M&S Pizza Offer for Autumn 2017 Is Their Best Yet! 2 Pizzas & 2 Sides for £10

Marks & Spencer's £10 Pizza Deals are legendary, second only to their Dine In weekend meals which should go down in history as one of the best ideas they ever came up with. 

Their pizza deal for autumn 2017 is beyond a bargain and should feed a whole family easily. You can choose two pizzas, and two sides for £10. 

The pizzas can be from their classic selection, but it's worth noting you can try their brand new Detroit style pizzas, which have just hit stores this week, in the offer also.

The Detroit Style pizzas are thin based and fully loaded. The Philly Steak has Colby cheese, green peppers, house sauce, mozzarella, mature cheddar and comes with American mustard mayo for drizzling once cooked. Three cheeses on one pizza!

All Fired Up is a classic American Hot, with pepperoni and red hot chilli sauce for drizzling. The Whole Hog is a pork lovers dream and the Meatball Marinara combines your two favourite Italian dishes in one delicious handheld snack.

With two sides to choose from, there's coleslaw, potato salad & fresh side salads, or for a real treat you can pick from Mac N Cheese Bites, Cheesy Pizza Fries & Spicy Chicken & Rice Bites. These can really bulk the meal up if there are more than three of you.

The offer is on in stores now, so the choice is really up to you. Any two pizzas, and any two sides for £10. 

I will update with some cooked pizza shots over the next few days as we work our way through these beasts! 

M&S Spirit of Summer 2017 is In Store Now- 20% Off Meals, Deli & Salad Offers, Plus a Summer Meal Deal for £7

Spirit of Summer has arrived in store at  Marks & Spencer and there are a selection of offers to take advantage of to try the new dishes and meals.

The first is the £7 Summer Meal for Two. It's a main, a side and a salad, for two to share. There are chicken, fish and meat options, but I really found myself fancying the vegetarian offers. I chose the tomato & mozzarella stuffed peppers, above, but there were also very tasty looking stuffed aubergines. It was tricky to choose, which became the theme or selecting items for this blog post. There is a lot of fab new products on the shelves in the Spirit of Summer 2017 range, dishes and ingredients I haven't seen in supermarkets before even, so choosing is tricky, due to wanting to try everything at once!

After oven cooking and trying the mozzarella stuffed peppers, I HIGHLY recommend them. The pesto drizzle was heavenly. I'll be buying them again. 

So it's handy to be able to choose from the deli 3 for £7 deal, and the new Spirit of Summer deli dishes are included. There are also summer meat selections in the 3 for £10 offer and I had to try the new calamari with pomegranate dressing. 

The new summer deli items are from all over the world so there are a lot of exotic tastes to try. Last summer season the ranges seemed fixed in the Americas for flavours, but Spirit of Summer 2017 is all new, and already I'm loving the variety this year a lot more. 

Another deal you can take advantage of right now is 20% off a wide range of the summer meals and desserts. This includes much of the range that doesn't fall under the deli or meat deals. For example the lamb flatbread was only £2.40 with the offer, which is a bargain for a fancy pizza for one. 

The new desserts I haven't investigated too much yet, but there are cakes, cupcakes and fridge desserts in the 20% off deal. The Valencian Orange & Almond cupcakes are a delight. I'm fond of anything with almond, and the flavours balance each other nicely. Perfect for afternoon tea.

Finally, the small square salads are 2 for £4 and there are a good half dozen new dishes to choose from. The feta, tomato and morello cherry salad was a must try for me. The green courgette salad was fresh and light and would make a great side for an early BBQ.

Let me know what Spirit of Summer treats you've tried this week, @rudedoodle on Twitter. 

M&S Valentine's Dine In 2017- Love Is a Home Cooked Meal For Two

The Marks & Spencer Valentine's Day Dine In seems to get more impressive every year. This time around it's the same £20 deal which includes a starter, main course, side, dessert, wine or prosecco and a box of chocolates. 

The offer is in store now and will be available until Tuesday. The full selection and menu can be perused  on the M&S site, and there are a lot of options to pick from with this deal, more so than during the traditional Dine In menus that run throughout the year. Here is a snapshot of some of the  options, and my picks from what was available in the Bloomfields Bangor store. 

