Gingerbread Men Rocky Road

A quick, easy and fun traybake that's ideal for kids to help make. The classic Rocky Road takes on a festive twist with the addition of mini Gingerbread Men. Run run as fast as you can - this no bake Christmas treat won't hang around for long. 

I've got a bit of a thing for a certain man who isn't my husband. This man is a Ginger.

Nope not Prince Harry or Ed Sheeran or Ron Weasley (although Tim Minchin - it could be you...)

Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the Gingerbread Man.

Tunnocks Teacake Christmas Puddings

Such a quick and easy yet super visually impressive no bake Christmas Treat. Perfect for kids to help make. The iconic Scottish Tunnock's Teacake topped with white chocolate and red and green icing becomes a Figgy Pudding!

So today is Stir Up Sunday. The date on which you should traditionally make your Christmas Pudding. If that all seems like a wee bit too much hard work I've got an alternative idea to share. Tunnock's Teacake Christmas Puddings. If you want to stick with tradition I've also blogged my failsafe 7 Cup Pudding Recipe along with a boozy pud from Neil Forbes of Edinburgh's Cafe St Honoré. 

Party Ring Christmas Wreath Iced Biscuits

Christmas Wreath cookies for Santa. Turn kids favourite Party Ring biscuits into edible festive wreaths with the adition of icing and sprinkles. A great fun no bake treat - great for kids to help make.

I am so pleased with the festive food idea that I'm sharing with you today. These Party Ring Christmas Wreaths are so so simple to make but very effective. I actually feel like a wee bit of a fraud sharing a recipe/instructions as once you've seen a photo of them you know exactly what to do. I can't believe that I haven't seen these all over Pinterest, could I really have invented them?! (probably not!)

Three Ingredient Mincemeat Fudge

With only three ingredients, no tricky temperatures or boiling hot sugar required, this festive microwave Mincemeat Fudge is quick and easy to make. Add a slug of your favourite alcoholic spirit for a boozy kick. Ideal for a last minute edible Christmas gift.

It's the countdown to Christmas and time to roll out the festive fudge. Lots of you have already been making the previous recipes that I've shared and coming up with your own variations. Today's version is even simpler with only three ingredients. Chocolate, Condensed Milk and Mincemeat. For an extra boozy twist I used my own homemade Gin Mincemeat. You could easily pimp up a jar of supermarket ready made mincemeat with a good slug of something boozy. Whisky, gin, port or brandy would all work well. 

Brussels Sprouts Gratin with Cracked Black Pepper Oatcake Crust

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Post in collaboration with Nairn's Oatcakes

Brussels Sprouts are an absolute must have side dish on the Christmas dinner table. This year take them to a whole new level in a creamy gratin with bacon, chestnuts and garlic topped with a cheesy crust made with traditional Scottish oatcakes. Think cheesy skirlie! 

When it comes to Christmas are you #TeamSprout or #TeamNowt? When I asked on my Instagram stories the lovers outnumbered the haters 73% to 27% which I was somewhat surprised about. Personally I fall somewhere in the middle. To be fair I really only ever eat them at Christmas and even then it's possibly more to do with the fact that I feel obliged to do so. They are the Marmite of the vegetable world with jokes a plenty about mother-in-laws putting them on to boil in August so that they are ready for 25th December. Over the years that I've been cooking Christmas dinners I've found a most palatable way of eating them based on the fact that cream, bacon and cheese improves pretty much anything in the food world. My Brussels Sprouts Gratin is a world away from the unpleasant boiled to death sprouts of Christmas past. Plus its got THE most awesome Scottish oatcake topping. 

Terry's Chocolate Orange and Orange Matchmaker Fudge

Such an quick and easy four ingredient festive fudge to make in the microwave. Zingy Orange additions from Terry's Chocolate Orange and Orange Matchmakers for a real taste of Christmas. No tricky temperatures or boiling hot sugar required.

There are some sweets that really only ever get eaten at Christmas. Two of them I used in a previous version of this fudge - After Eight and Candy Cane Fudge - which has proved to be really popular. This year I used two other festive favourites - Terry's Chocolate Orange and Zingy Orange Matchmakers - to make a version of the fudge with one of my Community Cookery Classes. When I shared it on Instagram Stories I was inundated with requests for the recipe. My teenagers liked the sound of it too and demanded that I make another batch. Needless to say I bowed to the pressure and remade and blogged the recipe.

