SHOW your Valentine that they’re a sweetie.
Mrs Crunch has chomped her way through the best-value Valentine’s Day chocolate deals and found these buys to melt your loved one’s heart, all at a very affordable price.
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Crunch down the cost
Make your own chocolate-dipped strawberries for a romantic sweet treat to share.
Buy a home-baking kit and a heart cookie-cutter to create your own Valentine’s cookies. Morrisons chocolate chunk cookie mix is £1 for a 275g pack.
A tube of Swizzels Love Hearts is 35p and makes a fun Valentine’s gift. Wrap in red tissue paper and pop in a gift bag with other bargain buys to make a Valentine’s “lucky dip”.
£2 & under
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Strawberry rose cones, four-pack, £2 at The Co-Op.
Fiona Cairns seasonal spring fondant cupcake, £1 each at Waitrose.
Red heart chocolate lollipop 35g, £1 at Sainsbury’s.
Under £5
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Cadbury Milk Tray chocolate box 360g, was £6 now £3 at Morrisons. SAVE: £3.
Chocolate Cuddles & Kisses, 80g, £3 at Marks & Spencer.
Ferrero Rocher heart 125g, £4 at Morrisons.
£10 & under
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Lindt Selection 428g, was £14 now £10 at Morrisons. SAVE: £4.
Mint To Be personalised mints, £9.99 from gettingpersonal.co.uk.
Thornton’s Continental (gift wrapped) 284g, was £10 now £9 at Morrisons. SAVE: £1.
Sizzling with steak
GET your Valentine’s evening off to a sizzling start with a classic steak dish. Quick and easy to cook, steak is still the perfect romantic dine-in dish for meat lovers. And it needn’t cost too much if you pick up one of the great deals around this week.
Cuts above the rest…
MAKE A RUMPUS: Get a 500g pack of two British rump steaks for £5 at Morrisons.
TOP SCOT: Buy three for £10, or mix with other meat offers, on Waitrose Aberdeen Angus beef sirloin steak, 150g, £4.50.
BUTTER THEM UP: Keep things simple with Sainsbury’s Just Cook beef steaks with garlic butter, 330g, down from £4 to £3.50.
MARKET SAVINGS: Save £7 per kilo on British sirloin steak at the Morrisons Market St meat counter, down from £20 to £13 per kilo.
BETTER VALUE: Buy two for £7 on Market St British bavette steak at Morrisons, 350g, £4.
SIMPLE STEAK: Iceland’s 28-day matured Aberdeen Angus rump steak, 227g, is £3.50.
BONE-A-FIDE BEEF: Save a third on Waitrose British beef bone-in sirloin, 390g, now £5.43 down from £8.14 until February 18.
SOMETHING SPECIAL: Morrisons British fillet steak, 150g, £4.13, is a top-notch option for a special occasion.
TURN your back on the cooker and lavish your loved one with attention, thanks to the fantastic Valentine’s meal deals available next week.
With decadent dishes and great-value spreads, you can spoil your other half without having to do all the hard work.
Here are some suggestions but you can pick others from the stores’ menus, including vegetarian, vegan and alcohol-free alternatives.
Best for saving money – MORRISONS
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GET a starter, main, two sides, dessert and a bottle of wine from Morrisons The Best range for £15, available until from February 10 to 16.
We love: Customers can save £19 as the most expensive combo costs £34 when bought individually.
On the menu: Dishes include Camembert tear and share bread, British beef Wellington and The Best 6 Belgian chocolate & Champagne Profiteroles. Vegan choices include The Best roasted aubergine stack and celeriac steaks with mushroom sauce.
Great for choice – TESCO
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ENJOY a starter, two mains, a side and a dessert, as well as either a bottle of Tesco Finest wine or Prosecco, half a bottle of Tesco Finest premier cru Champagne or a non-alcoholic alternative, for £20, saving up to £13.80. Offer runs from February 12 to 16.
We love: The deal is made up of 27 products, and shoppers can choose from more than 15,000 combinations – so that even the fussiest eaters will find their perfect match.
On the menu: Starters include Tesco Finest salmon and watercress tart or, for vegans, Wicked Kitchen crispy garlic mushrooms with chipotle ketchup. Other courses include lamb shank and Tesco Finest Belgian white chocolate and raspberry pots.
Best for Italian romance – ICELAND
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GET three Gino D’Acampo dishes and a bottle of wine for £10, from February 10 to 16, saving £5.
We love: Ditch the formality and snuggle up with this relaxed meal instead.
