JeanC Reviews...

The hubby and I like to shop at Grocery Outlet where we can find quite a deals. Unfortunately, those deals don't always stick around. The stores are outlets for a reason, that being other places needing to get rid of stock. So you won't always be able to find items you love again.   When we first saw the Snapdragon Pho , we grabbed a couple to give them a try as they were gluten-free. The first flavor was the mushroom, which had a very nice flavor. The hubby tried one and he liked it also. So the next time we went in we bought more. In fact, the next several times we went we kept buying it. Eventually, we bought them out of all the flavors they had.  Snapdragon Vietnamese beef-flavored pho (photo by author) Each bowl has a packet of dried veggies, a flavor packet, and flavoring oil. The oil ranges from mild to hot, depending on your pho flavor. The look of the Vietnamese pho packets has changed recently. They are a lot more whimsical and fun. photo by author Making the pho is ...

at least new to me. It was my dad's that my mom saved for me when she moved into her condo and didn't need anymore. It's called a Hound Dog Weed Hound and is a nice addition to tackling the thistle in my lawn. While the weather is cool and wet I can't use the vinegar treatment, so this will give me an early start. It has cool tines at the end that push down and grab the weed and hangs on while you lift the knob and pull up: One thing I love is I can pretty much use it one handed as I can't putter about the lawn and stand for too long unaided. It does make for a very nice 2nd cane and lawn aerator since I push it in as I walk along LOL!  There is a size limit on what you can pull up. Didn't work very well on some bigger clumps of grass that was growing where I didn't want it. I don't think they make this one anymore, I've only seen them on eBay. Amazon has one that is really close, called the Worth Garden Stand-Up Weeder and Root Removal...

But I call him Percy LOL! We picked up the vacuum on a special that was offered and jumped at a chance to try one. We've been looking at the robotic vacs for quite a while now, but have never really been able to justify one. However, physical health issues and the special pushed us to order it. The  ECOVACS DEEBOT M80 Pro Robotic Vacuum Cleaner  is exactly what we needed. Took a bit once we got it to get things running smoothly, but it was worth having the house vacuumed daily, esp as we have two cats, who while are short haired, shed daily. Not to mention all the small debris we track into the house on the bottom of our shoes. The bot comes with a remote that allows you to program and also to run it manually. The phone app can be downloaded and then using the bot and remote sync them all up. For most part, we use the phone apps to program and run Percy. As mentioned, I named my bot. I'm the type of person who names cars, etc. Robots esp are going to get n...

I am seriously addicted to Ritz Bitz peanut butter crackers and have been missing them since going gluten free. I think I have found a suitable replacement for them. I miss the buttery flakiness of the Ritz and the  Lance GF peanut butter crackers  is very similar. They have a nice salty, buttery flavor that goes well with the peanut butter. The texture of the little sandwich cracker is just about right. Like most gluten free products, these are not as inexpensive as the regular name brand, but I found them for a reasonable price of less than $3 a box at my local Winco. I do hope they will be carrying them on a regular basis. Looking them up on the web Walmart sells them, at least thru their website. I have to wander in one day and see if they sell them in the local stores. The package lists a serving size as 12 little sandwiches with 5 servings per box, so the pic below shows 1/2 a serving. Problem is, they lied, one serving is the whole 5 ounce box LOL!!!!! Once yo...

When I first heard about Oreos with popping candy in them I thought it was an internet joke, but it turned out to be true. Firework Oreos with pop rock equivalent. That to me was a challenge I had to accept, even tho it is not the wisest thing for me to do (gluten intolerant). But I had to. Picked up a package at Winco when I stopped to pick up a few items I needed for dinner. The package is 10.7 oz (303 g) for a bit less that $3.00, so price isn't too bad since it is a limited edition cookie flavor. Waited a day before trying them, so brought them to work to try them when I went to lunch. Opened the package and slide out the tray (yes there is an easy open on the front, but I like sliding them out of the package the old fashioned way LOL! At first look they look fine, with little teeny, tiny specks of the popping candy. Tho they do look a wee bit too small. I wondered if there would be a satisfying pop at all. Twisted off one cookie (it was the filling I was goi...

