Eggs in Clouds

This is a really fun & cute idea for cooking eggs that kids will love! It is almost like a savoury breakfast meringue. You can chuck in all sorts to flavour it - spring onion, cooked chorizo, grated cheese, etc. In this version I just use some parmesan and served them with bacon & mushrooms for a hearty brunch. Use an electric hand whisk, if you have one, to save time. Beat the eggs until white & fluffy.

Allow 1 or 2 eggs per person.

Eggs
Parmesan (or any other ingredient you would like to add, such as spring onion, grated cheese etc)
Salt & pepper

Preheat your oven to 200c.

Start by carefully separating the egg whites & yolks. Keep the yolks intact! Whisk the egg whites until they are thick, white & fluffy. Add a teaspoon of permesan per egg and carefully fold in into the mixture. Season & spoon onto a baking sheet. Divide the mixture into equal parts totalling the amount of eggs you used. Make a small well in the top of each mound, and carefully add back the yolk. Place into the oven on the middle shelf for 5 minutes. If you like runnier yolk, cook the whites for 3 minutes before adding the yolks & returning to the oven.

Aubergine Melts

Aubergines (or eggplants for my US readers!), I find, are the meatiest tasting vegetable out there. I can eat one of these and not feel like I am missing the meat part of my meal. I ate a whole one for my lunch, or you could have half with a couscous side dish. I couldn't entice any of my children to try it though! Not even the veg-loving one wanted to taste it. I loved it though, and will have it again soon.

Serves 1-2

1 whole aubergine
Olive oil
2 tablespoons pesto
1 ball of mozzarella, drained & sliced
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
Basil leaves to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200c. Cut the aubergine in half and drizzle with olive oil. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes. Spread a tablespoon of pesto on each half, then top with sliced mozzarella and then finish with the cherry tomato halves. Pop back into the oven for anther 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted & tomatoes softened. Sprinkle with basil.

Smokey Pork Burgers

These burgers are flavoured with lovely smoked bacon & paprika to give a wonderful taste. They are great for a BBQ or just grilled indoors. Serve with some lovely BBQ sauce and some applewood smoked cheese & salad. I served mine with hommade coleslaw and onion rings, for a great American feel. I love finding recipes that use pork mince as its a nice budget-friendly meat. This recipe will make 4 burgers.

olive oil, for frying
500g pork mince
4 rashers of smoked  bacon, finely chopped
1 shallot - peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon smoked paprika


Gently fry the shallot & bacon for a few minutes in the olive oil, over a medium heat, until the shallot is  translucent and the bacon crispy. Add the paprika and continue to cook for a further minute. Remove from the heat, allow to cool slightly then add to a mixing bowl with the pork mince and season. Combine the mixture with the mince using your hands, then divide into 4 equal parts. Form into patties. Cook the patties in a grill or an oiled frying pan on a medium heat. Cook for around 4 minutes each side, until cooked through. Arrange on bread rolls with salad, smoked cheese slices, BBQ sauce & serve.

Caramelised Sprouts

I love my green veg, but was bored with just steamed or boiled brussel sprouts. This recipe brings out their amazing flavours and jazzes up a simple roast chicken dinner. I could eat these every day! The secret is the slow cooking of the sprouts.Fresh thyme is best, but you could use dried instead. Use the best quality stock and let it simmer right down into a sticky sauce.

Olive oil
Knob of butter
Sprig of fresh thyme, leaves chopped
2 shallots, finely diced
400g sprouts
150 ml chicken or veg stock

Heat up a frying pan to a medium heat and add the sprouts. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil & stir the sprouts until all coated. Let them cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. When they are soft and starting to turn brown, add the shallots, thyme & butter. Stir through. When the shallots have softened, add the stock and allow to simmer gently. When the stock has reduced down to a sticky gravy, serve immediately.

Tuna Patties

I invented this recipe whilst thinking of ways to use up tins of tuna in my cupboard. These are full of protein, so perfect after a morning of Zumba! I love my Zumba classes, but I come out of them ravenous. I have 2 patties with some salad for lunch, and they are very filling. My kids love them too, which is a bonus. You could swap the tuna for tinned salmon, you could also add finely diced peppers or sweetcorn to the mix as well. Delicious hot or cold.

1 180g tin of tuna, drained very well
2 spring onions, chopped
40g grated cheese
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 beaten egg
Salt & pepper to season

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Form into 2 patties. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan to a medium heat. Add the patties, and leave for 6/7 minutes. Do not move the patties during this time! They need to form a crispy crust on the underside so that they keep their shape. Flip over and fry the other side for 5/6 minutes. They should be golden on both sides. Remove to a plate and serve.