I went for the smoked salmon starter (see a couple of photos down). I can't help but be swayed by golden shiny food!

For main course I chose a pair of sirloin steaks, and there is a rump steak option also. I reckon the garlic mushrooms are the perfect side dish to accompany the steaks. 

There are a couple of really impressive looking desserts, but the stand out dish has to be the rose shaped chocolate salted caramel mousses.  The white chocolate raspberry spheres are equally special.

I skipped the prosecco and chose the pink bubbly, but you can also select white or red wine, plus non-alcoholic choices too. 

So the Dine In is a must-buy for one of the next couple of nights if not Valentine's itself, but the store is also bursting with confectionary gifts for the 14th February. 

There is a clever little deal a lot like the stocking offer they did at Christmas, but this time for £5 you get a heart gift box, then you pick three boxes of sweets to build your gift. It's a little bit of personalisation that will be appreciated, and it's a bargain to boot. 

Of course there are also a dozen gifts already to go to chose from, and I'm loving the metallic shimmer on all the chocolates this year. 

M&S Picnic Offer: 4 Food Items for £10 Plus a Free Picnic Bag, Cutlery Roll, or Bottle of Wine

New York Wings : Bourbon Wings : Sparkling Fizz : Wings 4 for £10 : Fizz free

It's holiday time in Northern Ireland tomorrow, and whether you are heading towards or away from the Twelfth Celebrations, a picnic could very well be on the cards. This current M&S deal isn't listed in the food offers on their website, but I can fill you in on how this one works so you can decide if it's a good deal for you.

Sadly the Bangor Bloomfields store was out of picnic bags, but when you buy the four mix and match items you can choose either the cutlery roll, or a bottle of red or white wine, or a fancy Spirit of Summer fizzy. I got two versions of the deal with one set of cutlery and one fizz. The drink to buy alone is £6 so it's a great freebie, you know how much I rave about the dine in for £10 deal. 

I chose quite a lot of meat and fish as my 'four items', and it's worth noting if you are on the Atkin's Diet, or eat a lot of protein for training, this deal is a great way of getting a lot of snacking meat at a good price. There are half a dozen flavours of cooked chicken including tubs of wings ready to eat.  

If someone took me on a picnic and instead of pulling out some sandwiches they whipped out a colourful bottle of bubbly and a tub of bourbon chicken wings just for me, I would fall in love with them on the spot. 

If you want something more carbsy for the whole family there are little wraps, quiches, that sort of thing to mix and match four for £10 too. 

Calamari : Salmon : King Prawn

LOOK AT THE COCONUT! There are two drinking coconuts, £3 and £3.25, and one has a ring pull! I don't like coconut water but it's so kitsch that I couldn't resist. I wonder would the browner looking one (further down this post) keep for a few days after use? They would be class for serving cocktails in, or even as decor in a home bar.

I buy the calamari rings in the picture above quite regularly. They make a tasty snack rather than a bag of crisps. These are the mix and match four for £10 cooked meats and fish I mentioned. Then you pick your wine, fizz, picnic bag or cutlery. 

The cutlery included is plastic, but of course you could use your own.  

I'm a fan of the 'Just Add' salad pots. They also do pots of hard boiled egg, tomatoes, red onion, crispy bacon, croutons. For £1.50 that little pot is a lot more handy than guessing when your whole avocado is ripe, then trying to get it cut up.

So here us my little plate of picnic lunch. As you can see I monopolised the calamari. I just love squid. The pulled pork wrap was my other favourite.

If you are reading this hungrily but only need to feed one person, the Spirit of Summer lunch deal can allow you to join in with the exotic tates during your lunch hour. You get a sandwich, pasta or salad main, a side or dessert and a drink for £4 or under. It's also mix and match with the all year round lunch items included in the deal (look for the price label or sticker on the product, because unlike Boots, some of the lunch items aren't included in this deal).

I chose a pulled pork and apple brioche bap, a fruit salad and a pineapple juice. There's also a gorgeous watermelon juice in the deal to try. 