Christmas Milkshake Straws

Christmas Milkshake Straws are a great fun no bake festive treat. Ideal for kids to help make - and the perfect homemade edible gift. So simple but very effective and great fun to drink milk through as it turns chocolatey. 

I really can't describe this post as a recipe. It's more of a 'Christmas craft', or perhaps 'edible gift' covers it better. Whatever you want to call it, rest assured that you need absolutely no cooking (or crafting) skills to create these Christmas Milkshake Straws. They would be ideal for kids to help make and would be a fab homemade gift for their friends. I actually feel like a wee bit of a fraud sharing a recipe/instructions as once you've seen a photo of them you'll know exactly what to do. I can't believe that I haven't seen these all over Pinterest, could I really have invented them?! (probably not!)

Gin Cranberry Sauce

We wish you a Merry Ginmas! No festive meal is complete without Cranberry Sauce. This version includes Gin for a modern twist on the classic Christmas relish. Perfect to accompany a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and would make an ideal edible gift for any gin lover.

We wish you a Merry Ginmas! So far I've added the juniper spirit to Gin Butter and Gin Mincemeat, made a Mulled Gin and rounded up 10 Christmas Gin Recipes for UK Bloggers. Today it's the turn of Cranberry Sauce to get the Gin treatment. Most usually made with Port as the boozy component I whipped up a batch of Gin Cranberry Sauce to accompany a pre-thanksgiving turkey dinner. Fresh cranberries are just beginning to appear in the shops so grab a pack when you spot them and get ahead of the game with your Christmas prep. 

Mincemeat Muffins

A lighter version of the traditional Christmas Mincemeat Pie. These Mincemeat Muffins are so quick and easy to make. When you've made them once they are sure to become a Christmas baking staple.

This is absolutely the last recipe for Christmas 2017. I almost didn't bother to post it as like everyone else I currently have a HUGE to do list. However I'd made them and taken the photos so it seemed a shame for the work I'd already done to go to waste. The recipe is actually already on my blog in a post back in November 2012 however I've given the measurements in a rather weird combination of imperial and metric and the photography leaves a lot to be desired, so definitely time for a revamp.

I'm a huge mincemeat pie fan at Christmas however I do try to resist them for as long as possible as once I start on them I literally can. not. stop. My Mincemeat Muffins are a great alternative and are much quicker and easier to make and always go down a storm with those that try them. This year they headed to my husband's work colleagues and I'm taking it as a good sign that none came home. They are at their absolute best when freshly made and still warm, however a 20 second blast in the microwave will work wonders. Alternatively they freeze really well and can be instantly thawed by 40 seconds in the microwave. For extra Christmas spirit I made mine using my homemade Gin Mincemeat and I can thoroughly recommend serving them with a generous dollop of my Gin Butter. Merry GINmas!

Mincemeat Muffins

Makes 12

225g Plain Flour

60g Rolled Oats

1/2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

60g Caster Sugar

1 Free Range Egg

250ml Milk

90ml Vegetable or Corn oil

1 jar Mincemeat (411g)

Preheat the oven to 200c and prepare your muffin tins with 12 paper cases.

Sift together all dry ingredients into a large bowl. 

In a separate bowl combine all wet ingredients and the mincemeat.

Pour wet into dry and mix until just combined.

Spoon into muffin cases and bake for 20 minutes until tops are lightly browned. 

Sieve icing sugar over the top to serve. 

After Eight and Candy Cane Fudge

Such an quick and easy four ingredient festive fudge to make with minty additions from After Eights and Candy Canes for a real taste of Christmas. No tricky temperatures or boiling hot sugar required!

There are some sweets that really only come out at Christmas. Those huge tins of Quality Street, (which seem to have got much smaller and are now rather disappointingly plastic) Matchmakers, Ferrero Rocher, Terry's Chocolate Orange, York Fruits Jellies, Chocolate Coins, Candy Canes and After Eights. For the whole month of December it becomes acceptable to have a daily chocolate fix when you open your advent calender and on the 25th a Selection Box breakfast is a must. Although I'm usually an ardent supporter of the #CheeseNotChoc campaign - both a Cheester Egg and Cheese Advent Calender featured as highlights of my 2017 - I'm not completely adverse to a festive sweetie.

Today's recipe was inspired by one of my blogging colleagues Grace at Eats Amazing. She creates THE cutest and cleverest recipes ever with an emphasis on kids food and bento style packed lunches. I shared her Easy 2 Ingredient Fudge Recipe on my Facebook Page where she suggested some festive inclusions. This gave me an idea for a twist of my own with two of my personal Christmas sweet favourites. Say hello to my After Eight and Candy Cane Fudge. I've already used Candy Canes in my Candy Cane Rocky Road, Sledging Gingerbread Men and Candy Cane Bark but its the first appearance for After Eights in one of my recipes.

