My Favorite 3 Recipes

Choc-banana pikelets

Kids will enjoy making these fruit-filled pikelets – with chocolate! – as a special breakfast treat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup self-raising flour

• 1/4 cup brown sugar

• 2/3 cup trim milk

• 1 egg, lightly beaten

• 1/2 cup milk chocolate bits

• oil spray

• 1 large banana, cut in 24 slices

• 150g vanilla fromage frais (we used Frûche)

• 1 cup mixed berries (use frozen if you like)

Instructions

Step 1 Sift flour and brown sugar into a large bowl. Whisk in milk and egg until smooth. Gently stir in chocolate bits.

Step 2 Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat and spray with oil. Drop 2 tablespoons batter into pan. Top with 3 banana slices. Cook for 1-2 minutes until bubbles appear on surface. Flip and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Repeat process to make 8 pikelets.

Step 3 Serve pikelets topped with fromage frais and berries (or other fruit if you prefer).

Joshua ‘s roll up

Ingredients

• 500g meat (pork, chicken, fish, beef or any sliced meat from the deli), cut in strips

• spicy seasoning (Joshua likes Signature Range spicy barbecue seasoning)

• fresh herbs (your choice)

• 1 packet baby spinach or lettuce

• light mayonnaise or dressing

• 6 tortillas or mountain bread

• 1 container hummus

cheese (optional)Baking blind:InstructionsStep 1 Cook meat and add seasoning. Set aside.

Step 2 Mix spinach or lettuce with your favourite dressing to coat leaves.

Step 3 Place tortillas on plates and cover with hummus. Place meat all over, then spinach or lettuce, herbs Step 4 Roll carefully and cut if needed. Enjoy!and cheese (if using). Squirt mayonnaise on top.

Smoked chicken

Ingredients

• oil for greasing the tins

• 225g plain flour, plus a little for rolling

• pinch salt

• 115g reduced-fat spread (I used Logical lite)

• 2 teaspoons oil

• 2 spring onions, sliced

• 1/2 red onion, diced

• 4 whole sweet peppers, chopped (see Fantastic Finds)

• 150g smoked chicken, diced

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon mixed dried herbs

• 1/2 cup milk

• 1 cup grated edam cheese

You can make these tasty tarts in one large flan dish instead of the individual ones, but you will need to increase the cooking time by 10-15 minutes.

You will need 4 x 12cm tins or 1 x 24cm tin. Loose-bottomed flan dishes are a good buy for making these types of flans.

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Lightly grease the tins.

Sift the flour and salt into a bowl and make the pastry by rubbing in the reduced-fat spread to form breadcrumbs. Stir in enough water to make a soft dough – this is about 3 tablespoons. Bring the dough together with your hands and knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface. Divide the pastry into 4 even-sized pieces. Roll out each piece of pastry slightly larger than the tins. Use the pastry to line each tin, gently pressing the pastry against the side of the tin so there are no gaps between pastry and tin. Trim any overhanging pastry away using a sharp knife to leave a neat edge, and discard the leftovers. Chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes to rest the pastry. This helps to minimize shrinkage during baking. Bake blind (see below) for 15 minutes. Remove the beans. This is now ready for the filling.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Heat the oil in a pan and soften the onions. Add the peppers and cook for a further few minutes. Add the chicken and cook for a final 3-4 minutes.

Divide the mixture between the cases and press down slightly. Mix the eggs together with the milk. Season with herbs, salt and pepper and pour over the chicken and vegetables. The liquid should stop just below the pastry line.

Sprinkle with the cheese and cook for 25 minutes until golden brown, firm to touch and lightly puffed up. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the tins.

Serve with a tossed green salad.