Superhero Party!

As you may know, I love to throw themed parties! Last year I threw a Mad Hatters Tea Party for my girls birthday, which you can see here. I also love to throw great Halloween parties, and even had an 80s party for my own birthday which was a lot of fun. This year, my wee boy turned 5, so I wanted to host a great party for him & his friends. I started looking on Pinterest for ideas and asked on Mumsnet, where I got some great advice. . There are some amazingly talented people out there! We had a lot of fun, and I think my son will remember his Superhero party for a long time.

My sister made these fab biscuits as party favours.

 I made a set for the superheroes to play with and pose in front of. We had inflatables for them to play with too.

 The kids looked awesome in their outfits!

 My friend agreed to be my tattoo artist - we had great grape smelling tattoos for the kids!

 The amazing cake!

 We also had face painting.

 Batman & Robin dropped by, with a present for the birthday boy!

 The party food. I love the spotty plates!

Oxtail Stew

A friend recommended I try this, even though I was a bit wary of trying or cooking with oxtail. For some reason, it just didn't occur to me that it would be like beef, seeing as it is from the same animal! This did taste like a very rich, unctuous beef stew. I thought it tasted amazing! The secret is the long, slow cooking. I did it in my oven, set at about 130c for 6 hours, but it would work just as well in a slow cooker. Put your slow cooker on low, for as long as you can. I will certainly be making it again. Perfect served with creamy thick mash on a cold, snowy day.

Serves 4

4 large pieces of oxtail
Oil for frying
4 carrots, chopped
6 shallots, peeled but left whole (or use 2 onions, diced)
Half of a large swede, peeled & diced
2 large leeks, sliced
1 whole star anise
3 garlic cloves, peeled, left whole but crushed slightly
1 bay leaf
1 litre of beef stock
Salt & pepper to season

Preheat your oven to 130c (or use a slow cooker). In an oven & hob proof casserole dish, fry the oxtail on all side until coloured. Remove from the heat, and add all the other ingredients. Pop into the oven, covered, for 6 hours. Before serving, remove the bones - the meat should just fall off.

Egg & Bacon cups

These delicious little things are what my children and I shared for Mothers day brunch! So simple to make, and lovely to eat. I will need to make more next time, these disappeared too quickly. Be careful not to over-mix your eggs when whisking, be gentle. You could add any extras you fancy, such as mushrooms or cherry tomatoes. I have many ideas for some tasty variations.

Makes 6 cups

6 rashers of streaky bacon
6 eggs
Handful of grated cheese
Salt & pepper to season

Preheat the oven to 200c.
Line a muffin tray with a piece of bacon in each cup. Gently mix the eggs with the cheese, and season to taste. Pour the mixture equally between the 6 bacon cups. Pop into the oven for around 20/25 minutes, until all the egg mixture is cooked. Serve with toast & a dollop of ketchup!

Broc-a-leekie Soup

This is another amazing soup recipe from Clementines of Broughty Ferry! I really enjoyed this soup, so warm & filling - perfect for the wintry days we are still getting. This is great if you are vegetarian or a meat eater. I cant wait to make this one again.

1 leek sliced
1 head of broccoli, chopped (stalk too! no waste!)
1 medium potato, peeled & diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1.2 litres of vegetable stock

Fry the leek & garlic in some butter until softened, around 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, potato & stock, season & simmer for 15 minutes. Blitz with a hand blender and serve with a swirl of cream.

Chicken & asparagus roll-ups

Asparagus is in season, and I love to use seasonal veg. Usually it is just used as a side dish, but this recipe makes good use of them. I really enjoyed this recipe with just a nice simple baby leaf salad & a cucumber & dill cream. One chicken breast will serve on person, because you will be slicing them in half. I flattened mine with a rolling pin, a meat hammer would work too.

Serves 2

2 chicken breasts, sliced in half then flattened
1 beef tomato, sliced
75g grated parmesan
4 asparagus spears, sliced in half one way, and again the other way
1 crushed garlic clove
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 220c.
Fry the garlic lightly in a large frying pan with oil. Fry the chicken on one side only, them remove to a chopping board. Discard the garlic.
Cooked side down, layer a slice of tomato, half the parmesan cheese and 4 pieces of asparagus per breast. Roll up & secure with a cocktail stick. Place in a roasting tray and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
Cook in the oven for around 20 minutes. Serve with your choice of side dish.