Fruity porridge pie - My new favourite breakfast

I hated having breakfast for a long time, I rather just skipped it and went straight into lunch. By the time obviously I was starving, so I ate too much. Since I started working, I forced myself to eat something in the morning. On workdays I always eat a banana, that is the only thing I can swallow and I have the time for. On my days off, in the other hand, I love breakfast. I like thinking about what am I having, and always take my time to eat it. 

This recipe is definitely a day off breakfast, although if you are not a big morning rusher as I am (I like to sleep as much as I can before work, as I am working 12 hour shifts), you can definitely fit this in before work, because the preparing is only 2 minutes, and while it is in the oven, you can get yourself ready, then eat before you leave the house. Doable. :)

Anyway, I found this recipe on my friend, Andi's blog, it is in Hungarian, but even if you don't understand any of it, go and check it out, her pictures are to die for (she photographed our wedding, by the way! :D). 

Ingredients

50 grams of porridge oats

1 egg

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 tablespoon of honey/maple syrup/coconut sugar, whatever you prefer

1 banana

a handful of berries

cinnamon to taste

Method

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (fan oven, 200 on a regular). Cut the banana into circles and lay them in an oven safe dish. Put some berries on top, then sprinkle it with cinnamon, cover it with tinfoil, then put it in the oven. 

Mix the oats with the egg, the baking powder, honey, and vanilla. If it is not liquidy enough (depends on the size of your egg and the type of sweetener you are using), add some milk. It is brilliant with coconut milk, but anything will do, even water. Take your dish out of the oven, remove the tinfoil. Pour your batter on top of your fruits, then add the remaining berries on top. Put it back for 15 minutes. This way it will still be a bit moist, but if you like your cakes drier, leave it in for 20. 

Today I used less oats, and it turned out a wee bit more spongecakey, but not any less delicious. Go and experience with it, next time I will add desiccated coconut as well, and it works with any kind of fruits. The bananas are great tho, because they become mushy at the bottom, and it is just heaven with the cinnamon. It doesn't taste healthy, it is like a proper sweet thing, but it is healthy. I love it. 

Sticky sesame chicken

Yesterday's tea was the best we cooked in a while. It was easy to make, healthy, but still absolutely delicious. I found the recipe in a recent purchase in TK Maxx. As always I modified the portions and that, but here we go. :) 

Ingredients

500g chicken or turkey breasts

3 tablespoons of sesame seeds

2 pita breads

Marinade:

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of mustard

the juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons of clear honey

1 clove of garlic 

salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

fresh salad

2 carrots

half a cucumber

Sauce:

200g hummus

3 tablespoons of yogurt

Method

Mix 1 tablespoon of the oil, the honey, the mustard, the juice of the lemon and the crushed garlic together. Add salt and pepper, then put the diced chicken breast it. Cover it with cling film, then set it aside for 10 minutes. 

Peel the carrots then cut them into a shape you like. Cut the cucumber into dices, then mix them in with the salad. Mix the yogurt into the hummus, add salt and pepper to taste. 

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan, then add the chicken. Reserve the marinade, as you are going to need it later. Once the chicken is getting brown, add the sesame seeds, then stir fry for an other 3-4 minutes, until the seeds are turning brown. Now pour the marinade into the pan, and cook until it becomes sticky (an other 4-5 minutes). 

Toast your pita breads, then stuff everything in your face. :D This amount will satisfy 2 very hungry, or 3 moderately hungry humanoids. 

Healthy banana pancakes

Every time people ask me about my diet, their main question is: what about my snacks? To be honest, I was never really a big fan of crisps, so I don't miss having my hands in a bag 24/7. I do like my sweet treats and cakes tho, so that was the main thing for me, to focus on food that I can still fit in my diet, but will satisfy my cravings for something sweet. This is an other great recipe, originally you only needed 2 ingredients, but I pimped in up a bit.

Ingredients

1 ripe banana

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of oats

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

a pinch of baking powder

desiccated coconut

a drop of maple syrup

Method

I didn't bother mashing the banana with a fork and then beating the eggs in, I just popped every ingredient (except the coconut and the maple syrup) in a smoothie blender, then that was it. Frying these pancakes is a bit tricky, as they tend to break and bend, but on a lightly oiled pan you will manage. And even if it breaks it will still be tasty. 

From this amount you can stuff yourself totally full, so it is more like for 2 to be honest. Without the syrup you can tell they are not real pancakes but fake banana ones (which I didn't mind at all), but a little bit of maple syrup did wonders, no one will ever tell the difference. Brilliant for breakfast, lunch, whatever. :)

Lemony date energy balls

A couple of weeks ago I came across this post, and decided to recreate the recipe. Now I am not a big health guru (yet, haha), so I didn't have chia seeds at home, and decided not to bother for the first time, so I just went with the plain ingredients.

