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Giveaway: Fresh Food Guru Christmas Dinner Pack Worth £85 – Closes 15th Dec 2014

A quality butcher experience can look expensive at first glance, but if you plan your ratios of meat to other ingredients, careful meal planning and a little thought can have us all producing great quality meals from great tasting ingredients – yet still coming within budget.

I’ve been using products from the Fresh Food Guru since their first days online, when they were known as Andrew Gordon Butchery.  I love the service, and having meat delivered to my door.  The new online branding, has a fresh and modern appeal that lovers of good food will appreciate.

I’m really pleased to offer this giveaway from my favourite butcher, for readers on the UK Mainland.

One of you is going to sit down, with your family, to a fabulous White Christmas Dinner Pack from the Fresh Food Guru.  The full pack is worth £85, but is available online at a discount rate of £76.00.

Turkey-Boneless-Roast

The pack will feed up to 6-8 adults and consists of:

  •  2-3kg Boneless Turkey Breast Roast
  • 12 Generous Pigs in Blankets
  • 450g Oatmeal Stuffing
  • 450g Traditional Pork Sausage Stuffing
  • 450g Traditional Beef Sausage Stuffing
  • 15 Pork Chipolatas
  • 2 Packs Streaky Bacon

A little more information on the giveaway dinner pack:

Boneless Turkey Breast Roasts are all pure white turkey breast meat.

The Traditional Oatmeal Stuffing is made with 50% less salt.

The Pigs In Blankets are made by hand and come wrapped in dry cured Scottish Streaky Bacon.  It’s perfect for crisping while your turkey is roasting.

The Lean Pork Sausage Meat comes from a decades old trusted recipe, using the finest pork rump, shoulder and leg cuts.

Pork Chipolatas are hand-made on the premises, and made from lean and meaty pork.

Fresh Food Guru Black Friday Online Sale

15% off all online orders this Friday, 28th November, so if you fancy something tasty, give them a try.

Simply enter this code into the shopping basket.   The code cannot be used in conjunction with any other online discount code.

  • Thanks2014

Enter The Giveaway

Subscribing to the Fresh Food Guru newsletter is mandatory for this giveaway, however if you already subscribe, then please sign in or use the same e-mail address to enter this giveaway, so that we can match you up if you win.

Closes 15th Dec 2014 at midnight.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Rules – Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.

– 1 Winner will win one White Christmas Dinner Pack from the Fresh Food Guru.

– The prize will be sent to you from freshfoodguru.co.uk, and posted from within the UK.

– The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.

– Winners will be notified within 2 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 3 days, a new winner will be drawn.

– The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator. – Scottish Mum Blog or Fresh Food Guru reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.

– Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.  Daily retweets count if you re-enter the widget and put the tweet url in.

– Closes 15th December at midnight.

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Giveaway: Berndes 24cm Cast Iron Casserole Dish – Ends 30th December 2014

Tesco have given me one of these lovely casserole dishes to give away, as part of their in-store sticker promotion.

Berndes 24 cm Casserole Dish
Berndes 24 cm Casserole Dish

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

– Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.

– 1 Winner will win one 24 cm Berndes Cast Iron Casserole Dish from Tesco.

– The prize will be sent to you from Tesco and posted from within the UK.

– The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.

– Winners will be notified within 2 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 3 days, a new winner will be drawn.

– The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.

– Scottish Mum Blog and Tesco reserve the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.

– Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.

– Closes 30th December at midnight.

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Review & Easy Chicken Casserole Recipe: Using Tesco Berndes Cookware, From the Tesco Sticker Promotion

We gratefully received a Tesco Berndes Cookware cast iron casserole dish, from the Tesco Kitchen range, with the challenge of creating a meal in one pot.  I’m familiar with one pot cooking by using my slow cooker, but cooking a meal in the oven as a casserole hasn’t been a common occurrence for me.  The only casserole dish I owned, was not quite able to hold a full meal for six people, so my new dish was perfect for the job.

I really like the large handles at either side of the pot, as they make the dish easy to remove from the oven.  I could fit my hands with oven gloves on around the handle.

Don’t forget to put an oven glove back on to lift it again though.  Four of my fingers suffered when I made that rookie home cook mistake.

Berndes 3

The Berndes Casserole dish has received 5 out of 5 in a recent review on independent.ie, beating some big name rivals! Read the review here.  There are three sizes, the 20cm, 24cm and the biggest, which is 29cms.

