Trick of Treat - Minecraft Edition: Suspicious Stew Pringles

Yesterday's not-really-Halloween-but-kind-of-Trick-or-Treat-adjacent theme continues! Today I have these Suspicious Stew flavored Pringles. 

Minecraft is something beyond my elder-millennial scope, so I asked my younger cousin to explain it's, "Suspicious Stew," item to me. She said it is kind of like poison, it makes your screen get all wiggly. Makes sense to me as an in-game item, but when there are other more positive foods in the game they could have gone with, I do think it's a strange choice for a limited run flavor. (A "sus" choice?)

Sadly, I bought these for whatever normal price they were going for at Walmart, but if you do want to try these for yourself, they seem to be popping up at Dollar Trees already for a lower price, which does not bode well for my snacking experience. 

Another Mexican Street Corn Product!

There was a huge bag of this stuff at Costco and since I love Elotes, it was really tempting. But they weren't sampling it in-store, and I had never tried this brand before, so I didn't want to overcommit. I've been burned by jumping into wholesale-club sizes of new products in the past, so walking away was the right move at the time. Thankfully, Dollar Tree had this mini bag! 

Let's check it out and see if I should take the plunge. 

"It's as if a standard sour cream and onion chip took a trip down the condiment aisle"

Lay's Wavy Cuban Sandwich (Limited Time Flavor) - Walmart

In college, I worked at Panera Bread, and it was awesome. Mainly because of our epic work-family, (imagine a soup and sandwich version of Empire Records), but the food was pretty great too. I still eat there today, (which is something I can't say for another food-related job I had as a teen). Panera will always hold a special place in my heart, and my stomach. I like to recreate stuff in my kitchen all the time. Especially the older discontinued stuff, like their Cuban chicken panini. 

Americanized as it was, it was my first experience with the sandwich, and I loved it. The Panera take had focaccia bread, sweet and spicy pickle chips (closest I have found are the horse radish pickle chips from Aldi),  ham, chicken, tomato-based-whole-grain-mustard, chipotle mayo and swiss cheese, all toasted in the panini press. It is a pretty far cry from a legit Cuban sandwich, but I didn't know that back then. 

A legit Cuban has: ham, roasted pork (not chicken), salami, swiss cheese, mustard and pickles. Which looks like what this chip flavor is based on. The real deal. So, which take will taste more legit? My bastardized Panera sandwich of choice, or these chips? 

Cool Ranch 2: Electric Boogaloo (Tangy Ranch Doritos)

Tangy Ranch Doritos are back!

I missed out on these the first time around, but I was able to grab this bag at Walmart and I'm super stoked. Sure, I probably could have bought them online for whatever marked up price they were going for, but due to all the backlogging that tends to happen around here I limit myself to in-person purchases when I can. So they came, and went, and I was Tangy-Ranch-less. 

Not this time!

Seasonally Saucy - Pumpkin Alfredo

As someone who is still burnt out on sweet pumpkin offerings (even after all these years,) I was thankful to see so many savory options at Lidl, like this pumpkin alfredo sauce. 

When it comes to store-bought sauces, I have never found one that was perfect right out of the jar, so I expected this to need a little doctoring. To give it an honest review, I'll try it first, as-is, and then I'll let you know what I did to make it better. 

Elotes Pringles

Elotes, aka "Mexican Street Corn," has been popping up all over American grocery shelves. We had corn chips, crunchy Cheetos, various dips, and now a Pringle. 

If you've never had Elotes, I highly recommend it. They're a bit messy to eat, but they activate all your taste buds. We have sweet, salty, cheesy, creamy, buttery, tangy, zesty, and spicy. All at once. While I've had nothing but positive experiences with Elote-themed items, I find that no snack food can truly capture this dish. They have gotten close, but it's not quite the same thing. 

That said, I am excited to try these Pringles but I am keeping my expectations grounded. 

My Kind of Shots - Doritos Crack Pepper Chicken Flavor Shots

Doritos Flavor Shots Crack Pepper Chicken  - Hung Vuong Market

Are Flavor Shots still sold in America? The Frito-Lay website only lists one flavor, Fiery Habanero Triangles, but when you click on it, they're not available for purchase locally or online. I guess they're discontinued state-side? Which goes to show how much attention I pay to Doritos these days.

I can never find new products in my area (RIP Wasabi and the Tangy Cool Ranch flavors I never got to try), and when I do fall in love with something new and interesting, it's discontinued, like my beloved Collisions series. Frito-Lay is like the Bath & Body Works of the snacking world, as soon as you fall in love with something new, it's gone. (But they'll have Japanese Cherry Blossom FOREVER.) 

I've had no luck with American Doritos flavors, but what about a Taiwanese one? 

