Cheat’s no-fail waffle and pancake mix

Waffles are a bit of a treat around here - and whilst I'm happy if if I've got time to make them from scratch, I've got lazy and made this mix recipe a while back and I now keep it in a separate container and the kids can then make their own (they make too much mess the long way) and they can also use it for pancake short-cut.

Waffles are perfect every.single.time.

Ingredients for the make-ahead mix:

6 cups plain flour (1 actually do 3 cups wholemeal and 3 cups plain but up to you)

1 cup icing sugar

2 cups cornflour

6tb baking powder

2 tsp salt

1 vanilla pod

Store in an airtight container

To make up waffle mix (makes about 6 waffles)

2 1/3 cup mix

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/4 oil

If you want to make up pancakes (the frills do this not me)

2 cups mix

1 1/2 cups milk

1 egg

Instructions:

Mix the ingredients together with a whisk, gently first then when it's mixed through then give it a good beat.

]

The consistency should be like thick batter but it should still drip.  If it doesn't drip easily add some water and keep beating through.

Heat your waffle iron, if you don't have one, they are very inexpensive.  I bought this one years ago for I think about $25.   Kmart have them these days I believe..

Pour your batter into the centre of your iron, I do mine with a cup measure, it should start spreading but you can give it a little coax with the back of your measuring cup.

spread butter or spread but whatever you like on top - whilst I like real maple, these queen ones are popular at our house - much less sugar,  and come in regular, apple cinnamon maple and blueberry maple..

RECIPE: Kick-ass smokey sausage and egg bake

This is a recipe that has many, many uses.  It's a brilliant hangover cure for breakfast, lunch or whenever.. it's a fabulous lunch on a cold day and it's a brilliant 'whoops I forgot to take something out of the freezer' or 'I don't have a lot of time' dinner.

It's warming, filling and delicious, and if you're lucky enough to have leftovers, brilliant just served on toast later.

If you have a cast iron frypan or skillet this is ideal - but if you don't, you can use a regular frypan and transfer to an oven proof dish.

(serves 5)
Ingredients:
5 chorizo sausages
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 brown onion, peeled and diced
3 large potatoes, diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 400g tin unsalted baked beans
1 400g tin diced tomatores
1 tsp paprika
chili, as desired
1 stalk fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 stalk fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated cheese
5 eggs

Method:
In your frypan or skillet, add 1 tb oil and fry onion, garlic and potato until the potato starts to gain crispy skin, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop up your chorizo and sweet potato, and ready the rest of your ingredients.  Preheat oven to 180 degrees c.

Then add the sweet potato and chorizo.  Add a swig of oil and some salt and pepper. Toss whilst it's cooking occasionally for about 5 minutes.

Add baked beans, tomatoes, oregano and chili if desired.  Leave to simmer for about 15 minutes on a medium heat.

It should become thick and saucy - stir regularly to avoid anything sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Once your sweet potato has softened, take off the stove and transfer to baking dish if your frypan or skillet is not oven safe.

Crack eggs over the top of skillet/baking dish and scatter parsley and cheese over the top.

Bake for about 8-10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and serve.

Absolutely delicious. Enjoy!

Home-made crunchy muesli (for yoghurt topping or for breakfast cereal!)

Years ago when I lived in the UK I had a mad obsession for almond and strawberry muesli.  It reached it's peak when I was living in Jersey in the Channel Islands where I was working long days and fed myself this glorious muesli with fresh jersey milk (more like cream actually) for breakfast, lunch and sometimes dinner.  It was a bit mad.. but hey, I'm sure I'm not the first person who loved cereal for dinner and I won't be the last.

My girls love muesli too, but I can't get them to eat raw muesli.  Not.at.all.  Their favourite way to eat muesli is on top of yoghurt, and they're fine with natural yoghurt, just as long as the yoghurt isn't raw.  So I pick my battles and made this muesli and it lasted a whole... 3 days.  I suspect hubby may have had some too... It's not rocket science and it's completely adaptable.

Ingredients

1 cup raw almonds

1 cup oats

1/3 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/4 cup flax seeds

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup honey 

80g butter

2 cups rice bubbles

100g packet dried blueberries (or other fruit that you like)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160 degrees c

Roughly chop up your almonds or blitz them in a blender, depends how whole you like them..

Pour them on a lined baking tray and add your pepitas and oats.

Lastly add the flax seed (you can buy this from most health food shops/delicatessens) and give it a good mix

Toast in the oven for about 15 minutes - until you can smell your almonds roasting.

Empty into a bowl, add blueberries and ricebubbles, give it a good mix.

In a saucepan, add butter and honey, and then when your butter is melted, mix well and add to your bowl.

