Nothing beats a mum's recipe for pancakes

I know Shrove Tuesday has been and gone, but I started writing this before then but have only just got around to finishing it.

My childhood memories of my mum's pancakes make my mouth water just thinking about it! The best bit is that the recipe couldn't be easier. 1, 3, 5 is the basic ratio I use and can be easily scaled up to feed more people. There have been countless times when I've been living away from home and on realising it's pancake day, have rung home to my mum to ask her for the recipe. Now I am more organised and have the recipe written down, but I still like to have that sticky note from my mum nearby to make sure I've got the quantities right. I am also trying to make pancakes more often than once a year as they are so simple and are a good treat.

We have a special pancake pan and I have to admit that it does make it easier to make pancakes but it isn't a necessity. My favourite way to eat them is with lemon juice and sugar, which unbelievably to me, my husband hadn't tried before he met me! It never fails to amaze me how different families eat differently and have their own tastes and preferences. Another way I love to eat them is with a thin layer of nutella (chocolate/hazlenut spread) and then roll them up. Understandably our son just likes to eat them with anything, he loved pancake day this year.

I doubled the quantities for pancake day so that we made 6 pancakes. Remember that the first pancake will not be your best as the pan is still getting hot (particularly if you're impatient like me) and the last one will be dependent on what mix you have left. I add a knob of butter before each pancake. The joy of this ratio is that as long as you use the same tool for measuring the flour and milk, you only really need a spoon to measure. I make my mix in a jug so that it's easy to pour the mix into the pan. Finally, I try to make it ahead of time so that the mix has time to rest.

Pancakes (makes 3)

1 medium egg

3 tbsp plain flour

5 tbsp milk

Butter

1. Whisk the egg, flour and milk in a jug. Mix well to get out any lumps.
   
2. Heat the pan over a hot heat, once hot, add a knob of butter. Pour in the mix and twist the pan to spread out mix to cover the pan. Flip when starting to brown.
   
3. Once cooked on both sides, add toppings of choice and enjoy!
   

Homemade fish fingers

I'd always read people's recipes for homemade fish fingers with suspicion. For some reason I was convinced that it would be complicated or beyond my capabilities. However, in my quest to try out new things and to use up what is in my cupboards, I decided that the day had come when I would try to make my own version of fish fingers. Knowing that my little man would be in nursery for the day so that I could get on with some school work during half term, I knew that it wouldn't be beyond to try making my own fish fingers. I surprised myself at how easy it was, and whilst I may adapt it in the future or it may turn out differently the next time I make it, it was a good dinner that I'm happy to share. I cooked some homemade potato wedges, carrots and spinach to go with our fish. I mixed and matched the fish to try and keep the costs down, I was really surprised at the cost of fresh fish in the supermarket and next time I decide to make this, I plan on looking in the frozen aisle to see if there are any cheaper options.

Homemade fish fingers (fed 2 adults and 1 toddler)

1 fillet haddock

1 salmon fillet

1 egg

2 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsp polenta

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

Salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Slice the fish up into thick slices about 1 to 2 cm across.
   
2. You need 3 separate dishes with raised sides. In one dish, break the egg and whisk it together well. In another place the flour. In the third place the polenta, paprika and salt and pepper . Keep the flour and polenta close to hand in case you need to add more whilst coating the fish. (I kept my husband nearby with clean hands to help out too!)
   
3. Coat each piece of fish well, first in the flour, then the egg and finally the polenta mix. Place on a lightly oiled baking tray and bake for 20 minutes maximum. Check the fish as it could take slightly less or more time depending on how your oven works.
   

Make your own noodles

This was such a simple and quick lunch that warmed us up on a damp cold day. I was inspired by the BBC Good Food magazine which had arrived at the weekend. There is always lots of recipes that we want to cook when we get this magazine and I think it's really helpful to read other peoples recipes. It gives you something new to try but also inspires you to cook food that is similar or like with this recipe you adapt it to include what you have in your cupboard. The joy of this lunch for me today was that it didn't take any time to either prepare or cook. We started late this morning as I knew it was going to be icy and I didn't want to rush to the supermarket early and get caught in either work traffic or icy conditions. It meant that we got back from the supermarket late and I would need something quick and easy to prepare.

Quick noodles

1 strip fine egg noodles

1 tsp vegetable stock granules

500ml boiling water

Handful peas

3 spring onions

Chopped garlic, ginger, chilli pepper 

1. Start the kettle boiling. In a medium saucepan place the peas and stock granules. Once the kettle has boiled, pour 500 ml water into the saucepan and get it boiling.
   
2. Allow the peas to cook for 5 minutes before adding the noodles.
   
3. Whilst the noodles are cooking wash the spring onions before slicing them finely. I have ready chopped garlic, ginger and chilli in the freezer but if you were using them fresh, chop them up quickly and as much/little as you like.
   
4. Once the noodles have cooked, don't drain them. Add the chopped spring onions and garlic, ginger and chilli and stir through thoroughly.
   

As I was giving this to my son I made sure that he didn't get too much chilli as it would be a bit strong for him. I enjoyed having a bit more chilli and on a damp day when you're watching the snow melt, it was the perfect lunch. 5 minutes to prepare, 5 minutes to cook, didn't last much longer once we'd started eating!

Blue cheese, leek and bacon pasta

Sometimes, you know you're going to be coming home tired or too late to be able to put together anything more than a simple meal. Having recipes like this one ready to hand are so useful to be help get a quick and tasty meal on the table, it also doesn't have to break the bank balance. This more than ever is proving to be important for our family as the cost of living continues to rise. I've not calculated the exact cost of this meal but I didn't use the whole packet of bacon, so I estimate that this cost around £4. Whilst it was only designed to feed the three of us, it would be quite easy to increase the number of mouths fed by this meal without increasing the cost dramatically.

Blue cheese, leek and bacon pasta (served 2 plus toddler)

6 slices streaky bacon

250g pasta

1 packet blue cheese (I choose the cheapest but anything like dolcelatte would be fine)

3 leeks

1 to 2 tbsp milk

1 tbsp oil

1. Put the bacon on a tray and cook in the oven (or under the grill if you have one) until it is crispy. This takes about 20 minutes in our oven as I like really crispy bacon.
   
2. Meanwhile, get the kettle full of water and set it to boil whilst you weigh out the pasta. Wash and slice the leeks. Pour the olive oil into a pan or frying pan and place on a medium heat. Add the leeks and start to soften them gently.
   
3. Whilst the leeks are cooking, chop up the blue cheese roughly. Once the leeks have softened, add the blue cheese and keep stirring until it melts. Add the milk.
   
4. Drain the pasta and remove the bacon from the oven. Stir the pasta and leek blue cheese mixture together.