Chicago Town Hot Dog Deep Dish Pizza Review

There are certain words in our house that make people's ears prick up.  For Daddy, they include Eurovision and Curry. For me it's more likely to be Snooker & Gin.  For Squeaky, once we take the obvious TV programmes out of the equation, the two words/phrases most likely to get a reaction are Pizza and Hot Dog.  So you can imagine my response when we were asked to review Chicago Town's Deep Dish Pizzas, especially their new, limited edition Hot Dog Pizza!

It was like Christmas had come early.  I know I talk a lot about Squeaky's fussy eating habits (and it's officially recorded on her Health Visitor records, I saw them yesterday), but it's the truth. She is a real finicky creature, but her two favourite foods that aren't chocolate or ice cream are Hot Dogs & Pizza.  When I'm at my wits' end with her, they're our fall-back staples.

So, yeah.  I was sent some vouchers & off I popped to my local supermarket.  The Deep Dish pizzas are only small, they're just the right size for a Squeaky meal, but for an adult, I'd want some garlic bread or chips to go with them.  As a snack, they're great, but I'm greedy when it comes to pizza.  But it's Squeaky's dinner, and for her, they're just right.

I've had other pizzas from the Chicago Town range before, but never the Deep Dish.  I was really surprised to find that you could oven cook them, or microwave, with equally good results.  I was going to give you two photos to compare the two, but despite living in this house, with this oven, for nearly a year now, I still have my moments, and haven't quite got to grips with the fact that it's actually at the temperature it claims to be, and I slightly charred the oven cooked one.  The picture here is the second pizza, which I microwaved.

Squeaky honestly couldn't tell the difference between the two, and the fact that I can microwave them means I can have a dinner ready in a few minutes, or a replacement dinner on those joyous days where she decides she doesn't like whatever I've slaved over for her.

The reaction to the pizza, well, I will give you her honest and genuine quote "The pizza is OK to eat mummy!"  This, I believe means that the temperature was right, and that she was enjoying it.  As there weren't even crusts left to give to the birds, I suspect she really liked it.  I did have to pick off a couple of obvious bits of onion (which she decided were ham), because she didn't approve of them, but hey, that happens to us all some days.

The Hot Dog Pizza is a limited edition addition to the Deep Dish range (and I'm going to be stocking up).  The range also includes Pepperoni - my favourite, Ham and Pineapple - Daddy's favourite, Four Cheeses, Chicken Melt and Meat Combo.  Chicago Town Pizzas are available at all major supermarkets, for around £2.00 for a two pack (though you may find special offers)

Disclosure: I was provided with vouchers free of charge to purchase Deep Dish pizzas for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write and all opinions are my own. I am not a member of any affiliate scheme, links are provided for convenience only, I will not receive reward for their use.

Walkers Hoops & Crosses Review

We have a new addition to our household!  Before you get cross with me for keeping big news quiet, I don't mean anything like that, oh no.  This new addition goes by the name of "Oo Oo Ah Ah"!  And she's a monkey.  A girl monkey, I'm reliably informed.  A girl monkey with a soft spot for Walkers Hoops & Crosses

Pass The Parcel

Oo Oo Ah Ah arrived in style to our house just over a week ago.  In a box, inside another box, inside another box, it was like a game of Pass The Parcel.  In fact, that's exactly what it turned in to, as Daddy went to the door to deal with the postman, I removed the outer posting box, and then Squeaky decided that I couldn't be allowed to deal with exciting packages by myself, and needed some assistance.  As soon as Oo Oo Ah Ah was spotted, Squeaky announced that "Toy Monkeys are for small children, not grown ups", grabbed her out of the box, and ran around the room cuddling her and shrieking "Oo Oo Ah Ah"  They're now inseparable.

Guarding the tasty treasure!