In-Store Sticker Promotion:

Tesco are running a sticker promotion between 29th September – 25th January 2015 where you can save up to 70% on exclusive Berndes cookware products at Tesco. For every £20 you spend online OR in-store you can collect a sticker, once you’ve collected five stickers you can use these to save up to 70% off professional kitchenware items.

The Berndes range of casserole dishes starts at £119, up to £134.99.  You can save up to 70% off the Berndes cookware range with 10 stickers at Tesco, find out more at bit.ly/1uwNo3f  You can use your stickers up to Sunday, the 11th of January 2015.

Giveaway

I’m also giving one of these fabulous dishes away.  For the giveaway, the colourful 24cm dish is the prize, and it’s a lovely one, worth £120.  Keep an eye out on the blog, as it will be live later today.

Berndes 24 cm Casserole Dish
Berndes 24 cm Casserole Dish

 

Tesco Challenge For Me:

To create a meal in a pot and share the recipe with them.

My Recipe For The Tesco One Pot Challenge:

Easy Chicken Casserole Recipe

Course Main Dish

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Chicken Stock Pot
  • Boiling Water
  • 50 ml Olive Oil
  • 1200 g Mixed Vegetables I used baby potatoes, leek, carrot, turnip and red onion.
  • 1 Colemans Chicken Casserole Sachet
  • 5 Chicken Breasts Diced
  • 3 heaped teaspoons Cornflour
  • 3 tablespoons Cold Water

Instructions
 

  • Set the oven to 220 Degrees C.
  • Add the olive oil to a shallow frying pan, then sear the chicken to seal the meat. Add the onions and carrots towards the end to lightly fry those.
  • Add the chicken and vegetables to the casserole dish. Top with the chicken casserole mix and stock pot. Fill the dish to almost three quarters of the level of contents, stir, then cover the dish with a lid, or tin foil.
  • Reduce the heat of the oven to 180 Degree C and cook for up to 2 hours, or the chicken and vegetables are fully cooked.
  • If you prefer a thicker gravy, remove the casserole from the dish about ten to twenty minutes before the end of cooking. Mix cornflour with a little water until it is fully dissolved. Add it to the dish and fold into the casserole. Put the casserole back in the oven until the gravy has thickened.
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Top Tips For Using A Soup Maker

What are my top tips for using a soup maker?  Read on to find out.

Tomato Soup 8 Why Should You Use A Soup Maker?

For me, a soup maker was a welcome present from Morphy Richards, which has seen a labour of love grow from early beginnings.

Morphy Richards now have a new machine on the go, which seems to have a sauté base, so I covet that version at the moment.  For now, I will stick with my kettle version of a soup maker.

I imagine that if you are looking for soup maker recipes, that you already own a machine, but if you don’t, there are major differences between the two styles that prevail.

Types of Soup Maker

Kettle / Jug Type

This is like the version that I have.  It resembles a large kettle, but you cannot see the inside of it while the soup cooks.  You do need to use the minimum and maximum settings on the kettle to make sure you have the right amount of ingredients and fluid in your soup maker. My version can also make smoothies, which is a very welcome thing indeed.  The blender attachment is in the top of the kettle, which makes for very easy cleaning.

Blender Type

These versions tend to be slightly more expensive.  They can often sauté onions and vegetables, but with the kettle versions catching up, that benefit will soon be wiped out.

These usually resemble a traditional counter top blender, with the blending tool in the bottom of the glass.  They are said to be more difficult to clean, but I cannot vouch for that.  You really would have to find out for yourself.

Considerations For Buying A Soup Maker

Decide what SIZE of soup maker you will need.  My version makes soup from 1.3 – 1.6 litres.  If you are only making soup for one person, you might be fine with a small quantity soup maker, or simply freeze what you have made for another day.

Different SETTINGS do made a difference.  I wanted the option to have both smooth and chunky soup from my soup maker.  The smoothie function was an added bonus.  It isn’t obvious when you look at some versions, but reading more deeply into functions and settings, you might find the one you are coveting cannot do one or the other.

If you want ease of CLEANING, then you have no option but to read through the reviews of people who have owned soup makers.  I have only suffered from one burnt bottom of the pan, and that was my own fault, as I forgot to stir the ingredients with the fluid before I popped on the lid.   It is worth nothing though, that even though the bottom did burn, just a little….a ten minute soak with hot soapy water, and it scrubbed off no problem.