The After Eight and Candy Cane Fudge fudge is so so easy to make. No boiling, no tricky temperatures, no chance of it all going horribly wrong. No need to try and manoeuvre the After Eight from your forehead to your mouth and none of the disappointment of finding that someone has eaten all the mints and just left a box full of wrappers. And most definitely a step up from their 1960's advertising slogan: 'A woman's place is in the home, eating After Eight and looking beautiful.' 

After Eight and Candy Cane Fudge

50g Candy Canes

300g box of After Eights

300g Milk Chocolate

1 x 397g tin Condensed Milk

Red Edible Glitter (optional)

Line a traybake tin (aprox 34cm x 20 cm) with baking paper.

Smash up the candy canes in a plastic bag using a rolling pin - you still want to keep some chunky pieces.

Remove the After Eights from their wrappers and place two thirds (200g) of them in a large microwavable bowl. Roughly break up the remaining third (100g) into pieces and set aside.

Break up the chocolate and add it to the bowl with the After Eights. 

Microwave the After Eight and Chocolate for 30 seconds before pouring over the condensed milk and mixing together well.

Return to the microwave for a series of 30 second bursts. 

Remove, stir and check each time until it has melted. 

Add half (25g) of the smashed candy canes and beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth.

*** At this point you need to work quickly ***

Tip into the tin and spread it with a palette knife into a smooth and even layer. 

Sprinkle over the remaining half of the smashed candy canes and push in the pieces of After Eight. Sprinkle over the Edible Glitter if using. 

Place the tray of Fudge in the fridge to set.

Once hard cut into chunks with a large knife.

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Sledging Gingerbread Men

Ideal for edible gifts, kids Christmas parties or just as an 'oh so cute' Christmas sweet treat. These Sledging Gingerbread Men are quick and easy to make with only four ingreedients - Candy Canes, Gingerbread Men, Milky Ways and Chocolate.

WOW! You have all gone crazy for my Gingerbread Men Rocky Road and the Gingerbread Men Hot Chocolate Stirrers. I honestly can't believe the love there has been for them. Thanks SO much to those who have taken the time to tag me in photos of their creations. It always really does make my day! Over on Instagram perthshire.jen and create_bake_play made Gingerbread Men Rocky Road, ?? made Gingerbread Hot Chocolate Stirrers and princess_lyns made a mash up of two of my recipes with her Gingerbread Man and Candy Cane Rocky Road. 

All this Gingerbread Man love got me thinking about another Gingerbread Men creation which I made way back in Christmas 2013 as part of my Christmas Foodie Advent Calender. To be fair my photography back then was pretty grim but depite that, the idea was cleary good as the image has been pinned thousands of times and is my most popular recipe on Pinterest by far. How crazy is that! I reckoned that it was time for a remake with hopefully some better photos... 

When it comes to sourcing the ingreedients here's the scoop. You'll find Mini Gingerbread Men at both Co-Op and Sainsburys. Organix Goodies do them. You could also use Cadbury Festive Friends and I've also spotted some Mini Penguin shaped biscuits which could also work if fo some reason you don't love Gingerbread Men quite as much as I do. 

For the Fun Sized Chocolate Bars I used Milky Way (or rather the own brand alternative) but you could use Mars or Snickers or similar. 

My Mini Candy Canes were from from Home Bargains but any dicount/poundshops would be a good place to try. 

Sledging Gingerbread Men 

Mini Gingerbread Men 

Fun Sized Chocolate Bars 

Mini Candy Canes 

Milk Chocolate 

It really pays to take your time over making these and let the chcolate set in the fridge after each stage. Patience is a virtue! 

Melt some milk chocolate in the microwave or over a bain-marie. 

Cut the fun sized chocolate bars in half and use a pastry brush to paint the melted choclate on each cut size of the Milky Way, securing a mini gingerbread man in the middle.
Put in the fridge to set.
Remelt the chocolate and use it to attach a candy case on one side of your sledge.
Return to the fridge to set.
Remelt choclate and attach the second candy cane.
Return to the fridge for the final time to set.

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Merry Ginmas! 10 Christmas Gin Recipes

A boozy roundup of 10 Juniper filled Christmas recipes from UK bloggers that will be sure to get you in the Christmas Spirit. Everything from Gin Turkey to Gin Mincemeat and Mulled Gin to Gin Gingerbread. Whatever the festive recipe - just add Gin! 

