Chicken and Chorizo Spanish Style Stew

This delicious recipe can be eaten in the warmer months in a tapas style served with crusty bread or on a cold Winter's night with rice.

Serves 4
Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - From 45 mins to 1 hour 15 mins

2 tsp vegetable or olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 carrots, small cubes
500g chicken thighs, chopped into pieces
1 tsp paprika
2 packets of Freshers Mini Chorizo Paprika flavour, chopped
400g tinned tomatoes
350ml chicken stock
400g cannellini beans
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp fresh parsley

Method
1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 mins until softened. Add the carrots and stir through.
2. Add the chicken and paprika and cook until sealed.
3. Add the Freshers Mini Chorizo and stir through.
4. Stir in the tomatoes then add the chicken stock.
5. Stir in the beans.
6. Add black pepper.
7. Bring to the boil then simmer for minimum 30 minutes and up to 60 minutes (but keep an eye on it so it doesn't dry out).
8. Scatter the parsley and serve with rice or crusty bread, or in our illustration we served with quinoa and bulgur wheat.


Wine Recommendation:
Rioja of course, or try it with a chilled Chianti.

10 Mouthwatering facts about bacon

Bacon has been described as meat candy and no wonder! It's rich, indulgent, crispy and super tasty. People from all over the world enjoy bacon; whether it's in a traditional British Breakfast, tossed on a salad at lunch or even dipped in chocolate, there's a bacon treat for everyone.

Below are just the Top 10 Facts (of many) about the delicious mouthwatering bacon:

1. In UK Bacon is purchased by 90.4% of households
2. Bacon represents 11% of a standard pig's weight
3. The word Bacon dates back to the late 1500s
4. Denamark consumes the most pork in the world
5. There are varieties of of beer, vodka and bourbon that are Bacon flavoured!
6. St Anthony the Great is the Patron Saint of Bacon
7. Bacon is smoked and cured but different places around the world use different cuts
8. In a lighthearted survey conducted by Maple Leaf Foods found that 23% of men ranked Bacon as their favourite fragance.
9. BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato) sandwiches became popular after WW2
10. Guanciale is an Italian speciality, which is Bacon made from pork cheeks

DIY your very own pig ornament

Christmas is nearly upon us and here's a fun and simple DIY ornament tutorial to create a sparkly pig ornament for your tree. This ones great with little ones.

You will need:
- Christmas ornament ball (pink optional but helps!)
- Pink glitter
- Googly eyes (black or pink)
- Pink foam/felt fabric
- Glue
- Scissors
- Black felt tip/ marker pen
- Silver or gold string for hanging

1. Cover the Christmas ornament ball in glue and sprinkle on pink glitter. Once ball is covered, shake off the excess and leave to dry.
2. From the pink felt/pink fabric cut out two small triangles for ears and a circle for the nose
3. Dab a bit of glue onto the sprinkled bauble and stick on the googly eyes (roughly above the centre)
4. Next dab on a bit more glue and stick on the ears above the eyes
5. With your felt tip marker draw on the pink felt circle two smaller cirles to create the pig nose. Also stick this onto the glittered bauble.
6. Thread the string through and hang on the tree

Guilt Free Snacks Under 100 Calories

So you're feeling peckish and need a snack to fill that rumbly tummy before lunch or dinner, but want to have a healthy snack. Well you could help yourself to a piece of fruit (most fruit) that are approximately 100
calories. This includes average sized apples, bananas and grape fruits. A medium peach is just 60 calories and a watermelon is 46 calories per cup. Or perhaps have a handful of nuts, which is also equivalent to around 100 calories.

But what to do if you want to indulge and have something a bit more meaty? Great news, now you can! Freshers Bacon Jerky BBQ packs (25g) contain just 76 calories and the Original variant just 86 cals! These meat snacks are high in protein and low in cals, perfect win win snack option.

Just 76 cals 

Just 86 cals

What is Bacon Jerky?
Solid strips of marinated sweet cured bacon pieces that have been cooked and air dried to create a finished ready to eat meat snack, that can be enjoyed at home or on the go.

