Review: Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze

One of my favourite things about summer is getting the barbecue out, knocking up a few salads and inviting some people round for a feast. It is casual dining at its best. There’s not a lot in life that’s better than relaxing with a glass of something chilled while the men debate about when to put the steaks on the barbecue.

As a veggie my barbecue experience is often a bit meh. I usually have barbecued corn on the cob, a pile of nice salad and a veggie burger, which is fine, but my meal is usually cooked first so they can get on with the important business of burning meat, so I do feel a bit left out of the main scoffing. Moan moan moan!

What I do love is a nice barbecue sauce, I actually prefer a barbecue sauce to a dollop of ketchup. Barbecue sauce seems to have really come on in leaps and bounds these last few years, with lots of new recipes and flavours flooding the market. About 6 years ago I first discovered the Jack Daniel’s Barbecue sauces, at the time I think they only did one, but it was by far the nicest one I’d found. These days there are a lot more sauces on the market, but I was sent the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze to try out.

We waited until the sun came out, and by ‘eck the sun came out last week. So we invited some people round. I knocked up some salads and him indoors got busy burning some meat. I casually left the bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze on the table next to the ketchups and relishes to see what people thought.

I was first to give it a try, mainly because my food was ready about an hour before everyone else. I liberally dosed my veggie burger with the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze and tucked in.

The Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze is based on the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey liqueur, which I’m a big fan of, the drink is sweet and smooth so I suspected the sauce would be good too. The glaze is slightly runnier than a traditional barbecue sauce, sweet but not too sweet, with a little gentle barbecue heat. It was so good I poured some more on my plate to dip my burger in.

The barbecue carnivores soon took an interest, when their burgers were ready they tried it too, and did exactly the same thing as me, adding extra to their plate for dipping purposes. Even hubs who doesn’t really like barbecue sauce went back for seconds. This is a sauce which will definitely find its way into our shopping trolley again.

You can marinate chicken or meat in it prior to barbecuing, but we didn’t, not this time. I reckon it’d also be pretty good in a bacon butty or to dip your chips or wedges in. It’s a very definite thumbs up from us!

Note: We were sent a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey Barbecue Glaze free of charge for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Degustabox June 2015 plus Discount Code

In May we got our very first Degustabox. For those who aren’t in the know, a Degustabox is a monthly food parcel delivery service. Each month you receive a box of new or special edition items from a range of different brands. It costs £12.99 each month and the contents are worth about double that.

The Degustabox June 2015 had a slight picnic theme and contained the following items…
Rekorderlig – Strawberry & Lime
Coconom – Organic Coconut Sugar
Zeo – Zesty Lime and Peach & Grapefruit
Kallo Corn & Rice Snacks – Salt & Vinegar Flavour
Kallo Rice Cake Snacks – Belgian Milk Chocolate with Caramel Pieces
ICYCL – Vodka Icepop
Brioche Pasquier – Chocolate Chip
Brioche Pasquier – Chocolate
Melba Thins – Multigrain
Vybe Coconut Water
Love Chin Chin (biscuity snacks)

This is only our second box, but already we have fallen into the pattern of immediately ripping open and devouring at least one item from the box. In this box it was the Kallo Belgian Chocolate rice cakes. These were the business. Just 65 calories per rice cake, they were smothered in chocolate and liberally sprinkled with crunchy caramel pieces, even the small boy was shouting for more. They really seem like a guilt-minimal treat, I’ll be looking out for these again!

I wasn’t completely in love with the Kallo salt & vinegar rice cakes, but I think that’s because none of us like salt & vinegar. If we’d had a different flavour they would have been fought over I’m sure. They do a tomato and herb one which sounds delicious and I think would be great with some cream cheese.

Both kinds of Brioche Pasquier were eaten for breakfast the over the following few days. We’ve bought these before, they’re a handy little snack to take out with you if you need to. The small boy also loves individually wrapped things, so he enjoyed them, as he usually does. We’ve bought them before and loved them, so we’ll get them again.

Regrettably the ICYCL Vodka Icepop burst and leaked over the contents of the box, not sure how it happened, nothing was ruined thankfully, but everything was sticky and I didn’t get to try the icepop, which is a shame because it sounded the kind of thing I might enjoy.

I love baking and I was pleased to be sent a packet of Coconom Organic Coconut Sugar which I’m hoping I’ll be able to have time to bake with soon. I’m not sure what I’m going to make yet, but you’re supposed to be able to use it as a direct replacement for ordinary sugar, but it’s supposed to be better for you. Anyway watch this space, I feel an experimental pineapple upside down cake coming on!

