Recipes

 I recently had a few requests for the recipes for my Chicken Stir Fry and Apple Crumble.  So on your own head be it - I'm giving them to you.

Are your ready? Ok.

 Chicken Stir Fry

I usually guesstimate quantities and adjust for taste and I normally cook for 4 or 5 people.

3 or 4 chicken breasts.

Packet of bacon (cut up into slices) 

Lots of your favourite veg such as carrot, onion, broccoli, peppers of all colours, beansprouts - anything that takes your fancy really - all cut up into batons or finely chopped.

Chinese 5 spice - probably about 1 teaspoon

Soy sauce -I usually just splosh it in (probably about 1 tablespoon)

Worcester sauce - again a splosh.

So I start by heating wok up quite hot and adding a small amount of olive oil, then I fry the chicken for about 5 minutes until browned or cooked through.

Next add bacon and continue cooking until bacon is browned. (3/4 minutes)

Add onions, carrots peppers etc.  I like all my veg to be quite soft and not to al-dente. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Finally in the last minute or so of cooking add beansprouts - they don't need long to cook.

I serve it with basmati rice.  We love it. Hope you do too, it's an easy dish that doesn't take too long to cook. The most time consuming part is cutting up all that veg  (but I find that quite therapeutic).

Apple Crumble (mmmm love this)

The Apples

1lb 8oz Bramley apples
8 oz Cox's apples
1oz light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (NOT Cumin) ;)
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves


For the crumble
3 oz chilled butter, cut into small dice.
6 oz self-raising flour
1oz Demerara sugar
1 teaspoon of cinnamon


Preheat oven to gas 6, 400oF (200oC)


Begin by peeling and coring the apples and cutting into slices.
Toss apple slices into a bowl with sugar, cinnamon and ground cloves. Then place them into the baking dish and put dish to one side.
Next, make crumble. It's easy as all is made in a processor. Put butter, sifted flour, cinnamon and sugar into processer and whizz until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 
Now simply sprinkle crumble mixture over the apples, spreading right to the edges of the dish and with the flat of your hands press it down quite firmly all over. Then finish off by lighly running a fork over all the surface.
Bake in the centre shelf of the oven for about 34-40 minutes when the topping should be golden brown and the apples lovely and soft. 
Remember this will be very hot when straight out of oven - I speak from experience ;)
Serve with ice-cream, custard or cream.
Now tell me you're not in heaven. :))


I have re-read these recipes and I hope these all make sense to you, any problems give me a shout.