It's a good snack for you because...

• It's just 76 calories (BBQ pack) 86 calories (Original pack)
• It's high in protein (45.4%)
• Ready to eat, no need for cooking or chilling
• You can eat it at home or on the go
• It's available in two tasty flavours Original and BBQ

Where can I buy this delicious low calorie snack?
Freshers Bacon Jerky is available to buy from major retailers such as Tesco and Asda. You can also purchase it online from Amazon or from the manufacturers, Freshers Foods.

You can also use Freshers Bacon Jerky to make delicious hot bacon sandwiches in seconds! Find out how.

- The Chatty Pig

P.S. For more snack news sign up with your email for post updates

Have your beer and Eat it too

A company on the other side of the pond has created a range of unique beer flavoured ice cream 'Frozen Pints', yep that's right ice cream that tastes just like beer! From Brown Ale Chip to Malted Milk Chocolate Stout, Frozen Pints offer seven distinctive flavours with the strongest having an alcoholic level of 3.2% which is the same as a low point beer.

This great new idea started out as an accident when someone spilled beer near the ice cream maker at Ari Fleischer's party 'We were having a party and a friend brought over the ice cream maker to make homemade ice cream' the 29-year-old New Yorker explained 'But another friend spilled a beer nearby, and I watched it happen and thought "this is a great idea!" Mr Fleischer, the creator of Frozen Pints, admitted he is passionate about craft beer and loves ice cream, so he picked up a new hobby and started experimenting with different flavours and the results are phenomenal.

Frozen Pints is available at a variety of bars and stores around Atlanta, Georgia in Peach Lambic, Honey IPA, Pumpkin Ale, Brown Ale Chip, Cinnamon Expresso Stout, Vanilla Block and Malted Milk Chocolate Stout flavours and 450ml tub retails at $6.99 (£4.33). One tub of ice cream is equal to one pint of beer - so you would have to eat a lot to get tipsy! Nonetheless, you must be of legal age to buy and consume this new bar snack.

Although Frozen Pint is not yet available in the UK, I can imagine it would taste great with a packet of Pub Original Pork Scratchings, mmm.

To find out more about Frozen Pints check out their website and watch their YouTube advert below

- The Chatty Pig

Halloween inspired recipe Witche's Brew with Freshers Bacon Jerky

This spooky Halloween inspired recipe is simple and delicious. It will only take around 20 minutes to prepare, 12 minutes to cook and will serve 6.

Witche's Brew (Pea & Bacon Chowder)

Ingredients:
Olive oil x 1 tbsp
Onion x 1 (finely chopped)
Garlic clove x 1 (crushed)
Frozen peas x 650g
Vegetable stock x 750ml
Butter x 1 tbsp
Freshers Bacon Jerky Original x 2 packets

Method:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the onion and gently cook over a medium heat for 5-6 mins, until softened but not coloured. Add the garlic and cook for a further min.
2. Stir in 3/4 of the frozen peas and then pour in the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-12 mins.
3. Allow to cool, then carefully transfer to a food processor and whizz until smooth.
4. Return the soup into the pan and add the remaining peas. Bring to the boil and simmer for 2 mins. 
5. Season to taste, then stir in the butter.
6. Empty Freshers Bacon Jerky into a plate and whizz in the microwave for 20 seconds.
7. Scatter the Bacon jerky over bowls or mugs of soup.

And voila, you're all done!

If you would like some more spine chilling Halloween recipes and other ideas, check out my post on Spooktastic Halloween ideas

Psst Freshers Mini Chorizo is on sale on Amazon!!

Freshers new tasty snack Mini Chorizo, made from tasty Spanish dried cured sausages, is now on sale on Amazon! This delicious ready-to-eat meat snack is like the little bites of Spanish goodness and if you haven't tried it yet, well you are missing out. 

Hurry, hurry the sale is on for limited time only and once they're gone, they are gone. So chop, chop and shop, shop! Take me to the sale!

- The Chatty Pig