And now for something completely different - Mac & Cheese, Mashed Potato, Dinner Roll, and Thanksgiving Feast Candles

DW Home Candles

I love food smells. Which is a weird descriptor, but it's the most accurate way to convey my preference to people working in perfume or candle shops. (They always look at me like I am crazy.) 

Foodie smells must not be popular, because everything I love always ends up being discontinued. It started with Juice Bar cotton candy and gummy bear scented perfume in middle school, then Jessica Simpson's edible cosmetic Dessert line, and then the Dessert Delights line from Bath and Body Works. Each one was amazing, and each one was discontinued after a few years. Just like my favorite deodorant. Strawberry Teen Spirit was my go-to for over a decade, but a few years ago they stopped selling it in America. (You can still get it in Canada but it's a smaller size and super expensive to import.)

Which brings me to today's post. DW Home is a candle company, and in the last year or two, they started making some foodie scents, and not just desserts, but savory foods too. And for some reason, you can buy these at TJ Maxx for like, half the price than what is listed on their website. So, I went to TJ Maxx, scooped these up, and here we are. 

Let's sniff some savory candles!

Aldi's Journey to Japan - Take 2 - Ponzu Ginger

Journey to Japan Ponzu Ginger Chips -Aldi

Aldi likes to release "around the world" products, with a particular recurring focus on India, Germany, Italy, and Japan. These were the flavor companion to the Wasabi flavored chips I reviewed a little while ago, and the newest addition to the "Journey to Japan" line.

If you haven't already read my wasabi review, spoiler alert, they're good, but not great. I am on a mid to high tolerance range for wasabi/horseradish, it takes a lot for me to feel the burn, and I wanted those chips to pack a punch. They didn't. Here's hoping that this flavor is a bit more unique and flavorful.

Aldi's at it again! - Queso Fundido Wavy Chips

Queso Fundido Wavy Chips - Aldi

"Oops, I did it again" (#freebritney). I bought junkfood I was really excited to eat, but then I wouldn't let myself eat it until I could sit down and review it, which I never did, so it piled up...and now the top of my fridge is nothing but novelty flavored potato chips.  

So, here is the first of many potato chip reviews coming your way.

Every Little Thing, Gonna be Alright - Everything Brioche Bagels

Everything Brioche Bagels - Aldi

Is there anything more comforting than a toasty bagel filled with cheese, egg, and bacon (my breakfast meat of choice) on a cold winter morning? Especially after shoveling snow. Just thinking about it makes me feel warm and cozy.  

While the east coast NJ/NY/PA area has always taken their bagels quite seriously, it seems like other food-stuffs have taken notice and bagels, or more specifically "everything," has become an American obsession. 

In the past year we've had everything bagel seasoning in several flavor variations from tons of different brands (including Aldi), everything bagel potato chips, and even everything bagel ice cream! 

Personally I prefer onion bagels, you get similar flavor but less stuff all up in your teeth, but I get it. The mixture of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, dried onions, dried garlic, and sea salt can amp up any savory breakfast sandwich combo, but we all know what it tastes like. So, when I spotted a brioche version at Aldi I thought I would see if changing the base would make a huge difference.

Planter's Cheez Balls - Typing "Balls" This Many Times Made Me Uncomfortable

 

 Planter's Original Cheez Balls - CVS

Historically I'm very picky when it comes to cheese-based snacks. I like crunchy-style Cheetos, but only the Cheeto's brand version. (Love you Aldi, but your "Cheetos" are sad.) I don't like Cheese Curls, or Cheddar Fries, or Nacho Cheese Doritos. (I'm a Cool-Ranch girl through-and-through with a side of Spicy Sweet Chili.) So I only really like Crunchy Cheetos and White Cheddar Smartfood Popcorn. And yet, I just couldn't ignore this tiny can of retro Cheez Balls at CVS. 

I remember eating cheese balls out of a similar container as a little kid, like single-digit-age-young, and I think it was this brand? I'm not entirely sure because it was so long ago, but something about the retro feel and the pseudo-nostalgia just won me over. (It didn't hurt they they were tiny, cute, and cheap either.) Into my cart they went!

What Have I Done? - Korean Cheetos

Korean Cheetos  - H-Mart

I'm aware that the majority of reviews this year have been negative, and I don't know if it's because after all these years my palette has become more discerning, or if food companies are totally phoning it in. If it's the latter, is it an American-exclusive issue, or a worldwide epidemic? 

To test that theory, here we have two flavors of Korean Cheetos: White Corn Soup and Smoky BBQ.

Tiny Fake Fried Chicken? - Fried Snack

Fried Snack? - Hmart

Interesting packaging strikes again! We've got cartoon chickens, a weird safari-ready mustachioed man with a glove-on a stick? There's a tiny chef, and the promise that these tiny little snacks will look like itty bitty fried chicken legs. How could I resist?

