Tesco BBQ chicken with jasmine rice ready meal

Ready meals have such a bad reputation, but at times when you really can't be bothered to cook, but want a nice hot meal, they're a life saver! Tesco have recently revamped their ready meal range, so I grabbed a couple, one of which was this BBQ chicken with jasmine rice.

I blitzed this is the microwave and it smelt delicious, some how the packet split during the cooking process, which meant some of the sauce escaped, but still plenty of it to accompany my rice!

As you can see, the dish had plenty of chicken, which was still juicy and tender, in spite of the 5 minute microwave. I find some ready meals scrimp on the meat, but that certainly wasn't a problem here, and it was a good quality meat too. The bbq sauce was really tasty, smoky and sweet and there was enough to cover all of the rice, so there was bbq flavour in every mouthful.

The rice was plentiful and had a good amount of stickiness, it hadn't dried out during cooking and tasted fresh.

Overall this is a great new addition to the Tesco ready meal range, plenty of flavour and a healthier alternative to a Chinese take away. The meal costs £2.75 or you can get 3 for £6.50, so is pretty good value for money. Don't expect restaurant quality, but for an easy tea this definitely hit the spot.

M&S Belgian chocolate orange ice cream

Christmas just isn't Christmas without a Terry's chocolate orange, is it? Sure, you can get one all year, but you NEED one during the festive period. Chocolate orange has become synonymous with Xmas, and M&S have jumped on the bandwagon this year, with this Belgian chocolate orange ice cream. I just had to give it a go!

The 500ml tub was £3, which I thought was pretty reasonable given that it's M&S and that high end ice creams cost around a fiver a tub.

As soon as I opened the tub, I could smell the orange - so far so good! The positives continued when the ice cream was easy to spoon out of the tub and the first mouthful was full of chocolate orange flavour and a silky smooth ice cream.

And then it all went Pete Tong.

After a few mouthfuls, the ice cream began to leave a bitter aftertaste, almost medicinal and more like orange peel than actual orange. The chocolate was lost in the overwhelming synthetic citrus flavour and it actually made me feel rather sick.

I read the packaging and orange puree only makes up 10% of the ingredients, but it tasted so bitter and artificial - not pleasant at all.

This could have worked so well, but the nasty, synthetic orange tang completely ruined it for me and I won't be finishing the tub.

I think the concept is great, but M&S need to work on the recipe, get rid of that awful orange aftertaste and maybe add a swirl and some chocolate chips. For now, this is a huge no!

Munchie stuff

"Ultimate" Krispy Kreme doughnuts

The Ultimate Brownie and Ultimate salted caramel Krispy Kreme doughnuts have been around for a while, but we only took the plunge and decided to give them a try today. Before the Christmas doughnuts arrive at Krispy Kreme stores and cabinets on Monday, here's a review of the "Ultimate" duo!

ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE BROWNIE

Filled with brownie batter filling, with a dark chocolate ganache topping and hand decorated with Belgian milk chocolate shavings, fudge cubes and bronze sugar balls - the doughnut sounded delicious, and looked even better. I loved the appearance of this doughnut, with the various toppings and that glossy ganache.

I normally go for the Chocolate dream cake, but the idea of brownie batter inside the doughnut swayed me towards a change on this occasion, and I wasn't disappointed. 

At first I was slightly disheartened as there didn't seem to be much filling - the bit I was most excited for - but thankfully that brownie batter centre was all hidden at the end, and it was everything I had hoped for. Rich and indulgent, the filling was exactly as brownie batter should taste (take note Oreo) and I could quite easily have eaten a bucket of just that.

The doughnut it's self was standard Krispy Kreme - soft, with a crunchy sugar glaze coating. The whole thing was delicious and so moreish and it may well just be my new favourite.

ULTIMATE SALTED CARAMEL

My wife - who loves anything salted caramel - gave this one a go, choosing it over the strawberry Kreme she normally has. 

Made with Ghirardelli chocolate chips, with a gooey caramel centre, coated in chocolate icing and salted caramel sugar - another delicious sounding doughnut.

The wife's review - 

I have never had Ghirardelli chocolate, but the chocolate chips on this doughnut were so good and I definitely want to try more from them! I normally dislike dark chocolate, but the chips on the Krispy Kreme were rich and creamy, without any of the bitterness that you sometimes get with dark chocolate.

