Halloween Fun at Lidl- You Can Win £50 Each Day Until the 31st

Lidl NI are giving away £50 of vouchers every day until Halloween, but you'll need a laptop or PC as the game is Flash-based. I called into the Bangor Lidl store this afternoon to check out what fun, spooky wares they have in, as last year we had some ghostly shaped nuggets! The nuggets are back this year too, but my favourite product by far are the sausages with pumpkin prints through them.

There are lots of trick or treat supplies at great prices, and party supplies for next week.

The frozen section also holds some surprising Halloween themed treats.

There's also a selection of costumes for all ages, and home decorations.

United Tastes of America at Lidl Week Inspires Me to Serve Everything on Skewers!

It's been American Week at Lidl, with lots of treats in store.

Of course I had to stock up. I don't know if anyone else felt inspired by this Buzzfeed post about skewer food last week, but as a mother of a picky eating six year old, I was keen to try some of the ideas out.

I picked up all the ingredients in my Bangor Lidl store. For savoury skewers for the adults I bought the outstandingly delicious sirloin steaks, a red pepper and baby potatoes.

I simply boiled the potatoes then tossed them in butter. I fried off the red pepper in olive oil, so they still had a little bit of crunch and wouldn't fall apart when I added them to the skewer. The sirloin I chopped into pieces and fried in the super hot pan, adding a dollop of honey thirty seconds before the end to give it a lovely taste. They were SO GOOD.

For my son's savoury skewer I added Belgian waffle quartered, cherry tomatoes in coloured varieties and hotdog sausage chopped up. What do you know, instead of fighting over eating, the novelty of the presentation had this meal demolished in minutes.

The easiest and yummiest looking dessert idea was this brownie one.

I had run out of clean skewers at this point, but for soft foods you can use drinking straws. Also a safer plan if you want to avoid giving six inch metal or wooden spikes to kids! Again these were a success. I might make dozens of these come birthday party time in October.

If you're into your healthy snacks then you can pick up a popcorn maker which uses hot air, not oil, for just £8.99.

For bakers, there are cake pop makers and doughnut makers, £11.99 each. Plus ready made doughnut batter in store.

I also spotted, but didn't pick up, these 'Nutella' filled cookies. If anyone tries them let me know are they worth trying on Twitter, I'm @rudedoodle.

A couple more products caught my eye, some very Ikea-a-like meatballs, and almond tarts. Also fancied this big pork fillet to make pulled pork, it was £4.99.

Another taste-a-like, a bag of Starbucks' type hard waffles for less than the price of one waffle bought in their chain! These are a spot on taste match.

Lastly, you may wonder how I'm even finding time to blog, what with school holidays and no moment of my own anymore, well, Lidl to the rescue once again. For the past hour Michael has been busy colouring in this cardboard playhouse we picked up with our Lidl shop for £7.99!

Don't forget you can check out the Lidl NI website to see what themed offers are coming up in the next few weeks, influding some fab duvets and jammies boys and girls in July.

Is January EVER Going to End? Lidl Bargains to Tide You Over to Pay Day.

Seriously, January? Christmas was about twelve weeks ago and it's STILL JANUARY. Overdrafts are emptying, tinned cans are being used up for dinners like it's the the end of time, takeaways are but a fleeting lustful thought as we tuck into baked potatoes or stew. 

Hopefully your payday is this week, but here are some every day bargains from Lidl which will save you money on your weekly Big Shop, money left over for their equally well priced wines as a farewell-to-January treat. 

The veg is noticeably cheaper, and the same, or better quality than the big chain stores. 

Chocomoons cereal has a special place in my heart as I was addicted to it when I was pregnant with our son. Eat three bowls in a go. An online friend, Nick, decided to do his big shop at Lidl last week after reading my Lidl Deli post. He says he saved around £30 off his bill, and that the big test would come when his two children tried the cereal. They loved it!

The pre-cooked wings and legs are like the packs you get in M&S. Handy if you can't be bothered cooking. Sit with the tv on and a bowl of wings on your lap. Don't forget the kitchen roll for your hands!

These salsa and sour cream pots are identical to Doritos branded ones. The Lidl version of Cheesestrings are nicer than the real ones, for me. 

The fresh meat and fish selection in store is vast. They use local producers, which helps our local farmers.  Both these packs cost £3.59 each. You'll also find some exotic meats, like partridge and veal. Keep an eye on the freezers.

Go forth and save money!

So You've Never Been to Lidl? 25 Things You Might Not Know You Can Get There. PLUS: WIN £20 to Spend In-store!

Lidl isn't just a grocery shop that sells discount, European food. It's also the equivalent of a kid in a toy shop for me. Why? Because I love trying food products I haven't tried before, and besides selling brands you do know at low prices, Lidl also imports European ingredient and dishes you don't get in the big, main supermarkets.

Pushing your trolley down the aisle you'll discover those biscuits you remember buying all the time that fortnight in France. Or the pâté you remember your hotel having in the breakfast buffet when you holidayed in Spain. That's what I like about Lidl, you can relive the tastes of your holidays, as well as stock up on well-known brands at a discount. 

If you haven't visited Lidl before because of its bargain-chain status, think again. Their luxury range will go head to head with M&S any day. 

Lidl gave me some vouchers to play around with and I spent £54.31 on this tasty, little haul. 

family size luxury crips 99p. Sun dried tomatoes 99p

American style ice cream in a variety of flavours £1.99

off licence section packed with deals

roast half duck and pancakes £5.99

jar of feta £1.79   Smoked bacon £1.99.  Lardons £1.79

sirloin steaks £6.59.     Salami £4.49

pistachio fudge £1.79.  Irish yoghurt (this is the most amazing yoghurt range I've ever tasted) 59p

Kinder bars £1.68. Kinder eggs £1.71. Babybel cheese £1.74

juice £1.29 each  own-brand Oreos £1.19

clementines £1.99.  Spring onions 73p.  Cucumber 29p

cat food 25p

So how would you like to win £20 Lidl vouchers to go and explore your local branch for goodies? Simply tweet, "I've entered @rudedoodle's World of Kitsch competition to win Lidl vouchers" once and you'll be entered to the draw. Winner will be picked at random after the closing date at 1pm on 19th August 2013.

Maybe, like me, you'll fall in love with this little animal shaped waffle maker, in store now for only £9.99 You can't beat that. 

only £9.99 and in a variety of colours