Tesco Orchard Review: Finest Vintage Farmhouse Cheddar

"CHEESE"........ and like that the human sized mice in my house come scurrying over to see what cheese the Tesco delivery man has bought this week....blocks, sticks, grated, round, teddy bear shaped......

Personally, to me, cheese is cheese.  As I do the shopping and we are on a budget I tend to buy the huge heavy duty value 1kg mature blocks of cheddar.  But hubby has more sensitive taste buds (after all it is one of only about 6 foods that he eats) and prefers it when I buy a named brand like Cathedral City or Pilgrims Choice.    We don't really steer away from cheddar other then when we have pizza - however it's best not remind the husband about the time he tried to grate the mozzarella ball for home made pizza.

Whether it's

with salad....   

....   on shepherds pie.....

Tesco Orchard Review: Steak (1) - Steak, chips and Beans

Having never cooked steak before (yes I know!) I had to call on a friend for advice I was feeling a little scared about my next opportunity from Tesco's Orchard programme.  But I bit the bullet and

here's how it went.

Make it Monday: Pasta recipies

I was never a fan of pasta, wouldn't touch it.  That was until a couple of years ago when the meal hubby was having smelt soo good that I tried a bit and soon polished off the rest that was left in the kitchen.

The boys go through fads, currently Noah loves pasta (depending on what phase the moon is in and whether he has woken up on the correct side of bed) and Ben hates it.... that was until we were asked to try Tesco Finest pasta.  I'm not sure it was the flavour that converted the boys or the really cool shapes it comes in.

To me pasta is pasta, and when on a budget you eat as cheaply as possibly so we always go for the 30p value packs, Tesco finest comes in at £1.70 a pack, after this trial tho the taste is completely different and I am very tempted to make the switch permanently.

Homemade Garlic Bread

We were really excited to try Tesco Ingredients Garlic and Herb butter as part of the Tesco Orchard Programme the other week and decided this would be a great time to teach the boys how to make homemade garlic bread.
   It is soo easy to do and something we are sure to try again.

We went for the Tesco Crusty White Farmhouse Bread Mix at 80p for 500g. This mix will make 1 large loaf, 10 small rolls or 4 x 20cm (8 inch) thin pizza bases.  We went for rolls of various sizes.

The mix comes with instructions on for both oven bake and bread machine, and whilst I would love a bread machine we don't own one and had to go for the oven method.

The great thing about making bread is that the boys could be involved at every step, yes mummy had to step in and help to mix as it got thicker but they learnt loads not just about cooking processes but also about how bread rises.

Tesco Ingredients Dairy range - a review

Readers to my blog will know that I am part of the Tesco Orchard Programme which allows me to try their various services and foods for free or at a reduced price.  You will also know how picky my family are.

The Tesco Ingredients Dairy range is rather limiting at the moment.   It is designed to feature ingredients that will turn everyday cooking into something different, special.  They do this thanks to the special blend of flavours and ideas Tesco have obtained from around the world.

You should be able to buy items such as; “Spanish Chorizo and Smoked Paprika Cheesy Toppers”, “Parmesan and Tomato Butter” and “Stroganoff Cooking Sauce”,
  Tesco provide some amazing looking recipes: