New Product Review

This post should probably be titled "To Me Product Review", but I digress.  I was in WalMart the other day, and as I was walking up the chips and snacks aisle to check out, I passed by the popcorn section and something caught my eye: Orville Redenbacher's White Cheddar Popcorn Seasoning.  The Old Man and I both love good, fresh (key word) cheese popcorn, but the bagged popcorn isn't always the freshest.  For a night-time snack, I popped a bag of microwave popcorn and generously sprinkled the seasoning on it.  Game Changer.  Best of all, it doesn't make your fingers orange like bagged cheese popcorn.   This most definitely receives the TWIT Seal of Approval. 

Not So New Product Review

 

I've always loved any kind of dried beans - pintos, great northern  beans, navy beans, black eyed peas, etc.  Although, black eyed peas are little to "earthy" for my taste.  But I digress. Years ago, my Sweet Mother bought a can of field peas and the Old Man and I loved them.  All they are is what we called the "shellies" - the little peas inside green beans.  They are awesome.  They don't taste as earthy as black eyed peas.  And the Glory brand are awesome.  They definitely get the TWIT Seal Of Approval, and get two thumbs up. 

New Product Review

 

When I eat any form of chicken nuggets, I always mix some hot sauce with my ranch dressing, and it's never failed me yet. 

Imagine my joy when I was at the grocery on Saturday and saw Frank's RedHot ranch dip mix.  Frank's is the only hot sauce that I use, so I immediately grabbed not one but two packets of the dip mix.  

As soon as I got home I mixed it into a carton of sour cream even before I put away my groceries and put it in the fridge to get it all settled in.

Believe me when I tell you that when I started dipping plain Lays potato chips into it, I had to make myself put the carton back in the fridge.  Yep, it was that good.  It's a bit hot, but it's oh so good. 

Frank's RedHot Ranch Dip mix most definitely gets two thumbs up from TWIT.  I would give it three thumbs up if I had an extra thumb. 

New Product Review

For about a month, Krispy Kreme has been teasing everyone about the upcoming Reese Cup filled donuts.  I love Krispy Kreme donuts, and I love Reese Cups, so what was there not to love about the Reese Cup filled Krispy Kreme?  A lot.

I tried one the day they were introduced and I was not impressed.  The donut itself was a cake donut - not the awesome glazed donut that I was expecting.  For me, that was what turned me off.  I chose the chocolate lover's version, pictured on the left.  The peanut butter filling was good - not Reese Cup filling, but a good peanut butter filling.  But it just didn't do anything for me.  I'm sorry to say I won't try another.  

And I am sorry to say that the Krispy Kreme Reese Cup filled donuts do not get any thumbs up from TWIT.  

New Product Review

I've always been a big M&M fan, and am equally partial to plain and peanut.  And the good folks at M&M are always coming up with new flavors.  Loving M&Ms like I do, I will give the new flavors a try.  

This spring they unveiled three new flavors - English Toffee Peanut, Mexican Jalapeno Peanut, and Thai Coconut Peanut.  As they normally do, they are asking people to vote for their favorite.

I was at our local RiteAid on Wednesday evening and there at the counter when I was checking out was a stack of the Jalapeno flavored ones.  I didn't hesitate to buy a pack and couldn't wait to try them. 

A ate two of them, and at first was instantly disappointed - they tasted just like regular peanut M&Ms.  But after a second or two, I could definitely taste that mild spice in the back of my mouth. They weren't "hot" but like I said, after you ate a couple you could taste the jalapeno.  And it was pretty darned good. 

I plan to stop back at RiteAid this morning and pick up a few or seven more packs.  

Mexican Jalapeno Peanut M&Ms most definitely get Two Thumbs Up from TWIT. 

New Product Review

I had to pick up a few things at the store on the way home from work yesterday, and this bag of Laffy Taffy Jelly Beans caught my eye.  I love Laffy Taffy, especially banana flavored, so I knew I had to try a bag.  I'm glad I did.  

They aren't 100% jelly-like, as regular jelly beans, and they aren't taffy, either.  They're just good.  

And I am using all the restraint I have to not pour the bag out on my desk and pick out all of the banana ones and eat them first. 

Laffy Taffy Jelly Beans most definitely gets Two Thumbs Up from TWIT.  

New Product Review

When my boss offered me a Caramel Apple Pop, I admit I was a bit hesitant at first.  But I was wanting a little something sweet, so I accepted.  

After taking about five minutes to get it out of the wrapper, I was eager to taste it.  After the first few licks, I thought it tasted just like a Sugar Daddy.  But after a few more licks, I started to taste the apple flavor, and I was hooked. 

The more I licked it, the softer the sucker became and it tasted more like caramel. 

