Enchilada Adobada Pringles

Despite the fancy name (adobada means 'marinated'!) these are pretty unremarkable tasting. Just very plain "lightly spiced" chip, with a wee spicy aftertaste. OK but not exciting.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Annie's Bunny Grahams - Birthday Cake

Annie's seems like they're on a bit of a marketing tear, since I'm seeing their stuff all over. I like most of it, though! These were better than expected: I usually don't like birthday cake flavored things, but luckily these really just tasted like vanilla flavored graham cookies. A good little snack.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Tostitos Mexican Style Three Cheese Chips

Alas, these chips are cursed with tasting bad, and I am cursed with having bought them. I had pretty high hopes since I like cheese and the other powdered tostitos circles were solid. But these had a kind of sour, rancid taste. Is one of the three cheeses Cottage? Or Cream? Bleu?! It's certainly not a mexican-three-cheese vibe I'm getting here. Far more tanginess than I expected. The salsa doesn't even help really. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Create a Treat Oreo Heart Cookie Kit

Happy Valentine's Day, have some bad cookies!I'd rather just have some Oreos, sadly. The icing here was bad and chemical-tasting, not like oreo filling at all, and the heart cookies were hard and tasteless. The bag of mini oreos was the best part! Overall, this was bad, but at least it was nut free.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Dean's Sweets - (A Fluffle of) Mini Bunnies

Well these guys are just adorable. They're partially hollow inside, which makes 'em easy to bite, and of course they're very cute. At a perfect snack size, it's safe to say I love these bunnies.

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10 (dark choco)

Sausage Toaster Scrambles

Oh boy. I bought this because they were on sale, but it's no wonder why they were: they are not good. In their defense, mine were about a week past expiry, but since they're frozen I figure it shouldn't have a big impact. Especially since the biggest flaw is that these are essentially just sweet pastry dough with like .0001mm of cheese-goo and maybe a tiny sausage orb. Certainly no egg to speak of. Also, it was cold inside, so do 2 toaster cycles on at least medium heat. Very weird. I do hate sweet/savory mixing, though, so if you don't mind toaster strudel mixing with your "sausage", maybe you won't hate these.

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 5/10

Fruity Pebbles Crunch'd Cereal

I like fruity pebbles, but the biggest downside IS that they become very mushy, so this is a good idea in theory. They are cute and do have a good crunch, but they also smell kind of weird -- like easter candy or something. If I ignore this, the taste is basically fruity pebble, but I didn't realise how essential the tiny mush texture was to the ethos of fruity pebbles, since this is a very different cereal experience. Not bad though. I'm not 100% sure which I prefer, but I think it's the OG.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Breakfast Ovals

I bet they could make an AI of me based on this blog. Anyway, I didn't expect to like these overmuch, since I'm not a big chocolate-flavored-things enjoyer, but yet when I got the news that there was a new oat circle flavor and it was on sale!!!, I bought like 3 boxes instantly. I'm a sucker for the oat circle. My first reactions was "wow, this is not sweet at all", which was surprising compared to the other flavors, and so I didn't like it. But after a few more bites that contained larger size choco chips, I got into it. They are drier and less sweet than the other flavors, which is a nice change of pace. A little more one-note: oat, chocolate, flour. It grew on me, so I'm glad I bought 3 boxes!

Overall
Cost: 4/10
Taste: 7/10

Birds Eye Skillets - Balsamic Brussels Sprouts

This fell soundly into the realm of "fine". I wasn't expecting this to be a stove-top cooker (I know, I know, it's called Skillets....) so that was mildly annoying compared to the usual microwave, but it tasted maybe better? Maybe? I don't love vinegar in general, but the flavor here wasn't particularly intense, it mostly tasted of damp veg. Decent though.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Charms Fluffy Stuff Snowballs Cotton Candy - Strawberry

Wow. This really does look and feel exactly like cotton balls, which is a trip. It has a generic strawberry-candy flavor (like those strawberry wrapper hard candies). The texture isn't as smooth as normal cotton candy is though, it's more gritty/sugary. A novelty but not actually that great as a candy. Probably good for decorating cakes and whatnot though!