The one really nice thing about cutting the cable is we have a LOT more time to watch movies on Amazon, Netflix, and AcornTV. We have Amazon Prime , so are able to watch a lot for free and we take advantage of that as much as possible.  Last night we watched The Relic with Tom Sizemore and Penelope Ann Miller, based on the book by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child. I have read all the Agent Pendergast novels, of which The Relic is the first in the series, so I had some serious doubts about a movie adaptation that didn't have Aloysius Pendergast as the main character. Not too mention all the interactions between various characters along with getting to know Agent Pendergast. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did with the basic story line.  They rolled the character of Pendergast in with that of Lt. Vincent D'Agosta, but kept D'Agosta pretty much as is and just gave him most of Pendergasts' lines when needed. Tom Sizemore did a pretty good job at playi...

With the unreliability of the battery in the truck we picked up a Stanley J5C09 1000 Peak Amp Jump Starter with Compressor to keep in the truck. I have found it has come in quite handy on several occasions, including yesterday. Usually we can get a jump from someone (either some nice person driving by or call the service the University has that is very handy), call a friend or one of us brings the other car, but there are times when it is just me and there isn't anyone available and I really don't want to call road service. If the battery is flat at home, I could take the car and leave the truck with hubby to throw the battery on the charger. The day Thanksgiving break started this last year the battery was flat when I got off work (of course it did, I was starting a weeks vacation). Hubby had taken some medication that said he wasn't driving and I didn't want to call a friend to come in from out of town. So I called the service the U has and they showed up. I e...

A couple of years back I decided to invest in a good v-slicer. I'd been using some cheap ones, but they only sliced one thickness and I wanted more flexibility. So I picked up an OXO Good Grips V-Blade Mandoline Slicer and have been very happy with it ever since. The slicer comes with 3 different blades that change in and out easily. You can make straight cuts, crinkle cuts or julienne and the slicer can adjust to 1.5mm, 3mm, 4.5mm and 6mm thicknesses, so you could make potato chips thick or thin. I like to make scalloped potatoes and used to slice the potatoes by hand. I would end up with slices of various degrees of thickness and a cramp in my hand from holding the knife. The slicer makes quick work of the potatoes. The food holder is comfortable in my hand and the only time I have ever sliced my self of the VERY sharp blades was when I wasn't paying attention while dismantling it for cleaning. There usually is a small bit left on the holder when done that needs to...

So, we got one of our tax returns back and decided to splurge on a gadget for the kitchen. I have been looking at the Instant Pots for a while now, a lot of my online friends and fellow foodies have been getting them. I had originally looked at the DUO60 when it was on sale, but we didn't have the money at the time. Seriously glad we waited. Hubby was going to surprise me, but realized he wasn't sure which pot I wanted, so had to ask.  Like I said, looked at the DUO60, but it wasn't on sale, but the IP-LUX50 was and I had decided the LUX was just what I needed (no intention of doing yogurt and such, so don't really need the low pressure setting). The I noticed there was a new model that not only had everything I wanted, but some new extra setting AND was a 6 qt, rather than the 5 qt. And only $1 more in cost. So went for that one. Am so glad I did. The cooker came with a very nice quick reference guide, a manual and a recipe book to get you started: I do RTF...

Came home from work yesterday to find hubby had picked me up a bag of these when he had been in the grocery store. So of course I had to try them. OH BOY! Yup, they are twice as hot as the regular Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Didn't seem to be at first, but the heat quickly built up. Kinda got a bit painful after a bit, but it was hard to stop eating them. The endorphins went into overtime. The heat stuck around for quite a while and eventually faded. Will I buy them again? Probably on occasion. The older I get, the more I like spicier foods, but these are a little bit more than I like on a regular basis. When I do get a hankering for something this spicy, I will make sure I have plenty of sour cream based dip on hand to help mitigate the heat.