Aside from finding Oo Oo Ah Ah in our box, we also received a pack of Walkers new Hoops and Crosses. A baked wholegrain snack, designed to help keep children happy, and parents confident that their children are getting a balanced diet.  Snacks don't have to be bad, and healthy snacks don't have to be boring.  Our Hoops & Crosses were Roast Beef flavour (oddly, suitable for vegetarians!), and they also come in Salt & Vinegar and Prawn Cocktail flavours.  It seems like an odd selection of flavours to begin with, but thinking about it, they're all pretty strong & distinctive flavours, and Cheese & Onion never appealed to me as a child.  I wouldn't have minded seeing another obviously vegetarian flavour in the range. Though they are all suitable for veggies, it's not all that clear, especially for children.  Maybe cheese and chive, or pickled onion, something like that?

Anyways, on to the all-important taste test.  I thought I was going to struggle with this, to tell you the truth.  Once Squeaky realised that she was allowed to eat the crisps, as well as playing with Oo Oo Ah Ah, she thought it was a bonus extra Christmas, and curled up on the sofa with the bag, shouting at anyone who came near.  I risked life and limb (and camera) to take a photo for you.  The Hoops & Crosses are (oddly enough) shaped like O's and X's, which caused her some initial confusion, and then she decided she needed to eat all the O's first, saving the "No's" for later.  How she's cottoned on to X as an incorrect marker, I don't know.  Fortunately for reviewing purposes, she found herself too full to finish the packet and I was allowed to eat the last handful of X's.  Being wholegrain, they were actually quite filling, and maybe a full sized bag is a little too big for someone Squeaky's size.  I really liked the flavour and the crunch, not too overpowering, but certainly not a taste that gets lost in the wilds of a lunchbox.

I'm definitely going to be on the look-out for Hoops & Crosses.  With 85 calories per bag, they're great as a snack after our endless cycle of pre-school activities - gymnastics, dancing, etc.  And if I can grab the last few, I get a treat as well!  Everyone's a winner.

Walkers Hoops & Crosses are available from all major supermarkets in 6 bag multipacks.

Best Friends Forever!

I'll leave you with Squeaky & Oo Oo Ah Ah curling up for a well earned rest.

Disclosure:This is a sponsored post. I was provided with the snack and toy free of charge, and have been offered payment for this review. I have not been told what to write, and all opinions are my own.  I am not a member of any affiliate scheme, links are provided for your convenience, I will not receive reward for their use.

Our Bluestone Break

A couple of weeks ago, I spotted a competition on facebook to win a short break at Bluestone, a holiday park situated in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park.  It's somewhere I've been dying to visit for ages, so I was ecstatic to win, even though I then had to persuade my boss to let me have the week off work!

Home Sweet Home

Now, when you hear the words "holiday park", what springs to mind? Caravans?  Ancient chalets like something off Hi-De-Hi?  None of that here. Our home for the week was a log cabin!  Not just any log cabin though, one with all the mod cons, a dishwasher, freeview telly, wet-room shower, a heated towel rail (you know my thing for heated towel rails!) big squishy sofas, an oven that puts mine to shame (and stumped me the first time I tried to use it).  And just in case, like me, you don't have a dishwasher at home, and didn't think to bring detergent, a starter pack with a short-break's-worth of dishwasher tablets & washing up liquid.  Forget log cabin, this is more like a log palace!

No Keep Off The Grass here!

Now, Bluestone is a very family orientated resort. Not just family-friendly, it's really set up to make sure the kids have a great time.  There's banners all the way up the drive with "Lots for Tots", "Where kids can be kids", "Free Range Children" and things like that.  It's not cheesy, in your face, traditional holiday camp style entertainment, club dances & creepy stuffed characters, but more like the wistful memories of the childhood you *think* you had, the one you read in an Enid Blyton book.  Lashings & lashings of ginger beer.  Rather than being encouraged to follow strict rules & stick to the paths, quite the opposite.  I love this sign, it sums up the spirit of Bluestone, for me it was all about adventure & nature, and just getting outside & enjoying it.  We were blessed with fabulous weather, which made it all that much easier, but in these surroundings, we couldn't help but enjoy ourselves.

