[BBQ Recipe] Honey and Mustard Glazed Chicken

Honey and Mustard Glazed Chicken on the BBQ

The English summer weather is unpredictable to say the least. As I’m writing this, we’ve have torrential rain, glorious sunshine, and a lot of cloud cover over the space of just 7 days.

It’s no surprise that the English folk react so crazily when the cloud breaks and we finally get to see a bit of the sun.

When the sun comes out to play where I live the smell of BBQ’s begins to fill the air. And I must admit my family are no different.

The beauty of a BBQ is that you can cook almost anything on it. This summer I’ve already shown you sizzling summer prawns, char grilled tuna, as well as barbequed courgette and bulgur wheat salad. This particular weekend however we didn’t have any special food in.

Key ingredients for Honey and Mustard Glazed Chicken

The sun had come as a bit of a shock. The weather man had been saying for days we should expect the hottest weekend yet, but Saturday came and went and it remained overcast though a little warmer than usual. With the clouds overhead we assumed there was no point getting the BBQ out, but by Sunday afternoon the sun was shining brightly and it was time for me to raid the cupboards!

We’d got chicken breasts in the fridge that we intended to use later in the week so this was where my inspiration started. I butterflied the breast, making the surface area larger and the fillet thinner so it would cook quicker on the BBQ.

I didn’t just want grilled chicken for dinner though. I wanted to jazz it up a bit!

Out of the cupboard came mustard, honey, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, pepper and garlic – and so my honey and mustard glazed chicken was born!

[BBQ Recipe] Barbequed Courgette and Bulgur Wheat Salad

Barbequed Courgette and Bulgur Wheat Salad

It can be really difficult to watch your weight when heading to a BBQ with friends and family. There will be a mountain of meat, some sumptuous fish, and if you’re lucky the odd veggie kebab on the BBQ too. The table of sides often isn’t much better with mayonnaise laden potato salads, coleslaw swimming in yet more mayonnaise and sugary condiments.

My Mum and I are often the bringers of “green salad” to these kind of events but the limp lettuce tends to get pushed around the plate. One leaf might make its way into a burger bun if its lucky.

With that in mind I’ve started making a conscious effort to serve up more exciting salads when cooking up a storm around a BBQ.

Before I thought if people weren’t willing to eat a simple green salad, why would they be willing to try a cous-cous or bulgur wheat one? I won’t lie to you, I have had mixed success in this regard. My Nan and Grandad simply won’t touch the stuff, but it turns out the rest of my family are much more willing to try new things.

With that in mind here’s one of my favourites. It’s a warm salad with the courgette grilled and served over the fluffy bed of bulgur wheat at the last minute. This gives it a bit of theatre and people feel like they’re not betraying the BBQ!

Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry

Butternut Squash and Coconut Curry served with chapattis!

They say that owners look like their pets (I’m hoping to be the owner of a pug soon...does this mean I look like a pug?!)

They also say men marry women who look like their mothers (does that mean Mr KG thinks I look like his Mum?!)

But what does the food someone eats or cooks say about them?



Self portrait?

I often think that people who cook exotic food must be reasonably well travelled. There’s a big difference between someone who likes to order the odd Chinese or curry and someone who cooks pasta from scratch, or has an authentic recipe for lamb tagine.

And so I wonder – what do the recipes on this blog say about me?!

Unfortunately I am nowhere near as well travelled as I would like to be. I have been to all of the obvious places in Europe – France, Spain, Germany and Greece. I’ve also been to Prague. But that’s really where the extent of my “travelling” starts and stops.

From a young age I’ve had a desire to go to new places and when I wrote my first ever bucket list when I was 13 it included travelling to India, Japan, Russia and China. These are most definitely still the 4 places I would like to visit the most. Since beginning to learn Mandarin I feel like my dream to visit China is becoming more and more possible. I’d love to fit in a month long tour of China before I start my training contract but I just have to keep on hoping for now – after all a temporary job and a flat with Mr KG are way higher on my list of priorities.

I may not be well travelled but I am well eaten – if that’s even a saying! I’ve certainly tried my fair share of curries, some of which were more authentic than others.