I love the texture of Krispy Kreme doughnuts, as they're so soft and cakey, and that worked so well with the caramel filling, which was AMAZING! I didn't quite get salted caramel, but the centre was gooey and buttery and the dark chocolate chips stopped it from being overly sweet.

 (look at that caramel)

I really enjoyed the Ultimate Caramel doughnut, as with the Ultimate Brownie, they are moreish and I could quite easily eat a box of 3!

OVERALL

These are a good addition to the Krispy Kreme range, so I hope the stick around! If you haven't already tried them, I'd recommend giving them a go as I reckon they definitely earn their "Ultimate" title.

Munchie stuff.

Christmas sandwiches (and a wrap) compared

I love this time of year, I love the Christmas lights, wrapping presents and sipping on a festive coffee or twelve, and I love love love a festive sandwich.

This year my wife and I have made it our mission to try and test as many festive sandwiches as we can. So far we have sampled 7 - here's what we thought.

Going to start the review with the wrap, which I purchased from M&S for £3. What I like about the Marks and Spencer festive range is that they give a percentage to Shelter - the homeless charity - although I do think they could probably afford to give a little more, it's a good deed none the less.

The wrap contains turkey; bacon; pork, sage and onion stuffing; fried onion, plus - and this was the iffy bit to me - Brussels sprout slaw and parsnip mayo.

The wrap was suprisingly delicious, the turkey was moist and the fried onions were subtle, but worked so well with the bacon and turkey. The parsnip mayo was the biggest shock for me, and it was beautiful! Sweet and peppery and cut through the saltiness of the meats so well. 

I couldn't really taste the Brussels sprout slaw, but there was some crunch throughout, which I suppose was it's contribution. 

I sometimes find wraps can be a little bit dry and, though at the end of each wrap was a dough overload, I found it was juicy and tasty for the most part.

I'd most certainly get this one again, it makes a refreshing change from a standard crimbo sarnie and was very tasty indeed.

 

Next up is the Tesco Brie and cranberry sandwich, which I bought as part of a £3 meal deal, (with a strawberry Ribena and some mini cheddars, in case you were wondering) but this can be bought on it's own for £2.30.

The sandwich is self explanatory - brie, cranberry sauce and a little bit of spinach to bulk it out and add some greenery. I love the look of this sandwich, simply because the fillings are all the colours of Christmas. It's a pretty sandwich, that's for sure!

I always find brie and cranberry sandwiches tend to be a bit lacking in filling, and that is true of this one, but the brie is rich and satisfying and the sandwich didn't leave me feeling hungry.

The cranberry sauce was a lovely and sweet, cutting through the tanginess of the cheese, and also added a bit of moisture to stop the sandwich becoming cloying and dry. The spinach added a nice crunch and didn't over power the sandwich and all the elements worked well together.#

I don't feel like this is worth £2.30, but I would get it again, as part of a meal deal.

What can I say - simple flavours that make for a yummy sandwich.

The most well-known of the bunch has got to be the M&S turkey feast, which features fried onions - much like the wrap - this year.

Turkey; bacon; pork, sage and onion stuffing; cranberry sauce and fried onions crammed between slices of brown bread, it's your classic Christmas sandwich. This cost a shocking £3.75, but 5% goes to Shelter, so at least 18.75p goes to charity...

Now, I am normally a massive fan of the M&S turkey feast and I have still enjoyed it this year, however there has been a price hike and I most certainly don't think it is worth £3.75.

The sandwich it's self - at least on the 3 occasions I have bought this - have had a LOT of bacon, I mean so much so that it over powers the turkey and means that I can't even get a sniff of the promised fried onions. It's tasty, (bacon usually is) but it's also rather dry, because the cranberry sauce and stuffing are no match for the salty and chewy meat.

I'd try it again - maybe I am a glutton for punishment - but the wrap is far better, and 75p cheaper and I think I'd choose them over this.

 Next up are two Morrison's turkey lunch sandwiches. I will start with the Eat Smart turkey lunch sandwich, which features turkey, stuffing, spinach and cranberry chutney.  I got this as part of a meal deal, (Capri sun and a flapjack this time) but the sandwich costs £2.50 on it's own.

