BREAKSTONE'S 100 Calorie COTTAGE DOUBLES

In 1928, Kraft bought out Breakstone Brothers... they made fluid milk and cheese. Kraft also acquired Phenix Cheese Company (who made Philadelphia cream cheese) and the company changed its name to Kraft-Phenix Cheese Company. The name has changed so many times over the course of the years... as they have acquired and merged with other companies. Today it is called Kraft Inc.

Check out all the brands they own today--  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Kraft_brands ( IT IS AMAZING HOW MANY COMPANIES THEY OWN)

Just recently, Breakstone's came out with 100 Calorie COTTAGE DOUBLES. There are 5 varieties, each has cottage cheese on one side and fruit on the other (Blueberry, Strawberry, Apple Cinnamon, Peach, and Pineapple).I personally love cottage cheese plain.. but not everyone does... most like it mixed in with fruit.

I bought four of the five and I decided to start with Blueberry! The cottage cheese alone just tastes like beautiful and rich cottage cheese... alone the blueberry section was way too sweet ( it was more like blueberry jam than fresh fruit). However when you take a little of the blueberry and mix it with the cottage cheese.. it is delicious and well-balanced in terms of sweet and salt flavors. YUMMY can't wait for the other flavors.... which one next?

Buddy Fruit: Apple and Strawberry

According to the founders of Buddy Fruit, "One of the best ways to eat fruits, especially when you are traveling, is through fruit pouches, a best-selling concept in France with a high demand from kids and parents."

When they discovered that these types of pouches did not exist in America.. they decided to bring the concept to the USA.

So what is in one of these pouches (comes in several flavors):

Apple, strawberry, blackcurrant juice, concentrated apple juice


1 pouch= 1 serving of fruit
100% fruit
no sugar added
no seeds, no peel

 When I opened it I was expecting a paste like substance but instead.... as I squeezed the pouch a liquid substance started emerging from the top! It was not super appetizing looking but..i decided to try it anyway.  It was okay.. kind of tasted like baby food though- i would much rather just eat the real fruit!

Gourmet Dining: Shrimp Scampi

So am I normally all about making food yourself.. however sometimes you just don't have the time or energy. Last time I went to the store... "Gourmet Dining" Frozen Skillet Meals were on sale. They had so many types to pick from... Garlic Shrimp, Shrimp Scampi, Shrimp Stir Fry, Shrimp Linguini, Beef Stir Fry, Chicken Fried Rice, Pork Stir Fry, Chicken Alfredo, etc.

I chose the 28oz Shrimp Scampi: It came with a sauce packet, a bag of shrimp, a bag of pasta and vegetables.

The preparation is really simple... simple thaw the sauce under hot water.. set aside

Heat the shrimp in a skillet.. add the pasta and veggies

Then add the sauce (can decide how much you want to add)

It was so easy! and quite good.. a little salty but that is to be expected! I would buy this again.. i might try another flavor though.. just to change it up!

TOSTITOS Multigrain SCOOPS!

Ok I am not writing a whole blog about this cause I actually didn't buy them... i just tried them when i was over at a friends house.

They are better than any other tostitos that I have ever had! They are very crunchy and thick.. salty and flavorful! NO DIP REQUIRED!

I literally couldn't stop eating them!

Kozy Shack Flan: Creme Caramel

Do not be intimidated by the word flan... many people do not know what it is.. and are therefore afraid of it. If you don't want yours I will glady eat it for you because I believe that it is amazing.

At its most basic level...Flan is made of milk, sugar, and eggs. What can be bad about that?

It is a custard like dessert that is made by baking eggs and milk that have been mixed together. One of the most popular additions to flan is a caramel sauce.. which is made by heating sugar until it become delicious and golden in color (Spanish Flan). But there is also English Flan which uses an open topped pastry shell that is then filled with custard and often mixed with different types of nuts/fruit.

I had flan before in a restaurant but I have never had it from the grocery store.. so I wanted to see if it was any good. I bought Kozy Shack Flan: Creme Caramel. Each package comes with two individual servings of flan.. but realistically it is easy to eat both in one sitting:-)

The flan tasted just like it did in the restaurant. It was smooth and creamy and oozing with caramel sauce. If you like custard types desserts then I would recommend flan.. even from the grocery store.

Lucky Duck Wine

Walking through Wal-mart I "stumbled" upon the beer and wine aisle..I still think it is weird that alcoholic beverages can be sold in grocery stores in North Carolina.. but anyways...I decided to look to see if there was any wine on sale. There wasn't but there was wine for a little more than $3.00... how do you pass that up?

The brand is called "Lucky Duck" (developed by Dragon Rouge) and they have 5 different types of wine from around the world including Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile, Chardonnay from South Eastern Australia, Shiraz from Australia and Malbec from Argentina."

I chose the Malbec variety because I have never had a Malbec wine before. The description on the bottle is: Malbec from Argentina: deep aromas of blueberries and chocolate. Enjoy lucky duck alone or paired with grilled meats, vegetables, or sharp cheeses.

 The labeling is quite attractive as there is a duck on each bottle that is adapted to the culture of each of the countries from which it originated!

So I didn't expect a lot from a $3 bottle of wine. But I was pleasantly surprised! It was tasty on its own... it had a fairly bold and fruity flavor. It did seem a bit on the dry but I definitely enjoyed it. Yummmy - WOULD BUY AGAIN!

Do don't bother to buy a $20 bottle of wine when you could buy 6 bottles of Lucky Duck for the same price!

Polenta fritta

Well I didn't buy it, but since it has been a weird schedule with Spring Break... I decided that I could just review a food that I ate that I had never had before.

For our 6 month anniversary, Rusty and I went to Prego's ( a nice Italian restaurant in Burlington). In addition to bread to nibble on they also gave us little cubes of polenta fritta. I had heard of polenta before but I had never tried it or seen it fried into little cubes.

Essentially polenta is a dish made of boiled yellow or white cornmeal. Originally polenta was thought of as a "peasant food" or food for the poor, but today it is viewed of as more of a gourmet food. It takes a while.. an hour or more.. to  cook the polenta (requires constant attention and stirring).

After the polenta is cooked it can be further prepared by being fried (balls, cubes, sticks, etc.)

So we were served this mystery food. I have to say that it didn't look to terribly appetizing.. it almost looked old and crusty. On the first bite I did not really like it because I did not think it had much flavor, but on the second bite I really appreciated the subtle taste.

I would eat it again.. but i don't know if I would order it if it wasn't free!