A Lovely Lidl Vegetarian Christmas Dinner #LidlSurprises

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So you've seen me cook a Turkey recently for an early Christmas dinner.  Even a frozen 5 bird roast, but about mains and sides for our vegetarian friends?  Well this weekend, I went to Manchester to feast with some veggie friends and after a cuppa and a chinwag, we headed straight to their local Lidl to pick up everything we needed.

Everything came to £25, mostly being from their deluxe range to give our meal that extra special touch.  But we were also able to relax as most of the preparation was done apart from some easy stuffing and gravy making and everything was cooked in 25 minutes.  That even included a Ginger Bread house for some post-dinner fun!

If you're not vegetarian though, there were also other alternative mains and sides, like beef wellingtons, Serrano ham leg and smoked salmon, to name a few.  Just head over to the frozen Deluxe range and you'll find there's so much more to choose from!

So, what did we pick up?

• 2 x Deluxe Butternut & Goat's Cheese Wellingtons
• 2 x Deluxe Mushroom, Brie & Cranberry Wellingtons
• 2 x Deluxe Spinach Vintage Cheddar Wellingtons
• 4 x Deluxe Potato Gratins
• Deluxe Roast Parsnips
• Deluxe Dutchess Potatoes
• Frozen Petits Pois
• Sweetcorn
• Wild Sage & Red Onion Stuffing
• Bisto Gravy (Yes, Vegetarian!)
• Deluxe Cranberry Sauce
• Deluxe Hand Cooked Sweet Potato Gingerbread Crisps
• Lemon & Raspberry Semifreddo
• Ginger Bread House

What We Thought

You'll probably know that I love cooking, but seriously, who wants to be stuck in the kitchen on Christmas day and miss out on family fun?  And all of the quality was far better than we expected without the effort.  We didn't feel like we'd compromised with our meal at all.

Our Favourites

One of our favourites from the list were the Deluxe Spinach Vintage Cheddar Wellingtons.  Oh my word, if you love mature cheese, I doubt you'll regret trying these and they were the tastiest of of the three!

We all thought the Duchess Potatoes were the cutest thing ever too.  They were so pretty and crisp, making them a great alternative to roasting potatoes and no messy piping bags in sight!

The potato gratins were also a group favourite on the plate.  They're firm with a bit of crisp yet tender within.  Think dauphinoise potatoes but shaped like a chunky fishcake.

I also feel compelled to talk about the frozen roasted parsnips.  These were the best I've tasted in a long time.  We chucked them on a baking tray, popped them in the oven and they were sweet, no bitterness and had the perfect crispy crunch!

And finally, the Semifreddo is a must to try.  It's rich, creamy and nutty and teams well with the lemon zest for an after dinner treat.  We left it to defrost while we cooked and ate our main, which by then, it was ready to dish out.

Value for Money

Because there were three of us eating that day, we didn't need to cook all of the peas, sweetcorn, parsnips etc.  The beauty is eveything was frozen and could be stored away to contribute to a few more meals.  Or what about a fun bubble and squeak?

I'll definitely be going back for more to share with my fiance who was at a stag-do while we ate.

If you do try any of the Vegetarian Deluxe range, then please feel free to comment below and hopefully you can help another fellow vegetarian who's planning their Christmas day.