Easy Sausage Roll Recipe

If you've got people coming over for New Years, why not make some home-made mini Sausage Rolls. They always go down well at parties and best of all they're super easy to make!

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Makes approx: 16

You will need:

300g beef or pork mince

1 small brown onion, finely chopped

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 sheets frozen puff pastry, partially thawed

1 tablespoon milk

How to make:

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. Combine mince, onion, egg, dried herbs and pepper in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.
3. Cut pastry sheets in half.
4. Put 1/4 of the mince mixture along 1 long edge of pastry.
5. Roll up pastry to enclose mince mixture. Brush with milk.
6. Cut roll into 5cm pieces and place, seam side down, on prepared tray. Repeat with remaining mince mixture and pastry.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden and puffed.
8. Allow to cool on tray for 5 minutes.
9. Serve hot with tomato sauce.

If you're preparing lots of food, you can pre-cook them for 10 mins earlier in the day. Then before you need to put out the food, pop them back in the oven for another 10 - 15 mins until they're golden and puffy.

Top 50 Organising & Decorating Tips

Over the last 12 months we've had lots of fun putting together some handy hints and tips about everyday things, from organising through to decorating. We've compiled our 50 most popular posts, perfect if you've missed out on any over the last year.

1. Many younger kids can get scared of the dark. Make up some anti-monster spray to help ward off nasties: Get a spray bottle, ¾ fill it with water; add some hologram glitter, and a few drops of lavender oil. Add an "Anti-Monster" label and present to your child with appropriate seriousness. Spray your child's room and under the bed each night as needed. 
2. Cupcake parties are all the rage...especially for girls! It's best to prepare the cupcakes, frosting and containers of colourful toppings before the party. This will make it really easy for the kids to do the fun decorating stuff and not the boring preparation!  
3. Having toy storage in your kitchen is a handy way to prevent needless trips up and down stairs. It also helps to keep your kitchen looking tidy….plus it’s a handy way of quickly tidying up before friends or family pop over!
4. Wrapping Xmas presents needn't be a chore. Put together in a box some scissors, sticky tape, gift cards, stickers, pens & ribbon. Keep this box near the wrapping paper (I keep both in a shelf in my wardrobe). As you buy a gift, wrap it then hide it. No more midnight Christmas Eve wrapping marathons!
5. If you’ve collected a bunch of your kids drawings and paintings over the last year, why not use some of them as wrapping paper. Perfect for grandparents, aunties & uncles! It’ll make your kids feel special and it’s great for recycling.
6. You know we love our zippered Glad Bags – here's another idea. Put leftover soups or spaghetti bolognaise into the bags. Lay them flat in the freezer to chill – saves on freezer space!
7. Clean your kettle & kill your weeds! Simply pour some vinegar along with water into your kettle and boil. Then pour it over your weeds for a non-toxic alternative to weed killer spray.
8. If you need to keep notes on the fridge, invest in high quality, heavy-duty magnetic clips from an office supply company. No snowfalls of notes every time you shut the fridge door.
9. If your child has dust allergies or asthma, you’ll need to keep all your surfaces clean. Opting for a plain roller or Roman blind will help to keep dust out of the room.
10. Giant floor tiles in different colours or shades can be used to make a fun flooring area for large kids rooms. Plus if you keep a few for spares it’ll be easy to replace ones that have been ruined, making the place look like new again.
11. Buy all your birthday cards in bulk (ideally when a sale is on) for the entire year and store them in a folder in date order. No more forgotten birthdays or last minute card buying!
12. If you have an egg slicer, you might also like to use it for soft things such as strawberries or peeled cucumbers. Perfect slices just right for decorating!
13. Christmas crafts are so much fun, but they can leave a pile of loose glitter around the house! We like to use a sticky lint roller to pick up stray glitter...better yet the kids have fun using it, so you get to relax!
14. If you're buying gifts for teachers, avoid coffee mugs, chocolates or perfume (most teachers end up with piles of these). Nice Christmas ornaments, cookies or nibbles for Christmas parties or practical things they can use in the classroom such as "Good Work" stickers are the best idea.
15. If you're in an organising mood, why not organise your GPS. Rather than set "home" on your GPS to your home address, set it to a cross street or park in your neighbourhood. That way if thieves break into your car, they can't easily find your "home" while they know you are out.
16. At the end of your painting, always create a small touch up paint container rather than try and keep the massive tins. Old baby food jars are ideal, as are food storage containers.
17. Put a dot of paint on the side and lid (so you know what the colour is) and write where you used the paint on the side of the container (kitchen cupboards, kids bedroom walls etc).
18. Kids love to see photos of themselves and want to know where they fit in the world. A lovely idea is to create a family photo wall, where you add in photos of grandparents, loved pets, parents, Aunts and Uncles, nephews and nieces. It helps a child feel loved and connected to a whole pile of people.
19. Keep a sample paint chip of your final paints in your home files just in case the paint tin label gets covered in paint and you need to get a new batch made up at a later date. Write on the back of the chip, which rooms you used the paint in & where you used it.
20. Another cute decorating idea for little ballerinas is to grab a cheap kitchen stool, paint it white or pink, and wrap an old tutu around the edge of the seat, either fixing with furniture tacks or double sided tape. Makes a great nightstand!
21. When you’re moving your child from their cot to their first big bed, a full-sized well-made single bed should see your child through to their teenage years.
