The Crazy Kitchen: February 2017

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Monday 27 February 2017

Vanilla Funfetti Pancakes

It's pancake day tomorrow, so here's another tasty pancake recipe to satisfy those pancake urges. These pancakes use the same basic recipe as the chocolate orange pancakes I shared at the weekend, with the addition of vanilla and sprinkles. Sprinkles are a fun addition to any treat or dessert (just check out my Sprinkle Party post as proof of that), and with the creamy topping that tastes like real dairy ice cream, these make a sumptuous dessert or indulgent breakfast perfect for birthdays (or any other day!)

Vanilla Funfetti Pancakes

The baking powder in this recipe makes them puff up in the pan, to produce thick and fluffy pancakes. The sprinkles do disappear into the batter if you add them too soon, so make sure you add them just before you're ready to use the batter. For extra sprinkly pancakes you can scatter a few onto the batter once it's in the pan.














Saturday 25 February 2017

Chocolate Orange Pancakes for Pancake Day 2017

Pancake Day will soon be upon us, and kids all over the country will be pestering their parents for pancakes after school. If you want to really impress the kids then instead of slaving over the stove for ages making crepe style pancakes, and having them eaten before you've make the next one, make a batch of these chocolate orange pancakes the evening before and warm them up for a pancake day breakfast.

We often have American style pancakes as they are so much less time consuming to make than the larger, thinner pancakes that I grew up eating once a year. Once you've got the hang of making these you will want to make them every week rather than once a year!

Chocolate Orange Pancakes

This pancake day the kids have requested waffles, as they like to be rebellious, but I expect I will be making pancakes too. I think my favourite pancakes have to be the Mincemeat Pancakes that I make at Christmas, so I may rustle a batch of those up on Tuesday as I still have plenty of homemade mincemeat in the pantry.

Chocolate Orange Pancakes


Chocolate Orange Pancakes Chocolate Orange Pancakes

Protein packed ice cream recipes

If you’re trying to lose weight or you’re looking to increase the amount of protein in your diet, it can be easy to write off the idea of ice cream. It is possible, however, to pack the good stuff into a frozen dessert and enjoy the benefits of protein without missing out on something sweet and tasty. Below, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite tried-and-tested protein ice cream recipes for you to try out. 

Protein packed ice cream recipes

Banana and cottage cheese ice cream
You don’t need cream and calorific additions to make a delicious frozen treat, and this recipe from BodyBuilding.com offers proof of that. Freeze a banana without its peel, and add 300g of low-fat cottage cheese and half a cup (54g) of banana flavoured whey protein powder to a food processor, and then stick the ingredients together in a Tupperware container for an hour or two. Take the ice cream back out of the freezer to stir to ensure the ice cream freezes evenly, and then stick it back in the freezer until frozen. 

Chocolate and cherry protein ice cream
This ice cream recipe only requires a couple of ingredients and is super simple to make. Add a scoop of vanilla or unflavoured protein powder to a tablespoon or super-free, fat-free Jell-O pudding mix, and mix with three tablespoons of water. Then, add some frozen cherries and a tablespoon of chocolate chips, and allow to freeze for up to an hour. The result is a tasty, cost-effective take on ice cream, and is packed with all of the protein you'll need to pump some iron or go for a jog. If you don't have time to make ice cream from scratch every time you want a treat, consider making this recipe in bulk and storing it in an ice cream freezer so that you always have a sweet treat on hand when it's necessary. 

Peanut butter ice cream recipe
This treat may take three or four hours to freeze, but it's certainly worth the wait. Add a scoop of casein vanilla protein powder to a tablespoon or cocoa powder, one tablespoon of powdered peanut butter, two tablespoons of all-natural sweetener and a splash of unsweetened almond milk. Combine all of the ingredients together in a single bowl, mix until creamy, freeze for four hours and then enjoy. A single serving will contain 24g of protein and 5.4g of fat, so it's a convenient and guilt-free way of getting some ice cream into your diet.

Apple pie protein ice cream
Add a frozen banana, a half cup of unsweetened applesauce, a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, a tablespoon of natural almond butter, a scoop of vanilla protein powder, a quarter cup of unsweetened almond milk and three ice cubes to a blender, and blend until it turns into a thick, smooth, milkshake consistency. Pour into a bowl and add chunks of apple, before freezing for an hour and a half. Take the mixture out every 30 minutes to stir.

Protein packed ice cream recipes

Which of these recipes stands out to you? Let me know in the comments below.











