Tana Ramsay’s Real Family Food: Delicious Recipes for Everyday Occasions

1 egg, lightly beaten

250ml/9fl oz milk

10 rashers unsmoked streaky bacon

10 quail eggs

10 × 1cm/½ inch cubes of butter

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/GM4.

2 Sieve the flour and rub together with the chopped butter, leaving the mixture a little rough. Stir in the mustard powder, salt, chopped onion, beaten egg and milk and mix thoroughly.

3 Grill the bacon and cut into small pieces (approximately 1cm/½ inch). Combine with the muffin mixture.

4 Divide the mixture equally between 10 paper muffin cases.

5 Make a deep well in the centre of the muffin mixture within each paper case and crack in one of the quail eggs. Then pull the muffin mixture so that it almost covers the egg and place a butter cube on top to stop the egg going hard. Repeat with the other muffins and eggs.

6 Bake in a muffin tin for 15–20 minutes, checking regularly.

7 When golden, remove the muffins immediately and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Makes: 10 muffins

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15–20 minutes

grilled mackerel on toast (#ulink_d9abe182-f2cd-5047-919e-e18fce6750c9)

High in protein, vitamins and omega-3 fats, mackerel is a real superfood. A bonus is that it is both cheap and delicious, and children really seem to enjoy the smoky taste of the fish. This recipe is quick and easy to prepare, making it an ideal alternative to toast and honey on a school morning!

2 smoked mackerel fillets, weighing approximately 250g/9oz, skinned

4 pieces good quality wholemeal bread

1 tbsp crème fraîche

2 tsp horseradish sauce

25g/1oz chives, finely chopped

pepper

1 Put the mackerel fillets on a baking sheet and place under a hot grill.

2 Meanwhile, toast the bread and mix together the crème fraîche, horseradish and chopped chives, seasoning well with pepper.

3 After about 5 minutes the mackerel will be bubbling and beginning to colour. Remove from the grill and roughly flake.

4 Cut each piece of toast into 4 triangles. Top each triangle with smoked mackerel and a dollop of the crème fraîche mixture and serve immediately.

Serves: 4 children

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

avocado, bacon and roasted tomato sandwich (#ulink_332fe7ce-ac1d-51c7-b4fd-cbcf245d3474)

This is definitely one of my favourite brunch options – particularly for the lunchtime end of brunch.

1 large plum tomato, sliced

½ tsp dried oregano

pinch of Maldon sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

3 rashers of bacon (I like maple best, but any good quality unsmoked bacon will do)

2 thick slices of wholemeal bread

scraping of butter for each slice

½ avocado, nice and ripe, thinly sliced lengthways

1 Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/GM5.

2 Lightly grease an oven tray. Place the tomato slices on the tray, sprinkling over the dried oregano, salt and a twist of black pepper. Place in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, turning once.

3 While the tomatoes are in the oven, grill the bacon until slightly crisp so it contrasts nicely with the soft avocado and tomato.

4 Lightly toast the bread and spread with the butter. Lay on the slices of avocado followed by the bacon and topped by the tomatoes. Place the other piece of toast on top, slice and serve.

5 Delicious with mayonnaise added but healthier without.

Serves: 1

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

cinnamon eggy bread soldiers with yoghurt, raisins and honey (#ulink_ac0acc5e-5568-5335-8ce8-a1a4d05337fd)

This makes a fabulous, very quick start to a busy school day. Naughty but nice!