22. Choosing a bed that incorporates storage or a second pull-out bed can be great space savers. They're perfect to store bulky jumpers, toys, blankets and spare bedding. Avoid putting small items into big areas as they can easily go missing.
23. To help your child feel confident in their artwork, it’s a great idea to display their work. Having a pin board in the kitchen or their bedroom will be a perfect spot to show case their latest works of art. You can even display the best ones in frames to make them feel super proud!
24. If your child finds it hard to sleep when it is still light outside, you can line the curtains with blackout material or use blackout blinds instead. If you have blinds with curtains, this will help to muffle sounds and provide a quieter place to sleep.
25. When buying paint it’s best to choose paints that are low in VOCs (volatile organic compounds). Recent research shows that VOCs have been shown to cause allergies, skin irritations and asthma.
26. Avoid miniature nursery style furniture when you’re kitting out your baby’s room. Within no time they’ll have outgrown the look and will find it too “babyish”. Opt for a classic style that can grow with your child and work with many décor schemes in the future.
27. Ice cube trays are great paint palettes for kids – heaps of space for all your colours!
28. Add a hook at the end of your child’s bed or on their wall for their school bag or library books. This will help them to keep track of their belongings and become more responsible.
29. Try playing I spy - "I spy all the blue toys that need to be put away". Take turns with your child, which means they get to name a colour or an item for you to put away. P.S. It's also a teaching tool as they get to learn colours at the same time....perfect for toddlers.
30. Remember when tidying up with kids that you are not aiming for cleaning to your standard. You are building habits for the future. Teaching kids to clean up after themselves is a life skill just like brushing your teeth.
31. A mum we know had a rule that no friends were allowed over if the house and bedroom were in a mess. Works particularly well when the teens want to bring their boyfriend/girlfriend over.
32. Try saying "As soon as you (e.g. put the dishes in the dishwasher), I'll know you are ready to watch TV". This gives clear consequences as well as makes it clear exactly what you want them to do. It works best if said before a favourite TV program.
33. Give your child choices "Do you want to pick up the stuffed teddies or the blocks", "Do you want to put the dirty washing in the clothes basket or pick up the books". It makes it less overwhelming for kids than saying "tidy up your room".
34. If you've nagged & nagged your teenager and their room still looks like a pigsty, then drastic measures are called for! One mum put everything into garbage bags. Clothes went in with books, etc. Then she piled all the bags on the bed until the floor was clean. The teen wasn't allowed to use the computer, watch TV, or go to bed until the bags were sorted. The bags were sorted in record time.
35. Throw out all lone socks, and tatty bras and undies that you would hate to be seen in; get rid of sole earrings, broken jewellery and things that went out of fashion 20 years ago; donate all clothes that no longer fit, are stained or "have seen better days".
36. Linen cupboards in our house always seem to get messy. One way to keep it under control (and make it easier come bed making time), is to fold each set of fitted and flat sheets together, and then stuff them into the matching pillow case. That way you can recognise the set by the outside pillowcase and you don't have to go hunting through the pile.
37. Keep a plastic garbage bag in one section of your linen cupboard. Whenever someone has grown out of an item of clothing, pop it into the bag and when the bag is full, donate it to charity.
38. We've just found another great use for ziplock bags. The small ones are brilliant for putting jewellery into. No more tangled chains, necklaces and beads!
39. To test an egg for freshness, place it in a deep bowl of cold water. A fresh egg sinks, a rotten egg floats.
40. If your vacuum cleaner has a rolling brush in the head, use a sewing seam ripper to cut through the rolled up lint and hair on the roller. Simple!
41. Kids love kitchens. Give your kids one cupboard or drawer (out of the way of the stove) as "theirs". Keep all your plastics, and the odd saucepan you rarely use in there. That way the kids can play at cooking without getting underfoot.
42. Plastic baskets are brilliant in the bathroom and cleaning cupboards to store cleaning products without tipping and spilling. For toxic products, use a basket with a locking lid so little ones can't get into it.
43. Setting up a corkboard on your kitchen wall or door is extremely useful. Pin up your take-away menus, favourite recipes and key school term dates.
44. Invest in a paper shredder and have it near where you open your mail, so you can shred anything that could potentially be fodder for identity thieves.
45. Store all your instruction manuals for your appliances in one binder in your kitchen or pantry. No more digging around to find the manual on how to descale your coffee machine!
46. Whenever you travel, bring home the disposable shower caps. Perfect for use over bowls of salads.
47. Sprinkle some bicarb soda in your bin before adding a new bag. The bicarb absorbs the odour and moisture inside your bin, so there should be no more smell or mould. 
48. Always open savoury biscuits or chip (crisp) packets from the bottom. That way all the flavouring that has worked its way to the bottom of the pack is redistributed around the product as you eat it.
49. Turn plain ice-cream into a yummy dessert by melting chocolate or strawberry jam. Drizzle over for a delicious dessert! Sprinkle over some chopped nuts or fresh fruit to make it look even nicer.
50. Magnetic paint will transform a regular wall into the equivalent of a fridge door. The magnetic paint goes on like an undercoat, which means you can decorate with a topcoat in your preferred colour. To make a feature of it, you could paint just a few strips or split the wall horizontally, so only the top or bottom half is magnetic. It'll be a great alternative to a pin board.

