Heinz Beanz Pigs in Blankets Edition (Ocado) By @Cinabar

We love pigs in blankets, and this time of year is peak season for them. We had some with Christmas dinner, but they have also featured alongside picky bits, and we even have a couple of trays tucked away in the freezer.

So when we spotted Heinz Beanz Pigs in Blankets Edition while ordering from Ocado, it was an easy choice. These are beans with added pigs in blankets, which feels like a festive crossover made for this time of year. The packaging itself is not especially Christmassy, but it does mention Christmas seasoning, and this is very much a limited edition product.

I was pleased to see that they still cook quickly in the microwave, and we split the can between the two of us. Slightly annoyingly, there were five pigs in blankets in the tin, which meant I ended up with two. Given that Heinz talk about a portion being half a can, six would have made far more sense. It is Christmas, after all.

The sausages are Richmond, so you get that familiar, traditional flavour. There was also a subtle stuffing like taste going on, which I am assuming comes from the added Christmas seasoning. They tasted lovely and were a fun addition to the meal. Being cooked in beans, you do lose the crispiness you would normally get from the bacon if pigs in blankets were cooked on their own, but flavour wise they still worked well.

This is definitely a novelty product. You can buy beans with sausages all year round, so this is not something anyone strictly needs. That said, I would happily buy these again next Christmas for something a bit different and festive.

Tipico! Costa Rica is Pura Vida Rice & Beans [@NLi10]

 Breakfast in Costa Rica, and lunch & dinner too feature one main theme - Rice & Beans!

Posters advertise it and people love it - and after the first day you will too!

Essentially it's seasoned differently for each meal, and every place has their own twist, but it's all fundamentally local stuff.

Here we have beans and plain rice, with fried plantains, lovely smashed beef, potato mix and salsa.  We cooked this one outdoors on our homestay.

This was one of the restaurants versions - I learnt to avoid the spaghetti versions quite quickly - but the beans as paste and the meaty blend were great.

Breakfast saw a more traditional Gallo Pinto where the rice and beans were mixed and we got banana and omelette too.  Result!

The coffee was universally good here too - all locally grown.

Another day, another traditional casada mix.  We helped make this one again, but only very tangentally.

For the Americans they provide Pancake options, and it'd be rude not to try these - especially as some places were from fresh batter and absolutely amazing (others you could hear the packets being opened)

And for the final meal in Costa Rica - more rice and beans! This time with some of the nicest pork I've ever had - and the minty lemonade which got us through the hotter days.

Pura Vida!

Walkers Cheese Toastie With Heinz Beanz (Tesco) By @Cinabar

Firstly, Heinz linked up with Richmond Sausages for their new beans flavour; now they have linked up with Walkers for a new limited edition crisps flavour. I’ve always been a fan of Heinz; I like their ketchup, and their beans are always in our cupboard for an easy jacket potato meal. Their beans are the inspiration for this new flavour of crisps. Here we have Walkers Cheese Toastie With Heinz Beanz. 

My first thought when I heard about the flavour was that it sounded weird to me, not beans and cheese; they go together like a dream, but I’d never dream of having them in toasties. That's what jacket potatoes are for. Do people make toasties with beans? I guess they must.

I opened up the bag of Walkers Cheese Toastie With Heinz Beanz crisps, and they had an orange-coloured seasoning, and the aroma was mostly of sweet tomatoes. I gave one a try, and the flavour was incredibly spot on for beans and cheese. I could taste a sweet tomato taste, but it was also actually a proper baked bean flavour, and running with it was this creamy but flavoursome cheese. They were like magic and had a delicious flavour. It is a shame they are a limited edition, because these are super tasty, and I’ll pick up a second multipack when I’m back in the shop. 

Heinz Beanz Richmond Pork Sausages (Morrisons) By @Cinabar

I know the weather is hot, but I still like a jacket potato with baked beans, even in the summer. We normally also add some grated cheese and make a meal out of it. I did once try the Heinz beans with sausages, but I remember thinking they weren’t that great. The sausages were okay, but there weren’t that many of them. I haven’t bought them for quite a few years, to be honest. However, I potted this can with the promise of a new, improved recipe and a branded brand of sausages, so I decided to give them a second chance.

Here we have Heinz Beanz with Richmond Pork Sausages. I heated some up and poured them over a lovely, hot, buttered jacket potato. The first thing to spot was that there was a good amount of mini sausages mixed in, which looked lovely. The taste was good too. The beans are of the usual quality, with a nice sweet tomato base. The sausages were meaty and tasted good; each one was a treat to find. I have to say I’m converted. I’d definitely have these Heinz Beanz Richmond Pork Sausages again. 

Heinz Beanz Curry Edition (Ocado) By @Cinabar

Recently, Heinz has treated us to a wonderful new product, the Heinz Beanz Cheesy Cathedral City Edition. This wonderful can of beans had the grated cheese pre-mixed in for the ultimate lazy cheese and beans combination. I loved them; they are so quick to heat and add to a jacket potato, which makes a great meal. The cheese was plentiful and had such a nice taste. 

The next new variety to hit the shelves is this Heinz Beanz Curry edition. I bought a can and waited for my jacket potato to cook in the oven. The contents warmed quickly in a pan; they smelled nice, and I poured them over the potato. I love this kind of food. 

The beans are nice, but they didn’t wow me. The tomato-based sauce is there, and the beans have the usual nice texture. The curry element is mild and has a slightly sour, spicy taste. It reminded me of a curry dip flavour rather than a proper curry taste. I think I was expecting more of a softer, warming taste like a proper curry sauce, and although the taste was pleasant, I wouldn’t run out for another can. I may have also been spoiled by the Heinz Beanz Cheesy Cathedral City Edition, which was absolutely yummy, and these Heinz Beanz Curry Edition were just nice.

Heinz Beanz Cheesy Cathedral City Edition (Tesco) By @Cinabar

I’m lazy. I take shortcuts. I buy pre-prepared grated cheese. I hate grating cheese. Buying a bag of pre-grated cheese did make me think that I had perhaps maxed out my lazy skills, but it turns out I was wrong. Heinz and Cathedral City Cheese decided to take things a step further; instead of adding cheese to baked beans on a jacket potato, now we can get beans and cheese in a tin. I’m bizarrely excited, but I did manage to find a tin of Heinz Beanz Cheesy Cathedral City Edition.

As my jacket potatoes were nearly baked, I opened up the tin and heated the baked beans and cheese mix. The contents looked like regular baked beans, but there was clearly a creaminess to the colours and a slightly thicker sauce. I poured it over the potato and tucked in. Wow, this was a seriously generous portion of cheese mixed into the beans, and they were perfect. The flavour of the Cathedral City cheese shone through; rich and creamy, but flavoursome and the lovely tomato base of the beans was a perfect contrast too. I have no idea why this hasn’t been done before. This Heinz Beanz Cheesy Cathedral City Edition is absolute genius and is even simpler than buying grated cheese, so yeah, this will be my new go-to.