Crispy chicken goujons

These moist chicken goujons are full of flavour and have a golden, crisp crumb - perfect for whipping up a quick, delicious meal. Making chicken goujons from scratch isn't as time-consuming or as tricky as you may think, and they taste far better than shop-bought goujons. The other good thing is that they taste just as delicious cold, for lunch the following day!

Makes 8 goujons

- 8 good quality mini chicken fillets

- handful of plain flour

- seasoning

- 1 egg, beaten

- 2 slices of wholemeal seeded bread

- handful of freshly chopped parsley

- olive oil

1. Take 3 shallow bowls and fill one with flour - season well.

2. Fill another with the beaten egg.

3. In a food processor, blitz the slices of bread until crumbed, then mix with seasoning, and the chopped parsley, and add to the third bowl.

4. Take a chicken fillet and first, dip in the bowl of flour, coating the chicken (this helps the egg to stick).

5. Next, dip and coat in the beaten egg, then into the breadcrumbs until fully coated.

6. Set aside, and continue this process with the rest of the fillets.

7. In a large pan, heat some olive oil, then fry the chicken goujons, turning when one side is crisp and golden.

8. Cook for about 20 minutes on a medium-high heat to ensure the chicken is cooked through, and to get the breadcrumbs perfectly crunchy.

Enjoy :)

Smoked salmon breakfast

For a special occasion, or just a weekend treat, try smoked salmon with scrambled egg on English muffins for breakfast. It is really delicious - the rich smoked salmon compliments the soft, creamy eggs perfectly, and isn't too unhealthy either! Lots of protein and 'good' fats on wholemeal muffins that will leave you utterly stuffed and satisfied. The perfect brunch.

Serves 2

- 4 wholemeal English muffins, sliced
- butter or margarine, for spreading
- good quality smoked salmon
- 4 eggs
- dash of milk
- salt & pepper
- dried mixed herbs
- knob of butter

1. To make the scrambled eggs for two people, beat 4 eggs in a measuring jug and add a dash of milk, and season well with salt, pepper and dried herbs.
2. Melt a knob of butter in a saucepan and add the egg mixture, cooking on a low-medium heat and stirring often.
3. Meanwhile, toast the English muffins and butter them when done.
4. Keep stirring the eggs until scrambled to your liking.
5. To serve, add a few slices of smoked salmon to each English muffin, then top with a generous amount of scrambled egg. Top with some black pepper and voila!

Another special breakfast/brunch idea that is on the less healthy side of the spectrum, is smoked bacon and brie croissants - mmm.

Enjoy :)

Blueberry muffins

These sweet, fruity muffins are so light and full of flavour - perfect for summer. They are delicious fresh out of the oven, but still have a crisp top and juicy, moist inside when cooled. They are super easy to whip up so give them a try, they will not disappoint. 

Makes 12 muffins

- 110g butter

- 250g caster sugar

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 250g plain flour

- 2 tsp baking powder

- 125ml milk

- 225g fresh blueberries

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees, and line a muffin tin with cases.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until smooth.

3. Whisk in the eggs, then add the flour and baking powder, mixing well.

4. Stir in the milk until the mixture is smooth. Fold in 3/4 of the blueberries.

5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin cases about 2/3 full.

6. Press the remaining blueberries evenly into the mixture in each muffin case.

7. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes, or until risen and golden brown. Cool on a wired rack.

 Enjoy :)

Barbecue treats

I may have missed the mark since the rain is coming in, but as you all know, the weather has been gorgeous in England for the past month. I have had a few barbecues, and although I don't have many photos, I thought I would share a quick chicken kebab recipe and some gorgeous melt in the middle beef burgers (both pictured above) - as well as some ideas for fun BBQ food :)

Chicken kebabs

Simply chop up your desired amount of red onion and any coloured pepper, and thread on a kebab stick with some diced chicken. Just drizzle with olive oil and you're good to barbecue! So simple but very delicious. If you prefer more flavour than marinade the chicken before hand.

Melt-in-the-middle goats cheese burgers

So yummy - you can replace the goats cheese with any cheese like cheddar or stilton or brie.

Makes 2:
- 250g beef mince
- 1 small red onion, finely chopped
- handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
- salt & pepper
- 1/2 beaten egg
- two thick slices of soft goats cheese

1. Mix together the mince, onion, parsley and seasoning in a mixing bowl.
2. Add in the beaten egg and mix until combined. If too wet, then add a bit of flour.
3. Shape into 4 small patties, and place the goats cheese on two of them.
4. Place the other two patties on top of the goats cheese, and shape around with your fingers to seal, until the perfect burger shape, and the cheese is covered.
5. Time to barbecue!

On my birthday this year, we had a lovely barbecue in the evening with so much food - standard burgers and sausages, along with corn on the cob (boil it first!), sweet chilli chicken, lamb marinated in mint, pineapple on the bbq, and lots of potato salad.

Hope this gives you some BBQ inspiration!

Enjoy :)

Strawberry cupcakes

In keeping with the strawberry season of Wimbledon, I thought I'd make some strawberry treats. With fresh strawberries in the sponge and strawberry jam in the buttercream, these cupcakes are incredibly light but creamy and delicious. They are exactly what you would expect - sweet and pretty damn tasty.

For the sponges (makes 12)

- 125 margarine

- 125g caster sugar

- 2 eggs, beaten

- 125g self raising flour

- 1/4 tsp baking powder

- 1 tbsp semi skimmed milk

- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

- handful of fresh strawberries, finely chopped

For the buttercream

- 125g butter (has to be lurpak!)

- 300g icing sugar, sifted

- dash of warm milk

- 2 tbsp raspberry jam

- 1/4 tsp vanilla essence

- pink food colouring

- strawberries, to garnish

- edible glitter

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and line a cupcake tin with cases.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together until light and fluffy.

3. Beat in the eggs and fold in the flour and baking powder, mixing until smooth.

4. Stir in the milk and vanilla essence, and add the chopped strawberries, mixing until well combined.

5. Spoon into the cupcake cases (about 3/4 full) then bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Cool on a wired rack.

6. Meanwhile, to make the buttercream, soften the butter then cream with the icing sugar, adding a dash of warm milk in to help mix. 

7. When the buttercream is smooth, stir in the jam and vanilla essence until well combined, then add a small amount of pink food colouring to enhance the colour.

8. Using a piping bag with a large star nozzle, generously pipe the buttercream onto each cupcake.

9. Top with a quartered strawberry (or however you prefer) and a sprinkle of glitter!

Enjoy :)