Like I said, I was hooked, and I plan to stop on the way home today and buy a bag.   I owe a big thank you to the Tootsie Roll people for making these.

Caramel Apple Pops most definitely gets two thumbs up from TWIT. 

New Product Review

When I was getting gas this morning at our local Thorntons, I went inside to see if they had any good looking donuts in the case.  FYI, they didn't.  But I digress.  But I did see some bags of new Cheetos brand snacks called Sweetos.  I was intrigued.  As soon as I saw "cinnamon and sugar" on the front of the bag, I was hooked.  I bought a bag, even though they were overpriced.  And after one bite, I don't regret it. 
 I could have honestly eaten the whole bag at lunch today, but I used some restraint and only ate about one-third of the bag.  And I am going to venture a guess that anyone that tries them will do the same. 

They are poofy, like Cheetos, but they are sweet and cinnamon sugar flavored.  They remind me a bit of the cinnamon sugar tortilla chips that Taco Bell used to sell back in the day.

Cheetos Sweetos most definitely gets not one but two Thumbs Up from TWIT, and without a doubt gets the TWIT Seal of Approval. 
 

New Product Review

I've always been a Pringles fan, and to this day, their regular old school flavor is still one of my favorites.  But last week in the grocery store, I saw "Hot Diggity Dog" flavored Pringles and I knew I had to try them.  I am probably the biggest hot dog fan in the world, so how cold hot dog flavored Pringles be wrong??

I'm here to tell you when I cracked open the can, I ate about one-third of them before smacking my own hand and making myself put the top back on and put them back in the pantry.

Unlike a like of the trendy flavored chips, these honestly did taste like a hot dog.  I didn't get any mustard or ketchup flavor, but without a doubt I could in deed taste a hot dog.  The flavor wasn't over-powering, which made it easy to eat one after another after another.  

Pringles Hot Diggity Dog chips most definitely get the Thumb's Up from TWIT. 

New Product Review

TWIT conducted a taste test today on Lay's new New York Reuben flavored potato chips. Ten coworkers and I taste-tested these today, and the general consensus is that we were all not impressed.

Personally, the only outstanding flavor I could taste was the Thousand Island dressing flavor.  The majority of my coworkers that tasted the chips said that they could taste the rye-bread flavor.  One co-worker said they tasted like Arby's.

All in all, I will have to give this an official Thumb's Down from TWIT.  I am very sure that I won't buy these again. 

New Product Review

I've been anxiously waiting for a few weeks to try Wendy's new Pretzel Bun Burger. I tried one for lunch one day this week, and to be honest, it really wasn't worth the wait. 

I did not take this photo, but I will say that when I opened the box, it did look pretty much like this.  It hadn't squashed down during the less-than-a-mile trip back to work from Wendy's.  As you can see in the picture, the pretzel bun is the star of this burger; other than a flavorful honey mustard sauce and a spring mix of supposedly 9 different types of greens, it's still a Wendy's burger.

I love pretzels and I had high hopes for this but I wasn't impressed.  The bun wasn't hard, but it was pretty thick, and was a bit too much bread for my liking on a burger; at least when you get a regular burger the bun will smoosh down into a more manageable size.  The previously mentioned honey mustard sauce was flavorful; it was on top of a liquid-form of cheddar cheese, much like good old Cheeze Whiz, and luckily I didn't drip any of it on my shirt or on my desk while eating it.  

To sum it up, even with the pretzel bun and fancy greens, it's still a Wendy's burger.  And I'm not knocking Wendy's burgers; I love them, and my coworkers love them, too, since they are less than a mile from our company.  I ate the entire burger, so it's not like thought it was horrid and threw it away; it was just neutral.

I will give Wendy's Pretzel Bun Burger the TWIT Seal of Approval for all of the flavors and the quality,  but I can't give it a thumb's up, nor can I give it a thumb's down.  You will just have to try one and see for yourself.  
 

New Product Review

Being a big fan of M&M's, I'm always on the lookout for any new flavors that they introduce.  Don't get me wrong - you can't beat the old school plain or peanut M&M's, but I still enjoy a new, limited edition flavor.  So when I heard they were going to release candy corn M&M's, I got all kinds of excited, since I love candy corn and M&M's.  But I am going on record and will say that I do not love candy corn M&M's. 

I was expecting the chocolate taste of M&M's, and was disappointed bigtime when I had my first taste of the candy corn M&M's.  It didn't take long to discover that they're nothing more than hard shell candy coated white chocolate.  Dad and I ate them, but we didn't really like them.  And we both agreed that neither of us would buy them again this fall. 

We concluded that we'll just buy regular plain M&M's and regular candy corn, but we sure didn't like the two mixed.  Unfortunately, Candy Corn M&M's do not get the TWIT Seal of Approval.

