The Crazy Kitchen: January 2014

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Friday 31 January 2014

52 Cook Books : Red Bean & Mushroom Burgers

It's time for the 52 Cook Books Challenge again and this time I asked Jack to pick me a book from the cookbook cupboard in his bedroom. I was hopeful for another baking book but was slightly disappointed by his very unseasonal choice of 50 Best Ever Barbecues by Christine France.

Apart from lots of lovely marinated barbecued meat there are also a few desserts and veggie dishes, including the one that I chose, Red Bean & Mushroom Burgers. As Hanna pointed out when she saw the finished burgers, they are quite green looking, but if you cast that aside and taste with your mouth and not your eyes then you will discover that these are lovely tasting burgers and everyone loved them.

I'm not sure that I would ever risk cooking them on a bbq though as they are quite fragile, but using a griddle pan was perfect.

Red Bean & Mushroom Burgers

Red Bean & Mushroom Burgers - makes 4

tbsp Olive oil
half a red onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
115g mushrooms, finely chopped
400g can of red kidney beans
fresh coriander (or coriander paste)
a little flour
  • Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onion and garlic
  • Fry for a couple of minutes until softened
  • Add the spices and fry for another minute before adding the mushrooms
  • Fry until the mushrooms are softened and dry
  • Remove from heat
  • Mash the kidney beans with a fork and add to the pan with the coriander & mix well
  • Form into burgers, using a little flour on your hands to stop them sticking
  • Spray or brush with a little more oil and cook on a hot griddle pan for a few minutes each side
Keynko - A Crafty Family

Wednesday 29 January 2014

Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins

If you have a bit of a sweet tooth and like a muffin for breakfast then these Apple & Granola Muffins could be for you. They are not overly sweet and have lovely soft pieces of Bramley apple in, which you may want to substitute with sweeter eating apple if you have a really sweet tooth.

I topped them with a little granola which was packed with nuts and seeds.

Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins

Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins - makes 12

120 butter or margarine
100g caster sugar
 2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
125ml milk
2 Bramley apples, peeled, cored & chopped into small pieces
75g granola*
  • Beat the butter and sugar together until light & fluffy
  • Beat the eggs in one at a time, along with the vanilla
  • Mix the flour & baking powder together
  • Add one third of the flour and baking powder & mix well
  • Add one third of the milk and mix well
  • Repeat with adding the flour and milk alternately until all combined
  • Stir in the apple
  • Line a muffin pan with muffin cases
  • Divide the mixture between the muffin cases
  • Sprinkle each with approx 1 dessert spoon of granola
  • Bake in a 190C preheated oven for 20 minutes
  • Cool on a wire rack


Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins Apple & Granola Breakfast Muffins

Follow the hashtag #BreakfastWeek on twitter for more breakfast inspiration

*I used Midfields Granola (mixed seeds) in these Muffins which I received in my hamper as part of Breakfast Week.

Tuesday 28 January 2014

Grilled Apple Cinnamon Toasts

As it's Farmhouse Breakfast Week this week I'm trying to make breakfast a little more interesting than just milk and cereal. I've already made Overnight Cinnamon Oats and and Oaty Chocolate Mocha (recipes here). 


Jack is off school today with a sickness bug (hopefully a short-lived one) and after being sick a couple of times in the night and again this morning he declared that he was 'really really hungry' and after a bowl of dry Cheerios and Shreddies said 'I'm still hungry'. I made him wait a little while but as he insisted that he was still 'really really hungry' I decided to make him something a little bit tastier than plain toast.

Grilled Apple Cinnamon Toasts

Grilled Apple Cinnamon Toasts - serves 1

1 English muffin, sliced in half
1 apple, cored and sliced
knob of butter, melted
cinnamon & caster sugar
  • Brush the apple and muffin with a little melted butter
  • Preheat a griddle pan until hot
  • Lay the slices of apples and muffins into the pan & cook for a couple of minutes until lightly toasted
  • Sprinkle the apple with a little cinnamon and sugar before turning over to toast the other side
Grilled Apple Cinnamon Toasts

Follow the hashtag #BreakfastWeek on twitter for more breakfast inspiration

Sunday 26 January 2014

Moroccan Meatballs with Chickpeas

One of my current favourite good value 'fillers' to add to meals are chickpeas, and not the ones you get in a tin. Oh no, these days I buy the dried chickpeas, soak them overnight and then boil them for around 45 minutes. I then keep them in the fridge until I need them or freeze them, and they work out so much cheaper than the canned chickpeas.