If you go down to the woods today...

Squeaky was a bit frightened when we first spoke about staying in a log cabin in the woods.  I think it was the woods bit she was more concerned about, but I can't be sure.  I managed to talk her round though, with promises of a Teddy Bears' Picnic, and too much singing of "If you go down to the woods today...".  So she was absolutely determined that we should have a Teddy Bears' Picnic during our stay.  All other toys were left at home in favour of Tower Teddy and an un-named white Teddy.  According to Squeaky, teddy bears eat cheese, so I prepared a picnic of ham sandwiches for her, cheese for the teddies, chicken wings for the grown-ups, and crisps & pop for everyone.

Mummy's lego house.

Even if the weather hadn't been so good, we would have been fine.  The Adventure Centre had all sorts of undercover activities, including miniature golf, a lego room, where I might have got a little bit carried away and forgot that I was meant to be an adult now, a Circus Zone for the under 5's, a massive adventure playground with slides & rope bridges, and the Big Four activities - high wire swings, climbs, rope trails & bungees, though this last one had an additional fee.

There's a full programme of activities daily, some are free of charge, but others are paid for.  We didn't take part in any of the paid activities, because we found more than enough to occupy ourselves without doing so, and because Squeaky's still young enough to not know what else is going on.  I can see though, if you have older children that there's the potential for things to get very expensive.


We visited the swimming pool every day, another activity included free in your break.  There's no photos of this, mind, for obvious reasons.  The pool was great fun, as long as you're not a serious swimmer, as there's nowhere you could swim lengths.  Daddy spent much of his time on the slides, with 4 to choose from, he was occupied for a while.  Squeaky alternated between the children's pool and the shallow end of the big pool, and I bobbed about in the waves and around the lazy river.  I couldn't believe the lazy river went outside, and we were happily basking in an outdoor pool, in the UK, in April, at 5 in the afternoon.  Unbelievable!  There's a spa bath outside as well, for the over 12's.  That was a bit of an experience, dashing from a warm swimming pool to a hot spa bath, when the air between the two is a bit on the nippy side!  Made me enjoy the warm water all the more though!

Mmmmm, wine

Kids aside, I think Bluestone were expecting me.  Just take a look at one of the shops I spotted in the Village!  I've seen an off-licence on holiday sites before, but normally just a Spar.  I love the idea of a Wine Store on site.  It was part of a larger convenience store, but the whole of this storefront side was just wines & beers.  Lovely!  Just what I needed at the end of the day.  To be fair, even though we took a 3 year old Squeaky along, and there were a lot of children there, I'm pretty sure you could still have a great break at Bluestone if you didn't have children.  There's masses of woodland to explore, cycle, run, walk, however you see fit.  There's a High Ropes adventure course, adrenalin activities in the Adventure Centre, a glorious pool with slides.  And if there's not enough on site to occupy you, it's literally next door to Oakwood (seriously, you can see the rides from the site) for all the high-adrenalin rides you could ever need, and half an hour from the beaches & shops of Tenby.  I spent a lot of time thinking about which of my friends would love it the best, and came to the conclusion that all of them would, for different reasons.

The Treehouse

New for 2013 is the treehouse in The Village.  A series of inter-connected treehouses, linked by wobbly bridges, tunnels & slides.  This was where you'd find Squeaky, and lots of other children at every opportunity.  Over the course of our stay we saw her confidence increase on the bridges & she explored more & more on her own.  Which meant we were able to watch from the sidelines and have a little break ourselves.

Move over Ray Mears!

