Review of Nabisco Golden Chocolate Oreos

 My appreciation of the original Oreo cookies peaked my interest in the Golden Oreos product line as they were on sale this past week. I picked up a package of the Golden chocolate Oreos and the results are in. This review does not offer description or analysis of the nutritional value.

Description

The yellow plastic package of golden Oreos contains 15.5 ounces (VERIFY) of cookies. The outside sandwich layers or actual cookies are golden or yellow color and with a vanilla flavor. The cream is chocolate and the exact same thickness of the traditional Oreo cookie filling. The package is pretty nifty as there is a peel back tag on the top of the package allows access to the cookies and peels back on or re-attaches to the package to reseal the cookies and keep them fresh.  Good thinking Nabisco.

 Taste

I somewhat had my doubts purchasing this cookie as I made the purchase decision based on sale price and I was looking for something interesting to put in the kids school lunches for dessert. The first taste of the cookie was a winner. The chocolate cream is decent enough though it appears to get somewhat lost in the delicious flavor of the vanilla cookie outside layers. When I eat these sandwich type cookies , I do not  peel them apart so I captured the chocolate flavor at the very end which was pretty mild.  

Price

The cost of one package on sale was $2.79 which is down from a heftier price of $3.19. The sale price still seems kind of high but then again these are Oreos and the manufacturer knows if you build it, they will come (regardless of price).   

Overall Satisfaction

This cookie is an easy treat to knock down. The golden cookie alone is delicious and makes me want to try just the plain golden Oreos with the vanilla cream. The chocolate filling was “meh” in my opinion. I don’t think it really added too much to this cookie. The price of golden chocolate Oreos is a little pricey and I would most likely buy just the regular Oreos if I want to spend this price for a package of cookies. I would rate this Oreo variety an average buy and may or may not purchase again in the future.

Review of Edwards Boston Cream Pie

When looking for a quick after dinner dessert treat, there is nothing more convenient than ice cream or pie. I recently picked up a thaw and serve pie by Edwards as we were craving a custard/chocolate/cake combination. To this day, I am still not sure why this dessert is even referred to as “pie” as there is no crust, but rather two rounds of yellow sponge cake. Should it not be a Boston Cream Cake? Enough of my muttering, I shall proceed with my review.

Description

The pie is sold in the frozen foods section and in a large paperboard box. Within the box, is a plastic snap lid container that does not snap on so easily once you want to put the remaining pie back in the refrigerator. The round dessert has a lovely rich topping of chocolate which covers two layers of golden sponge cake and a healthy layer of custard in between. The dessert requires the consumer to thaw in refrigerator for a few hours before serving. I skipped that step and went to thaw the dessert on my counter top for a few hours as my refrigerator is pretty cold and could not imagine the pie would thaw that quickly. The pie took about two and half hours from its frozen state to actually thaw to the point where the custard was no longer like ice cream.

 Taste

The first taste was pretty much what anyone would expect of a Boston cream flavor. The sponge cake had a surprisingly moist delicate consistency with the rich flavors of the custard and velvety chocolate giving it a delicious finish.  This cake was pretty solid but did not come compare to the homemade variety that I simply did not have time to prepare.  

Price

The cost of one 27 ounce Edwards Thaw and Serve Boston Cream Pie set me back eight dollars. I am sure I could nab this dessert on sale at some point which I think would make it a solid buy. At the eight dollar price, I think this a costly buy for just an average dessert. I bought this as a treat for our new years day dinner; though I wish I would have saved the money and made time to make the homemade version.

Overall Satisfaction

I have buyer’s remorse on this one. I like the flavor and texture but this dessert did not measure up to eight dollars of satisfaction.  I would pay no more than six to six fifty for this dessert and will most likely buy again only if there is a sale.

Review of Hormel Spiral Sliced Ham

I recently hosted a Christmas Eve dinner which included extended family that brought the meal count to over nineteen people. Our kitchen provided the meats, cheeses, appetizers, and beverages while our guests brought side dishes and desserts to pass. It was a total pot luck effort that took a lot of the cooking burden away from our household! The meat selection included ample deli meats consisting of oven roasted turkey breast and Genoa salami. The largest meat dish included a Hormel spiral sliced ham that I had baked and served warm.