On the menu: Dishes include pizza prosciutto and aubergine parmigiana and Gino hot chocolate fondants. Wash down with Elands Bay Sauvignon Blanc Chenin Blanc or Pinotage.
Best for indulging – WAITROSE
GET stuck in to a starter, main course, two side dishes a dessert and wine or chocolates for £20.
Offer runs from February 11 to 16.
We love: The restaurant-style dishes.
On the menu: Salmon cheesecakes followed by beef bourguignon or vegan beet Wellington with Parmentier potatoes and spinach Mornay. Finish with passionfruit and coconut torte.
Best for party people – M&S
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WHETHER you’re celebrating with the girls or snuggling up with your other half, the M&S £20 meal includes a starter, main, side, dessert, box of chocolates and bottle of drink, including the new From Mojito To You cocktail, saving up to £16.30. Offer runs from February 10 to 14.
We love: The pre-mixed passionfruit mojito contains edible 23 carat gold leaf. Simply pour over ice and serve.
On the menu: The meal deal includes garlic prawn love hearts (scallop shells filled with peeled Honduran king prawns with parsley, garlic and herb butter heart), gastropub butternut and red onion en croutes and a Nuts About You cheesecake with a milk chocolate heart and roasted hazelnuts.
Best for simplicity – ALDI
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THE cheapest combination allows shoppers to get a starter, main, side dish and dessert for two for under £10. Aldi’s menu offers two starters, four mains, two sides and three desserts. Each item is priced individually, so the total will vary depending on the menu. In store from February 11, while stocks last.
We love: The no-fuss deal.
On the menu: The cheapest option includes Specially Selected Sharing Bread with Camembert, £2.99, followed by Salmon Fillets with Heart- Shaped Butter, £3.19, together with a side of Specially Selected Barbers Cheddar Mash Potato, £1.99. Tuck into Mini Heart-Shaped Pancakes for dessert, £1.49.
Tips for creating griller thrillers
COOK the perfect steak with these tips from Morrisons chef MIKE HIBBERD . . .
- Before cooking, ensure the steak is at room temperature, so take it out of the fridge half an hour before you intend to cook it.
- Brush the steak lightly with groundnut oil, then season well with sea salt flakes and ground black pepper just before you cook.
- Cooking depends on the thickness and type of steak, but for a “standard” two to three centimetre thick steak, when cooking in a hot pan or grill, aim for two to three minutes each side for a rare steak, four to five minutes for medium, and five to six minutes for well done.
- Some cuts, like bavette and flat iron, don’t cook beyond medium, so don’t give them more than five minutes per side.
- Rump, sirloin, fillet or T-bone can be cooked to any state.
- To check the steak is done, do a touch test – a rare steak would be soft, with a medium steak slightly more spongy, and well done even more so.
- Always rest the steak for five minutes after cooking to allow the heat on the meat to die down and let the steak settle to become juicier.
- Don’t try to cook too many steaks at once in a pan as you’ll drop the temperature.
- For a medium-sized pan, cook a maximum of two steaks.
- Find these and other cooking hacks on the blog at morrisons.com.
A perfect occasion for fillet steak with mushroom & Madeira sauce
(Serves two)
PUSH the boat out with this decadent recipe taken from Morrisons.com – the premium cut of steak teams brilliantly with the velvety mushroom and Madeira sauce. Just double the ingredients if it is for aparty of four rather than an intimate dinner for two . . .
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YOU NEED:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 fillet steaks
- ½ onion, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- 125g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 75ml Madeira wine
- 50ml beef stock, made from half a stock cube
- 25ml double cream
- 1tbsp parsley, chopped
METHOD:
- Heat a large pan to a moderate heat. Rub two-thirds of the oil over the steaks and season well, then cook for about two to three minutes on each side, depending on their thickness and how you like them.
- Cook the edges too, turning them to seal well (if cooking for four, only cook two steaks at a time if your pan isn’t very big). Transfer to a warm plate, cover in foil and let them rest for five to ten minutes.
- Return pan to medium heat. Add the remaining oil and cook the onions until they’re translucent, about two minutes.
- Add the garlic and mushrooms, season to taste and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown.
- Add 50ml of the Madeira wine. Scrape the pan well at this point so all the flavour from the steaks mixes into the sauce.
- Continue cooking until the sauce has reduced by half, then add the stock.
- Once the liquid has reduced by half again, add the remaining Madeira and the cream. Lower heat and stir well. Remove from heat and stir in parsley.
- Return the mushroom sauce to a medium heat and pour any resting juices from the steaks in. Plate the steaks and top generously with sauce.