We took off for a "short" walk in the woods, following one of the nature trails.  We went a bit further than we'd really planned, but it did mean we got to see an area of the site that we'd not otherwise found.  Camp Smokey is a BBQ restaurant (sadly it was only open one day during our stay & we missed it), deep in the woods, and surrounded by the High Ropes adventure course, where we had the chance to watch one of the staff team zipping around above our heads carrying out his daily safety checks before any of the guests took part.  Part of me would love to have tried it out, but I can imagine myself getting stuck, dangling from a wire 30 feet up in the air, with everyone laughing at me.  And let's face it, those harnesses are hardly flattering!  Fair play to Squeaky though, she walked the whole way, which was probably about a mile & a half.  Because there was so much to look at, she didn't have chance to get bored & demand to be carried.  We followed numbers on the nature trail signs, found creatures, picked up interesting sticks, and collected tiny pine cones, for reasons best known to her.

Give us an "S"

I really appreciated the environmental ethics of the park.  All the accommodation has solar panels on the roofs, the pool is heated using biomass (believed to be the first in the world!).  You're encouraged to sort your waste into recyclable and non-recyclable sections.  The gates to the main site are only open on Mondays & Fridays, to allow cars to the cabins for checking in & out.  Outside these times, cars are parked in the main car park.  There's a few ways to get around the site though.  There's bikes (with baby trailers) and golf buggies available to hire, a free land train which circles the site hourly, or good old fashioned foot power.  We opted for the latter two.  There were times, especially in the afternoons, where the land train was incredibly welcome, after a hard day's adventuring.  The lack of cars on the site meant I had a bit more confidence in Squeaky's safety, after all, a golf buggy with a top speed of 5 mph might hurt if it hit you, but it'd do a lot less damage than a car.

And for my next trick

After our walk in the woods, we rewarded ourselves with a cuppa, a huge chocolate muffin, and a trip to the Circus Zone.  The Circus Zone is bizarre, it's free in the mornings, and then you have to pay in the afternoons.  So we went in the mornings!  Squeaky had a great time being a cheerleader, putting on a circus show in her tent, and being a caterpillar.  Again, reasons best known to herself.  I don't ask.

A caterpillar. Possibly Very Hungry.

Newton North Church

And finally, I'll leave you with one of my favourite pictures.  There's a ruined mediaeval church in the Village, which has been slowly reclaimed by nature.  I'm fascinated by the way nature takes things back bit by bit, and the church stood out so beautifully against the evening sky.  There's also the remains of a mediaeval manor house elsewhere in the site, but too far to persuade Squeaky to walk to just for me to take artsy photos.  Maybe when she's a bit bigger?

Disclosure: I won a four night break at Bluestone, free of charge.  I was not asked to write this review as part of my prize, but I have chosen to do so. I have not received anything for writing this review. I have not been told what to write and all opinions are my own.  Links are provided for convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Silent Sunday 05/05/13 #SilentSunday

The Discovery Cinco De Mayo Challenge

Did you know that, as well as the passengers, made famous by a certain film, the Titanic was also carrying 20,000 jars of mayonnaise?  After her initial stop in New York, the liner was scheduled to carry on down the east coast of the US, and deliver the condiments to Vera Cruz in Mexico.  Now, as we all know, the Titanic never made it across the Atlantic, and sank, taking its human and egg-based passengers down to the bottom of the ocean.  The people of Mexico were crazy for mayonnaise, and were distraught at the loss of so many jars.  As a result, they declared a day of national mourning for their favourite foodstuff, which is still observed to this day.

The day of mourning happens on the 5th of May each year, and is, of course, known as Sinko De Mayo.

OK.  OK.  I'm sorry.  I can't resist a bad joke.  Not really anything to do with the Titanic, or mayonnaise.  Cinco de Mayo is a day celebrated in the US and Mexico, celebrating Mexican pride &
culture, and commemorating the battles of the early days of the American Civil War.

It's also got a touch of extra meaning for me, because our wedding anniversary was on 23rd April, and we spent the fortnight after our wedding in Mexico on our honeymoon, so it's a nice way for us to remember that as well.

Well, to celebrate Cinco De Mayo, the kind people at Discovery Foods sent me a little treat, and a challenge.  I received a bag full of inspiring ingredients, and they challenged me to my very own Cinco De Mayo celebration.  Well, I couldn't say no to that, could I?

Inside the bag I found a Fajita kit, Green Jalapeno Relish, Garlic & Herb Soured Cream, Salsa and Fajita seasoning.  I love Mexican food, but not too spicy, so I was really glad to find these were at the milder end of spicy (aside from the Jalapeno relish, but even that's good fun in small doses!)

I grabbed some chicken (thigh fillets, my latest discovery, Cheaper than breast fillets, tastier, but no bones to mess about with), onions & peppers & set to making fajitas.  Then I figured that wasn't really enough, and added some tinned tomatoes to some of my chicken & veg, rolled them up, put them in my beloved mini Le Creuset dishes sprinkled with cheese & bunged them in the oven for enchiladas. Perfect for a mini Mexican fiesta.

I even tried my hand (badly) at a bit of Mexican paper cutting.  Please don't laugh at me, I'm not an artistic kind of person.  At least I tried.  I remember seeing amazing cut paper decorations in the restaurant on our honeymoon, but I wouldn't know where to start making anything more complicated than the pattern below.  I felt like I was back in juniors doing this, mind you (and I messed up my first attempt by cutting through the wrong edges so it all fell apart. You won't tell, will you? It'll be our little secret!)

Well anyway. Rather than bad jokes, honeymoon memories & my complete lack of papercrafting talent, I'm sure you're more interested in the amazing Mexican feast I put together for Daddy & me.  Here, get your eyes, and tastebuds around this!  Enchiladas on the left, fajitas on the right.  Margaritas hidden until Squeaky went to bed!

We actually had more than enough fajita spiced chicken left, even after making the enchiladas as well.  So much so that I put it in a tupperware in the fridge, heated it up (thoroughly) the next day & served it up with chips & some more of the sour cream, salsa & jalapeno relish as dips.  Some meals are just too good to only eat once!

Squeaky decided to join in out fiesta feast with that traditional Mexican delicacy tostadas con espagueti.  Or spaghetti on toast to you, fussy child that she is.  She was very interested in the idea of having pancakes for tea, but a bit scared of the contents, even when I explained them to her.  We're getting there, slowly.

Discovery foods are stocked by most major supermarkets, though the full range may not be available in all stores.  They are also available to buy direct from Discovery through their website discoveryfoodsdirect.com.

Disclosure: I was provided with the above ingredients to create my Mexican feast free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not told what to write, and all opinions are my own. Links are provided for convenience, I am not a member of any affiliate scheme & will not receive reward for their use.

Silent Sunday 28/4/13 #SilentSunday

MitoQ 8 weeks on

You might remember back here, I reviewed MitoQ, a new, powerful anti aging skincare product.  Well, it's time for part 2.

MitoQ's effects take a little time to build, and are most noticeable after a month or more, and thanks to a snarky commenter (I didn't publish, sorry), I remembered that I'd missed posting the follow-up, as I posted my initial review after a single week of use.

I found that the cream did make a difference to the appearance of my skin, especially to the fine lines around my eyes.  My skin appears fuller and smoother, and more evenly coloured.  It took a little bit of getting used to, I had a few break outs during the second week or so.  This might be the cream, or it might just have been one of those things.  So I persevered, and the spots went away, and my skin looks considerably better.  To the extent that people have noticed I look "well".  You know, it's that thing people say when you look a bit different & better, but they can't quite put their finger on why.

Now the summer's approaching, I'm going to have to add an SPF to my beauty regime as well as the MitoQ, which could be a sticking point.  All the SPFs I have, aside from proper "holiday" suncream, are already moisturisers, and I'm not sure whether my skin will deal with two, or whether I'll think it's a bit too much hassle to use two, and just use an SPF moisturiser instead.  This is the one failing of MitoQ for me, that there isn't any sun protection in it.

I'm staying with it for now, but I have a feeling MitoQ may become a winter-time part of my beauty package, and go away for the summer months, which is a shame considering the cost.  I like it, it works, but I need the sun protection.  If your skin is less sun-sensitive than mine, you may feel differently.