Honest Burgers, Reading - Something New at the Reading location {restaurant review}

Honest Burgers hasn't been in Reading for very long, but it's one of the few places in town that I re-visit over and over again. The menu is basic, but I use that term in a good way not in the slang way it is used by the youth of today. Because I have found that the best places to eat are the ones that do a few things really well.

Saying that though the menu has something for everyone, vegetarians and vegans included. Every month they have a special burger that celebrates locally sourced ingredients and keeps the menu interesting.

The other thing they do that helps keep things interesting is that each Honest Burgers has one burger that you can only get at that location. Each one of those burgers usually reflects the area of the location of the restaurant. And that is why I am writing today.

Reading's signature burger has changed.

It has changed to, are you ready for this...... a Jerk Chicken Burger - free-range jerk chicken thigh, smoked bacon, double American cheese, Calypso Fusion jerk sauce, mango slaw and lettuce

Yesterday I took my girls into town to see a movie and then to dinner at Honest Burgers where I tried this Jerk Chicken Burger. I gotta say it was one of the best chicken burgers I have tried in recent times. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the spices perfectly balanced, in my opinion it had just the right amount of heat.

The burger was created by one of the team members in Reading. She worked as a prep chef and made her way up and is now an essential part of their management team. She came to to join the Reading team through a program called Working Chance; the UK's only recruitment consultancy for women leaving the criminal justice and care system.

The Jerk burger uses her family's jerk rub and sauce and a portion of the sale of every burger sold goes to the charity Working Chance as a way to say thank you to them and to help them continue the amazing work they are doing.

If this burger isn't enough for you to visit Honest Burger, I should mention their rosemary salted chips, they are the best and their cocktails are some of my favorite! But not only that as I mentioned above there is something for everyone including veggies and vegans.

In January they launched their vegan burger, which uses a Beyond Meat patty and I tried it when I took part of Veganuary and I have to say I really enjoyed it - I wrote about it in my blog post Top 5 Vegan Recipes & Products and it's still available!

It also has a kids menu that reflects kids tastes. The burgers are sliders and were the perfect size for little people. My eldest daughter loves pickles, like her mom does, and when ordering her veggie burger asked for lots of pickles. Their pickles are made there and so we were brought a bowl with some to try and we were fighting over them! Just another way that they show their dedication to great ingredients.

There are several locations check out their website to find one near you and if you are local to Reading it's located - 1-5 King St, Reading RG1 2HB 

My original review post can be found here.

* I was invited to visit Honest Burgers, I was not compensated in a monetary way for my review, all opinions are my own, please see my contact/policy page above for more information.

Jus-Roll with the Turnovers

Puff pastry is more time consuming then other pastries. I’m all for making it yourself, but I’m also all about making life easier. I am a busy full time mom and especially more recently a full time blogger, I make short cuts when and where I can!

So, when I make my girls their favorite pasties, homemade pizzas, sausage rolls, or simple easy desserts like these turnovers, I buy puff pastry. I always have and until I have excessive amounts of free time, I probably always will.

The fruit and nuts in this recipe can be swapped around to suit your taste! My local store doesn't sell the all butter version of the puff pastry sheet, so I used butter as a glaze and ate these with some cream! Ice cream would be a good accompaniment too!

Peach and Pistachio Turnovers

1 Jus-Rol puff pastry sheet (use all butter if available)

flour to dust

4 tsp apricot jam

30g pistachios, chopped

2 fresh ripe peaches, stones removed and halved

1 egg beaten or melted butter

Preheat the oven to 200C. Unroll the pastry on a floured work surface and cut into four equal-sized squares. Spread one heaped tsp of jam diagonally along the center of each pastry. Sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and then place one peach half in the middle of each pastry square cut side down. Fold over two opposite corners of the pastry, so they overlap in the middle on top of the peach. Now brush them with the beaten egg or melted butter. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then transfer to the rack to cool. Serve with cream or ice cream!

notes: in association with Jus-Rol, please see my contact/policy page for more information. I used more of my Whynot pistachios! See my pistachio cupcakes to find out more! Recipe is from Jus-Rol 30 best loved recipes. Check out my facebook page for how I make my girls favorite pasties!! 

