The Ultimate Pancake Recipe

Pancake Update!!!

We are having a Pancake-Off. Me and Mr Mean are going head-to-head in the pancake-making stakes in the ultimate breakfast fluff test. He should win. After all, he does make a batch every weekend. But has he become complacent? Has his methods become sloppy over all these weeks? 

These aren't strictly traditional pancakes, like the French crepe, but a great alternative. They are a light and fluffy Scotch pancake - also known as drop scones.

Well, the verdict's in. And I'm the winner! Yes! Sorry Mr Mean. I followed my recipe to the letter, except that I forgot I was making a double batch and added half the milk which resulted in a super thick and fluffy pancake. Very cheeky! So here's the recipe for my Super Thick Award-Winning Pancakes!

How To Make Almond Butter

I'm a little bit partial to a bit of almond butter, so when I ran out of my Meridian Smooth Almond Butter (shock, horror), I thought I'd try to make my own nut butter! Don't confuse this lovely spread with the mass-produced peanut butter (I'm not a huge fan). I much prefer my homemade recipe - as does my one year-old!

At the moment, my fave breakfast is a couple of slices of wholemeal toast made into a sandwich - one side smothered in my plum jam and the other with almond butter. Yum! So I rummaged in the cupboard and found a 200g bag of almonds. I washed out the actual nut butter jar in preparation for the homemade stuff! 

You can make many variations too. I like to use 70% almonds and 30% cashew nuts - it changes the texture slightly. You could add maple syrup for a bit of natural sweetness, and even cinnamon - there's so much choice! Here's how to make it:

Double Almond Berry Smoothy

I'm going smoothy crazy! So, in my quest for a different, tastier smoothy, I'm trying all sorts of variations. 

With this smoothy I'm trying not just one type of almond, but two! Whizzed up whole almonds and almond milk - a smoothy packed full of great things!

The children particularly like this fruity number served in the old-school glass milk bottles. Great with their breakfast or served as a healthy snack (they think it's a great treat, they'll never suspect it's super good for them! Mmmwwahhahah!)

Purple Power Smoothy

I have baby brain at the moment. I just can't retain information without a list. So to combat this excuse for tardiness, I've developed the Purple Power Smoothy. Packed with good stuff, it contains blueberries to help boost brain power and help me function through the day!

The Mean Green Smoothy

Everyone's doing green smoothies. If you haven't - where have you been? Here's the big Mean Green Smoothy. Start your day with a big fat kick of goodness! And you'll be on your way to your five-a-day, or seven-a-day, or ten-a-day......

Chia & Raspberry Overnight Oats

I'm still trying to avoid all sugary breakfast cereals. They don't fill you up, they're no good for you, and they don't keep you going throughout the morning. But I like some variety in life and these Overnight Oats are perfect.

Today I'm having Chia & Raspberry Overnight Oats with chopped nuts and grapes. I left the raspberries whole, but you could mush them up. The chia seeds are a great source of protein, fibre and omega-3 fatty acids. They also swell up overnight and make another great texture in this breakfast.

Breakfast Booster Smoothy

I'm struggling at the moment to find time. Time to eat in the morning! Organising three children to get out of the house for school leaves little time for food. I'm also trying to lose some of this extra baby weight that's hanging about, so I don't want to be skipping meals and then eating ten chocolate biscuits because I am starving. So a smoothy in the morning seems the perfect solution.

I took myself down to TK Maxx the other day to buy a travel cup with lid and straw that I can bung the smoothy in and head out of the door. I might also be doing this at lunch time if I can't find time for a nice sandwich. 

Slow Cooker Overnight Porridge

Who said having children is easy? One was tough, two was harder, now three is near impossible! Our newest addition to the family is now three months old. Little baby Edward is a cracker, but family life is a mix of joy, fun and screaming panic (that's me doing the screaming). Of course me and Mr Mean are truly blessed to have our three beautiful children and wouldn't give them up for the world, but daily life has got to get a little bit easier than this?

What to do with all these plums?

When we moved to our lovely house, we inherited a Victoria plum tree. I was so excited as I love a good plum! Every year since I can remember we used to go plum picking at an orchard near Burnham Thorpe in North Norfolk, so the excitement at having our own supply was all to much for a giddy mother of two (soon to be three).

So imagine my disappointment when last year we discovered every plum on our beloved tree had a maggot inside. I was gutted. I decided that we would try to cure the tree of this greedy grub and took steps to try and prevent this from happening this year. But again, I was faced with disappointment when quite a few of the early ripe plums had been infested...