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Saturday 11 February 2017

Sweet Treats for Your Valentine

As Valentine's Day is just around the corner, I thought it would be a good opportunity to share my recipes for home made sweet treats that would be ideal for your Valentine. Of course these don't have to be saved just for Valentine's Day and can be eaten all year round, but what a great excuse to eat some heart shaped food.

   photo Valentine_zps5rnv4vc4.jpg









More sweet Valentine recipes from fellow bloggers :

Raspberry Coconut Ice Pops - Casa Costello


White Chocolate & Raspberry Cupcakes - Lovely Appetite

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting - A Strong Coffee

Valentine's Day Chocolate Tart - Easy Peasy Foodie

No Bake Cheesecake Pots - Basement Bakehouse

Coconut Mango Waffles - Recipes from a Pantry

Fruity Mini Cheesecake - The Intolerant Gourmand


You can find these recipes and more on my Valentine's Day Pinterest Board :








Wednesday 8 February 2017

Revive your Lunch-Life - Sea Salt & Black Pepper Crackers for Soup

It's easy to get into a bit of a rut with lunches and sometimes you need to think outside of the box a little to put a bit of spice back in your lunch-life. It should be easy for me as I work from home and have the world at my feet when it comes to ingredients (unless it's a day like Monday when I was talking for too long after the school run and missed my grocery delivery, whoops!), but I often find myself not knowing what to eat for lunch.

The Covent Garden Soup Company asked me to be part of their Revive your Lunch-Life campaign and to create a recipe to accompany one of their many soups.

Sea Salt & Black Pepper Crackers for Soup

I love soup, especially home made, but I can't always be bothered to spend my morning peeling and chopping to make a batch of fresh soup. Plus, y'know, I would want some fresh crusty bread and thickly spread butter to dip into it, and plain bread doesn't hit the spot for me.

These sea salt and black pepper crackers, however, do hit the spot. They are salty but not so salty that it leaves you gasping for water, and they are the perfect amount of peppery, which for me is quite peppery, and are great dipped in soup as they stay crispy.

Sea Salt & Black Pepper Crackers for Soup

It was hard to decide what flavour soups to get as so many of them sounded so tasty, such as Chicken and Chorizo Jambalaya, Boston Bean & Monterey Jack or Broccoli Pea & Pesto, but that decision was taken out of my hands when I reached my local Tesco as they only had a handful of flavours in stock. I went for Slow Roasted Tomato, as tomato soup is always a big hit in this house so I knew I wouldn't be alone in eating it. With just 84 calories per 300g serving (half a standard carton), it was a healthy option too.


The crackers are easy to make, and make a great alternative to bread, whether you eat your soup at home or on the go, and are made from just a few ingredients found in most store cupboards. If you use white flour you may need to reduce the quantity of water as wholemeal flour tends to need more.

Sea Salt & Black Pepper Crackers for Soup Sea Salt & Black Pepper Crackers for Soup


How do you revive your Lunch-Life?




This recipe has been commissioned for The Covent Garden Soup Company

Friday 3 February 2017

Very Jammy Jammie Dodger Chocolate Brownies

If you've come here looking for a Slimming World recipe then please avert your eyes for a moment. This one is definitely not SW friendly I'm afraid, but I have to keep the kids happy somehow. If I throw in the odd brownie or cupcake they will never know that most of the meals they eat are suited to those following the Slimming World plan. 

Very Jammy Jammie Dodger Chocolate Brownies

I must admit that I wasn't able to cook these, slice them and then photograph without eating some, so I confess that a small piece passed my lips. I did feel that the small piece was enough though, and had I eaten more I would've felt a little sick, and extremely guilty. The kids & husband enjoyed the remainder with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, which looked very tempting!

Very Jammy Jammie Dodger Chocolate Brownies


If you're planning to cut these into squares you will want to leave them to cool completely, but if you're not fussed about even slices then grab a spoon and tuck in whilst they're warm. With a large scoop of vanilla ice cream!

Very Jammy Jammie Dodger Chocolate Brownies

Just look at those - all gooey and chocolatey and jammy and about 50 syns (at a guess). I'll just eat my apple whilst I drool over the pictures.

Thursday 2 February 2017

Bubble & Squeak Cakes - Slimming World Friendly Recipe

After a big roast dinner on Sunday I was left with a few vegetables that I planned to eat with some leftover roast chicken & Slimming World friendly roasties the following day. By the time the dinner table had been cleared the pile of leftover roasties was no more - 2 growing boys had scoffed the lot! They never touched the leftover greens though, so at least there was something for my lunch on Monday, which I decided to make into delicious Bubble & Squeak Cakes, with some Smash that I keep in the cupboard for potato emergencies. I used to love a bit of Smash in my single days so I was over the moon when I heard that it was free on the SW plan, as long as you eat it as part of a meal and not scoff it at every opportunity!

I know that sprouts are not everyone's cup of tea, but that's the beauty of bubble & squeak, just throw in any leftover cooked veg that you have to hand. I used broccoli, carrots, sprouts & cabbage, and spiced it up with a few chilli flakes. 

Bubble & Squeak Cakes - Slimming World Friendly Recipe
Bubble & Squeak Cakes - Slimming World Friendly Recipe

I ate 3 of these for my lunch with balsamic baby plum tomatoes that I roasted at the same time as the bubble & squeak. I enjoyed the remaining 3 later with a little sweet chilli dipping sauce (1.5 syns for 1 tbsp).

Bubble & Squeak Cakes - Slimming World Friendly Recipe

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