What’s for Dinner? {Udi’s Gluten Free Ancient Grain Crisp(y) Chicken}

Recently I had an opportunity to try out a new range of gluten-free products.

Udi’s is already a well-known brand in the USA and want to make a splash here in the UK with their amazing gluten-free food.

I decided to use their Ancient Grain Crisps, which come in Aged Cheddar and Jalapeno Cheddar flavors, to make Dorito Chicken as it's commonly known.

Basically you can use any chips/crisps that you want as a coating to make your own chicken nuggets.

I used a mixture of both flavors, since they were for the little ones I didn't want them to be too hot with only the Jalapeno Cheddar flavor. They weren't too hot on their own really, but they did have a bite to them.

Both flavors of crisps were tasty and made a great coating on the chicken. Both my girls ate them up and asked for more!

Udi’s Gluten Free Ancient Grain Crisp(y) Chicken:
Serves 2-3

250g chicken fillets

150g (1 cup) Dove’s Farm Plain White Gluten Free flour

2 medium eggs, beaten

100g Ancient Grain Crisps, crushed use one or both of the flavors!

about 200ml oil, to shallow fry

Coat the chicken fillets in the flour before dipping into the beaten eggs, then coat with the crushed crisps. Heat up the oil in a shallow frying pan. Once it’s hot enough, lower the heat and fry the fillets for 3-5 minutes on each side. Depending on how hot your oil is and how big your fillets on will all contribute to how long they take to cook all the way through. I always check the last one I put in, if it’s cooked then the rest will be cooked too. No one wants to eat partially cooked chicken.  

Serve with salad or rice and extra Ancient Grain Crisps of your choice!

notes: I was sent Udi’s products to review. Please see my contact/policy page for more information. Check out the review! For Udi’s full range check out their website!

What’s For Dinner? {Old El Paso}

Old El Paso’s Smokey Chipotle Chilli and Honey Casserole &/or Extra Mild, Super Tasty One Pan Rice Meal that's what! 

I do love my Mexican style food!

Old El Paso is a brand that I recognize from home and was happy to see once I made the move over the pond.

Plus my husband has always loved their Enchilada kits and so when given the opportunity to try out a few of their new range I said yes!

The Smokey Chipotle Chilli & Honey Casserole Recipe Mix was amazing! It had the right amount of kick without being too hot. 

This one is ideal with beef (casserole steak) and is great served with rice. It tells you on the packaging what you need to add, but you can always switch out what you like or don’t like or from what you have or don’t have.

For instance it suggests that you use a red pepper, well I already owned a green pepper, so that got used instead.

I think spice mixes are great because you can add whatever you want really. I’m not saying it will always turn out great, but at least you have an opportunity to experiment!

There is also a Creamy Poblano Pepper Casserole Recipe Mix I have yet to try, but look forward too!

The other new range they have recently come out with is the One Pan Rice Meals. I used my leftover roast chicken in the Extra Mild, Super Tasty One Pan Rice Meal.

That is my other favorite part of these type of all in one box meals, is that it’s a great way to use up leftovers. I usually make quesadilla’s with my leftover roast chicken, but this time I thought I’d try it in this One Pan Rice Meal instead!

It made everything sort of mesh together, so it didn't look as nice as the picture on the box, but it still tasted yummy! There was plenty for my family of 4 and for lunch the next day.

It has a nice citrus undertone to the mild spice flavor, definitely can see myself making this one again. 

The other flavor they have out now is Chilli & Garlic One Pan Rice Meal and I can’t wait to try that one out too! If it’s anything like this one I’m sure I won’t be disappointed!

Want to know more about their new products? Check out the Old El Paso website!

notes: Mexican style or Tex Mex as it’s sometimes referred as. Please be aware that if you are swapping ingredients it is wise to stay as close as possible to the amounts listed on the packaging. I was sent the Smokey Chipotle Chilli & Honey Casserole Reicpe Mix & the One Pan Rice Meal to try and review. For more information please see my contact/policy page above.