Let the season beGIN

We wish you a Merry GINmas

GINgle all the way

Gin Butter (for your Christmas Pudding and Mince Pies)

Foodie Quine

Gin Marinated Olives

Celery and Cupcakes

Gin Mincemeat

Foodie Quine

Cranberry Infused Gin

Supper In The Suburbs

Salmon Terrine with Gin & Tonic Jelly

Rachel Phipps

Mulled Gin and Ginger Beer Winter Warmer

Foodie Quine

Spiced Gin Gingerbread Stars & Snowflakes

Victoria Sponge Pease Pudding

Mulled Gin Cocktail with Mulled Wine Ice Cubes

Veggie Desserts

Gin Brined Turkey

Easy Peasy Foodie

Gin & Appletiser Cocktail with Cranberry Ice Cubes

Fuss Free Flavours

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Cavolo Nero and Cranberry Christmas Nut Roast

Post in collaboration with Discover Great Veg

Vegetarians and meat eaters alike will love this festive Nut Roast full of flavoursome ingredients. Kale's Italian cousin - Cavolo Nero - brings a marvellous rich, intense and slightly sweet flavour to this Christmas Cavolo Nero and Cranberry Nut Roast.

For many of us Christmas is a time of indulgence. Overindulgence if truth be told. By the time I get to January my body is literally crying out for fruit and vegetables. This year I'm going to try harder for a balance and keep aiming at the five - or is it now ten - a day target, throughout the festive season. For me the easiest way to do this is make sure there is plenty veg on my plate. What were once considered somewhat underrated vegetables really seem to have made a real resurgence of late. Just look at Kale. Once the poor relation of the vegetable patch it is now championed by chefs, health experts and celebrities alike and has become one of the most talked about veggies there is. However it's Kale's exotic Italian cousin that I'm making the hero today. Say Ciao to Cavolo Nero. 

This brilliant brassica, which originated in Italy and is now grown in Lincolnshire has distinctive long, dark green, almost black leaves. Also known as black kale you may find it on sale labelled as either. It has a marvellous rich, intense and slightly sweet flavour and is such a versatile green. Swap it out where you might use regular kale or spinach or let it shine like that star that it is. You'll find it chopped and ready to use in most leading supermarkets. Find out more at www.discovercavolonero.co.uk and on Discover Great Veg Facebook and Instagram.

This dish would work equally well as the vegetarian centrepiece of a Christmas dinner or as a weeknight supper for all. It would also be great sliced up and served as a stuffing alongside Roast Turkey. You could even use the same mixture and roll it into stuffing balls. However it's way too good just to save for Christmas so if it's not Cranberry season just leave them out. Crispy roast potatoes and a delicious gravy work particularly well with Cavolo Nero and Cranberry Christmas Nut Roast. I can recommend this Homemade Vegetarian Gravy from Becca at Amuse Your Bouche or if you fancy a Sierra Leonean twist how about Bintu at Recipe From A Pantry's Peanut Butter Gravy? Or keep it fully festive with Kate at Veggie Desserts Sage Gravy.

Cavolo Nero and Cranberry Christmas Nut Roast

1 Tbsp Rapeseed Oil, plus extra for oiling tin

1 Leek, finely shredded

2 large cloves Garlic, crushed

250g Chestnut Mushrooms, finely chopped

150g Cavolo Nero, shredded

200g Walnut pieces, roughly chopped

100g Wholemeal Breadcrumbs

100g Mixed Seeds (I used Sunflower & Pumpkin)

100g Fresh Cranberries

2 Free Range Eggs, beaten

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Preheat the oven to 180c degrees.
Grease a 1.5L (2lbs) loaf tin and line the base with baking paper.
Heat the rapeseed oil in a large saute pan and add the Leek, Garlic, Mushrooms and Cavolo Nero. Cook slowly for 5-10 minutes until softened.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the chopped walnuts, breadrumbs, seeds, cranberries, beaten egg and soy sauce. Season well with salt and pepper and stir gently to combine.
Pile the mixture into the loaf tin, pressing it down well. Smooth over the top.
Bake for 40 minutes or until the Cavolo Nero and Cranberry Christmas Nut Roast feels firm.
Remove from the oven and allow to rest in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out.
To serve slice thickly with a sharp knife.

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Linking up to Recipe Of The Week and Cook Blog Share

Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for Discover Great Veg. As always, all views expressed are my own.