Soup Maker Tips and Tricks

  • Prepare as much of your ingredients as possible in advance. Considering that most of my recipes are simply chop and plop, it’s quite easy to do.
  • Use boiling water for your stock, or liquid addition. I find that if I use it cold from the tap that the vegetables may not be fully cooked when the soup is ready.  Starting with hot stock, gives it a great chance to add more flavour and taste.
  • If you plan to use anything frozen, make sure the ingredients are fully thawed first.
  • Make sure all meat that goes into the soup maker is pre-cooked. Soup makers do not have long enough settings to cook your meat.
  • Chop your ingredients into small pieces, especially potatoes, carrots and turnip. This allows the vegetables to fully cook in the short soup maker cycle.
  • Ensure the lid is fully closed or sealed.
  • Do NOT open the lid during cooking. If you do you may find yourself splattered with very hot liquid.
  • Some soup makers have a strong pulse setting. I’ve seen many people recommend holding down the lid, to avoid soup being pushed up and out of the blender.  I do not have this problem with my version, but remember to check out the possibilities of your own.
  • Follow your manufacturers minimum and maximum guidelines. My jug has these clearly marked on the inside of my machine.
  • Do not submerge your soup maker fully in water to clean.  Follow your instructions to the letter, or you may short out your machine.
  • Follow your manufacturers instructions for cooking, cleaning and maintenance.

SAFETY WHEN USING A SOUP MAKER

  1. NEVER fill your soup maker past its manufacturers recommendation or outside the minimum and maximum fill levels.
  2. Do NOT immerse any parts of your soup maker fully in water.
  3. Keep soup makers and kettles away from the edges of counters, especially if you have children, to avoid them being dragged over the edge.
  4. Do not be tempted to open the lid during cooking. The soup maker contents may explode over you.
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Review: Nairn’s Astro Bites

Thank you to Nairn’s for sending us some of their Astro Bites to review.

Nairn's Astro Bites 2

Astro bites are bite sized oaty biscuits, made with wholegrain oats, fruit pieces, and with less sugar than the average children’s biscuit.

They come in little mini bags, that make perfect sized lunchbag treats.

The shapes are in the form of friendly From the friendly Astrod, Captain Astro, Rocket Blaster, U.F.Oat, Starlight Saver and Planet Starbix.  Inside each box, there is one sticker from a set of six space-tastic Astro Bites stickers.

Eldest was the most vocal, who said they could do with a little more berry blast flavour, as the oaty taste is the strongest flavour.  He says that when you taste the berry blast flavour, that it is ‘fine.’  Saying that, he is on for eating six packets so far, so I think he likes them well enough!!!

They’re made with whole grain oats, are high in fibre and are made from a wheat free recipe.  All good stuff.

I don’t know how they do it, but from the bag I opened, I managed to get one of each of the friendly shapes.  That seriously impressed me.  I know, I’m easily pleased.

 

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Soup Maker Recipe: Beetroot and Orange Soup Recipe

I’ve struggled for a while to get a beetroot soup that I can cope with.  This beetroot and orange soup seems to be my ideal soup for this vegetable.

For me, it needs the addition of the citrus to be palatable.  Everyone else is different.  I also left out the salt and pepper in my version, but feel free to add it to yours.  I had to experiment with beetroot, as the first versions I made came out orange.  I suspect it was more to do with the variety of beetroot and where it was grown than anything else.

The kids preferred a little cream mixed into theirs at the serving stage, so it’s all good for turning this into a cream of beetroot soup, quite easily.

Soup Maker: Beetroot and Orange Soup Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Ingredients
  

  • 600 g Cooked Beetroot Quartered
  • 100 g Red Onions Chopped
  • 100 g Carrots Chopped
  • 1 Stock Pot Vegetable or Chicken
  • 800 ml Boiled Water
  • 200 g Orange Juice
  • PinchSalt
  • PinchPepper

Instructions
 

  • Simply add all the ingredients to the pot, apart from the orange juice.
  • Select the smooth setting.
  • When the soup is ready, stir in the orange juice before serving.
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Review: Chocolat Chocolat Handmade Bars Of Chocolate

A big thank you to Chocolat Chocolat for sending us some handmade bars of chocolate to try out.

Chocolat Chocolat has been in Cambridge since 1999, when they opened their shop, selling a range of luxury chocolates.  The chocolate is handmade sheet chocolate, made with the finest Belgian chocolate.  The sheets are sprinkled with fabulous flavour combinations, that have something for everyone.

Custom Bars of Chocolate

I was given the triple create your own custom bar to try.

