Banana Pancakes

Well.....delighted with these this morning.

I've never had any luck with banana pancakes....they either didn't rise very much or tasted too much like banana, these were lovely and fluffy and tasted yummy. Now I like banana but when I'm having a pancake I don't want it to taste like banana....I'm the same with the banana 'ice cream'.....after this I might be tempted to have another go at that now!!

Played around a bit this morning and got these, I used more vanilla than the original recipe.....just had them as a mid morning snack......it was delicious....and I'm freezing the rest for another day.....I got 8 pancakes out of this mix and when I put the recipe through the WW recipe builder 1 serving came out at 1sp. I served mine with Natural yogurt (0sp) and 1 teaspoon Agave Nectar (1sp).....I had some raspberries left in the fridge so used them up too. The recipe says that to reheat the frozen pancakes you should blast them in the microwave for shots of 30 seconds until they are hot enough (it also says they won't be as fluffy as when fresh).

Lets stay stong guys
Sue

x

Ingredients

2 medium bananas (over ripe is fine)
2 eggs
1/8 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 Vanilla Extract
Spray Oil

Method

Put the bananas in a bowl and mash with a fork.

Put the eggs in a separate bowl and briefly whisk to combine the yolk and the white.

Mix in everything else.

Mix in the egg.

Preheat the grill to high.

Spray a small frying pan with oil and bring to a medium heat.

Spoon in 2 tablespoons of the batter mix and allow to cook for two minutes. I use a timer because I ALWAYS underestimate...!! I'm too impatitent)

Take the pan off the heat and put it under the grill for one minute (doing this firms up the top and makes it easier to flip the pancakes over. Leave for 1 minute.

Take out from under the grill and use a fish slice to turn it over, I do this by putting the bottom of the fish slice on top of the pancake and flipping both the pan and the fish slice at the same time, the pancake should end up on top of the under side of the fish slice, gently slide the pancake back into the pan.

Put back on the hob for 2 minutes more.

Slide the finished pancake onto a piece of baking parchment and continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve with your chosen accompaniment (adding the appropriate sp)

If freezing, turn the finished pancakes onto a sheet of baking parchment and allow to cool. Then put the pancakes into a container seperated by a fresh piece of baking parchment.

To reheat blast the pancakes in a microwave for 30 second shots until hot enough.

Heck Paprika Chicken Meatballs

These little bundles of yumminess are sitting in my freezer ready for that day when I haven't got anything in and I want something nice for my dinner.

I recently made some lamb burgers from a Nigel Slater recipe substituting cottage cheese for the ricotta that is in them (recipe here). They were really tasty but would insist on shrinking and becoming more dense in texture no matter what cooking method I used. So I googled (as you do) and found that by adding some grated courgette (among other suggestions) the texture could be changed and the burger would retain its shape and some moisture. So I tried it with the last burger in my freezer and it worked a treat. So I decided to replicate it with these little meatballs. A full pack of Heck Paprika Chicken Sausages is 6sp so the sp for each portion depends on how many you eat. I put it into the WW recipe builder and 4 meatballs is 2sp, 6 meatballs is 3sp.

I haven't cooked any yet but as soon as I do I will update the blog.

Lets stay strong guys
Sue

X

Ingredients

1 pack of Heck Paprika Sausages
1 onion, finely diced
1/2 courgette, grated
zest of 1 lemon
salt
black pepper

Method

Remove thte sausages from their skins and place in a large bowl.

Add all the other ingredients (add the courgette in handfuls so that you can stop if the mixture gets a bit wet).

Roll into 24 little balls (I weigh the mixture and then divide by 24 to get the correct weight for each meatball.....I know....sad isn't it!!).

Place on a baking tray and pop them into the freezer to freeze as little individual morsels that you can portion up to suit your needs. Label them and keep for emergencies. I portioned mine into 6meatballs per portion because 3sp is nothing and I'll feel like I've had a big meal (especially if I serve them with butternut squash noodles!!)

Red Lentil and Aubergine Moussaka

I recently posted about including more red lentils in my diet and posted a recipe for Red Lentil Falafels, Whilst I was doing the research for the item I came across a couple more recipes.....this is the latest. It includes Aubergine which I have only recently become friends with thanks to my friend Ally Pally. Its not a recipe that my husband will enjoy and although some recipes I scale down to 1 portion, for this one I have taken the bold step of making 6 individual portions which I have frozen so I have a quick grab meal should I need it (I hope I like it) although I have left the instructions for making 1 large family meal..... 

I have modified the original recipe to reduce the sp but each portion of this recipe is 4sp.......

I have tried to document the process all the way through with photographs but I was doing this when the Westminster tragedy happened and so became a little distracted....apologies if this makes things a bit awkward in following .......thoughts and sympathies to all those affected by the tragedy

Lets stay strong guys
Sue

X

Ingredients

100g Split Red Lentils, dry 
400g Aubergine, sliced into rounds
Spray Oil
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
1 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 medium Red pepper, finely chopped
1 clove Garlic, finely chopped
1 can, large Tinned Tomatoes, chopped
50g Tomato Puree
1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
3 teaspoons Parsley, dried
125g Quark
125g Tesco Fat Free Greek Style Yogurt
3 Eggs, whole, mediumFresh Ground Nutmeg,
60g Parmesan Cheese, grated

 Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and cook the lentils according to packet instructions.
 

For the filling, spray the aubergine slices with the Spray oil, then lay on a couple of baking sheets and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes until softened and browned a little.

Meanwhile add the onion, pepper and garlic to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until softened.

Add the tomato purée, stir to coat the vegetables in it, then continue to fry for a further 4-5 minutes.

Add the canned chopped tomatoes and cinnamon and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Add the lentils and return the fried aubergines to the mixture. Simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, or until warmed through.

Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the dried parsley.

For the topping, in a bowl, beat together the Quark, Greek-style yoghurt, eggs and grated nutmeg until well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Pour the topping mixture into the ovenproof dish on top of the filling. Sprinkle over the grated parmesan.

Transfer the veggie moussaka to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden-brown and has set and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately