SPAM®️ Quiche Lorraine {& a GIVEAWAY} #AD

This coming week is an important event in the foodie calendar as it's the UK's official SPAM®️ Appreciation Week 2021 (8th - 14th March). I know that many readers of this blog love having the chance of winning a SPAM®️ Sizzle Pack, and this year I also have a special anniversary t-shirt to give away along with the pack. (scroll down to find out how you can win)

SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham are celebrating 80 years in the UK this year, and to celebrate this very important birthday, along with the giveaway, I have created a very important dish. During the 70's and 80's, no birthday party or special occasion was complete without a quiche of some description on the buffet table, and with that in mind I've given the classic Quiche Lorraine a Sizzle Pork And Mmm twist, and replaced the bacon with SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham - pure genius I hear you say!

A quiche is pretty straightforward to make, and you can add just about anything you like to the filling. The classic Quiche Lorraine is generally just bacon, cheese, eggs and cream. I usually make my own pastry, but if you're not a confident pastry maker, or don't have much time, then a ready made pastry crust can be a life saver, and is available in just about every supermarket - make sure you buy the savoury version and not the sweet one though!

Yon't need to pre-cook the SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham, especially if you're short on time, but I think it's nicer when the edges have a little crispiness to them, but it's personal preference really, and who doesn't love listening to the sizzle in the pan!

SPAM®️ Quiche Lorraine

1 tbsp oil

1 onion, finely chopped

200g can of SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham

1 pastry case

100g Gruyere cheese, grated

300ml double cream

3 eggs

• Preheat the oven to 170°c
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the onions
• Fry until softened, and set aside
• Dice the SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham to approx 0.5cm and add to the pan
• Fry until browned on all sides
• Add the onions and all but one large spoonful of SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham to the base of the pastry case
• Sprinkle the grated Gruyere cheese over the top
• Whisk the cream and eggs together with a fork & pour into the pastry case - if you have too much mixture you can make mini crustless quiches in a muffin tin
• Sprinkle the remaining diced SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham onto the top
• Bake in the preheated oven for approx 25 minutes, until golden brown
• Serve warm or cold, with salad and new potatoes, or baked beans & chips - whatever floats your boat!

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WIN a SIZZLE PACK and t-shirt(worth over £100)

To win your very own sizzle pack and t-shirt, including a SPAM®️ slicer, apron & spatula, you need to complete the Rafflecopter form by completing the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

More SPAMTASTIC meals and recipe ideas can be found on the SPAM®️ UK website

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SPAM & Pineapple Tacos #AD

Just as we thought we were getting back to some sort of normality, lockdown fever has set in again and the stockpilers are out in force buying up all the toilet rolls, pasta and tinned tomatoes. I'm pretty sure many of them have still got a cupboard full from earlier in the year, along with a year's supply of flour & yeast, but each to their own with their crazy behaviour. Thankfully this recipe doesn't include any of those ingredients, so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding everything you need to make these tacos. They're easy enough to make, and quantities can be easily adjusted depending on how many people you're feeding. This recipe makes 6, which fits perfectly with the current "rule of 6", although you'll have to take the word of the husband and 11 year old that these taste great, as my eldest taste tester has gone off to uni, the middle one is now vegetarian (although she did have a vegetarian version & loved the flavours), and I'm experiencing altered & diminished taste following a bout of the dreaded Covid in March. It's not what you want when you're a food blogger, but it could be worse. Thankfully I have a family of willing volunteers when it comes to trying out new recipes, and it doesn't stop me eating, especially spicy food!

The fresh pineapple salsa works really well with the SPAM Chopped Pork & Ham, which is coated in a spicy taco seasoning and sizzled in a pan. The soft mini tortilla's are the perfect size for taco's, and easy for little hands to hold, if you're feeding the family. They can be made up before serving, or let everyone put their own taco's together at the table. As an optional extra you could add a drizzle of sour cream or yogurt, and a sprinkling of grated cheese, but we think the creaminess of the avocado is enough here.

SPAM & Pineapple Tacos - makes 6

1 tsp Paprika

1 tsp Garlic granules 

1 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Ground Coriander

1/2 tsp Chilli Powder

Pinch of salt

2 tbsp olive oil

340g SPAM Chopped Pork and Ham

4 tomatoes, chopped

1/4 red onion, chopped

1/4 fresh pineapple, chopped

handful coriander, finely chopped

6 mini tortilla wraps 

1 avocado, thinly sliced

• Make the taco seasoning by mixing together the dry spices and salt
• Chop the SPAM Chopped Pork and Ham into 1cm cubes and add to a bowl
• Toss the SPAM Chopped Pork and Ham cubes in the taco seasoning
• Heat the olive oil in a non stick frying pan
• Fry the coated SPAM Chopped Pork and Ham over a medium heat until browned and crispy
• Whilst the SPAM Chopped Pork and Ham is cooking, make the salsa by mixing together the tomatoes, red onion, pineapple and coriander
• Warm the tortilla wraps in the microwave for approx 20 seconds
• Load up the wraps with the salsa and spicy SPAM Chopped Pork and Ham, and add a couple of slices of avocado

For more Sizzle Pork and Mmm recipes head over to the official SPAM Brand website.

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Breakfast SPAM®️ Burger {& a GIVEAWAY} #AD

Next week marks one of the most important events in every foodie's calendar - the UK's official SPAM®️ Appreciation Week 2020 (2nd - 8th March), and once again I'm giving away a SPAM®️ Sizzle Pack to one lucky reader of this blog (read on to find out how you can win). I'm also sharing a delicious  recipe for an everyday breakfast (ok maybe not EVERY day, just on the weekend), that incorporates SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham.

This year SPAM®️ Appreciation Week is inviting fans of SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham to show your appreciation by sizzling up some SPAM®️ product to create a prize winning recipe. There are 3 categories to choose from (America, Asia & Europe) to base your recipe on, and the winner of each category will go into a grand Sizzle-Off where they could be presented with the SPAM®️ Sizzle-Off trophy and £1000 travel or shopping vouchers! There will also be 10 winners from each category who will be picked at random to win a Sizzle Kit. Follow #SPAMsizzle on social media and head over to www.spam-uk.com for further details.

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I based my recipe on the USA region, where burgers are big business, to come up with my #SPAMsizzle recipe. My Breakfast SPAM®️ Burger is piled high with all the breakfast favourites - avocado, bacon, egg, potato waffle and a thick slice of fried SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham, all served in a sweet & soft toasted brioche bun. The beauty of breakfast burgers is that you can cook everything in advance and serve it all on a large board to let everyone build their own burgers, with all of their favourite breakfast ingredients - or why not go all out and include everything!

Breakfast SPAM®️ Burger - serves 2

1/2 tbsp oil
200g tub of Easy Open SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham
1 ripe Avocado
1/2 large Beef Tomato
2 Potato Waffles
4 Rashers of streaky bacon
2 Free range eggs

2 Brioche buns

Small handful of rocket leaves

• Heat the oil in a non stick frying pan over a med-high heat
• Slice the SPAM®️ into thick slices ( you will get 3 or 4 slices out of this tub) & add  2 slices to the pan
• Fry until lightly browned on both sides
• In the meantime prepare the other burger ingredients - mash the avocado, thickly slice the tomato, cook the waffles and bacon and poach the eggs
• Serve everything on a large serving board, alongside sliced brioche buns and fresh rocket leaves and allow everyone to build their own breakfast burger - eggs are best served on top to allow that runny yolk to drip down over the other ingredients!

WIN a SIZZLE PACK (worth over £100)

To win your very own sizzle pack, including a SPAM®️ slicer, apron & spatula, you need to complete the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

More SPAMTASTIC meals and recipe ideas can be found on the SPAM®️ UK website, and for additional chances to win a Sizzle Pack follow SPAM®️ on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the #SPAMsizzle hashtag.

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Chilli Sweet & Sour SPAM with Noodles {& a GIVEAWAY} #AD

There are a few dishes that usually appear regularly on our weekly meal plan, and along with fajitas and roast dinner, sweet & sour is one of those. It's a lovely quick midweek meal that can either be made with raw or pre cooked meat of almost any variety, and many different vegetables. I usually keep it simple by adding just peppers and onion, and occasionally I'll throw in a tin of pineapple if I have some to hand. Sometimes I'll use a ready made sweet & sour sauce and other times I'll make my own, but for the ease and quickness of this midweek recipe I used a packet.

As it's the UK's official SPAM®️ Appreciation Week this week (4th-11th March) I've chosen to use SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham in this recipe. SPAM®️ is made from more than 90% shoulder pork and leg ham, and as it is already cooked this dish takes just a few minutes to make. It needs a quick sizzle in the pan to crisp the edges, before frying the peppers, onion & chilli, adding the sauce and stirring through the SPAM®️ to coat in sauce. Job done in under 10 minutes!

You'll need your volume up to listen to that #SPAMsizzle

Chilli Sweet & Sour SPAM with Noodles - serves 2

1 tbsp oil
200g can of SPAM®️ Chopped Pork and Ham
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1/2 red chilli
2 spring onions
150g sweet & sour sauce
300g fresh egg noodles

• Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over a med-high heat
• Dice the SPAM®️ and add to the pan
• Fry until lightly browned on all sides
• Remove from the pan & set aside
• Chop the peppers, and thinly slice the chilli and spring onions
• Toss the peppers, chilli & onions into the pan & fry for a few minutes until softened
• Add the fried SPAM®️ back into the pan, along with the sweet & sour sauce
• Stir the sauce through everything in the pan until everything is heated
• Serve with the prepared egg noodles

WIN a SIZZLE PACK

To win your very own sizzle pack, including a SPAM®️ slicer, apron & spatula, you need to complete the Rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

More SPAMTASTIC meals and recipe ideas can be found on the SPAM®️ UK website, and for additional chances to win a Sizzle Pack follow SPAM®️ on Twitter and Instagram, and follow the #SPAMsizzle hashtag.

This is an ad for SPAM®️

SPAM Appreciation Week : Recipe & Giveaway

It's that time of the year again when we need to give SPAM the appreciation that it deserves. SPAM appreciation week is here again and it's an opportunity for SPAM fans across the UK to show their love for the iconic chopped pork and ham.

You may not know that SPAM is made from a minimum of 90% quality shoulder pork and leg ham (hand cut off the bone), mixed with a little water, sugar, salt & spices before being cooked in the can.

Once out of the can SPAM is extremely versatile and can be used in all manner of recipes. Last year I shared SPAM's recipe for a delicious SPAM Tear & Share, and previously I've shared recipes for Spicy SPAM Paella (which was extremely good!) and SPAM & Bean Pie (a great midweek family meal). 

This recipe for SPAM Bubble & Squeak is a a great way to use up any Sunday lunch leftovers that you may have, so make sure you pop a can or two of SPAM in your cupboard ready for those moments when you need a quick & easy meal. 

SPAM Bubble & Squeak

1 x 340g can of SPAM® Chopped Pork and Ham – diced

500g potato, cooked and mashed

100g cabbage or sprouts cooked and finely chopped) Or 300g of other cooked vegetables

200g cooked parsnips and carrot cooked and finely chopped

100g leeks, finely sliced

1 clove of garlic, crushed

20g Butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Fresh parsley, finely chopped 

• Fry the diced SPAM® Chopped Pork and Ham in a large dry pan until golden. Put into a warm bowl and keep warm
• Clean the pan and melt the butter
• Lightly fry the sliced leeks and crushed garlic in the melted butter, stirring constantly over a low heat until softened but still retaining their colour
• In a medium bowl mix together the cooked vegetables, season well with salt and pepper and add to the pan, stirring well to combine and heat through
• Add half of the diced cooked SPAM® Chopped Pork and Ham to the vegetable mixture in the frying pan, stir well until hot, top with the rest of the diced cooked SPAM® Chopped Pork and Ham
• Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and serve.

GIVEAWAY - Win a SPAM branded Under Armour jacket worth £70

With all this cold weather we're having at the moment you're going to need something to keep yourself warm. In association with SPAM I'm giving away a limited edition Under Armour jacket worth £70. All you have to do to be in with a chance is follow the instructions in the Rafflecopter form below. Closes midnight 18th March 2018.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

For more SPAM recipes visit www.spam-uk.com , along with these blogs :

SPAM & Pineapple Hawaiian Pizza on Foodie Quine

SPAM Potato Skins on Charlotte's Lively Kitchen

SPAM Potato Rosti on Fab Food 4 All

this post has been commissioned by SPAM UK

SPAM Appreciation Week : Recipe & Giveaway

Whether you love it or hate it, everyone has heard of SPAM. What you may not know is that SPAM Chopped Pork & Ham is primarily high quality pork shoulder meat and ham (hand cut off the bone). These are then ground together with water, sugar and spices before cooking in the can (which gives it the long shelf life), and contain a whopping minimum 90% meat, which is a higher content than many supermarket sausages.

SPAM is a handy little can to keep in the pantry, for those days when the cupboards are almost bare, to make a meal in minutes. I've previously shared recipes for BBQ Bean & SPAM Pie and SPAM Paella, both of which went down extremely well with the rest of the family.

The SPAM website is full of many more recipes, including this SPAM Tear n Share, which would be great at a bbq or Friday night feast in front of the TV.

SPAM Tear n Share

340g can of SPAM , cut into cubes

Large unsliced loaf of bread - a bloomer would be ideal

200g Cheddar cheese, grated

75g garlic butter

1 tsp dried parsley

Ranch sauce for dipping

• Add the cubed SPAM to a frying pan and cook until lightly golden
• Live a baking sheet with foil and place the bread on top
• Slice the bread lattice style, one inch apart (making sure not to cut all the way through)
• Stuff the grated cheese between each of the cuts in the bread
• Place the SPAM cubes over the top of the bread, stuffing some into the gaps
• Spread the garlic butter over the top and sprinkle over the parsley
• Cover the bread with foil and bake in a preheated 180℃ oven for approx 15 minutes
• Remove the foil and bake for a further 5-10 minutes, until golden and crispy on the top
• Serve with the Ranch sauce

  

As it's the official SPAM Appreciation week next week (6th - 12th March) I will be giving away 5 sets of SPAM goodies containing an apron, a spatula and a SPAM slicer (pictured below), which also include your very own can of SPAM so you can try out some of the delicious recipes for yourself.

I have 2 sets to give away via the Rafflecopter form below, and 3 further sets that I will be giving away during the week via my Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts, so make sure you're following me, and keep your eyes peeled throughout SPAM Appreciation Week for those!

**UPDATE**
Facebook giveaway here (ends 10th March 2017)

SPAM are also giving SPAM lovers the chance to win a VIP weekend in Liverpool for the launch of the SPAM 2017 Tour, plus £250 spending money - see here for more details.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Also visit these blogs for more recipes & extra chances to win prizes :

SPAM & Pineapple Hawaiian Pizza on Foodie Quine

SPAM Potato Skins on Charlotte's Lively Kitchen

SPAM Potato Rosti on Fab Food 4 All

this post has been commissioned by SPAM UK

BBQ Bean & SPAM Pie

However much I try and be that mum that cooks healthy meals from scratch all of the time, there are those times when I, y'know, fail miserably. Since we got back from our holiday over two weeks ago, where I cooked some amazing family meals, I've lacked a touch of motivation. I haven't even managed to do a full 'big shop' since we've been back, and have been popping to the supermarket for essential items every few days (or emailing a list to the husband).

Yesterday whilst searching my almost bare fridge and packed pantry (why is the fridge always bare but the cupboards are still rammed with tins and packets of food), I happened across a tub of SPAM nestled next to a stack of baked beans. Teamed with the bowl of mashed potato in the fridge (the only way to serve our current, rather floury, allotment spuds) it made a rather decent dinner for a Monday night, if I do say so myself.

BBQ Bean & SPAM Pie - serves 2/3

1 tub of SPAM, chopped ham & pork

2 400g tins of baked beans

squeeze of bbq sauce

1 bowl of leftover mashed potato

handful of grated cheese

• chop the SPAM, and mix with the baked beans and bbq sauce in an ovenproof dish
• smooth the mashed potato over & top with the cheese
• bake in a preheated 180C oven for approx 30 minutes, until golden brown & heated through

serve with a side of vegetables if you want to be good, or a slice of thick white bread and butter if you want to be popular

Spicy SPAM Paella

When you're suffering from a bout of the holiday blues, there's only one thing for it, and that's to recreate a holiday dish, which is guaranteed to brighten spirits and banish the blues, even for just a short time.

We've not long returned from Spain, and with one of the national dishes of Spain being Paella (albeit of the seafood variety) I decided to make a version with SPAM - yes SPAM. It's hammier than ham, don't you know!

I was surprised to see that SPAM is primarily made from high quality pork shoulder meat and ham, which makes up a minimum of 90% of the content, which is actually more than many everyday pork sausages, some of which contain less than 50% pork. After making this paella I'm a complete SPAM convert, along with the rest of the family, who all loved it - and the little girl who lives next door wanted me to give the recipe to her mum as she said it looked really nice.

If you haven't made a paella before then it really is such a simple dish to cook, and unlike risotto, you add all the liquid in one go and cook without stirring.

Spicy SPAM Paella - serves 4-5

1 tbsp olive oil
340g can of SPAM chopped pork & ham
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded & sliced
1 small red chilli, finely chopped (adjust to taste)
500g paella rice
1 litre chicken stock
pinch of saffron strands socked in a little boiling water
handful of frozen peas
lemon wedges to serve

• Heat the oil in a paella pan or large non stick frying pan
• Slice the SPAM into approx 1cm slices
• Fry the SPAM on both sides until it's browned & crispy
• Remove the SPAM from the pan and set aside
• Add the garlic, onion, pepper & chilli to the pan & fry for 3-4 minutes, until the onion has started to soften
• Add the rice to the pan along with stock and saffron
• Bring to the boil and give everything a good stir
• Cover with a lid or sheet of foil and simmer for 10 minutes
• Cut the SPAM into cubes
• Add the SPAM to the paella pan, along with the peas
• Replace the lid/foil and continue to cook for a further 5 minutes
• Leave to sit for an additional 10 minutes before serving

serve with lemon wedges

This recipe has been commissioned by SPAM