We choose our chocolate from a list of:

  • Dark (70%
  • Dark (55%)
  • Milk (34%)
  • Caramel (34%)
  • White (28%)

There are lots of toppings to choose from, and too many for me to list here, but you can pick up to three for each bar of chocolate.

Chocolat Chocolat Bars

I chose

  • Milk Chocolate with Pistachio and Hazlenut Praline Topping & Scottish Mum in writing.
  • Milk Chocolate with Fudge Balls and Fudge Pieces.
  • White Chocolate with Raspberry Pieces and Popping Candy.

My bars were handmade by Lisa, so thank you Lisa.

The milk chocolate is lovely.  I’ve not tried the white chocolate, but I’m sure it will be just as nice.

The bars make for great Christmas Presents, and that’s exactly where two of our bars are going to go.   I know someone who will absolutely love the raspberry pieces and popping candy.

Chocolate Bouquets

Looking around their website, I found chocolate bouquets.  These look really nice for a gift too.

chocolate bouquet

They’re made from chocolate sheets which are thinner than regular chocolate, so they melt in the mouth, to release delicious flavours.

Sprinkled on top, are combinations such as Fruit & Nut, Orange Peel, Coffee Beans, Freeze Dried Raspberries, or Strawberries, and even Caramel, Praline and Sea Salt.

Chocolate Making Courses

The company also run an introduction to chocolate course for those of you who live close enough to Cambridge to attend.   Don’t these look fabulous?

choccourses

For £60, you can learn how to make chocolates for yourselves.  It’s the perfect course for the novice who dreams of a future career making chocolate.   The courses run to around 2.5 – 3 hours each.

 

 

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Review: Chop Sizzle Wow Cookbook

The Chop Sizzle Wow Cookbook was released in October this year.  I received a copy of this highly pictoral cookbook, which has 50 quick and easy Italian recipes from The Silver Spoon.

Each recipe is illustrated step by step, in hand drawn style, which will appeal to young cooks as well as those of us who are winding our way up the table of 1 – 100.

Chop Sizzle One SM

The chapters are broken down into:

  • Appetizers.
  • Pasta
  • Mains
  • Desserts
  • Baking

We like the pasta dishes the best, as my kids would live on pasta, day in, day out.  I make so many soups, that the change was quite nice for them.  We’re planning the Raspberry Semifreddo as one to try over the Christmas holidays.

Some of the recipes are a little involved, so may well need some adult help, and plenty supervision with the heat aspect, but it is fun to attempt.  Any reason to get kids active in the kitchen is a good one.

The illustrations by Brazilian illustrator and artist Adriano Rampazzo – a recent graduate of London’s Central St Martin’s art college.  I do think this would make a fabulous Christmas present.

It’s available directly from Phaidon for £12.95

Chop Sizzle Wow 2

 

 

 

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Giveaway: Win A Set of 4 Gemstone Animals – Ends 10th December 2015

Museum Selection was founded in 2002.  They work with museums and galleries, to offer a collection of home accessories, gifts and cards, with purchases of these items helping the museums.

Taking inspiration from country house interiors and gardens, museum collections and our great cathedrals, their aim is to bring together distinctive and unusual home accessories, jewellery, clothing and gifts celebrating over a thousand years of history, art and design.

The Giveaway

These gemstone animals, sold by Museum Collection, retailing at £37.99 are lovely, and would make a fabulous gift.

They are semi-precious gemstone animals echoing the carved hardstone ‘objets virtu’ created in Russia at the end of the 19th century.

Each animal is 1.5″ tall, and handmade from natural stones.  Each one will be unique.

The animals are:

Bear

Polished green aventurine with black and white jasper fish.

Dalmatian

Polished black and cream Dalmatian jasper.

Cat

Polished tiger’s eye.

Fish

Polished red jasper.

Gemstone Animals

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Rules

– Open to UK Mainland Entrants only.

– 1 Winner will win one Set of 4 Gemstone Animals from Museum Selection.

– The prize will be sent to you from museumselection.co.uk, and posted from within the UK.

– The Scottish Mum Blog is not responsible for your prize and cannot be held liable in any way for non delivery or non receipt at your end.

– Winners will be notified within 3 days of giveaway end. If the winner does not respond within 7 days, a new winner will be drawn.

– The winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter random generator.

– Scottish Mum Blog or Museum Selection reserves the right to amend, add or withdraw this giveaway at any time.

– Each entry method entitles you to one entry into the draw.

– Closes 10th December at midnight.