News: Auntie Anne's Brings Back Snowball Pretzel Nuggets

Auntie Anne's Snowball Pretzel Nuggets are back for the holidays. First introduced last year, the wintry snacks are basically pretzel nuggets covered in powdered sugar.

News: KFC Festive Feast is Back

KFC is once again trotting out their Festive Feast meal deal for the holiday season. While not as festive as they offer in some other countries, the meal includes eight pieces of chicken, two large sides, four biscuits and a dozen chocolate chip cookies for $19.99.

News: Applebee's - Spirited Cuisine Menu Returns

Applebee's is featuring spirits to get you in the holiday spirit with the return of their Spirited Cuisine menu for a limited time.

The Spirited Cuisine line up features various entrees infused with flavors from wine, bourbon, beer, and tequila. It includes two new entrees: the Marsala Mushroom Sirloin and Chicken & Shrimp Tequila Tango.

Here's the full menu:

Review: Sonic - Southwest Chipotle Breakfast Burrito

Sonic's new Southwest Chipotle Breakfast Burrito features sausage, fire roasted red and green peppers, smoked chipotle sauce, grilled onions, scrambled eggs, tots, and melted cheddar cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla.

I picked one up for $3.39.

Taco Bell Friendsgiving Recipes

While I couldn't take you guys to Taco Bell's Friendsgiving meal, I did manage to get the recipes and grocery list for this year's Taco Bell Friendsgiving menu for any of you that want to try your hand at making any of the dishes yourself.

These are basically the edited chefs' notes for the menu. I've included some substitutions for stuff you can't easily get and notes of my own in italics.

Here you go (Enjoy!):

News: Papa John's - New Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Pizza

Papa John's goes with the spicy trend this holiday season with the introduction of the new, limited-time Chipotle Chicken & Bacon Pizza.

The new pizza features a creamy chipotle sauce, sliced Chicken Poppers, smoky bacon, sliced Roma tomatoes, and grated cheddar cheese as well as mozzarella.

News: Jamba Juice - Eggnog Jubilee Smoothie Returns for Holidays

The holidays mark the return of the Eggnog Jubilee smoothie at Jamba Juice. The "better-for-you" version of the classic holiday beverage features a frozen eggnog base, frozen yogurt, and soymilk (not exactly healthy, but compare it to the original's milk/cream, sugar, and whipped eggs).

It's also available in a "Make It Light" version which cuts out a third of the calories, carbs, and sugar over the classic version by using a "lower calorie dairy base" instead of frozen yogurt.

Review: Canadian Butter Tarts

My brother recently returned from a business trip to Canada and I requested Butter Tarts because I read that they're a Canadian thing and we don't have them here in the US.

So what is a butter tart? It's basically like a pecan tart but without the pecans and with a runnier filling (no cornstarch).

A 265g supermarket pack of six tarts (he ate one before giving them to me) was $3.89 CAN (~$3.68 US).

News: Starbucks Offers "Free Daily Espresso" Tumbler Black Friday Deal

Starbucks will be offering a Black Friday special on their Stainless Steel Espresso Refill Tumbler, a 16-ounce tumbler, which can be used once daily for a free handcrafted espresso drink throughout the month of January.

Of course, the tumbler doesn't come cheap, it's regularly $75 but will be offered for $65 this Friday, November 29, 2013 only. The deal is good at participating Starbucks stores in the US as well as online at www.starbucksstore.com while supplies last.

Around the World: KFC Japan Tries Out Japanese-Style Fried Chicken Concept

KFC is trying a Japanese-style fried chicken concept out in Japan. Japanese-style fried chicken or karaage features boneless chicken (usually thigh meat) that is marinated (usually in soy sauce, garlic, and ginger) before being battered and fried.

The first location opened earlier this year in October with the second and third locations set to open this week.

Review: Trader Joe's - Pumpkin Spice Granola Cereal

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Spice Granola Cereal is a seasonal item featuring a granola cereal seasoned with pumpkin powder and pumpkin pie spices.

I bought a 16-ounce box for $2.49.

Review: Trader Joe's - Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake is a seasonal item that appears around this time of year. It combines the pumpkins and pumpkin pie spices into a cheesecake.

A 30-ounce cheesecake was $6.99.

News: Wienerschnitzel - 61 Cent Corn Dogs on Black Friday

Wienerschnitzel will be offering their Corn Dogs for 61 cents all day long to help fuel your holiday sales shopping this upcoming Black Friday, November 29.

If you're wondering "Why 61 cents?" It's because the hot dog chain was founded in 1961.

Recipe: White Castle Wants You to Stuff Your Turkey with Sliders

White Castle wants you to stuff your Thanksgiving turkey with their signature Sliders and have just the recipe to do it.

Instead of breadcrumbs or sausage, 10 White Castle Original Sliders provide buns, ground beef, and grilled onions.

Frozen Friday: Lyfe Kitchen - Chicken Chili Verde

Lyfe Kitchen's Chicken Chili Verde frozen meal features roasted, seasoned white meat chicken in a spicy green chili sauce with polenta and black beans on the side.

I picked up a 10-ounce box for $2.50 on sale.

Around the World: McDonald's Arabia Offers Grilled Cheese on a Pita

McDonald's Arabia's latest is a grilled cheese breakfast pita sandwich that they're calling the "McArabia Halloumi." Halloumi being the cheese type of  used. It's a brined Middle Eastern cheese with a texture similar to mozzarella.

The grilled cheese is joined by lettuce, tomato, and a black olive paste folded into a pita.

Around the World: Burger King Japan Offers Turkey Legs for Holidays

KFC rules the roost for Christmas in Japan but it looks like Burger King is trying to horn in on the action with the introduction of smoked turkey legs this year.

The "King's Turkey" legs are each about 21 cm each (~8.27 inches) and smoked with a blend of oak and beech chips.

Review: Starbucks - Eggnog Frappuccino

Starbucks Eggnog Frappuccino is a chilly holiday beverage featuring eggnog and Frappuccino Roast coffee blended with milk and ice, and topped with whipped cream and a dash of nutmeg.

A 12-ounce Tall was $3.95.

News: Sonic - Half-Price Cheeseburger on November 26

Sonic is celebrating "Un-Turkey Day" (I'm pretty sure they made that up) on Tuesday, November 26, by offering half-price cheeseburgers.

The deal is good on single-patty Sonic Cheeseburgers only and only at participating locations.

News: Red Robin - New Smoke & Pepper Signature Burger

Red Robin adds the new, limited-time Finest Smoke & Pepper Signature burger as the first of a line of premium burgers featuring handmade half-pound Black Angus beef burgers topped with "superior bacon, cheeses, sauces, and produce."

The burger is inspired by the winning recipe of this year's Best of the Bash Award at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival's Burger Bash.