Ingredients

15 dates

1 lemon (zest + juice)

2 tablespoons of desiccated coconut

1/3 cup (50 g) almonds 

Method

Get rid of the stones of the dates, then put them in a food processor, along with the zest of the lemon, the almonds, and the coconut. I don't have a processor yet, so I used a hand blender, but it was a proper nightmare, so I am definitely going to but a cheap food processor. It took forever to blend everything, especially that the dates become very sticky. I used up all of the juice of the lemon, it gave the mash a better consistency. When everything is blended, form little balls with wet hands, then store them in an airtight container. They will last for a week in the fridge, but trust me, they won't. You will eat them before they would have the chance to go off. 

They are basically home made naked bars, just juicier, better, and cheaper. Brilliant snack. 

Spinach in a smoothie?!

So when I got into smoothies I researched a lot about recipes, what can I put in it, etc. I heard from youtubers before, that they put greens in their smoothies, but never really crossed my mind to try it. But then I saw a bag of baby spinach in the shop the other day, and I felt like I need to make a smoothie with it. This is my first attempt, but won't be my last. :)

Ingredients

one handful of strawberries

one handful of pineapple pieces

one handful of spinach leaves 

fresh apple juice

The spinach leaves make the smoothie quite creamy and rich, I love it. You can hardly tell by the taste, that there is something "weird" in it, so it is definitely a way to put some green leaves into a picky child who wouldn't eat it otherwise. The colour of the smoothie is a wee bit greener, but nothing major, so this is a good trick. 

The other benefit of this smoothie is, that you get extra fibres, so it makes you full for a longer period of time. And of course you get the benefits of the spinach. :) I will definitely try more greens in my smoothies in the near future. 

Whole wheat apple pie

I live in the country of savoury pies, but to be honest, pies will always be sweet to me. I tried a lot of different fillings, but I always go back to the basics: apple. This is my recipe, it is made from whole wheat flour only, and just a wee drop of brown sugar, so it is perfect, if you want to bake something impressive, but still want to stick to your diet. 

Ingredients

Dough:

500 g whole wheat flour

250 g butter or baking margarine

pinch of salt

ice cold water

Filling:

1 kg of apples

2 tablespoons of cinnamon

1 tablespoon of brown sugar

3 tablespoons of oats

Method

Cut your butter/margarine up to small cubes. We need it cold and hard, so this way it is going to be easier to crumble it together with the flour. Mix the salt in with the flour, then add the butter cubes, and work them together, till you can only see crumbles of the butter. Then add the water, small amounts at a time. Try to be as quick as possible, so the butter won't melt from the heat of your palms. Once it is done, throw the dough in the fridge, while you are preparing your apples. 

Peal the apples, then cut them up. I like to leave them quite chunky, the more rustic the better the pie. :) Sprinkle them with the cinnamon and the brown sugar, and put them aside. Preheat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius). Make two balls from your pie dough. Roll one of them flat, measure it to your pie dish (I use this from IKEA). It has to be bigger than your dish, so your filling won't come out of it. Once it is big enough, roll the dough on your rolling pin, then put it in your pie dish. The dough breaks easily, but this way you have your best chances. :) Sprinkle your oats at the base of your pie, it will absorb all the yummy apple juice that comes out during baking. Then add your apples. For the top layer of dough you can just roll an other sheet of dough, and put it over the fruits. Just make sure you poke some holes in the dough with a fork, so the steam can come out. Or you can do what I did. It takes longer, but it is sooo pretty it worth the time. Just cut 1 cm thick strips from your dough, then start putting them on your pie, and weave them together. 

When you are finished, go around your pie and cut the excess dough off, then push the bottom and the top layer together with a fork. To make sure the outer edge of your pie won't burn, protect it with a strip of tinfoil like this. Now it is time for baking. Halfway through (when you can see the top getting a bit brown), take your tinfoil off. The pie should be in the oven for 25-30 minutes. 

After removing from the oven, let it cool down, because it can easily fall apart when you cut in it while still hot. Try to be patient, I know it smells like heaven. :) 

Let me know if you try this recipe out, I would love to see photos as well! 

Cottage cheese and blueberry cookies

Anyone who ever tried to eat healthy will understand me: it is pretty hard to find something that helps with your sweet cravings, but it won't ruin your diet. Fruits usually do the trick for me, but I still need a cookie kind of thing for my cup of tea every now and then. So I was on a hunt for a healthy and tasty recipe. I don't really like paleo diet, but I have to admit you can steal some recipes from them, of course with modifications. :) So this is what I did. The source is a Hungarian paleo blogger, gonna link her blog anyway, I know I have Hungarian readers. :)

What I love about this recipe: it is a small portion, you won't end up with 2 dozens of cookies you feel like you have to eat, so you won't waste food. 

