Archive
Feb 11, 2011

Frozen Friday: Healthy Choice - Roasted Chicken Marsala

Healthy Choice's Cafe Steamers Roasted Chicken Marsala promises a "fresh taste unlocked by steam" and features chicken tenderloins with whole grain penne pasta, asparagus, and red peppers in a marsala wine sauce.

Retail price for this one hovers around $3.99 for 10 ounces of food and going down to $2.00 to $3.00 on sale.

Feb 10, 2011

News: General Mills - Limited-Edition Retro Cereal Boxes at Target

Retro Boxes
Modern Boxes
If you're looking for a little bit of cereal nostalgia, General Mills is again bringing retro back with a select five limited-edition retro cereal boxes with designs and cartoons from the '50s, '60s, and '70s.

News: Papa John's - Heart-Shaped Pizza Back for Valentine's Day

Hoping to start a tradition, Papa John's is once again serving up heart-shaped pizzas for Valentine's Day. Apparently, they sold over 60,000 heart-shaped pizzas last year.

For those looking for a more affordable and casual Valentine's Day this year, heart-shaped pizzas will be available now until Monday, February 14, 2011.

News: Taco Bell - Facebook Taco Giveaway

In thanks for their support during a beef class action lawsuit against Taco Bell, Taco Bell is giving a free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco per fan via Facebook, limited to 10 million taco given away.

Unlike previous giveaways where you could just print out a coupon from the Taco Bell website, to take advantage of this offer, you actually have to be or become a fan of Taco Bell on Facebook by "Liking" them. Yes, this also means you have to actually have a Facebook account.

Review: McDonald's - Bacon, Egg and Cheese McGriddles

A top-down view of a McDonald's Bacon, Egg and Cheese McGriddles sandwich.

McDonald's Bacon, Egg and Cheese McGriddles is for people who want hotcakes, bacon, egg, and cheese but in altogether in a quick-to-eat and portable form i.e. a sandwich.

Basically, the McGriddles is a breakfast sandwich featuring mini, thick fluffy pancakes embedded with little pockets of maple syrup sandwiching the standard breakfast combination of bacon or sausage, eggs, and cheese.

Feb 9, 2011

News: New Diet Pepsi Skinny Can

Introducing the waifish runway model of the soda can world: behold the new Diet Pepsi Skinny Can!

Aimed at the ladies, the new can will be appearing at New York's Fall 2011 Fashion Week running from February 10 to 17.

Sporting a taller, skinnier look in sleek redesigned silver can, I have to say the new can looks pretty good. In case you're wondering, just the can is new, the diet Pepsi formula remains the same as does the volume (12 ounces).

I've always wonder why this never happened sooner. It always made good visual marketing sense for diet drinks to come in slimmer containers. I do wonder if the slimmer cans will end up costing more at retail though a la mini Coke.

Review: Jersey Mike's - Turkey Breast and Provolone Sub


Jersey Mike's Turkey Breast and Provolone Sub has fresh, thin-sliced turkey breast and plenty of it with Provolone cheese with your choice of bread, vegetables, etc.

It's priced at $7.50 for a 7-inch regular-sized sub.

Feb 8, 2011

News: Jack in the Box - $2.99 Fish Sandwich Combo

Jack in the Box is gearing up for Lent season which means deep-fried fish with the limited-time $2.99 Fish Sandwich Combo.

The combo consists of Jack's Fish Sandwich, a small order of fries and a 20-ounce small drink.

Jack’s Fish Sandwich features two lightly battered fillets of Alaskan Pollock topped with lettuce and tartar sauce on a sesame seed bun.

In addition to the Fish Sandwich, Jack in the Box is also offering Fish & Chips, which includes three fish fillets and a small order of fries with a side of tartar sauce and malt vinegar for $3.99.

News: Pizza Hut - $10 Any Pan Pizza

Pizza Hut's latest limited-time promotion features their iconic pan pizza. Saving you up to $2 off regular prices (possibly more if you pick a large number of your own toppings), the promotion offers any Pizza Hut Pan Pizza for $10 including specialty pizzas.

A large specialty pizza, under Pizza Hut's simple pricing structure instituted last year, normally costs $12.

Review: Popeyes - Cajun Rice

Popeyes' Cajun Rice is their version of a traditional Cajun dish known as "dirty rice," so named because of its "dirty" coloring which is due to bits of chicken (a mix of ground beef and ground chicken gizzards at Popeyes) mixed into the rice. Other ingredients include the distinguished Cajun trio of celery, onions, and bell peppers.

It's available at Popeyes for $1.99 for a regular and $3.99 for a family-sized large.

Feb 7, 2011

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Cupid's Choice Heart-Shaped Donuts

Taking a page from Krispy Kreme, Dunkin' Donuts also has a heart-shaped donut this Valentine's Day season. Dubbed the Cupid's Choice Donut and the Cupid's Cocoa Donut, each donut is available for a suggested price of 89 cents until the end of February.