For future tips simply "Like" our Facebook page and you'll get them sent directly to your newsfeed.

Up, up & away with these Hot Air Balloons!

Little boys will adore having these beautiful hot air balloons floating above their bed.





You can choose from a bold red & blue or light green & blue colour combination to suit your little one and their room. These beautiful designs are available in removable Wall Stickers or personalised Canvas Art, to make decorating your boy's room easy.

These wall stickers are so easy to use and are completely removable and reusable, so they're ideal for renters. Of course if you're constantly on the move, or you want to give a unique gift this Christmas, then opting for our personalised Canvas Art will be a great idea.

Shop online for Wall Art and get free delivery when you spend over $50 - http://www.brightstarkids.com.au/Wall-Art.aspx?s3

Make Easy Gingerbread Ornaments

Prep, Baking & Chill Time:

1 hour of prep, 15 mins cooking and 1 hour to chill once baked

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 50g butter, chopped
• 75g (1/2 cup) self-raising flour
• 125ml (1/2 cup) honey
• 100g brown sugar
• 2 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Decorate:

• 420g icing sugar
• Silver ball cake decorations

How to Make Gingerbread:

1. Stir the butter, honey and sugar in a small saucepan over a medium heat until everything is melted and smooth then set aside to cool.
2. Beat the egg in a large bowl and stir in the honey mixture.
3. Sif the flour, bicarb of soda and ginger into a bowl and add the egg & honey mixture to it. Stir until everything is combined.
4. Place mixture on to a lightly floured surface and gently knead until smooth.
5. Wrap this in cling film and place in the fridge for one hour to chill.
6. When it comes close to the hour being up, preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) & line 2 baking trays with good quality baking/parchment paper.
7. Roll out the gingerbread until it is 5mm thick. Use your festive shaped cutters and cut your shapes from the dough. Re-roll when needed.
8. Place your shapes on the prepared trays.
9. Bake these for 5 minutes or until they are light golden then transfer to wire racks and let them cool.

How to Decorate the Gingerbread:

1. Prepare the icing sugar as it says on the packet until you've got a smooth mixture.
2. You can divide the portions and colour as you like or you can leave everything white.
3. Place the icing mixtures into piping bags and pipe your decorations over the cookies.
4. Pop on cake decorations to the wet icing.
5. Allow to set for 1 hour.

How to Transform them into Ornaments:

To do this you need to stick 2 sides together, as you can see in the image. This can be done by placing a thick dab of icing sugar in the middle of two of the biscuits. Leave to set completely and then loop a ribbon around it to hang on the tree.

Alternatively, you can just do a one sided biscuit and put a hole in it before you bake.

Halloween Party Kids Games

The addition of just a few party games to your young children's Halloween party, can make your party memorable and fun.

