I love cooking with my children and I like to think that they have a collection of simple recipes they can live on/survive the zombie apocalypse with when they eventually leave home.

So often they’re based around eggs. What child doesn’t coming rushing into the kitchen when there’s the chance to crack an egg on the side of a bowl? Sparking an interest in cooking early on and teaching them these basic skills is something they’ll (hopefully) thank you for later on in life.

So here are some of our favourite egg recipes. They’re all cheap, quick, relatively healthy and don’t come out of a microwavable container. They don’t require any finesse and are all delicious.

PS: Don’t forget your apron – cooking with younger children can be chaos! But of course our aprons are so easy to wipe clean at the end of it…

Chorizo fried eggs with grated gruyere

1. Slice some spicy chorizo and fry in a pan, shake it around a bit to spread the natural oils from the chorizo.
2. Crack two eggs into the pan over the chorizo and fry until crispy round the edges.
3. Sprinkle with grated gruyere.
4. Serve with thinly sliced toast.

(Also great for adults on those morning-afters when you’re feeling a ‘bit shook’ from the night before. As we all know, this only happens to grown-ups twice a year – once after their birthday and on New Years Day.

Kids’ Special Fried Rice (a long, long way from traditional Cantonese)

 

1. Make sure you have everything prepped and ready to go. Cook the rice beforehand to allow to thoroughly cool; if the rice is warm it won't work.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a hot wok or frying pan and add the beaten egg. Swirl it around until you have a very thin egg pancake. Remove and cut into fine strips.
3. Heat the peanut oil in the wok, add everything except the rice and soy sauce and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the rice and warm through. Add the egg strips. Stir until everything is hot.
5. Season with salt and pepper (white pepper is good) and a hint of chilli if you like.
6. Serve immediately.

Cheats’ Croque Madame (don’t tell the French)

 

1. Make a cheese toastie (put in ham in if you’re in the mood) in a sandwich toaster - be generous with the filling.
2. Fry an egg.
3. Put the egg on the toast.
4. Enjoy. (Oh la la, c’est delicious!)
5. Serving suggestion: on a plate, with a big dose of healthy salad.

American Pancakes

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl.
2. Combine the wet ingredients in a jug and then pour into the bowl. Mix until you have a smooth, thick batter (a bit like double cream). Leave to stand for 5 minutes.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a minimal amount of sunflower oil. You can either ladle in your pancake mixture or pour it from a jug – whichever is simpler. You want pools of batter about 4-5cm across. When the top of the pancake starts to bubble you know they are ready to turn over and cook until both sides are golden brown.  
4. Sprinkle with icing sugar and lemon or add fresh fruit. (Mix fresh fruit into the batter before cooking if you want).
5. If you want a truly American-style breakfast pour over maple syrup and serve with strips of streaky bacon crisped up in the microwave. (If you've never cooked bacon in a microwave, try it NOW.  Put the bacon on a few layers of kitchen roll on a plate into the microwave, cook until as crisp as you like.  Start at around 3 minutes and crisp from there.  The fat from the bacon melts and is absorbed by the kitchen roll.  You may never fry bacon again.)