Carrying on the snacking, Spirit of Summer migrates to the savoury snack aisle too. There are packs of nuts, sweet potato crisps, and these hearty corn chips for around £2 a pack. Pick up the Spirit of Summer salsas for a really authentic taste. I love the heavy-on-the-sweetcorn dip in the £2.50 Three Salsa Selection, it reminds me of the corn salsa from Boojum.

Fruit is always summery and melon is my favourite fruit. The shaker and platter are both £2 each. This is the coconut with the ring pull!

Now I featured a lot of the Spirit of Summer dessert range last week, but not all of it is suitable to travel to a picnic. These 85p yoghurt are, and you've little spoons in the free cutlery roll, so you are ready to go. 

A little heads up- M&S fudge is terribly good. They've a lemon meringue variety right now in these £2 sized packs, it's not Spirit of Summer, so I didn't pick it up, but if you see it, I highly recommend it. 

Enjoy your holiday week! Follow me on Snapchat to see what we get up to. I post there daily. Username Rudedoodle, or scan the image on the left with your Snapchat app.

I will try to follow everyone back to nosy at your holidays too. 

Also tell me what you like from the M&S Spirit of Summer range, on there or on Twitter, also @rudedoodle

And if you want to follow our vlog channel, that's over at Smix Brix YouTube. Thanks!

Pizza & Prosecco £10 Deal & a Summer of Sweets at M&S

I LOVE a good ​Marks & Spencer Dine In offer. It's like buying a bottle of wine & getting a free meal with it. This week they have another amazing £10 meal deal but this time you can choose a bottle of Prosecco with a scrumptious, deli style, wood fired pizza.

Even a cheap bottle of Prosecco is hard to find for a tenner, but getting some grub too is an offer not to be missed. You could even stock up, dare I say it, for Christmas, by buying several of the deal, and the pizzas can be frozen so it's win win.

Whilst the deal is being advertised as Pizza & Prosecco, you can choose from sparkling Rosé, two beers, white or red wine, and the non-alcoholic alternative is a box of Swiss chocolates! 

Napoletana

Salami

If you don't fancy that deal, there are also mini versions of the wood fired pizzas for one person. 

Plus it's not the only pizza deal in store right now. If you purchase any two pizzas, either from the wood fired range or regular selection, you get a free pizza cutter. It's really good quality & evey home should have one. The classic pizzas are £4 each.

I chose two of the Spirit of Summer variety pizzas, Bbq Pulled Pork and Tinga Chicken & Chorizo. 

The Spirit of Summer range is spread throughout the entire Food Hall in all departments, and I decided for this blog post to hone in on the dessert selection. Spirit of Summer is inspired by classic dishes and ingredients from the Americas. 

Get Wimbledon ready! 

As you can see I went a little sugar crazy! 

There are so many tempting treats to choose from, super for throwing an afternoon tea or summer's day picnic. 

Dulce de Leche tea cakes are only £1. The £2.50 summer tartlet selection has cute little Mississippi mud pie, coconut & lime and dulce de Leche & pecan treats, and there is dulce de Leche on offer again in a mini cheesecake for £3.

There are more mini desserts in the carnival cupcake selection, with rocky road, key lime and coconut buns for £3.50 . There is a sharing size Key Lime Pie for £3, and individual lemon & ricotta cheesecake slices for £2.60. The latter falls into a mix and match dessert offer where you can buy two sweets for £4. 

The American taste influence continues in the biscuit & snack department. The cookies are mix and match, 2 packs for £3.50. The dark chocolate & mango Jaffa cakes are only £1. If you really want to spoil yourself then try the summer macaroon selection which has 12 bite size delights for £6.

So why not treat yourself to pizza, bubbly and something sweet this week at M&S. 

Father's Day 2016 is Sweet at M&S

Father's Day is this Sunday in the UK & Ireland. Smix & I popped along to our local Bloomfields branch in Bangor, to see what's in store to pick up for your Pops this weekend.

Firstly there's a great offer to pick up a smart polo shirt, shorts and greetings card for £19.50 perhaps best for the older Dad, my own Dad would love this set. It's all mix and match, so you can choose from dozens of colour combinations to make the outfit that's right for your Dad's day in the sun.

There are other offers you might be interested in, like 30% off men's fragrance, toiletries and toiletry gifts. 

Or there's the classic mug option! A Father's Day staple in our household for many a year as I was growing up. 