I was interested to try the Love Chin Chin snacks which were cinnamon flavoured biscuits which apparently taste like cake. I wasn’t convinced by these in their original form, but I crushed them and sprinkled them on some ice cream and they were very enjoyable. I think they’d be good added to the biscuit base of a cheesecake too.

Hubs is a big fan of coconut water, I can take it or leave it, so he drank the Vybe Coconut Water and liked it. I do know that coconut water is great to drink in hot weather, keeping you hydrated which is really important. I drank the fruity Zeo drinks over ice, they were cool and refreshing, the zingy zesty lime was my favourite and it’d be nice with a splash of gin.

There’s always so much to try in the Degustabox, it’s a good chance to try new things. I’m definitely be searching out a few of the things which came in the Degustabox June 2015.

If you’d like to give Degustabox a try I have a discount code giving you £3 off your next box, just enter 8MDEO at the checkout, this code is valid until 31st October 2015. You can find out more about Degustabox on their website.

Note: I was sent a Degustabox free of charge for review purposes, all images and opinions are my own.

My first Degustabox – May 2015

For a while now I’ve been Degustabox-curious, peering at pictures of their contents online and feeling pangs of temptation. For the uninitiated a Degustabox is a monthly food parcel subscription service. Each month you’re sent a box of goodies which are often brand new products, limited editions or just something just a little bit special. It costs £12.99 per month and the contents are usually worth about double that. It is a bit like playing lucky dip, so what did my box contain and what did I think?

My May 2015 “here comes summer” Degustabox contained –
Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce (43g)
Sweet Baby Ray’s Squeezable Honey Barbecue Sauce (510g)
Slim Pasta Lasagne (270g)
Maggi So StirFry Oriental Three Spice Chicken Noodles (185g)
Maggi So StirFry Singapore Curry Chicken Noodles (185g)
Schwartz Grill Meats Marinade in a Bag – Honey & Soy Flavour (200g)
Sarson’s Balsamic Vinegar of Modena (250ml)
Fuel10 24 Protein Boosted Wheat Biscuits Breakfast Cereal
Green Coco Kids Organic Coconut & Banana Juice
9bar Fruity mixed seed energy bar (4 in the box)
Daelmans Stroopwafels (8 per box)

The box had a general barbecue theme which I thought was interesting, they don’t always have themed boxes but I’m a big fan of barbecue flavours so I was very happy. The box was well packed and protected with bubble wrap so the contents arrived in excellent condition. I thought there was a good mix of products in the box, the things I probably wouldn’t eat I know the boys would love.

My eye was instantly drawn to the Daelmans Stroopwafels which are lovely waffles with caramel in the middle, if you rest them on top of a hot drink the caramel is meant to soften and be all extra delicious. Regrettably I opened the box in front of two hungry boys and very quickly all 8 of them waffles disappeared, we will be buying those again! I also really liked the barbecue sauces and the 9bar fruity seed bars which are great for throwing in your bag when you’re out and about.

What I especially liked was that it genuinely was like a lucky dip. If you’re a bit bored of cooking the same meals for your family week in and week out, then subscribing to Degustabox is a really good way of mixing things up and making you try new things. There are a number of things in this box we’ll be looking out for in the future.

If you’d like to give Degustabox a try I have a discount code giving you £3 off your first box, just enter JQAMO at the checkout. You can find out more about Degustabox on their website.

Note: I was sent a Degustabox free of charge for review purposes, all images and opinions are my own.

Meal Planning Monday w/c 10th February 2014

When my self-employed husband came home on Friday and announced he wouldn’t be able to pay himself for the next few weeks, I had horrible flashbacks of the time we didn’t have enough food or money to feed our son. But this time I was prepared.

I think we can ride out the next few weeks on the food I’ve been stockpiling in the freezer and pantry, yes we’ll need a few fresh items, but a few frugal weeks won’t do us any harm at all. We always meal plan, but this week I needed to be super organised. Challenge accepted.

What’s on our Meal Planning Monday Menu?

Monday – Homemade chorizo burgers, veg and couscous. I mixed up a mega-batch of these a few weeks ago and tucked some in the freezer for a rainy day, the couscous lives in the pantry. Sorted.

Tuesday – Pasta with homemade cheesy courgette sauce. Pantry and freezer to the rescue again.

Wednesday – Homemade pea and paneer curry with rice, just need to buy the paneer. Highlight of my week!

Thursday – Daddy’s homemade pizza and potato wedges. Yum.

Friday – Valentines Day tea, spaghetti vongole but without the vongole.

Saturday – Fajitias. Kit from the cupboard, quorn burgers sliced up with some veg, simple, tasty and fun.

Sunday – Whoopsie fishcakes, homemade potato wedges & peas.

Meal Planning Monday w/c 10th February 2014