Wherever I’ve lived (or Mr KG has lived) we’ve always been in pursuit of a good curry. I’ve also been fortunate enough in the past to have a friend from Bangladesh who’s Mum LOVED to cook us curries for revision sessions back during my A-Levels. Another friend spent a lot of time in Nepal and brought home recipes for authentic Nepalese curries.

Silky coconut curry with butternut squash, red chilli and lentils

One day I hope that I will be able to share a traditional recipe passed down to me on one of my travels, but that might be for a while yet.

Until then, all I can do is share with you a recipe for one of my favourite curries which I cook at home. The idea has come from a variety of dishes I’ve tried both at home and in restaurants so it may well be a twist on a classic, who knows!

[BBQ Recipe] Char grilled Tuna Steak

Char grilled Tuna Steak

Last week we were fortunate enough to have blue skies all of Sunday. Dad was out in the garden, Mum was sunning herself on a beach somewhere off the south coast and I was revising. BUT, we still managed to find time to have a BBQ that evening.

On Sunday I shared with you my Summer Sizzling Prawns, an incredibly simple way of livening up seafood before popping on the BBQ. Today I’m sharing yet another BBQ fish dish (can you see a theme here?)

Tuna steaks have been a favourite of mine for a while now. Around the age of 16 I started going off the giant mound of blackened burgers and sausages that would invariably be served up at any family BBQ. I’d become more conscious about my weight and quite frankly was bored of the same old processed rubbish. Seafood came to the rescue as I soon realised that you could have fresh, healthy, non-processed food on the BBQ too!

You shall have a fishy on a little dishy...

Nowadays I’ll be the person who rocks up to the BBQ with vegetable kebabs, corn on the ob and some sort of fish to stick on the Barbie. Today it was tuna.

Tuna is so delicious cooked on the BBQ that sometimes I like to simply give it a few mins either side, and serve alongside a salad with a squeeze of lemon. This time, I decided to jazz it up a bit.

Arancini – Crispy (Leftover) Risotto Balls

Cripsy Risotto Balls

Hands up if you have ever cooked a delicious risotto only to realise you had used twice as much rice as you needed to, and you now have enough to feed a small army?

I thought so...

It happens to the best of us. Before the grains of rice have plumped and swollen it’s easy to convince yourself just to add another half a cup or so more and before you know it your pan is overflowing with the stuff.

But fear not! Never again will you have to throw away tasty, leftover risotto! This recipe is incredibly simple to follow, and deliberately so.

It is thought that arancini originates from Sicily, though there are similar recipes elsewhere in Italy. They are often stuffed with a meat sauce or even cheese, but so that you don’t have to buy in any extra ingredients to make these, I’ve decided to give you a basic recipe and method so that you can use any leftover risotto you might have.

[BBQ Recipe] Sizzling Summer Prawns

Sizzling on the BBQ

Today I got way, way, WAY too excited. For the most part of the day I had been shut away in my little study revising for my upcoming exams. My Mum has gone away for a long weekend (by which I mean 5 whole days) to sun herself by the sea with her two best friends, which left my Dad and I to our own devices.

After being cooped up all day I wanted to get out and enjoying the sunshine and before I knew it I’d inadvertently convinced my Dad to whack on the BBQ.

As soon as he said yes I instantly perked up. We’re having a BBQ! That means one thing and one thing only – COOKING!

I rummaged through our fridge and found various goodies – loads of salad, king prawns and paneer. Not to mention bulgur wheat, chillies and lemons and limes lounging around. We just needed a few little extras so I sent Mr KG and my Dad off to the shops to grab them before they closed for the day.

Garlic, lime, chilli, ginger, coriander and prawns

Without a doubt I got carried away. I was trying to think up fresh, tasty and healthy dishes – and I did just that! The problem was I came up with too many. But, you can’t help but over indulge at a BBQ so we sat outside on the patio just the three of us and enjoyed the goodies I’d cooked up.

Mustard Chicken and Vegetable Pie

Mustard Chicken and Vegetable Pie

When I look around my blog I think the last word I would use to describe my food is traditional. More often than not my recipes are a twist on a classic – a traditional idea that has been warped either to be healthier, more exciting, or to simply use up the ingredients I’ve got in the cupboards.

With that in mind, this is probably the closest I will ever get to a traditional recipe.