Ingredients

150 g cottage cheese (I use this, it is more like the Hungarian version, drier, perfect for baking)

1 egg

70 g oat flour 

1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

brown sugar or a wee drop of honey

a handful of berries 

I don't know about here in the UK, but back in Hungary it was pretty expensive to buy any type of flour that is not the typical white one. But porridge oats are pretty cheap, and with my new blender I easily made flour from it in literally 10 seconds. So I was pretty happy about it. :) Back to the recipe: mix all ingredients except the berries well together, then add the berries, but try not to crush them. Preheat the oven for 180 Celsius (160 if it's an air circulation oven). 

Cover a baking tray with baking paper, then form little cookies from the dough. It is going to be pretty sticky. :) Bake for 15-20 minutes, check on them every once in a while, just to make sure they won't burn. 

They are a bit ugly, but trust me, they are delicious. Even Panda begged for it, when I was taking the pictures. (Yes, she begs for everything, but still, she is a cutiepie.)

My favourite breakfast smoothie

Last week we bought a pretty handy blender, but I mainly use it for smoothies. Haven't tried out the other 2 parts of it yet, but once I studied it inside out, I can update you guys about it, if you are interested. 

Anyway, so I always loved smoothies, and I honestly thought stick blenders are perfect for it. But as I wanted to add more ingredients, ice, etc, my blender just gave up. My friend bought this exact Kenwood set a couple of weeks ago, and raved about it, so I really wanted to try it out. Since I have it, I drink a smoothie at least once a day. Sometimes it is for breakfast, sometimes lunch, or just my mid afternoon snack. I love it. 

First I wanted to share my favourite breakfast smoothie recipe, tasty, filling, perfect way to start your day. 

Ingredients

1 ripe banana

3 tablespoons of porridge oats

150 ml of milk

hint of cinnamon

Usually I am not too keen on milk in my smoothies, I prefer making them with fresh juice, but for this breakfast smoothie it is pretty lovely. I use regular cow milk, but if you are on a special diet, or just want to try something else, you can make it with almond milk, coconut milk, whatever milk you would like. You can leave the cinnamon out, but personally I love it. :) 

I am planning on sharing my favourite smoothie recipes, and would love to hear your ideas of the perfect smoothie!

Butterbeer cupcake

I always thought, that cupcakes are prettier than tasty, but I guess this was because I only encountered not too good ones in the past. :) I never made cupcakes before this one, but I have the confidence when it comes to cooking or baking, so I was not worried about making them for a party without trying them out first. I am happy to say, that it was a success, and I am going to try and make some more in the future. 

I had to change a couple of ingredients from the original recipe, as it is from an American blog, and we don't have the same things here in Scotland, but it turned out fantastic anyway, so I am going to share my version with you.

Ingredients

Cupcake:

2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of baking powder

pinch of salt

1/2 cup of soft butter

1/2 cup of granulated sugar

1/2 cup of brown sugar

3 large eggs

1,5 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/2 cup of buttermilk

1/2 cup of cream soda

Filling:

1/2 cup of butterscotch sauce

1 cup of extra thick cream

Icing:

1/2 cup of soft butter

1/3 cup of the filling you made

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

pinch of salt

450 g icing sugar (or the amount you need to reach the desired consistency)

Preheat the oven to 170 °C. Combine the flour, the baking powder and salt. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugars. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla flavouring, the buttermilk, and the cream soda. If you can't buy buttermilk, mix regular milk with a teaspoon of lemon juice, and tadaa! :) Add dry ingredients, mix well. Bake for 15-17 minutes, check with a knife to see whether they are ready. This cupcake "dough" was enough for 20 cupcakes.

For the filling, just mix the butterscotch sauce with the cream. Wait for the cupcakes to cool down, then insert the filling to the centres of each cupcake with a cupcake filler (or a big syringe). Don't worry if it comes out a bit. :) 

For the icing, cream butter until light and fluffy. Add the filling you saved earlier, the vanilla extract, and the salt. Beat in icing sugar, one cup at a time, until desired consistency. 

After I decorated my cupcakes with the icing, I used the remaining butterscotch sauce on top. to make it more prettier and tastier. :) Also, it is easier to eat, if you use silicone cupcake/muffin cases. Once the cupcakes cooled down, I removed them from the silicone ones, then used paper cases to make them pretty (and colour coordinated them for the four Hogwarts houses). This way it is easy to eat them, you won't waste half of the cupcake, because it won't be stuck on the paper. But they are still pretty and cupcake looking. 

I hope you will try the recipe out. It takes some time to make them, but it well worth the effort, and it is not hard at all, just time-consuming.