I've reviewed a few different "season and cook in the bag" type products here on the blog but this is the first time I've tried out Schwartz's version, Bag 'n Season. It works in exactly the same way as the other brands - you take raw ingredients (meat and vegetables), put them in the bag, add the seasoning, shake it all up, seal the bag with the enclosed bag tie and pop it all in the oven.
We tried out the Mediterranean Chicken Bag 'n Season, which needs 900g of chicken (we used a pack of chicken drumsticks), 175g cherry tomatoes (about a dozen) and 175g of courgettes (a medium courgette chopped into thickish slices). I love the way that you need absolutely no oil so it's really diet-friendly.
Here's the bag all ready to go into the oven - prepared single-handedly by a 10-year-old so you can see how simple it is. Don't forget to pierce the bag a few times on the top. The instructions say to make sure the chicken is all on one layer but I always find this near-on impossible to achieve.
And after 45 minutes in the oven, this is the result. You end up with deliciously moist meat, very little washing up and an incredibly diet-friendly meal that the whole family will enjoy. The only downside is that you can't pierce the meat to check that it is totally cooked through and I did find the chicken to be slightly on the pink side right next to the bone, so next time I'd up the cooking time a bit, leaving it in for an hour instead. I would also have liked for the flavour of the herbs and spices to come through more strongly, so next time, I would leave it to marinate in the bag for an hour or so in the fridge prior to cooking.
The pack suggests that you could also use it with chicken breasts or trimmed pork loin steaks instead, and these would probably cook through more quickly. If you follow the recipe on the pack (which is what I made here), it's designed to serve four and each serving contains 340 calories, 2.3g of protein, 5.6g of carbs and 4.2g of fat. I served ours with rice and sweetcorn.
As well as the Mediterranean Chicken that we tried, Bag 'n Season also comes as Mixed Herb Chicken and Paprika Chicken. (And if you don't like chicken, you can always use them with other meats.)
star rating : 4/5
RRP : 89p for 28g (and the bag and tie)
for more information : http://www.schwartz.co.uk/Products/Recipe-Mixes/Bag-n-Season/Mediterranean-Chicken.aspx
Disclosure : I received some Bag 'n Season in order to write an honest review.
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Looks lovely! I like your serving dishes!
ReplyDeletelove these for a quick & easy meal! never thought of marinating them first, might try that next time :)
ReplyDeleteI tried their sausage casserole bag a couple of months ago, took the photos, meaning to blog about it at some point. It was convenient, but I think I still prefer the roast veg and grilled sausages. :)
ReplyDeleteI think you're right - they're great for cooks lacking in confidence or who don't have many spices and herbs to use in their cupboards and who don't know where to start, but you can get the same taste (if not even better) without them. I like the fact it makes washing up a breeze though !!
Deletei keep seeing these in the shops but have never tried them, these look really tasty
ReplyDelete