Birthday Party Foodie Treats with Tesco *

Today I turn 28, so naturally, I invited my nearest and dearest round to the flat for some nibbles, plenty of drink and photobooth fun that went on into the small hours of the morning! Don’t worry, our neighbours were celebrating with us so we were allowed to be that little bit noisier!

I love throwing parties; I moved the sofas around, took out the rug and coffee table and covered our sideboard in a red plastic tablecloth, and the dining room table in a blue plastic tablecloth to save the wood underneath from any spillages!

I often moan about celebrating my birthday so close Christmas but there is one total pro that I love to take advantage of… the Christmas party food range that Tesco has on offer this time of year! It makes catering that much easier for me as I love a good selection of canapes!

I knew I’d be catering for between fifteen and twenty people so I had to order up a decent amount but I didn’t want to go too overboard as I hate having tons of leftovers!

With the hot foods I went in for were the 12 Mini Pepperoni Pizza Pockets, 10 Sticky Chicken Kebabs, Tesco Pigs in Blankets,  finest* 10 Satay Breaded Chicken Skewers, finest* 10 Tempura King Prawns, finest* 12 Steak and Tribute Ale Mini Pies, finest* 12 Mini Mince Pies, finest* Vintage Cheddar and Onion Mini Pies and plenty of chicken nuggets, sausage rolls and cocktail sausages! You could say it was like an upmarket five-year-old finger buffet and I’m more than ok with that!

Everyone loved the spread I had put on; I had so many great comments on what good quality the food it, how good the selection was and people were snacking throughout the night.

I think a firm favourite were the Steak And Tribute Ale Mini Pies from the finest range. They are butter and suet enriched shortcrust pastry pies filled with West Country beef steak in a Tribute ale gravy. Made in Cornwall so they feel proper legit! We had one or two of them left over that Mike and my dad ate cold the following day and they both said they still tasted great.

My personal favourite won’t come as much of a surprise, the Satay Breaded Chicken Skewers, again from the finest range. They were succulent chicken breast pieces in a satay batter and coconut crumb, served with a satay dipping pot. They were like super posh chicken nuggets dipped in one onf my most favourite sauces so what’s not to love about them!

One really good thing is that all of the finest party food cooks at the same temperature, so it made getting ready and cooking at the same time mega easy. I just paired up items that had a similar cook time, popped them in a pre-heated oven and whilst they were cooking I could sort my hair and face out! It really did make it so much easier than I thought it would be.

I set up a drinks station on our sideboard complete with red Solo cups, blue Solo cups, red paper plates, blue paper plates and plenty of coloured drinking straws. I supplied all of the mixers in the shape of apple, orange and cranberry juices, coke, diet coke, lemonade and tonic water. I also stocked up our wine cabinet with lots of spirits and wines for people to help themselves too.

I also have to share this insane Happy Birthday balloon that I got for £3 from eBay! It’s one you blow up yourself as they’re self-sealing so we’ve kept them to top up and re-use for Mike’s birthday next week!

I had such a fun night with friends, so thank you to Tesco for having a dead tasty Christmas party food range to keep us well fueled through our drinking and laughter!