They are high in protein, and low in fat so are a great everyday food that can be added to soups, stews and salads and can be used to make falafel and hummus.

In this recipe I added them to the sauce to bulk it out a little instead of serving with pasta. The spices in both the meatballs and the sauce are a great winter warmer.

Moroccan Meatballs with Chickpeas

Moroccan Meatballs with Chickpeas - serves 4/5

Meatballs
1 slice of wholemeal bread
100ml milk
500g minced beef
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin

Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cinnamon
400g can of chopped tomatoes
300g chickpeas
40g dried apricots, chopped

  • Tear the bread into small pieces in a bowl & cover with the milk
  • Mix the mince together with the onion and spices
  • Squeeze the bread and break it up until it looks like weetabix
  • Add to the mince and mix well - it's easier to do this with your hands
  • Take approximately a tablespoon of mince and form into a ball
  • Place on a lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining mince - it makes around 24 meatballs
  • Bake in a preheated 180C oven for 15 minutes
  • Meanwhile make the sauce by heating the oil in a large pan
  • Add the garlic & onion and fry over a low heat until softened
  • Add the spices and stir for 2 minutes
  • Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and apricots and simmer over a medium heat for around 20 minutes
  • Add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer over a low heat for around 10-15 minutes
 meatballs
Moroccan Meatballs with Chickpeas

Serve with flatbread and hummus.

Moroccan Meatballs with Chickpeas



This is my entry into the Co-op Electrical Winter Warmer competition

I was provided with the minced beef as part of a meat Hamper from Country Valley Foods

52 Cook Books : Chocolate Chip Muffins

For this week's 52 Cook Books Challenge I picked a chocolate chip muffin recipe from 500 Cakes and Bakes by Martha Day, a book full of various sweet and savoury recipes (although mostly sweet) including pies, tarts, breads, cakes, muffins and novelty cakes.

Muffins that I make usually have oil or melted butter in whereas these were made more like a cupcake, by beating the butter and sugar together. The recipe also called for 175g chocolate chips and I only had 100g but this was more than enough.

The recipe states that it makes 10 but I made 13 good sized muffins that were lovely and light.


 photo chocolatechipmuffins_zps12cd5a27.jpg 


Chocolate Chip Muffins - makes 10-13

115g butter or margarine
75g caster sugar
2 tbsp dark soft brown sugar
2 eggs
175g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
120ml milk
100g chocolate chips

  • Beat the butter and sugar together until light & fluffy
  • Beat the eggs in one at a time
  • Mix the flour & baking powder together
  • Add one third of the flour and baking powder & mix well
  • Add one third of the milk and mix well
  • Repeat with adding the flour and milk alternately until all combined
  • Stir in the chocolate chips
  • Line a muffin pan with muffin cases
  • Divide the mixture between the muffin cases
  • Bake in a 190C preheated oven for 20 minutes
  • Cool on a wire rack






   Keynko - A Crafty Family

Saturday 25 January 2014

Cheese & Rosemary Traybake

Last weekend I wanted to bake, however I didn't have a great deal of time on my hands so I wanted it to be quick. I fancied making something simple like a traybake cake but wanted it to be savoury so experimented using a standard cake recipe, omitting the sugar and replacing with cheese.

The resulting traybake was a success, a kind of cakey, bready cheesy loaf, perfect for snacking on or as a side with soup, salad or pasta.

Cheese & Rosemary Traybake


Cheese & Rosemary Traybake

200g Stork
pinch of salt
2 tsp dried Rosemary
100g cheese, grated
200g Self raising flour
100ml milk
  • Beat the Stork, salt, rosemary & cheese together
  • Stir in the flour & milk and combine well
  • Pour mixture into a greased baking tray (I used a disposable foil one)
  • Bake in a preheated 180C oven for approximately 20 minutes
Serve warm or cold

I was provided with Mexicana sweet chilli cheese which I used in this bake.