New Product Review

Today's post is brought to us by Diva Stacy, who is just bursting at the seams to tell us about a new product that she absolutely loves.

I have a husband and a teenage boy in the house. Both have a lot of dirty laundry. My husband works outside in the heat all day, moving parcels all over the world. My son plays a lot of sports. As you’ve read in TWIT, it’s been brutally hot this summer. There’s no polite way to say this….their laundry smells bad. This is something I complained about all last summer. Even when it came out of the dryer it still smelled bad. And what’s worse, it was causing the other clothes in the load (mine and my daughter’s) to smell bad too! I tried using extra detergent, and extra fabric softener. Nothing worked. I just kept thinking, “I wish there were something that would help!” Oh, what a glorious day it was when I discovered Gain Scent Boosters!! A few crystals thrown on top of the laundry, and it smells wonderful!! It’s not cheap (about $7.99), but a bottle goes a very long way. I love this product and encourage anyone with smelly socks to give it a try!!

Based on Diva Stacy's glowing review, TWIT is happy to give Gain Boost a thumb's up.

New Product Review

Since I already had a Flashback earlier in the week when I reminisced about Who Shot JR, today I am bringing you, faithful readers, a New Product Review.  It is brought to us by my good friend, coworker and faithful reader SH.  Believe me when I tell you I will be going out tomorrow morning to a local joint to try this.

Last night, my husband and I ran into Dairy Queen to grab a quick bite for dinner. While my husband got a milkshake for his drink, I ordered a medium soft drink. The cashier handed me the empty cup and I went in search of the soft drink dispenser. I looked around the corner from the counter and all I could see (at first glance) was the coffee and tea machines and what looked like a Coke vending machine from the side. I started looking around the rest of the store to find the soft drink dispenser when my husband finally noticed my wandering around and pointed to what I thought was a vending machine and said, "That's the Coke dispenser you need to get your soda from." Then I walked up to the machine and realized it wasn't a vending machine, but a very different kind of soft drink dispenser. It had no written instructions on it whatsoever--just a screen with little icons of just about every Coke product you can imagine. Now I will be the first to admit that I am not technologically savvy. In fact, I hardly have made it past the 1980's as far as technology goes, so I was confused as to what I was supposed to do at this point. It did have a marked ice dispenser on it that I used to get my ice, but then I motioned for my husband to come over and "help" me. He came over and told me to touch the icon of the drink I wanted. I chose Sprite Zero. After touching it, another screen pops up with a large Sprite Zero logo and about 8-10 smaller icons with different flavors of Sprite Zero (peach, vanilla, strawberry, etc). I was supposed to touch the screen again to choose from all these different Sprite Zero flavors, but I was so stunned because I wasn't aware that Sprite Zero even came in all these flavors that I waited too long to make a selection and the machine reset to the main screen once again. I told my husband, "I just want regular Sprite Zero--no special flavors." He ended up walking me through the process and I finally got my Sprite Zero. It turns out that this is a new machine called Coca-Cola Freestyle and can be found in many fast food restaurants at this time. I suggest they put something on the machine telling people like me that it is a touch screen and that's how you use it. Like I said, I'm the first to admit that I'm technologically challenged, but I felt pretty stupid about not being able to operate a soft drink dispenser.

As a special Link Of The Week, here is a link to the Coca Cola site that tells all about the Coca Cola Freestyle.  http://www.coca-colafreestyle.com/index.jsp.

The Coca Cola Freestyle most definitely gets the TWIT Seal of Approval. And I wish I had one of these here at The Compound.

New Product Review

First of all, I apologize for being a slacker and not taking a picture of this burger.  That having been said, tonight was our weekly Wendy's night; I stop and normally pick up three Baja salads on my way home from work.  Only tonight, Mom wanted to try the new Cheesy Cheddar Burger.  I was only happy to oblige.

To cut to the chase, Mom said it was very good and she would definitely order one again next week on my weekly visit to Wendy's.  

It's a small burger, on their "Value Menu" and is plain (which I would love).  It's just a bun, a burger patty,  a slice of cheddar cheese and a plop of the squirty cheese like they put on their broccoli and cheddar baked potato.  Mom said it had a lot of flavor, and that you could really taste the beefy burger. 

Based on my Mother's expert opinion, TWIT is happy to give Wendy's Cheesy Cheddar Burger a thumb's and the Official TWIT Seal Of Approval. 