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me as a passionate Scottish Food Blogger to continue to share my Edible Food and Travel Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to bring you only the cream of the crop.

Gingerbread Men Hot Chocolate Stirrers

The perfect edible Christmas gift for a Chocolate fan. These Gingerbread Men Hot Chocolate Stirrers are absolutely adorably cute and at the same time so quick and easy to make. Use them with hot milk or in coffee for a mocha.

I'm back with more Christmassy Gingerbread men and this won't be the last of them as there's still another idea (or possibly two...) up my sleeve. Yup I'm Gingerbread Man obsessed! There was so much love for the Gingerbread Men Rocky Road recipe that I posted last week. Instagram in particular went crazy for it. Needless to say they didn't hang around in the biscuit tin for long and I'm going to have to whip up at least another batch before Christmas.

Today's 'recipe' would make the ideal stocking filler edible gift for both adults or kids. It can either be stirred into warm milk to make a hot chocolate or in coffee for a mocha. Kids may even like to eat them as lollies! The gingerbread man will be freed from the chocolate as it melts and eaten alongside. Perfect for cosy nights curled up on the sofa getting hygge with a gingerbread man. If you wish to add a slug of Baileys to your Hot Chocolate or Coffee that's fine by me! 

Disposable wooden teaspoons look the nicest for this but if you can't track any down then plastic spoons will of course work or you could use wooden lolly sticks. I *think* I got my spoons at either Tiger or Hema. Not 100% sure - sorry! To give them as gift wrap in cellophane - the bags make it easier - and tie with some festive ribbon or twine. I used milk chocolate but you could use dark, white or flavoured and even layer different types up for a striped effect.

Gingerbread Men Hot Chocolate Stirrers

Makes 8

You will need...

Silicone Ice Cube Tray

8 Disposable Spoons

Cellophane Bags & Festive Twine

Ingredients
Gingerbread Man Sprinkles (I got mine at Sainsbury's)
Mini Marshmallows
200g Milk Chocolate
8 Mini Gingerbread Men (Sainsbury's and the Co-Op have these)

Put a pinch of Gingerbread Man sprinkles and 2 or 3 mini marshmallows into the bottom of 8 sections of a silicone ice cube tray.

Melt the chocolate over a bain-marie or in the microwave.

Fill up each 'ice cube' until its about 3/4 full.

Place a spoon into each section making sure it is pressed down well.

Recline a gingerbread man against each spoon, making sure his legs are well dipped in the chocolate.

Finish with a further pinch of Gingerbread Man sprinkles and 2 or 3 mini marshmallows per stirrer.

Pop them into the fridge to set.

Carefully remove from the silicone molds and package in cellophane.

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Linking up to Cook Blog Share, Recipe of the Week and We Should Cocoa

Hints and Tips for Christmas Entertaining using Frozen Food

Post in collaboration with Iceland Foods

A festive soiree with Luxury Food & Platters combined with hints and tips for using frozen food to make your festive entertaining easier. This Christmas let Iceland and the #PowerOfFrozen take the strain and help give you the best gift you can have: time with family and friends. 

Can I make a confession? As much as I love cooking it's the last thing I want to be doing at Christmas. At the most wonderful time of the year I want to be spending my time making memories with family and friends, not slaving over a hot stove. Does that make me a bad food blogger? I hope Santa doesn't think so! In an ideal world I want to be socialising in my little black dress with a glass of fizz in hand not sweating it out in the kitchen bedecked in a novelty festive apron. So how to help make this happen? The secret is the #PowerOfFrozen. Serving up freezer food to festive guests would once have been considered the ultimate social faux-pas. However times have changed and so has frozen food.

I've been working with Iceland for almost two years now helping to change perceptions of frozen foods and share the #PowerOfFrozen message. Prior to this I'd really only ever shopped there at Christmas for party food (surely we all remember the ubiquitous Kery Katona and the infamous Prawn Ring?!) Over the last two years Iceland have worked hard to up their game, change perceptions and increase their product range and I've been delighted to have been on that journey with them. They've certainly succeeded in changing my own perceptions of both frozen food and themselves as a brand. I reckon that they have surpassed themselves with this year's range of award winning and luxury products which can help you (and me!) create an impressive, elegant and showstopping party spread for whatever the festive occasion.

Even Nigella Lawson says "Your best friend at this time of year is your freezer". I'm not sure if the ultimate domestic goddess means that she'll be shopping at Iceland but I'm going to take her at her word whatever the intention. And if truth be told I will also be making plenty of Christmas food from scratch and popping it in the freezer in advance of the big day. With all that in in mind here's my reasons why you should use frozen food at Christmas and my top tips for doing so.