Overall
Cost: 6/10
Taste: 6/10

favorite day bakery sugar cookie ornament cookie kit

My mom randomly got this for me, which was sweet since I never go to Target myself (due to driving inadequacies). It had an allergy warning that didn't mention nuts, so it seemed pretty safe. Came with 4 cookies and 2 icings, plus very cute (but not very tasty) sprinkles called "quins" :|. It's a fun idea and at 220cals each, the cookies are pretty satisfying, especially with icing on. And they held up after a few days of sitting around, although I certainly wasn't going to hang them up like I apparently(?!) was supposed to do. 

Overall
Cost: ?/10
Taste: 7/10

A La Mode Mint Chip Ice Cream

Mint choccy chip is one of my top two ice cream flavors (chocolate chip cookie dough is the other), and so it is really nice to have a safe, nut-free version of mint available! It smells good and tastes just like the real thing, although it's white and not green (healthier I'm sure, but tastes some getting used to for this girl). The top was a little weird and melty, but overall I love it. Could it use slightly bigger chips? Maybe. But it's good stuff. Top flavor I think.

Overall
Cost: 3/10
Taste: 8/10

Rudolph the Red Nosed-Reindeer Hot Cocoa Cereal

Does this cereal taste like hot cocoa? If you think cocoa puffs taste like hot cocoa, then yes. Basically it tastes like chocolate flavored cereal, because it is cold and not hot. But it's pretty solid, and the reindeer is cute even though I don't know his oeuvre very well. The only reason this is different from cocoa puffs with marshmallows is the texture and size of the cereal pieces is a little smaller/denser, which I think is preferable for the ol' mouthfeel. Decent cereal.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

2021 Maipe Malbec Rosé

This wine really did a 180 on me. At first I thought "ick! so tart, so acidic!" and it's very thin and not fizzy, which is rare for rosés. But it has quite an aftertaste! Really strawberry-y and lemony and pleasant. So it's all about the aftertaste here, which is unique and really nice. After a while, the shock of the drinking wears off, but the lovely aftertaste lingers. Plus, stylin' bottle, like visiting your grandparents on the Florida coast or something.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Tostitos Toppers Fire Roasted Red Chili Pepper Sauce

This is a solid hot sauce. It was a little bit smoky, maybe, which is a taste of the forbidden (i.e. am I allergic to this?!?!). Very dark color. Decently spicy. OK for eggs, and I haven't tried it on anything else. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

De Cecco Orecchiette

What is this, a fine dining establishment? These are a fancy and funny shape. Little ears. Also, is orchestra related to "ear"? Holy crap. Pasta revelations. Anyway, these were decent; sort of akin to elbows but a little pasta-y-er. Good with a good sauce, sort of heavy without one.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Atoria's Traditional Pita Pockets

These are explicitly nut-free, which is really nice, and there's no sesame or weird seeds or grains either. So, I always appreciate a safe bread. I was surprised that you have to make them into pockets yourself, though! I guess I'm a pita n00b, but I didn't expect to have to poke my own hole. It ended looking janky, but I guess it worked OK. They were also pretty dry, but they might just have been old -- there's no date on the package, so who knows. They weren't moldy though, and they held my tomatoes/baco/lettuce/cheese just fine. And were good for dippy egg dipping, also!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Spice World Minced Garlic

My store was out of normal human garlic, so I ended up getting this. It seems very convenient -- no peeling! no cutting! And it lasts so long! But when I opened it, it smelled very bad and not even garlicy. Of course, I used it anyway, and it was fine, but it was so weird that I don't think I'd get it again if I had a choice. I don't know if mine went bad somehow (there's no safety pop lid!) or if it's just supposed to be like that -- more weird pickle liquid than garlic?