I have been finding I prefer the spicier flavors in chips and such, so when I saw these on special, decided to give them a try. They are a much hardier chip, thicker and should stand up to thicker dips better than regular Doritos. First bite the flavor of the hot wings comes thru strong. As I nibbled tho I could barely taste any ranch flavor. It was there, but more of a hint then something dipped in ranch. As with any of the snack chips and such with lots of seasoning on them, you will end up with red fingers and stains on your clothes, so be careful. I liked them tho, a different heat than some of the other hot and spicy munchies I have tried. I will get them again when the mood strikes, but will also grab some sour cream and make a ranch dip to go with them.

A Tavola Together Gluten Free Pizza 5 Minute Pizza Dough Mix 4 PACK (Google Affiliate Ad) Was in my Local Winco the other day to find they have finally stocked Franz gluten free breads / HAPPY HAPPY! JOY JOY!!!! Since I've already had the 7 grain, grabbed the white to give it a try. I had grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner two nights running and I was in bliss. The white is as good as the 7 grain for holding up to being made into grilled sandwiches. It also held up wonderfully well as toasted sandwiches; These weren't wimpy little light sandwiches, I loaded on the cheese and pepperoni and into the toaster oven they went. The bread was wonderfully toasted and held up to the fillings. Some GF breads tend to crumble, but these didn't. While the price still gives me pause, I think the bread is definitely worth it. Hubby can still eat regular bread, so the GF is mine, all mine BWAHAHAHAHA!!! So, between the 7 Grain and the Mountain White I have even more choice ...

and in specific, their gluten free apple pie! We've been driving past this little bakery on our way out to North Division in Spokane  but we usually were driving by at times we'd either already had lunch/dinner or were on our way to a specific place for said meals. So when we were up in Spokane this last weekend visiting my aunt, we were out and about early enough Sunday morning that we wanted a little more coffee and realized we were very near, so we stopped in. We got there right at opening and went in. A nice little place, very friendly staff and a big display case: I quickly perused the case and saw: Gluten free apple pie. They had other gluten free goodies, but it had been so long since I've had apple pie I had to go for it. Besides, what better breakfast, apple pie and coffee LOL! MMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!! It was delish! Now, I've made my own pies and made pie crusts that were okay, but this is the pie crust I want to aspire to. It was tasty, ...

One thing I have learned since going gluten free and having to read labels, there are a LOT of products that contain wheat in some form or another. Sometimes I have no idea why, except it is used as a filler or a cheap thickener. Had to give up my favorite brand of canned chili because of that, the side effects just weren't worth it. I've been contemplating a brand that doesn't have any wheat, but at over $2 a can, just not in the budget. So while looking longingly at the canned chili at the grocery store the other day I noticed a brand I hadn't seen before, so I picked it up and read the label. No wheat listed.  Looked at all the flavors, no wheat listed.  Looked at the price, around $1.40 a can. Okay, more then the 88 cents a can of my former favorite, but definitely less the $2+ a can, so I figured, heck, give it a try.  I picked the original flavor, wasn't up for trying the spicy flavors. Good call, this was just spicy enough for me. While it w...

I am forever looking for a good gluten free bread. While I've made some pretty tasty ones at home, for the ultimate sandwich (grilled cheese) I have not found one I truely love.  While shopping in Lewiston a while back we'd passed the Franz Bakery Outlet and saw they had a sign saying they had gluten free bread. We stopped, but they were out (seems it tends to sell out as fast as they bring it in). So the next time we were there we stopped and they had a few loaves left. It was priced at $4.98 a loaf, so I only grabbed one. The price is a bit more then I would usually pay, esp since I was used to 89 cent a loaf wheat bread, but I decided I had to try it. I hadn't seen any fresh GF in the stores and the ones they do have, while tasty, are found in the freezer section and are rather small for $5 a loaf.  The loaf was a hefty 1 lb 2 oz and felt substantial. I couldn't wait to get home to give it a try. Since it was brutally hot that day we opted for dinner of cold c...