There are dozens of craft ales, which I'll come to later, but if your dad is teetotal then check out this fancy root beer. I picked up the matching cream soda,  priced at £2 each and would make for a very fancy bbq refreshment at any time this summer.

Now onto the main Food Hall offerings. I'm a sucker for an M&S cake, and there's a special Dad cake on the shelves for this weekend's celebrations. The £8 cake is a delicious combination of Belgian chocolate, coffee & salted caramel in layers.

The off license section of your local store is stocked with a wealth of apt Father's Day tipple ideas. I couldn't resist this pre-mixed espresso martini, for £12, which we will chill to ice cold & serve on the rocks. 

And here's the tempting praline cream soda I mentioned, which would make a neat little gift with some of M&S's yummy gingerbread men. The minis are £1.10 and the regular sized are £1.50

My dad has a sweet tooth and loves nougat, so I chose this huge slab of his favourite for £5, which I will give to him along with a nice bottle of red wine. Many of the Belgian chocolate boxes are half price right now, in celebration of Father's Day, so if your dad loves his sweeties too, check out what your local Food Hall has on offer. 

Now, onto that bottle of red wine I mentioned! I was lucky to notice there is a  dine in style offer on right now. You pick a main, from a selection of great bbq/summer style dishes, two sides, and a bottle of wine, or two bottles of ale/beer. So it's definitely a dad themed sort of meal deal! You get all that for a tenner, and with bottles of wine usually costing £7.99 at least these days, you can't be bad to that.

I chose these products, and snapped some of the other choices for you. 

They also have some great hot hot sauces in the Food Hall, the packaging of these caught my eye. 

These are the ales you can pick from and take two of for the meal deal, or a bottle of wine as usual. 

Some more of the alcohol gifts I thought would make good presents. These colourful gins were £14 each.

You could put together a great gift set of ales, beers or ciders for your dad to try out.  If you buy six you save a huge 25% so it's worth your while stocking up for you too! Have a great Father's Day 2016!

P.S. We cooked the Dine in Meal this evening, shared between 3 adults & Smix, with just an extra chicken kebab and small salad to fill out the meal as it was meant for two people.  We are full! For £10 with a bottle of wine or two ales, it's a steal.

The Mayo that comes along with the sweet potato fries is to DIE for. I highly recommend it!  

The Complete Menu of Options for the M&S Valentines' Dine In Special 2016. What Will You Choose?

It's my favourite Marks & Spencer Dine In long weekend of the whole year, the £20 Valentines' selection. The courses are always sprinkled with total show stopping choices, like this year's silver pearls of smoked salmon as a starter.

So without further ado, here are the options for each course.

So, what did I choose? The Mexican lime non-alcoholic option for our drinks. Starter just HAD to be those silver salmon pearls. The main is steak, side is garlic mushrooms. For dessert I chose the twin hearts for us, and the meal also includes a little box of chocolates.

I also picked up this gorgeous white chocolate mini-cake, which wasn't in store when I did the Valentines' gifts post last week's. It hasn't lasted until Valentines' day however, Smix and I ate it this afternoon. 

The M&S Valentines' Dine In 2016 runs until 15th February, and is in store now. 

The Valentines' Day 2016 Marks & Spencer Lust List

Marks & Spencer Valentines' Day food & drink gifts 2016 are as inventive yet classic as every year. Lots of sweets, and a selection of comical Valentines' Day cards. You can view many gifts online, but here's what I spied in the Sprucefield store yesterday.

The floral options are bright and colourful. Stray from the usual dozen red roses with yellow, orange and pink buds.

They had these limited edition chocolate sculptures at Christmas, but the red shoe has came along for Valentines. 

Here are some treats I brought home. 

Jellies £3 : Sweet Hearts £1.50 : Love Hearts £3

These are from the spring sweet collection, but many boxes are wrapped in wrapping paper. Saving you the job. 

Rose & Violet £4 : Marzipan Fruits £4

These mini cupcake chocolates are so cute. 

Cupcake chocs £8

If chocs & sweets don't suit your loved one, then I spied some gorgeous Indiand themed interior accessories in the home department. The faux elephant taxidermy is very cool.