TGI Fridays at home - BBQ Pork Burnt Ends & Tetris Waffles [@NLi10]

When I bought this the guy in Iceland asked me to let him know how it was as no one there had tried it yet.

Turns out it's likely because it takes 40 mins to oven cook, and would rather you defrosted it first .

That's a lot more mental planning and effort than I'd expected - and also it's for 4 and I'm only one person

Which means getting complicated and using half the sauce

And somehow chiselling off half this bag of horror.

Meanwhile in the frozen aisles these lovely mini waffles appeared.  Looking like Tetris blocks and infinitely divisible they are also much better for dipping.  How have these not been around for 40 years?!

All hail the air-fryer, I'm sticking them in the oven.

Wait ages for a long piece and get loads when you don't need one. 

Thankfully blurred shot of defrosted but not cooked burnt ends bag.  Looks like dogfood.

As I was home alone I decided to just go for it, make the whole bag of burnt ends and some waffle fingers on the side.  With a bit of cooking and the sauce added on it not only started to resemble human food but actually smelt really good.

And turned into a serviceable meal at home.  Had the meat portion not been so big I'd probably have added some other sides, but I could definitely imagine getting this at a TGI and being absolutely fine with it.  Better for two people, but possible for one with a movie and breaks.

The sauce was the star, but the meat was decent quality and while not particularly crispy that might have been me using the glass casserole bowl instead of the tin as recommended.

Bonus Content!

I did spot as well this full Sunday Roast chicken dinner for 4 for £25 (including veg and pigs in blankets) which I think I'd struggle to solo, but for 2/3 might be manageable.  Can't imagine how long this would take in the oven from frozen though.

 

Shandy Shack: M&S Raspberry Shandy (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

It’s a hot sunny day and I’ve been doing chores instead of being out enjoying the sun. I have a cheese and cold meats meal tonight, and fancy something light and fruity to wash it down with.

This Raspberry Shandy made for Marks & Spencer by Shandy Shack, sounds just the thing to go with all that cheese and pickles. At 2.8% in volume it won’t blow my head off, as I have a comic con tomorrow, unless, of course, I run out of shandy and move onto my favourite ruby port.

On opening the 330ml can there was a a light crisp herbal hop aroma just underneath all that raspberry. On pouring there was the slightest pink colour to this golden lager beer. Sort of like a raspberry blonde, I suppose.

On taste this not too bubbly lager had a sweetness from the lemonade, and a mild fruitiness from the added raspberries. Subtle in raspberry fruit, and yet very refreshing after a long day of chores. Yum.

Salted Caramel Pepsi (Tesco) By @Cinabar

This new Salted Caramel Pepsi seems to be the soft drink flavour of the summer. There is a drawing of an ice cream cone on the label, although the flavour itself doesn’t actually mention ice cream. It certainly looks like the sort of drink designed for warm weather. This is also a zero sugar drink, just to warn anyone who isn’t keen on sweeteners.

When I opened the bottle the first aroma was very much caramel. Poured into a glass it was impressively fizzy too. The first flavour you get is caramel and it is an extremely sweet drink. Then the cola flavour arrives, along with the promised touch of salt, while the caramel lingers long afterwards. I have quite a sweet tooth so I rather enjoyed it, although I can imagine it might be a bit too much for some people.

As I’ve been drinking it I’ve also been wondering whether the ice cream cone on the front is a suggestion. Maybe this is supposed to be poured into a tall glass with a scoop of ice cream for the ultimate summer float? The weather is meant to stay hot for a few more days, so I may well give that a try.

Twix Ice-cream and Eurovision 2026 [@NLi10]

A half time icecream at the theatre is important, and when watching spectacle TV at home it's nice to have the equivalent.

For Eurovision 2026 which I watched at home I decided to pick up Bounty & Twix Ice-creams from Iceland to see how they'd changed over the years.

At the half-way point I had the Twix.  One finger which kind of misses the branding, but a decent size one.

And inside is a tunnel with caramel and biscuit balls.  Flo in the background is only interested in the ice-cream.

Overall it was a decent choc-ice with a few added extras to keep it interesting.

The bounty had less coconut than I remember from my youth, but was essentially just a bar shaped choc-ice (I had that as the songs finished)

The show was decent too, and the bad guys didn't win which is always a bonus.  Hope it's still around next year!

 

Mr Kipling Custard Cream Whirls (Ocado) By @SpectreUK

Mr Kipling makes exceedingly good cakes, I hear. In fact Mr Kipling has been making exceedingly good cakes since 1967. They have been the market leader since 1976. It must be tough to come up with new ideas. So, why not come up with a new take on an old classic?

These new Mr Kipling Custard Cream Whirls are a new take on the classic custard cream biscuits. I do love custard creams, from the small ones to the big ones, and also the chocolate coated custard creams.

Described as a custard flavoured shortcake swirl with a vanilla flavour centre, I had already figured these Mr Kipling Custard Cream Whirls would be exceedingly good. On opening the packet of four cakes, there was a lip-smacking smell of baked shortcake, with the sweetness of vanilla.

I usually twist custard creams, eat the biscuit, then lick the cream, then eat the other biscuit. So, keeping with tradition, I twisted the top off, licked the cream and then popped the shortcake top into my mouth. The cream was smooth and tasted just like custard cream, and the top and bottom shortcakes were soft and beautifully baked. I wouldn’t just say these Mr Kipling Custard Cream Whirls are exceedingly good, I would say that they are a triumph.

Information on the box; Each cake has 151 calories, with 8.8g of fat, 7.4g of sugar, and 0.15g of salt.