I tossed these into my cart the second I saw them, were they worthy of being purchased? We shall see...

Lay's BLT Chips - Walmart

Lay's BLT Chips - Walmart

The new Do Us A Flavor finalists have been announced and all three options have left me cold. I normally try to keep a pretty open mind, but all three flavors feel a little too safe, and honestly...boring. Unless one of the new flavors happen to fall right into my lap, I doubt I'll be reviewing them, but when I was at Walmart the other day I spotted this smaller, snack-sized, baggie of the Limited Time flavor BLT chips in the checkout lane. These sound more interesting than the finalists, and they're a convenient snacking size, so why not check them out?

Dragon Ball Heroes Cheesy Snacks - Asian Food Market

Dragon Ball Heroes Cheesy Snacks - Asian Food Market

Last time on food-blogger-Z: Sometimes Foodie was overcome by the earthly flu-virus. Weak, and incapacitated, she retreated to her lair and lay dormant in a healing tank to regain her strength while the other food blogging warriors picked up the slack. Today, she reemerges from the rejuvenation chamber to reclaim her foodie-throne!

I hope you read that in the rough and scratchy voice of the English-dubbed DBZ narrator. If not, click the link to hear a little piece of my childhood. Also, being trapped in my bedroom for nearly a week has made me even more socially awkward, so bear with me.

When I was a little girl I would wake up at, what seemed like, the crack of dawn on Saturday mornings to watch Dragon Ball Z on some basic cable channel. I honestly can't remember which one, but I think they also had the rights to Sailor Moon at the time. I'd crawl out of bed, wake up my sister, and we'd go downstairs to gaze at the TV screen and sing the Americanized theme song which had, like, six words in it. "Dragon, Dragon, Rock the Dragon, Dragon Ball Z!"

DBZ and Sailormoon will always have a very special place in my anime-loving-trash heart, so when I saw these snacks at the Asian Food Market, it was an insta-buy.

Butter Chicken Meal Kit - Aldi

Butter Chicken Meal Kit - Aldi

For years I've been looking for a dupe for this discontinued Archer Farms meal kit. It was so freaking good! According to what I've read online, the general public complained that it was too spicy, so it was discontinued and replaced with a lame mild version that doesn't taste as good. BOO!

When I saw that Aldi had a few Journey to India meal kits a while back, I scooped them up, hoping that one of them would be worthy of taking the Archer Farms meal kit's place.

The meal kit I loved was Vindaloo, and spicy, and this is Butter Chicken, which is more mild. Now this flavor won't be exactly what I'm looking for, but it's more palate friendly for my spice-intolerant family, so I decided to cook this one up first so we could all eat dinner together.

You guys want some Octopus Balls?

Takoyaki flavored Puffed Snacks - H-Mart $1.99

I promised you a non-Aldi review, and here it is: Takyoyaki flavored puffed snacks! (Definitely not something you'd ever see at Aldi.)

For those of you unfamiliar with "takoyaki," it's bite-sized pieces of octopus, coated in thick batter, and baked in small sphere-shaped molds. Once cooked, they are topped with sauces, seaweed, green onion and fish flakes. 

To the typical American, it sounds a little odd, and believe me, a few years ago I was turning up my nose at it, but after giving it a try I can see why this street food is so popular. I'm still not a fan of the bouncy eraser-like texture of the octopus inside, but everything else about takoyaki is great! Fried dough, mayo, BBQ-like takoyaki sauce, fish flakes, onions and seaweed are an AMAZING combination!

Since I'm not a huge fan of the octopus chunks inside (mostly due to their texture) I'm really hoping these snacks will deliver all the takoyaki flavor I love, but with the delightful texture of a cheese puff. Will these octopus balls live up to my expectations?

Transylvanian Cheeses from Aldi - (Novemberween)

Transylvanian Cheeses from Aldi - Novemberween 

And now for something completely different... Transylvanian cheese! 

This Monday was HALLOWEEN, and I celebrated with 8 NEW REVIEWS all posted in ONE DAY! (A new Sometimes Foodie record!)

I originally planned on doing one more that night...but the lack of sleep and massive sugar intake caught up to me. An unplanned nap-attack ended my night prematurely (how lame), but that won't stop me from finishing what I started! 

Now, I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey.

League of Legends Shrimp Snack Review! - YouTube Video Review

Halloween video #2 is now up!  I know next to nothing about League of Legends, so you guys are going to have to fill me in.  Check out my PEPSI GHOST video from earlier today, and stay tuned for a third video!
In case you missed the others:
Mystery Flavored Pepsi GHOST (from Japan)
Pumpkin Apple Pocky (from Japan)