Thursday 23 January 2014

Diabetic Toffee & Chocolate Cake

Last January I was asked by a friend if I could make a Ferrero Rocher chocolate cake for her daughter's 10th birthday. This year she asked me again to make a chocolate cake, but this time it would be a different kind of chocolate cake as her daughter was now a newly diagnosed diabetic.

I searched the Internet to see if I could find a cake that would be suitable that didn't just have sweeteners in it instead of sugar as they can often have an after taste.

I came across this one on Pinterest and thought it would be just the job. Instead of a buttercream frosting I decided to use my usual cream cheese frosting, but instead of adding chocolate spread to the cream cheese I added diabetic chocolate for the topping and diabetic toffee for the filling. The cake would also be suitable for those needing egg free and dairy free recipes (without my addition of the yoghurt and cream cheese frosting). 

Diabetic Toffee & Chocolate Cake

Diabetic Toffee & Chocolate Cake

400g chopped dates
120g rolled oats, ground
6 ripe bananas
250ml rapeseed oil
100g cocoa powder
100g rye flour
150g plain flour
6 tsp Bicarbonate of soda
150g Greek yoghurt
  • Place the chopped dates into a bowl and pour on boiling water until they are just covered - leave for an hour or so
  • Blend the dates with the oats, bananas and oil until smooth
  • Mix the cocoa powder with 200ml boiling water to form a smooth paste
  • Beat the cocoa, flour, bicarbonate of soda and yoghurt into the blended dates, oats & banana
  • Grease and line 2 x 8" cake tins (I actually used 3 so that we could have a sampler cake)
  • Divide the mixture between the tins & smooth the tops
  • Place in a preheated 160C oven for 50-60 minutes (cooking time will depend on the size of the tins used & the thickness of the batter), until a skewer comes out clean when inserted
  • Allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely


Frosting & Filling

300g full fat cream cheese
100g Thorntons diabetic vanilla toffee
75g Thorntons dark diabetic chocolate
  • Add the toffee to a microwaveable bowl with 2 tbsp water
  • Microwave on short bursts, stirring regularly, until the toffee has melted 
  • Beat the toffee together with half of the cream cheese and sandwich between 2 sponges
  • Add the chocolate to a microwaveable bowl and heat in short stirring regularly, until the chocolate has melted 
  • Beat the chocolate together with the remaining half of the cream cheese and spread over the top of the cake


Diabetic Toffee & Chocolate Cake

We really enjoyed our sample cake and it was delicious with a little of the toffee filling spread over it. Unfortunately we didn't get to try a slice of the birthday cake but I would be happy to make this again as all of my children liked it, especially with a little ice cream. Unfortunately the birthday girl wasn't as keen (but I'm not supposed to know that as she told my daughter not to tell me, shhhh). It's definitely not a cake for someone with a massive sweet tooth but for someone that needs to cut down on their sugar intake it is a very good compromise.

The texture of the cake is kind of like a brownie and quite nutty, and would be perfect with a spoonful of clotted cream!

Diabetic Chocolate Cake

Wednesday 22 January 2014

White Chocolate Candy Valentine Hearts

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I decided to make some simple treats. Two years ago I made a Valentine gingerbread house and used mini candy canes to form hearts around the windows. I thought these would be nice filled with melted white chocolate and scattered with crushed candy canes.  

White Chocolate Candy Valentine Hearts

White Chocolate Candy Valentine Hearts


I added a stick to a few of them to make lollipops....

White Chocolate Candy Valentine Hearts


with some of the leftover white chocolate I made some peppermint jazzles...

White Chocolate Candy Valentine Hearts


All wrapped up in a box lined with tissue paper (I knew that old iphone box would come in useful for something one day!)

White Chocolate Candy Valentine Hearts

Tuesday 21 January 2014

Mexican Cheese & Apple Wrap

Sometimes I need to grab a really quick lunch as I'm rushing around trying to fit everything into my day in between school runs. It's usually as I sit down to watch Neighbours whilst packing orders for that day and if I haven't got any vegetables prepared for a home made healthy pot noodle or I don't fancy soup then it's usually crackers and cheese spread. Yesterday I had a wrap to use up and had just been sent some Mexicana cheese to try, so combined the 2 with slices of a crisp apple and made a Mexican Cheese & Apple wrap.

Mexican Cheese & Apple Wrap

I laid thinly sliced apple onto the wrap, covered with a few thin slices of cheese and microwaved for around 1 minute and then rolled up. It was so tasty that I had another for lunch today!


