard with description






Here is what to do

Wrap lights around cardboard




keep going until all wrapped up




I store them with my other xmas lights in a tub in a the garage- it keeps it all together and neat-- I am not a neat freak by any means but a simple tasks makes a frustrating one so much easier.