Mix well.

Spread back on your lined baking sheet and pop into the oven for another 25 minutes until golden brown

It smells aaaaaahhhh-mazing.  let it cool and then break up to eat later, or eat it now... no judgements from me...

Happy Bastille Day with Double-decker Croque Madames

These are little pieces of heaven and I must thank the French wholeheartedly for inventing the croque Madame (or Monsieur - if you want to omit the egg).  It's the perfect thing for a cold day and takes about 30-40 minutes to make from start to table and are great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. You can make one or six (or more!) it doesn't really add a lot of time to the overall timeline.   You can pick up every ingredient at a deli - and if you're like me you could spend a good hour just looking at the fabulous things in the deli.

When we were in Paris in January you can imagine, after a long day of walking these were just the ticket and my Olivia has asked me a few times for the 'Fancy cheese toasties we had in France'.  I like using unsliced bread and have the toast nice and thick, but you can use regular bread too.

Give them a try because it's cold or because it's Bastille Day today or just because you damned-well-feel-like it!

Ingredients: (makes 6)

1 loaf rye sour dough bread (or any uncut loaf you like)

Bechamel sauce - I made mine in the thermomix but use this recipe if you don't have one

100g gruyere cheese, grated (you can find this in supermarkets or delicatessens) - it's about 1.5 cups grated

60g parmesan cheese (1/2 cup grated)

100g leg ham

4 tb dijon mustard

50g butter

2 tsp olive oil

6 eggs

Method:

Make your bechamel and then add 1 cup of your gruyere and all your parmesan and mix well

When melted though, set aside.

Put your oven on grill.

Cut your bread in thick slices - I cut mine about an inch thick.

Put 1/2 of your bread on a baking tray and grill on one side until golden brown.  Butter it.

Then turn it over to have the uncooked side up and .add your mustard

On top of your mustard add ham and couple of spoonfuls of your bechamel, then sprinkle with little more gruyere. (about 1/2 what you have left), Then give it a good pepper.

Put your other bread on top and then grill again, take it out then pour the rest of your bechamel on top.   Try to stop salivating.

Lastly sprinkle the last of your gruyere and pop under the grill again.

Whilst that's grilling add your butter and oil and heat up on your frypan until sizzling.  Add your eggs and fry them sunny side up.

Keep an eye on your griller, you should take them out when they are starting to gold-up on top.

Get a egg flip and transfer on to your plate, and top with egg.. devour!

Can you believe she ate all of this!?  I was kind of hoping she would leave me some leftovers!.. Que sera sera!

Letting your kids be independent cooks and fluffy blueberry pancakes!

All my girls love cooking, but my Eloise is really blossoming into a good little cook.  She's almost 10 now and can carry out most basic cooking techniques.  The helicopter parent in me has to restrain myself especially when it comes to the stove and knives but these are skills for life and it's better that she do it under supervision and my hands are behind my back... :)

Pancakes are a great first type of recipe that a child of 10 or so can execute from beginning to end on their own (with supervision of course!) - and there's hardly any kids I know (let alone parents) who don't like pancakes for breakfast.  We'll say that we had some grateful sisters, Mum, Dad and Gran who all loved their pancakes - thanks Eloise!

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups plain flour

1/4 cup caster sugar

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp bicarb soda

2 eggs

600ml (1 pint) buttermilk (if you don't have any, put a drop of vinegar or lemon juice in 600ml of milk and leave to sit for 5 minutes before using)

2 tsp vanilla extract

75g butter, melted

1 cup frozen or fresh blueberries

Method:

In a large bowl sift flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb soda.. Eloise loves to sift!

In a separate bowl add your buttermilk, eggs (if it's their first time with breaking eggs, have them break it into a mug first in case you get eggshells!) vanilla extract and melted butter

Give each bowl a good stir, then pour your wet ingredients into your dry...

You can use a whisk for 1 minute or stir for about 2-3 minutes to remove any lumps and make it smooth.

Add your blueberries and fold in gently so you keep the blueberries as whole as possible..

heat a small frypan and add some butter, I always set it up for Eloise at this stage, but I think she's probably ready to do it herself - put it at a tad under medium .  When the butter is sizzling, add a ladle full of mixture and spread it out a bit with the back of the ladle.

The tip with when to turn it over..?  One.. make sure the sides are a bit crisped up. .. Two, make sure those little 'air holes' on top are popped, expecially in the middle.  Push your egg-flip underneath and flick it over.

Serve up to your ravenous family with maple syrup (no need for extra butter) or honey.

Doesn't that look delicious!?  Maybe this is something you want to try for Easter breakfast?