I was sent some Mexicana cheese for the purpose of review, I used the Extra Hot in the wraps.


Thursday 16 January 2014

52 Cook Books : Lemon Curd Syllabub

With all this training that I'm doing for the Team Honk relay it's leaving me with less time to bake so I picked a nice and easy recipe for this week's 52 Cook Books Challenge.

Lemon Curd Syllabub, a creamy lemon dessert that takes just minutes to prepare yet looks and tastes good enough for a dinner party.

Lemon Curd Syllabub

I found the recipe in James Martin : Desserts, a hardback book full of hot & cold puddings, tarts & flans, cakes & bakes and ice creams & sorbets.

I decided to omit the wine from the recipe but apart from that the only ingredients are mascarpone, double cream, icing sugar, lemon curd and shortbread biscuits - there is a very similar recipe here, the only difference I can see is that there is no mascarpone in it.

Keynko - A Crafty Family




Tuesday 14 January 2014

Home Made Healthy Pot Noodle

Last week I started exercising and eating healthy(ish). I often struggle at lunchtimes with knowing what to eat that doesn't involve too much prep, and just grab a few crispbreads, which don't tend to be very filling. I decided to get organised and chop some veggies ready for lunches for a few days, as well as precooking some noodles and chick peas.

I had seen a Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall show a few days previously where he had made his own pot noodles. I wondered if I could do something similar that could be prepared in advance and eaten at home or at work, but healthy at the same time.

I had some sachets of Miso soup in the cupboard, which to be honest, I'm not very keen on just on it's own but they came in handy for my pot noodle.

Firstly I took a little of each of my vegetables, chick peas and noodles and added them to a travel mug.

Home Made Healthy Pot NoodleHome Made Healthy Pot Noodle
   
I then squeezed the sachet of Miso on the top and poured boiling water onto it, and stirred. Hey presto, a pot noodle in an instant!

Home Made Healthy Pot Noodle

If your veggies and noodles have come straight from the fridge you might want to warm them up a little in the microwave but I found that room temperature ingredients produced a noodle soup that was just right.

Saturday 11 January 2014

Apple and Vanilla Fool

Just before Christmas I was lucky enough to win £250 John Lewis vouchers in a Tots100 competition. They came in extremely handy whilst we were in London for the husband's birthday and everyone received a treat. I had wanted some cocktail glasses for a long time so took the opportunity to treat myself to a nice set which came in handy on New Year's Eve when I enjoyed a lovely Almond & Lemon cocktail.

After receiving some yoghurts for review I thought I would use some to make a dessert and serve it in my new glasses.

 photo applevanillafool_zpsf1c2bf13.jpg

Apple and Vanilla Fool - serves 4

2 medium cooking apples
50g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla bean extract
400g Vanilla flavour Greek yoghurt
40g oats
25g butter, softened
25g caster sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
  • Peel, core & chop the apples
  • Place in a microwaveable bowl with the sugar & vanilla
  • Cover & microwave for 4-5 minutes until softened, leave to cool
  • Mix the oats with the butter, sugar & cinnamon
  • Spread out onto a baking sheet & bake in a preheated 180C oven for 15 minutes until golden & crisp, leave to cool
  • Layer up the apple and yoghurt in a small glass dish or glass & sprinkle the crispy oats on top

 photo applevanillafool2_zpsdad5619c.jpg

I was sent the Stapleton Greek Vanilla Yoghurt along with a range of other flavours for review

Friday 10 January 2014

52 Cook Books : Apple & Apricot Flapjack Bars

It's week 2 of the 52 Cook Books challenge and this time I got Jack to select a cook book from his wardrobe, and he picked BBC Good Food - The Collection, with 480+ triple tested recipes. This is another cook book that I don't think I've ever cooked a recipe from, although I do like browsing through it. It's a lovely book with pictures for every recipe, which is what I love in a cook book!
 photo goodfoodcollection_zpsa351b4ac.jpg

Based on ingredients we already had in the cupboards we selected Apple & Apricot Flapjack Bars as they looked delicious, and kind of healthy with fruit sandwiched between shortbread and a sticky oaty topping.

I followed the recipe almost to the book, apart from substituting a different sugar, using less golden syrup for the topping as it seemed a little too much.