The Cupid's Choice Donut is a heart-shaped yeast (AKA raised) donut filled with Bavarian cream and topped with strawberry icing and pink, white and red heart-shaped sprinkles.

The Cupid's Cocoa Donut is a heart-shaped chocolate yeast donut, filled with jelly and topped with chocolate icing and decorated with pink, white and red heart-shaped sprinkles.

Review: Jack in the Box - All-American Jack

Jack in the Box's new super-sized All-American Jack got its national introduction last night at the Super Bowl but I tried it a couple days earlier.

The All-American Jack consists of two jumbo beef patties, melting American and Swiss-style cheese, tomato, shredded lettuce, pickles, mayo-onion sauce, ketchup, and mustard on a sesame bun. It's being advertised as a combo with small fries and a 20-ounce drink for $4.99 but you can forgo the combo and just get the burger for around $3.59.

News: Jack in the Box - New Mint Oreo Shake

Joining Jack in the Box's popular Oreo Cookie Shake on the menu, Jack in the Box's new Mint Oreo Ice Cream Shake adds a little twist with the addition of mint-flavor syrup to the normal formula of real ice cream, Oreo pieces, whipped topping and a Maraschino cherry.

Like all of Jack's shakes, the Mint Oreo Shake is available in a 16-ounce regular size and a 24-ounce large. Prices are set around $2.69 for a regular and $3.19 for a large (may vary).

Feb 6, 2011

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New Cocoa Donuts and Chocolate Menu Items

Apparently February is "Chocolate Lovers Month" at Dunkin' Donuts and they're celebrating a new line of yeast raised chocolate donuts. While chocolate cake donuts have long been the norm at many a donut shop, a light and fluffy chocolate raised donut is a first, at least, here in the States. I'd like to try one but the nearest Dunkin' is one state over in Nevada.

Until the end of February, Dunkin' Donuts is serving several varieties of the new Cocoa Donuts at the suggested retail price of 89 cents each, including:

Review: Chips Ahoy! - with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

Chips Ahoy! with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups came out sometime last year but are still labelled "new" on the package. They feature your typical Chips Ahoy! chocolate chip cookie (I feel like I should say "Arr Matey! or something) but with mini Reese's Peanut Butter Cups baked in.

A 9.5-ounce bag (about 4 ounces less than a normal bag) will run you about $3.69 or somewhere around $2.50 on sale.

News: Baskin-Robbins - New $2 Mini Soft Serve Parfaits

Baskin-Robbins is offering a new snack-sized ice cream dessert in their new Mini Soft Serve Parfaits which come in three flavors: Oreo, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, and Strawberry 'n Almonds. Each flavor features a different sauce and a sprinkling of their respective toppings.

They're similar to mini sundaes but with the sauce forming a bottom layer that's topped with vanilla soft serve rather than the other way around.

Each Mini Soft Serve Parfait is available in an 8-ounce cup for a limited-time price of $2.

Feb 5, 2011

Review: Ruffles - Loaded Chili & Cheese Potato Chips

Ruffles limited-time new Loaded Chili & Cheese ridged potato chips comes just in time to grace your Super Bowl spread with the flavor of chili, cheese, and fried potatoes. While it's not the same as actual chili cheese fries, it does keep much better and won't get soggy.

I found this 1-and-1/8-ounce bag at my local 7-Eleven for 99 cents.

Feb 4, 2011

News: Krispy Kreme - V-Day Donuts

Krispy Kreme has a pretty sweet deal (pun intended) going on until Valentine's Day (February 14): along with the return of their heart-shaped donuts, they're offering a promotion where you'll get 12 Valentine's Day Cards when you buy any dozen donuts (while supplies last at participating stores).

Here's the kicker: on the back of each card is a coupon good for one free donut or one free small hot chocolate or coffee.

News: Cold Stone Creamery - New Plated Desserts

I've touched upon it before but now it's official, Cold Stone Creamery is serving new Plated Desserts: four new menu items featuring a warm, baked dessert topped with ice cream and other toppings.

The four desserts are:
  • Brownie A La Cold Stone: Warm, chocolate brownies topped with French vanilla, whipped topping, caramel, hot fudge and pecans.
  • Churro Caramel Crave: Crispy churros rolled in cinnamon and sugar, topped with French vanilla ice cream, caramel and whipped topping.
  • Chocolate Lava Meltdown: Warm, hot-fudge-filled chocolate cake topped with French vanilla ice cream, more fudge, whipped topping and shaved chocolate.
  • No Fair Funnel Cake: Freshly baked, sweet funnel cake dusted with powdered sugar, served with strawberries and topped with French vanilla ice cream, strawberry puree and whipped topping.

Frozen Friday: Marie Callender's - Country Fried Beef Steak

Marie Callender's Country Fried Beef Steak frozen meal comes with a deep fried battered and breaded ground beef patty, mashed potatoes, and glazed carrots.

They retail for around $3.99 with a sale price usually around $2.00 to $2.50.