Shopping with Morrisons

Morrisons supermarket entered a new battle of the prices last weekend with over 2000 products being made lower.  This was just in time for the May Bank Holiday and to get some feedback from families across the country, we were sent £80 of vouchers to try out the new lower priced Morrisons.

I do shop at Morrisons for a medium sized shop most weeks, purely because it is quite convenient to get to and does have some good offers although I do feel the choice can sometimes be limited.

As soon as I arrived at Morrisons last weekend I could see lots of yellow “I’m cheaper” posters, banners, balloons etc, so it was sure to catch everyone’s eye and I found particular items that had been reduced were clearly flagged on the shelves.

morrisons 1I’ve always found some good prices on the fruit and vegetables at Morrisons and was pleased this time to find things like a pack of three peppers for 99p, vine ripened tomatoes 69p, bags of apples and pears for 99p each and a whole cucumber for just 49p.  I also found a large box of nice looking strawberries for £3 which I though was good value for strawberries and a nice treat for Bank Holiday weekend.

I easily filled a trolley with plenty of fruit and veg, as well as some other items to make a few meals over the weekend including some nice lunches.  I also bought some weekly essentials such as washing up liquid, loo roll and some white wine.  Being Bank Holiday, I picked up a bottle of prosecco for a treat, which was on offer for just £6 instead of £12!!

Here’s just some of my Morrisons shopping:

Morrisons shopFor our family meal on Sunday we decided to have Roasted Vegetable & Pesto Puff Pastry tarts.   The children aren’t too keen on roasted vegetables, so I adapted their versions to include chicken which they love, although I don’t eat myself due to being vegetarian.

Roasted Vegetable & Pesto Puff Pastry Tarts
to serve 4

1 pack of ready rolled puff pastry
2 courgettes
2 red peppers
2 red onions
8 vine cherry tomatoes
8 teaspoons of green pesto
1 and half balls of Mozzarella cheese

1. Slice/chop the courgettes/peppers/onions into chunky pieces and roast in the oven with a light drizzle of oil until softened and roasted
2. Unroll the pastry sheet and cut into 4 rectangles
3. Spread 2 generous teaspoons of pesto across each piece
4. Lightly score a rectangle approx half inch from the edge
5. Layer the roasted vegetables on top of the pesto
6. Add slices of mozzarella on top of the vegetables, then top with halved cherry tomatoes
7. Oven cook until the pastry is risen and golden and the cheese is sizzling

morrisons roasted vegI served this with a green salad of leaves, cucumber and black pepper dressing and I’d estimate the total per portion to cost around £1.40.   Personally for me, this meal is lush, the pesto makes it so tasty and I really enjoy eating it.  Being simple to make and adapt to different peoples tastebuds, this makes it a great Bank Holiday meal that requires little effort!

morrisons veg tartOn Bank Holiday Monday itself, the husband was working, so I decided to go with the children up to my parents house and take lunch that I’d bought from Morrisons.

The bakery from Morrisons is something I’ve always thought was rather good, the smell gets me everytime, fresh bread, pastries, you name it, carbohydrates are my downfall!!  We came home with a bargainous 80p tiger loaf on our initial shop!!

On BH Monday we picked up some cheese scones and a delightful honey and sunflower loaf for lunch and took up some cheeses, ham, salad and crisps to my parents.  We also picked up a fresh cream chocolate sponge that was at the cheaper price of £1.  I also took up some fresh strawberries and raspberries from to decorate it along with some other Morrisons bakery cakes.

morrisons 2We served 6 with this fresh cream chocolate sponge and fruit, working out around 25p per portion!!

I laid out a buffet style lunch that we all enjoyed including fresh breads, cheeses, salad, houmous, crisps, dips and cakes.  It was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  I also bought some ice lollies as afternoon snacks for the children.

We really enjoyed shopping at Morrisons and did notice some of our usual items at a lower price.  I will still continue to purchase here on a weekly basis, although would like to see an increased range of some lines, my favourite Twinings tea had a discontinued sign up by it, the store I go to doesn’t stock Warburtons wraps and no other wholemeal varieties and I was a little disappointed to see that the only “I’m cheaper” signs on the eggs were for the caged variety! Poor chucks!!

Overall Morrisons will still feature in our weekly shopping, they do offer competitive prices  and have a good selection of weekly offers that are worth shopping there for.  Not to mention great house wine and a fabulous bakery!!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received we received voucher  in order shop at Morrisons and write the review.

A day exploring Central Park

With the Bank Holiday weekend upon us, daddy working ten hours shifts each day and the children desperate to get out in the fresh air I asked them where they wanted to go yesterday.  The answer was to have a picnic, collect nature things and not go in the car.  Miss M loves cycling and was keen to go on her bike so I decided we’d spend the afternoon in Central Park, the main park for the city and only a 5 minute walk from us.

Central2So we set off with Miss M leading the way on her bike, and Mister B in his pushchair (I knew his little legs wouldn’t last long walking), and explored the winding paths, up and down the hills and stopped whenever we saw something of interest.

They each had a bag to collect their treasure and we found a lovely area full of willow, oak and horse-chestnut trees where we parked the bike/buggy and set off exploring.

Central3We then decided to move on with Miss M going full steam ahead on her bike, she turned a corner and as we followed we saw her bike parked up.  I looked over to the side of the path and there she was, straddled across a fallen tree trunk pretending to ride a horse!!

Central1After lots of fun and giggling we decided to find a spot for our picnic and carried on up the winding paths until we came across a beautiful open space, the grass full of daisies and a gorgeous hedgerow blooming with pink flowers.  We sat down and enjoyed our lunch with the glorious sun rays beaming down upon us – we had found ourselves a little sun trap with no one in sight and silence apart from a few birds tweeting in the trees.

Central5After eating we carried on through the park and found a bench which they both got really excited about and insisted on sitting on.  We then headed up to the little playground which Mister B absolutely adored having a go on everything he could.

Central4After four hours strolling around, foraging for nature’s treasures, enjoying a picnic in a field full of daisies we were exhausted and headed home to relax and share our adventures with daddy.