This is a "healthier" diet sandwich, containing 318 calories and contains a lot of spinach! I guess they do say bulking up with greens means you can save on calories, but this was a bit of an over kill.

The first half on the sandwich was pleasant enough - at least as tasty as a healthy, low cal Christmas lunch could be - the cranberry sauce was sharper than you'd get in a full fat sarnie and - ironic, after my gripes with M&S - I missed the saltiness of the bacon. The turkey was nice, but the stuffing got lost in the tartness of the cranberry chutney.

It was the second half of this sandwich that ruined it for me. Now, this could be a one off and, if you're calorie counting and fancy a taste of Christmas then still give it a go, but the second half of my sandwich contained a lot of gristle and a huge chunk of bone, and that has put me off for life!

My wife grabbed me this one as part of a £3 meal deal, which meant she had a bargain, as the sandwich on it's own costs £3.50. This is the turkey lunch sandwich from Morrison's 'The Best' range, so promises a more luxurious and indulgent sarnie.

This one has an apricot and chestnut stuffing that goes alongside butter basted turkey; bacon; cranberry sauce and spinach. This time the sandwich is on sage and onion bread, so that adds a new dimension to the classic turkey sammie.

I must admit, I was not looking forward to this, as I am not a fan of apricots. In fact, I hate them, but - not one to kick a gift horse in the mouth - I gave it a go anyway.

The bread was the star of this sandwich - it tasted fresh and was soft and tasty. I loved the sage and onion flavours, and having the taste in the bread it's self means you get that stuffing like taste in every mouthful.

The meat was lovely - moist turkey and the perfect amount of bacon, but it was the stuffing that shocked me as I really did enjoy it! The sweetness from the apricots worked well with the saltiness of the meats and all flavours worked so well together.

My wife sat, looking smug, watching me eat the sandwich and then asked me if I would buy it again... I can honestly say that I would! I'm not an apricot convert, but in this sandwich they are acceptable.

Another low cal option up next. This time the Boots Shapers range turkey, stuffing and redcurrant sandwich. No cranberry or bacon again, but some spinach and a redcurrant sauce instead.

The sandwich costs £2.75, but I got a meal deal for £3 - seems to be the way to make these sandwiches value for money!

There is plenty of turkey in this, and it tastes delicious! The stuffing is subtle, but - because there is no bacon in this one - you can still taste the stuffing all the way through. There is a nice amount of spinach and the redcurrant sauce is tart, but still has a bit of sweetness.

Suprisingly, for a low cal sarnie, this is actually very tasty and filling. If you're after a diet-friendly sandwich then I'd got for this over the Morrison's one, as there it a good amount of filling and no bone.

Who knew Boots could do a pretty good sandwich!

Last up is the Co-op brie and cranberry sandwich. This is £2.65 on it's own, or you can get it as part of a £3.50 meal deal (I got a monster zero and a millionaire's shortbread with mine).

The sandwich is basically the same as Tesco's version - brie, cranberry and spinach - however, this one isn't quite as nice.

I found there was far too much spinach present in this sarnie, and the brie was a little dry and chalky. The taste was nice enough, but for a £2.65 sandwich I just expected higher quality...and less spinach!

I may have got a dud sarnie, so I might try it again, but when Tesco do a cheaper meal and a better Brie and Cranberry sandwich, I think I'm more likely to get that one.

OVERALL

M&S turkey wrap wins hands down for me, that parsnip mayo and the fried onions just make this wrap a top notch sarnie for me. If meat isn't your thing then I'd opt for the brie and cranberry sandwich from Tesco, and any calorie counters are better off hitting Boots and avoiding Morrisons.

There are still over 4 weeks until Christmas and, with so many festive sandwiches and wraps to try, we shall say this is part one. The festive sarnie comparison is to be continued.

Munchie stuff

Introduction

We have had a page on Instagram for a while now and thought it was about time we moved into the world of blogging, just so we can share more of what we love with our followers.
 
This blog will be a food fest, with recipes, reviews and restaurant recommendations.

Hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoy the tasting. Keep posted for plenty of daily food and drink. See you soon.

Munchie Stuff.