We all loved these & will definitely make them again.
   Apple & Apricot Flapjack Bars

Shortbread base
100g butter, softened
50g caster sugar
175g plain flour

Fruit filling
2 medium cooking apples
25g caster sugar
175g chopped apricots

Oaty topping
grated zest of 1 orange & 1 tbsp of juice
150g golden syrup
8 tbsp oats

  • Beat the butter & sugar together until creamy
  • Stir in the flour
  • Press into a 9" square baking tin (I used a silicone one which didn't need greasing or lining)
  • Prick with a fork all over and bake in a preheated 160C oven for 15 minutes
  • Set aside to cool
  • In the meantime peel, core & chop the apples
  • Add to a microwaveable bowl with the sugar, cover & cook on full power for 3 minutes
  • Add the apricots and return to the microwave for approx 2 minutes, or until cooked
  • Pour the fruit filling over the base & smooth over
  • Make the oaty topping by mixing all the ingredients together, warming in the microwave for 20-30 seconds will make it easier to mix
  • Increase the oven to 190C 
  • Pour the oaty topping on top of the fruity filling and smooth over
  • Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown
Keynko - A Crafty Family

Thursday 9 January 2014

Veggie Sausageless Rolls

After the success of my vegetable burgers I thought I would have a play around with similar ingredients and flavours and make a kind of sausage roll - without the sausage. This might be good for those fussy eaters that won't entertain any kind of veg as the vegetables have been blended beyond recognition. I had a little smug smile on my face when Jack declared he loved them as they have cauliflower in, and he hates cauliflower! The recipe makes 24 sausageless rolls although I did have enough filling leftover to make 3 small veggie burgers.

 photo veggierolls2_zps14e1c6b0.jpg

Veggie Sausageless Rolls - makes 24

2 slices of wholemeal bread, toasted
500g frozen vegetables (mine included broccoli, cauliflower & carrots), cooked
400g can of Baked beans, excess sauce drained
2 tsp Paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 egg, beaten
4-5 tbsp plain flour (approx)
500g puff pastry block
1 egg for glazing
  • Whizz the bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs
  • Mix the cooked vegetables, beans, breadcrumbs, spices & coriander together and blend in a food processor or with a stick blender, until smooth
  • Mix in the egg and enough flour for the mixture to resemble sausagemeat
  • Roll the pastry out until a large rectangle approx 30 x 40cm
  • Slice into 3 equal strips along the long side
  • Spoon some of the vegetable mixture along each strip of pastry
  • Brush along the edges with beaten egg
  • Fold the pastry over the mixture and seal with a fork
  • Slice each length into approx 8 pieces
  • Place on a baking sheet and brush with more beaten egg
  • Bake in a preheated 200C oven for approx 15 minutes until golden brown
Eat hot or cold

 photo veggierollsmaking_zps400d0264.jpg  photo veggierolls3_zps42438294.jpg  photo veggierolls_zpsd898fc1d.jpg

I have linked this up to Vanesther's Spice Trail, which is all about Paprika, as well as her & Lou's Family Foodies, which for this month is about Hidden Goodies. 

 photo family-foodies_zpsaadeafe4.jpg


  photo spice-trail-badge-square_zps9e62b01f.jpg

Wednesday 8 January 2014

Turkey & Dorito Chilli Bake

Can you believe that we still have Christmas leftovers in the house. Apart from chocolate, which the kids are attacking with gusto, we still have lots of cheese, crackers and crisps so I'm trying to use as much as I can in meals to remove the temptation, especially now I am officially in training for my leg of the Team Honk Relay.

My eagle eyed bargain spotter of a Mum picked up a pack of turkey mince in the reduced aisles when she was on her way to us for Christmas so I dug it out of the freezer and used that in this recipe, making it reasonably healthy - if you overlook the large bag of Doritos I scattered on top! I also used a mixture of leftover cheddars and red Leicester cheeses for the topping.


 photo turkeychilliwithdoritos_zps95a19738.jpg


Turkey & Dorito Chilli Bake - serves 4/5

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 green pepper, thinly sliced
340g Turkey breast mince
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin
400g can of chopped tomatoes
400g can of baked beans
2 tbsp tomato puree
150g cheddar cheese, grated
175g Doritos (I used cool original)
  • Heat the olive oil in a large pan
  • Fry the onion & garlic gently until softened
  • Add the peppers & fry for an additional 2 minutes before adding the turkey mince & spices
  • Fry for approx 10 minutes or until the turkey is cooked through
  • Add the chopped tomatoes, baked beans & tomato puree
  • Stir well, place a lid on and simmer for 10-15 minutes
  • Spoon into a large lasagne dish and top with Doritos and grated cheese
  • Bake in a 180C oven for 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbling 

Unfortunately it was another rubbish photo due to me not being organised and cooking earlier in the day!