Repurpose Old Favourites

Traditional party games can easily get a Halloween makeover:

• Pin the smile on the pumpkin instead of pin the tail on the donkey.Hot potato can become hot Jack-o-lantern. Use a small plastic or real pumpkin to pass around while the music plays. When the music stops, the person holding the pumpkin is out. Small kids sometime struggle with the concept of being "out". If you are playing the game with very small children, if they are holding the pumpkin when the music stops, have them take a small lolly from your cauldron while you lead them out to the side. Usually this is a tear free way to play the game.
• Why should the Easter Bunny be the only one with scavenger hunts? Try hunt the witches hat or hunt the pumpkin (pumpkins are less scary than witches for very young children). Each hat or pumpkin found means a lolly or toy from the cauldron.
• Piñatas are always fun. Try to get one with a pull cord to let the filling out, as smaller children don't usually hit it hard enough to break it open.
• Relay races – instead of usual running races, have the kids walk like zombies, hop like toads, or fly broomsticks.

Messy games

Not everyone likes to play games in a group. For solo adventurers get two big tubs. Fill one with sand and one with dirt – call the game "Graveyard digging". Bury small plastic prizes like plastic beetles or skeletons into the tubs. Kids will happily spend ages digging up and reburying the treasure.

For kids who like to get messy, add in a third tub. Fill it with tinned spaghetti, chopped jello, grapes, watermelon ... anything that feels slimy and icky to touch. The more disgusting the blend, the happier the kids will be. Bury small plastic prizes in the "guts", turn down the lights, and let the kids have fun digging through the mess to find the prizes.



Halloween games

Mummy Wrap - Organise the kids into teams of three. One person becomes the mummy and the other two the "wrappers". Put on some fun music like Time Warp or Monster Mash, hand the wrappers a roll of toilet paper, and have them wrap their mummy with toilet paper. It's also a great game for families - kids love wrapping up their parents!

Spider's Web -   This is a perfect first game, but takes a bit of organising. You need a ball of string or ribbon for every two guests. Before your guests arrive, tie one end of each ball to a chair or some other stable object. Unwind the ball of string over and around furniture or in your back yard. If your guests are small, remember to keep the string down low. End up back at your original chair and tie the end to the chair. When your guests have all arrived, give each child one end of the ribbon and tell them they need to unwind the spiders web until they meet the person at the other end. Pumpkin Bowling – Use empty 1litre or 2 litre plastic bottles (suitably decorated). Fill the base of the bottle with a handful of rice or sand to add to their stability. Line them up and using small pumpkins with short stems, have the kids try to knock down the plastic bottles.

Make Your Home Smell Fresh Naturally!

Eliminate nasty odours around the home with your own hand made natural spray.



How to Make:

Fill a clean spray bottle with approximately 25 - 30 drops of your favourite essential oil e.g. lavender, rose or peppermint and 10ml of methylated spirits.

Once the oil has been dissolved add 2 cups of filtered water.

When you're ready to use it, simply shake well and spray around your home with the fine mist setting.

You'll instantly get that lovely natural smell back with no harmful chemicals.

How to make Toffee Apples for Halloween

Ingredien ts

15 small apples, red or green
4 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon red food colouring

Preparation time is approx 15 minutes and the syrup will take 30 minutes to cook.

1. Wash and dry your apples and insert a stick into the centre. Then lightly grease a baking tray or line with baking paper.
   
2. In a small saucepan mix the sugar, vinegar and water. Bring everything to boil and then stir in the food colouring.
3. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes. To test if the syrup is ready pour a tiny bit into a cup of cold water. When it is ready it should set hard.
   
4. When it is ready remove the saucepan from the stove and place in the sink that is filled with a small amount of cold water until the mixture stops bubbling.
   
5. When the mixture has stopped bubbling, hold an apple by its stick and dip the apple into the syrup until the whole apple is covered. Let the apple drain a little then place on baking tray to harden up.
   
6. Repeat with your remaining apples. Enjoy!

Ingredients

15 small apples, red or green
4 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon red food colouring

Preparation method

Prep: 15 mins | Cook: 30 mins

1. Lightly grease a baking tray. Wash and dry the apples and insert chop sticks, thick wooden skewers or paddle pop sticks into each apple.

2. Combine sugar, vinegar and water in a small heavy based pot. Bring to the boil and stir in the food colouring. Heat to 150 degrees C or simmer for about 20 minutes or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water reaches crack stage - it should set hard and be hard to crack with fingers.

3. Remove the pot from the heat and stand in a baking dish of water until the mixture stops bubbling. When the mixture has stopped boiling, hold an apple by its stick, dip into the syrup, tilt the pan (and the apple) till the whole apple is covered. Rotate the apple and let it drain a little then place on baking tray to harden.

4. Repeat with remaining apples.