I picked up this ham by Hormel as it was competitively priced at $1.49 per pound and weighed in at eight pounds; which has allowed for extras post holiday meals. The sale price was cheaper than the Cooks and Meijer brands, so this choice was a no brainer. The fact that it was pre-sliced made the decision even easier.

The ham was a good quality meat and tasted even better as I added some seasonings along with a healthy dose of brown sugar and ginger ale as the eight pounder baked for a couple of hours. The meat held the heat well as I wrapped it in foil for an hour as I went to Christmas Eve church service. I am not sure if one can really get a bad ham, but this one tasted delicious. When I had originally looked at this brand ham, I had considered going with the more expensive Cook’s brand as my previous experience with Hormel meats were associated to the high sodium “ready to eat” items such as canned stews and hash that look less than pleasing when revealed from the container.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the meal and I am still scrambling to find ways to serve this ham up besides the already tested breakfast sandwich, omelets, Stromboli sandwich, and addition to macaroni and cheese. Overall, the Hormel spiral sliced ham is considered a good buy.

Review of Meijer Kona Blend Coffee

Every year I get an itch for some Kona flavored coffee. For those that have not experienced Kona coffee it is a smooth slightly nutty flavored coffee that is really tough to find in its pure form unless you are lucky enough to visit one of the Hawaiian islands and get the real deal. I usually have to opt for the “blend” version which is highly diluted with regular coffee beans (Arabica) and other flavors.

Description

The Meijer Gold Kona coffee is sold in a 12 ounce black bag and is ground. The local Meijer does offer the option to bag your own beans from the self serve coffee bean dispenser. I did not see any available bags at this dispenser so I opted for the pre-bagged ground coffee.  

 Taste

The coffee had a decent aroma upon opening the bag and brewed a nice caramel brown color. This is a lighter roasted bean so the finish was definitely not strong at all. The taste was pretty darn good, though not nearly as good as the real thing.  

Price

The cost of this twelve ounce bag set me back only $6.29 which is competitively priced flavored coffee that will last me a long time. While Meijer gold is not as cheap as the other Meijer products, this bag of coffee ran about a dollar to buck fifty lower than competition (Seattle best and Papanicholas brands), thus making it a solid buy.

Overall Satisfaction

My standard “go to” coffee will always be the Dunkin Donuts regular roast as nothing compares to this smooth flavor.  Economics be damned; some items are worth paying and the DD coffee is one of them. Though there are times when I am completely out of that coffee and need a quick alternative (If I don’t have time to get to Costco to buy the DD coffee).  I will consider purchasing the Meijer Gold Kona blend again as a nice inexpensive coffee with a quality taste appropriate for the busy morning commute or the dessert get together with friends or family.

Review of Meijer Gold Vodka Sauce

Of all the items that come to mind when I ask my kids what they prefer for dinner, they occasionally choose pasta and red sauce. I am surprised they choose this item over the customary nuggets, burgers or pizza. One of the sauces I have purchased lately is the Vodka sauce which is a marriage of tomato base and dairy (sheep or cow milk and cheeses). I decided to run with Meijer gold Vodka sauce and try it out served over a bed of ziti and the accompaniment of grilled Italian sausage.

Description

The sauce is sold in 24 ounce jar and has the typical Meier gold label. The sauce is a muted red color and pours pretty thick out of the glass jar. The servings  are definitely enough to feed up to a family of six people; probably a few more if one does not demand a ton of sauce on their pasta and meat.

 Taste

The first taste of this Meijer brand vodka sauce was love at first bite; especially with the children. The sauce had a smooth finish that was comparable to some of the pricier premade vodka sauces sold by the name brand companies that charge anywhere from five  to eight dollars.

Price

The cost of one 24 ounce jar of sauce runs a mere $2.99 which is a far stretch cheaper than the other brands. The sauce does have a heavier price tag than the marinara or prepared red sauces, but tastes much better as there is less acidity to contend with as one would meet with the all tomato sauces.

Overall Satisfaction

I rate this one a strong buy. This will be a once a month meal in our house. I like the relatively easy preparation required making this meal during busy times and the children seem to respect the meal as if they were eating at a five star restaurant.