Marks and Spencer meal 2 - bread, pizza, salad, and a tart

This is the second meal that I made with the food that was included in the Marks and Spencer Family Favorites meal deal. I cheated a bit with an extra salad that I made with the ingredients that I had in my fridge and an extra tart that I also bought at Marks and Spencer (I couldn't resist getting another pie >_<). But you could also leave the salad out and each time, only eat half of the pie (less calories!).

Marks and Spencer trattoria pantofola with cheddar cheese and thinly sliced chicken

As I have written in the "Marks and Spencer meal 1" blog post, the pantofola could use some more flavor. That's why I added some cheddar cheese and thinly sliced chicken on the bread. Even though I only used one small slice of cheddar cheese, it was a bit too much. I think I should have just added the chicken as it turned out very delicious. The texture of the chicken became a bit harder and added just the right amount of flavor to the bread.

Mango, cucumber, carrot, and red onions salad

Ever since I tried adding mango to my salad, I have been hooked. The refreshing sweet and sour flavor gives every boring salad an upgrade. You do need a slightly hard (but still sweet!) mango, as it is almost impossible to cut strips out of a overly ripe mango. If you prefer, you can also add some salad dressing.  

Marks and Spencer Double Cheese and Ham stone baked pizza

While I was surprised by how tasty the Marks and Spencer Spicy Fajita Chicken Stone Baked Pizza was, the Double Cheese and Ham was a bit of a let down. The thickly sliced ham was full of ham flavor, but it would have been better if they had cut the ham up in smaller pieces, so that I could taste the ham with every bite. The ham is also a bit oily and a refreshing note such as pineapple chunks or onions would make it tastier. I also feel that the pizza could use a bit more tomato sauce, as with some bites, I was mainly tasting the dry, flavorless pizza crust.

 Marks and Spencer cherry and berry streusel tart

I have never eaten a streusel tart before, but it tasted really similar to the Dutch "Kruimelvlaaien". The main difference is the pie crust, which is more buttery and crispier (almost similar to a cookie). I like that the cherry and berry compote isn't too sweet or too sour. The crumbs on top are described as "light almond streusel", but I didn't know that it had almond in there, until I read it on the packaging afterwards. Nevertheless, the crumbs were really delicious and crunchy. As it doesn't contain a thick layer of cream or cake, it is a light, not too sweet dessert that doesn't sit too heavy on the stomach.