Why use Frozen Food at Christmas

• Spend less time in the kitchen and more time with friends and family
• Frozen food can help reduce food waste as unlike fresh food it does not go off within days.
• Buying frozen ingredients saves time without breaking the bank.
• Can help you to cater for all dietary requirements with gluten free, dairy free, vegetarian and vegan options.
• Ideal for unexpected guests and impromptu get togethers, particularly as many products can be cooked straight from frozen.
• An extra hand in the kitchen is always welcome (if only frozen food could help with the washing up)
• With a well stocked freezer you won't have to brave the dreaded Christmas Eve supermarket shop
• Frozen food can help you access luxury products you'd never consider buying fresh and preparing yourself such as lobster and crab

Top Tips for using Frozen Food at Christmas 

• Check and double check which foods can be cooked from frozen and which need to be defrosted. 
• When buying frozen party food check that it can all be cooked at (roughly) the same oven temperature.  
• Always put an egg wash (or even milk wash) on frozen sausage rolls or similar pastry products before cooking to give them a tempting shine.
• Avoid serving catastrophes by removing desserts from their packaging whilst they are still frozen and onto the dishes you’ll be serving them on. 
• For a homemade touch, garnish savoury dishes with with fresh herbs, chutneys and pickles and for sweet treats decorate with fruit, berries or a sifting of icing sugar. 
• Don't forget to buy Ice Cubes. Your G&T with the Queens Speech just won't be the same without them.
• If you want to pretend that you made it all yourself from scratch be sure to hide the packaging well!

As an extended family we always have a 'party food' lunch on Christmas Day. This follows breakfast of Smoked Salmon, Scrambled Eggs, Croissants and Champagne and precedes a traditional Christmas Dinner served late afternoon. I picked up a selection of Iceland Luxury Food & Platters for a trial run. My kids were well impressed with an impromptu midweek festive soiree for just the four of us Those that caught my eye instore within the £3 or any two for £5 range were: 

Cheesy Jalapenos Wrapped in Bacon

Chicken Nachos with Salsa Dip

Chicken and Chorizo Cups

Extra Mature Vintage Cheddar Soufflettes

Mini Crab Mac and Cheese

Filo Ribbon Wrapped Prawns

We tried out the Chicken Nachos with Salsa Dip and the Chicken and Chorizo Cups. Both went down really well with the kids yet were sophisticated enough for adult tastes. Of those yet to try I reckon I've hit gold with the Extra Mature Vintage Cheddar Soufflettes. These were the winner of Best supermarket Christmas canapés in the olive Christmas supermarket awards 2017 with the following comment - You cook these canapés straight from frozen (which is a bonus in our books) and they come out of the oven beautifully light and fluffy, with just the right whack of cheese. 

Out traditional Christmas Eve meal is a Fish Pie and for starters with we opt for a selection of seafood based nibbles. The Mini Crab Mac and Cheese above would also work really well for this but for for our test run I purchased:

Luxury Sushi Platter

Luxury Smoked Salmon Snowflake Terrine 

Luxury Coconut Leaf Prawn Parcels

My teenage son is a big sushi fan and given full reign of the kitchen would happily spend a whole day making it. However that ain't going to be happening at this time of year! This sushi platter is a most acceptable substitute, it's not on a par with freshly made but it sure beats the rather dried up offerings found in supermarket chiller cabinets - and it made a fantastic Christmas tree! The smoked Salmon snowflake terrine was so pretty and the creamy mousse delicious. However I should have taken my own (and admittedly the packaging...) advice and popped it out whilst it was still frozen - I'll know for next time. However for me the real factor came from the Coconut Leaf Prawn Parcels. I have quite literally never seen the likes of these! You can either cook them from frozen in a steamer for 10 minutes or pop them in the microwave for a couple of minutes. So unusual, super tasty and a real talking point at only £4 for eight parcels. 

Do let me know in the comments your reasons to have a frozen Christmas plus share any further tips on how to do so. But for now please Eat, Drink and be Merry this Christmas and let the #PowerOfFrozen take the strain. I most certainly will be!

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Disclosure: This is a commissioned post for Iceland Foods. As always, all views expressed are my own.

Thank you for supporting the brands who make it possible for me as a passionate Scottish Food Blogger to continue to share my Edible Food and Travel Adventures with you. I’m super choosy who I work with and promise to bring you only the cream of the crop.