Monday 6 January 2014

Take a Bag of Veg - Vegetable Burgers

This is the final recipe for my 'take a bag of veg' posts. A 1kg bag of frozen mixed vegetables has been used in 3 recipes, the other 2 being a ham & vegetable pie which used leftover Christmas ham and cheese, and vegetable pancakes. At only £1 for the 1kg bag it's great to have in the freezer to use in easy recipes such as these when all the fresh veg has been eaten up and the weather is too nasty to get to the shops.

Vegetable Burgers

Vegetable Burgers - makes 6

2 slices of wholemeal bread, toasted
400g Frozen vegetables, defrosted (mine included sweetcorn, peas, cut green beans & mini carrots)
400g can of Baked beans, excess sauce drained
2 tsp Paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
handful of fresh coriander, chopped
1 egg, beaten
3 tbsp plain flour (approx)
Olive oil for frying

  • Whizz the bread in a food processor to make breadcrumbs
  • Mix the vegetables, beans, breadcrumbs, spices & coriander together and mash with a potato masher to get rid of any large pieces of vegetable
  • Mix in the egg and enough flour for the mixture to hold together as a thick batter, don't add too much or it will become dry and the burgers will fall apart
  • Add a small amount of olive oil to a frying pan and drop a large ball (tennis ball size) of batter into the pan and flatten out
  • Fry for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned
  • Place on a baking tray & bake in a preheated 180C oven for 20 minutes to finish off the cooking


Delicious served between a wedge of home made Focaccia and salsa...

Vegetable Burgers

These were a massive hit with the kids and at only around 25p for each burger they are incredibly frugal too! The Focaccia is very cheap to make too at only around 60p for 2 loaves which slices into 4 good sized buns.

As there is paprika in the burgers it's another recipe that I can link up to The Spice Trail on Bangers & Mash.

  photo spice-trail-badge-square_zps9e62b01f.jpg

I have also linked this up to Laura & Nazima's One Ingredient Challenge, which for January is all about Healthy Eating,

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as well as Michelle's Less Than a £1 per portion challenge as this recipe comes in at well under £1 per portion.

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Sunday 5 January 2014

Take a Bag of Veg - Vegetable Pancakes

In the second of my 'take a bag of veg' recipes I've made some tasty vegetable pancakes. They are really easy to make as well as being quick, and are perfect for a lunch with salad or as a main meal to accompany meat or even a fried egg. If I was making them just for myself I would've added some chilli flakes but I didn't want to make them too spicy for the children so instead added Paprika, which also gives them a great colour. Adding the paprika also makes this recipe eligible to be entered into this month's The Spice Trail on Bangers & Mash.

Vegetable Pancakes


Vegetable Pancakes - makes 6-8

250g Frozen mixed vegetables (mine included sweetcorn, peas, cut green beans & mini carrots)
1 egg
100ml milk
100g plain flour
1 tsp Paprika
salt & pepper
oil for frying

  • Defrost the vegetables fully - I do this by covering them in boiling water, in fact this is how I cook my frozen peas & corn to avoid over cooking.
  • Whisk the egg, milk, flour, paprika and salt & pepper together until smooth
  • Stir in the vegetables
  • Heat some oil in a large frying pan or skillet
  • Pour some of the vegetable mixture into the pan & allow to spread - I have a large skillet & cook 3 at a time.
  • Cook for a few minutes until browned on one side and flip over & cook on the other side
  • Repeat until all the mixture has been used up
  • Serve warm with yoghurt and mango chutney or reheat later in the oven
Vegetable Pancakes Vegetable PancakesVegetable Pancakes

If you're watching the pennies this month then this is a great one to make - the whole recipe came in at under 60p!


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