We talked easy recipes all week on The Big Breakfast Blaa

You can make simple energy balls with Flahavans porridge - recipes below.

With most people now at home all day, lots of us are experimenting with home-cooking. Since Ollie and I started this chat on Monday, we've had a flood of recipes sent into us on The Big Breakfast Blaa and I've been doing some experimenting of my own too. (Mostly thanks to friends who gave me lovely, easy recipes.) So here's a flavour (no pun intended) of what we got in during the week as well as some recipes I've been trying.

Energy Balls with Flahavans oats

Ingredients

Cup and a half of Flahavans porridge

Cup of crunchy peanut butter (go for the 100% peanut butter kind.)

Quarter cup of honey

Quarter cup of milk

Teaspoon (or two, whatever you prefer) of vanilla extract

Tablespoon Chia seeds.

Optional ingredients: Crushed almonds / walnuts, tablespoon olive oil, chocolate drops.

Method: Mix everything thoroughly in a bowl. Roll into little balls. Leave to set in the fridge.

No cooking involved.

And here's an alternative sent by Paula Guiry...

1/2 cup flavahans oats

1/2 cup of hazelnut granola and blend for 30 seconds to a powder.

Add 1/4 cup of honey.

1/2 cup of peanut butter.

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

1 teaspoon of chia seeds 1 teaspoon of flaxseeds.

Stir together and roll into balls and roll in shredded coconut . Put it in the fridge for an hr. Its a 10 min recipe.

Minestrone soup...

An easy minestrone soup that you can make at home

this was sent to us by Ciara, who has two young kids, and both love it: Fry onions, garlic, carrot (chopped finely) in olive oil. Add one carton of passata 500g. If you don't have passata, blend a tin of tomatoes. Add one (already dissolved) stock cube. Add one heaped teaspoon sugar and some mixed herbs. Add some water to get the consistency you like for soup. Break up about 20 sticks of spaghetti into small pieces and simmer in the same pot for 20 mins or when spaghetti cooked. Add one tin of beans.

Stir in a table spoon of pesto before serving.

Simple homemade guacamole

Homemade guacamole.

Avocado

Juice of lime (or lemon)

Tomatoes

Chilli flakes

Sea salt

Olive oil

Light Philadelphia.

Mixed with a hand whisk.

American style egg and potato salad!!

Sent into us by Marion McGovern in Bonmahon. YUM.

Boil up potatoes and hard boil six eggs. Mash them together while still hot, add chopped spring onion, salt and pepper and salad cream. Leave in the fridge to cool.

Orange Dessert - sent it by Anna

Good Morning Mary and Ollie this is a nice winter Dessert as there is vitamin C in it - 4 large Oranges, 1 teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of Brown Sugar.

Cut Oranges in half, take out the pips cut the flesh around the cut the segments in bite sized pieces. Place the orange halves cut side up in a shallow heatproof dish, mix cinnamon with the sugar in a bowl and sprinkle evenly over the Orange halves.

Cook under the Grill for 3 to 5 minutes until the sugar has caramelised and is golden and bubbling. You can serve this with Ice Cream or have them on their own - they taste great - Anna Sheehan Cappoquin.

We got lots of bread recipes - here's a selection...

Breakfast.....White soda bread with raisins... 1lb self raising flour 1 and half tsp of bread soda, pinch of salt, sour milk, 2oz of raisins. Sieve all salt flour and bread soda in a bowl, add raisins, and milk. Knead and put in a round sandwich Tin.

Bake in the 35, 40 minutes.

Porridge and yoghurt bread with Flahavans

And another...

Bridget's recipe

And a lovely brown bread one...

180 mg Wholemeal flour. 120mg plain flour. 4 level tsp bread soda. 3 level tsp sugar. 1 litre butter milk and little water to make it pliable. 3 oz melted butter. Sesame seeds 1 tablespoon. Mix all dry ingredients, add milk melted butter..see consistency..add small drop water.

Place into 2x 2lbs tins or 4x 1lbs tins, level out in tins, sprinkle seeds. Bake 190°C 180° Fan.....50 - 55 .minutes.

About 10 mins before time up...turn cakes up side down in tins. When full time up tap on bottom off cakes..if hollow sound..cakes done!

Cool on trays, this sent in by Lillian O'Connor

Banana bread is an option too..

Banana bread can be a nice family treat

4 oz butter or margarine (Room temp)

6 oz brown sugar

2 large eggs

8 oz self raising flour (Sieved)
3 ripe bananas (But I use 4! The trick is to use them when they starting to go black)

The recipe says to add these but I don't! (hence my 4th banana)
4oz sultanas
2oz glace cherries
1oz walnuts

900g loaf tin (brush inside with marg, add greaseproof paper and brush that also)
Pre-heat oven to 180 C/ 350 F degrees

Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon and beat together for 2/3 minutes. Put in the prepared tin. Bake in preheated oven for one and a quarter/one and a half hours.