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 5/10

Godshall's Fully Cooked Uncured Turkey Bacon

Much to my surprise, this was one of three different pre-cooked bacon options at my grocery store. I never considered such a thing. And you just keep them in the cabinet? It sounds very suspicious. But this was the only uncured option, which is healthier, so even though I never heard of the company, I got this one. It was pretty good. Certainly sufficed in place of bacon bits, and was safe and so quick (15 seconds) to heat up. Who could ask for anything more? Sure, the taste was definitely inferior to "fresh" bacon, but it was in the ballpark. A revelation!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Cabot Shredded Mozzarella - Classic Cut

This sure is some shredded mozzarella. It was just fine for pizza, and OK for pasta/dillas. It was the cheapest option, so that's why I got it!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Cabot Vermont Sharp Shredded Cheddar Cheese - Classic Cut

Too many descriptors, Cabot! Anyway, this was fine for cheese. Thick texture, actually weirdly powdery, as most shredded cheese is to me. It was fine in your pizza and OK in your dilla/pasta. Cabot never impresses me but it's certainly cheese.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

2021 Sishaye Cabernet

This was a fine red. Fairly bright flavor, classic with just a little more of an acidic bite than usual. Paywalled recipe! Boo!

Overall
Cost: 5/10 [16$]
Taste: 6/10

Daisy Light Sour Cream

Good news, creamheads -- this tastes the same as the OG version, as far as I could tell. I do miss the squirty tube, but otherwise, it did its job. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Gino's East Deep Dish Pizza [frozen] - Creamy Spinach.& Cheese Blend

I got this because it was new to me and also on sale for 5$! That's a good deal in these parts. Also, it was small enough to fit in my dumb little reusable shopping bags. I guess Gino's is a real pizza place in Chicago, but I bet their real pizzas are better than this frozen one. (which they also sell online for like 35$, which is insane). It took a while to cook and smelled and looked good, but it was a lot of crust and the crust was very doughy. Not the worst crust, but with the weirdly chewy cheese (what is this, poutine?) and the rather bitter spinach, it was far from a dream 'za. Also like 4000 calos for a 2-person 'za, which is alarming. Maybe better than Digiorno's, but if it costs more than 5$, I don't recommend it. (Even then I'm not sure.)

Overall
Cost: either 1/10 or 6/10
Taste: 6/10

Lucerne Heavy Whipping Cream

Is Heavy Whipping Cream interchangeable with Heavy Cream? I'm not really sure, but Chef My Mom says "yes". So I used this in an un-whipped sauce! It was surprisingly good. Very creamy (lol) and decadent. Tasted fresh, too, and not sour. Supposedly it lasts for like a month, so maybe I can even use the rest in something else (cofe??)!

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 7/10

Quaker Yellow Corn Meal

I don't typically like things made from corn, other than corn itself. But I got this to sprinkle on a pizza crust, and it did the trick. There's lots in here, it's pretty fine (although they apparently consider this medium-grained), and it seemed good and fun. What on earth should I do with the rest, though? Corn bread, maybe? Stay tuned, me. 

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Hot Honey Pringles

You can dress them up, but they're still Pringles. The cat food notes are undeniable!!!! Abstracting away from this, the flavor here is accurate. There is definite honey and there is definite heat (like vinegary hot sauce). Not too bad for a pringle, and I like the tingle, but I'd like it better if it weren't on a pringle. Plus the concept of a Wal-Mart (or any store) exclusive ticks me off.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10

Dunkin' Iced Coffee - S'mores

Oh Dunkin, why are all your bottled drinks so sugary and milky (and not coffee-y)!? At least this flavor was somewhat unique in that I really did taste the marshmallow of it, which was fun in a way. But I also got a strong "chocolate milk" vibe, which I've never loved. It's fine to drink but very heavy, sweet, and not filling the coffee void in my soul.

Overall
Cost: 5/10
Taste: 6/10