Overnight Oats

I've got a confession. I've been sneaking around at night. No one knows what I've been up to (they will now). But I've had a breakfast revelation and it starts the evening before - overnight oats!

Now the weather is warming up a bit and it's not the depths of winter anymore, porridge is off the menu. So as a summer alternative to the cooked comfort of porridge, overnight oats are a breakfast essential. And what could be better than just reaching into the fridge in the morning and having a ready-made breaky!

Madeleines filled with Nutella

There's nothing better than a Madeleine. Wait a second....there is! A Madeleine filled with Nutella! What joy on a Saturday afternoon! I changed the recipe slightly and replaced the lemon zest with orange zest. When the Madeleines have cooled slightly, pipe Nutella into each lovely little cake. Perfect!

Healthy Breakfast Muffins

After still having some old bananas left that needed some baking wizardry, I decided to opt for a healthier muffin. This is a great treat for breakfast - or even with your morning cuppa. They are packed full of goodies that will make anyone feel good in the morning. I had two for breakfast and didn't even think about food until lunchtime. Okay, that's a lie. I was cooking for most of the morning - but not tasting!

Healthy Breakfast Muffins

Makes 18
Ingredients:
300g (11 oz) plain flour
50g (2 oz) rolled oats
3 teaspoons baking powder
half teaspoon mixed spice
half teaspoon cinnamon
80g (3 oz)raisins
120g (4.5 oz) apricots, chopped
50g (2 oz) sunflower seeds
50g (2 oz) caster sugar
100ml (4 floz) sunflower oil
150ml (5.5 floz) natural yoghurt
150ml (5.5 floz) milk
1 egg, beaten
2 bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 medium carrots, grated

HOW TO MAKE:

1. Prepare the muffin tins with 18 muffin cases.

2. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

3. Mix the wet ingredients in a jug.

4. Add the bananas and carrots to the dry ingredients and add the wet mixture.

5. Combine with as few stirs as possible and fill the muffin cases three quarters full.

6. Bake in a preheated 190C (375F) oven for 20 minutes.

7. Remove and leave to cool on a wire rack.

BABY PORRIDGE

The problem with baby food is it all looks horrid! The little tiny packets of baby porridge are going to set you back at least £2 - I know it is fortified but I find it too expensive, and it always smells like sick! This is simply porridge oats cooked in water with a few slices of banana mashed in and a dollop of Greek yoghurt on top. If your baby likes a smoother consistency, simply whizz down until it's just right!

Madeleines

For some reason, Mr Mean is a lot better at making Madeleines than me (I'm not complaining!) - so here's his trusted recipe. You can't beat one (or ten) of these fluffy little cakes first thing with a latte!


Ingredients:
120g icing sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
100g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
115g butter

HOW TO MAKE
You will need Madeleine moulds for this recipe. I use a silicone mould, which saves a lot of time when it comes to greasing and flouring - because you don't have to.

Preheat oven to 190ºC. In a bowl, beat the eggs, vanilla and lemon zest (try lime zest for an alternative) with a hand held whisk until they are pale. Gradually add the icing sugar to the mix, still whisking, until the mixture is thick and forming ribbons.

Now gradually fold in the sifted flour and baking powder. When all the flour is incorporated, fold in the melted and cooled butter. Spoon the mixture into the moulds, being careful not to fill over ¾ full.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the edges are lovely and golden. Leave to cool in the moulds for a couple of minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. They are best eaten straight away.

Apple, Prune and Raisin Compote

I like nothing more than food that is free, and when my son's teacher at nursery school asked if we wanted any left over fruit before half term, my shopping bag was out in a flash. So, what to do with nearly a kilo of little apples? Make it in to a yummy fruit compote!

This will keep in the fridge for over a week and is delicious with ice cream, yoghurt, a slice of almond cake and breakfast. This morning I had a particularly tasty mix of Dorset Cereals' Organic Fruit, Nut and Seeds Mix Muesli, Activia Vanilla Pouring Yoghurt and this cheeky compote - yum!

Ingredients
800g eating apples, peeled, cored and diced
250g ready to eat prunes - sliced
70g raisins
75g caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice of half a lemon
juice of 1 orange

HOW TO MAKE
Put all the ingredients in a pan and cook down on a low heat for 30 minutes. If it looks too dry add a splash of water.