New Product Review

I know this product really isn't "new" but it's new to me.  I've never seen it in the stores before. But I saw it in the store over the weekend and knew I had to try it.  Sure, it's not 100% real fruit juice, and it's full of most of the regular stuff that's found in soft drinks, but Minute Maid Orangeaide is off the chain. It only took one sip for my tastebuds to find out that it tastes straight up like the orangeade that we used to get at "The Orange Bar" at the Shelbyville Road Mall way back in the day.  It's not carbonated like Sunkist or Orange Crush - it's more along the lines of Kool-Aid or High C.  But it's awesome. I plan to visit the store again tomorrow and stock up.  Minute Maid Orangeade most definitely gets a thumb's up and the TWIT Seal Of Approval.

New Product Review

As you already know,  I love to try new gadgets.  And I love it even more when the new gadget works great.  Well, the fine folks at Ziploc have brought us another awesome product - the Ziploc Vacuum. You simply fill up the special vacuum seal Ziploc bags with whatever you want to keep, seal the bag and let the gadget go to work. It's a little pump, and it looks like a huge plastic syringe, and you just put the end of the plunger thing over the designated spot on the special vacuum-seal Ziploc bags and then just start pumping and the gadget will take all of the air out of the bag.  Our good friend and neighbor PS got one earlier this week and when he showed it to Mom, well, she just had to have one. (Now you know where I get it from.) 


We tried the gadget out this morning and it was awesome.  We filled up a gallon bag with some zucchini muffins, and with just a few pumps from the gadget, all of the air was out of the bag and we just popped it in the freezer. I immediately went to the fridge and grabbed a couple hunks of cheese and fixed them in a bag, too.  Now when we want a slice of cheese, we just open the bag, get our cheese, and then get the little gadget and pump the air out of the bag and put it back in the freezer.  


You can't beat the price - I got the starter kit containing the handy gadget and 3 quart bags for $3.98, and got a box of 8 gallon-sized bags for only $2.98.  You can't beat the price when compared to the big Seal-A-Meal machines they sell for over $100. 


Ziploc Vacuum Seal contraption most definitely gets two thumbs up and the TWIT Seal Of Approval.

New Product Review

The other day, I was doing my weekly search in the cookie aisle in the grocery store to see if I could find the Triple Oreos, and what do I stumble upon but Oreo Creamsicle cookies.  Believe me when I tell you I almost had an anxiety attack in the aisle, given the fact that Creamsicles are one of my very most favorite popsicle flavors in the world.  How could you go wrong when you combine Oreos with Creamsicles?  I picked up two packs without hesitation.

As soon as I got home, I opened the pack for us to try.  Dad and I tried one first, and we were speechless.  My Sweet Mother, who is diabetic, had been watching her sugar intake all day, and knew she could have one without any repercussions.  Well, as soon as she ate the cookie, she grabbed another.  She simply said "I could die tonight a happy woman."  Yes, I will testify they were that good. They aren't too orange, and weren't too vanilla; they were just right.

I urge you to go to your local grocery store right now and stock up on these; they're a Limited Edition and won't be around long. 

Oreo Creamsicle most definitely gets the Thumb's Up and the TWIT Seal Of Approval.

New Product Review

Earlier this week I started getting a head cold, accompanied by the usual cough and nasal congestion. Usually I wait too late and the cold is full blown before I start taking any meds. But this time on the first day of the symptoms I started taking a homeopathic cough and cold medicine named Umcka. I took it back in February when I had a bad cold and it worked fast. Well this time it worked even faster. I started taking it on Monday and by yesterday I'd say I was up to about 85% cured. There's no alcohol in it, so it won't make you sleepy or wire you up, and it has a very pleasant cherry taste.

I can testify that Umcka really works and does in deed shorten the duration of a cold. It most definitely gets the thumbs up from me and receives the TWIT Seal Of Approval.

New Product Review

This really isn't a new product, but for all intents and purposes, it is in TWIT, just because I think it's awesome and want to share it with you, faithful readers.

Mom has canned I don't know how many quarts of tomatoes this summer, and the tomatoes are still coming in hot and heavy. She's also canned a dozen jars of salsa and a dozen jars of pasta sauce. For the salsa and pasta sauce, Mom has used the awesome Mrs. Wages mix. Last summer in TWIT I sang the praises of Mrs. Wages salsa mix, and this summer it's Mrs. Wage's pasta sauce's turn.

It is without a doubt my family's favorite pasta sauce - whether it's from a jar that your buy at the store or from a restaurant. In fact, it's going to be hard to eat sauce from the store after having this stuff. The seasonings are just right. And when Mom makes the sauce she leaves the tomatoes in chunks. That makes for some awesome sauce. We had spaghetti with a jar of the homemade sauce tonight for supper, and the sauce was so good with the chunks of tomatoes, you really didn't need any meat sauce.

If you're like us and have more tomatoes than you know what do with right now, go out to the store and buy some Mrs. Wages pasta sauce mix. You'll be glad you did. Mrs. Wages Pasta Sauce Mix receives a thumb's up and the TWIT Seal Of Approval.