Chicken and veg pie has been around for hundreds of years. It’s a simple idea and is such a crowd pleaser. With the addition of English mustard, this pie has a bit more kick than some, but the filo pastry keeps it crisp and light. (It also helps to keep the calories down, which is always a plus!)

Law School Revision Survival Guide

It won’t be a surprise for any of you to know that I am back in the revision zone. After 2 years of GCSE’s, 2 years of A-Levels and 3 years of an undergraduate degree, I’ve become a bit of a revision expert. In fact at my secondary school I taught revision seminars on top tips for memorising facts and information. This post will be a little bit different though...rather than banging on about pneumonics, colour coding your notes and consolidation, I’ll be sharing with you my top tips for eating, drinking and exercising during your revision period.

Rhubarb and Ginger Pie

My Rhubarb and Ginger Pie brings together the age old combination of sweet and sour as the soft rhubarb and ginger filling is encased in a sticky syrup and sweet pastry crust. And what’s more…it’s in season!

I hadn’t really discovered rhubarb until a year or two ago. We have always grown it in our garden but it was something the parents sneakily ate when we had gone to bed. Because of this I never really had much interest in it as a fruit. The other fruit we grew like apples and gooseberries were eaten almost daily in our house during the summer months but the rhubarb was kept hidden away!

The more I got into cookery shows the more I became intrigued by this bright pink fruit! (How you get it to retain this bright colour while cooking still escapes me: answers on a postcard please.) If it was good enough for celebrity chefs it was good enough for me surely?

I really fell in love with rhubarb in a delicious rhubarb crumble. The topping had a claggy yet crunchy texture and the filling was so soft and sweet yet sharp at the same time. The combination of textures and flavours was to die for and I knew I had to try and recreate my own.

Crumbles feature a lot in my cooking. You can find an Oaty Apple Crumble and Gooseberry Crumble already on the blog, and in a week or two’s time I will be posting a Spiced Pineapple Crumble (seriously amazing, watch this space!!!) So with that in mind, plus the fear I could never recreate the amazing rhubarb crumble that made me fall in love with the fruit in the first place, I decided instead to try a pie.

Monday's Weekly Meal Plan

Happy Monday everyone!

Wait…how many times do you hear someone say that?! Well, I’ve had a pretty good day all in all. It started off terribly: I got to law school at 8:30am only to realise I left my locker key at home - my locker contains my LIFE - well, my law school life. Anyway fortunately I managed to get the master key and that was all sorted pretty quickly. My classes weren’t terrible, nor were they great. BUT I did have a mock exam today. A mock exam for oral Mandarin Breakthrough Level.

Now, it may seem a little odd that I’m learning Mandarin but I can’t but feel it might come in a little bit useful in the future. I’ve always wanted to go to China (China and Russia are my two travelling fantasies) and I’m secretly hoping work will fly me over there at some point to work. Knowing a little of the lingo can only help right?!

So with that in mind, I’ve been taking Mandarin lessons! I was dreading my mock as I’ve been a little rusty but all went well and my teacher says I will pass. Good times.

Because I’m in such good mood I’ve got out of my “run-up-to-exams-funk” and decided I’ll get back on the meal planning bandwagon.

So here’s what my family and I will be eating this week:

Monday: Stuffed peppers! (Who wants to see the recipe soon?)

Tuesday: Spaghetti Bolognese (It’s another networking event for me so this will be reheated. Yum yum.)

Wednesday: Chicken, Ham and Mushroom Pie (Or would you rather see THIS recipe?)

Thursday: Out for dinner with Mr KG before seeing The Great Gatsby (Eek! Are you as excited as I am?)

Friday: Super-duper vegetarian stir fry!

Saturday: Takeaway (After all it is EUROVISION NIGHT!!!)  

Sunday: Ocean Pie with Crumble Top (Watch this space…)

So who else is in a fabulously good mood this Monday? I’ve decided from now on I’m going to try and avoid that Monday morning feeling and focus more on the positives of what lies ahead.

Fill the comments below with your happy Monday stories and whether you’d like to see my Stuffed Peppers or Chicken, Ham and Mushroom Pie!

I'll be sharing this meal plan as part of At Home with Mrs M's meal planning linky which you can find here!