Private Selection(R) Ice Cream

As mentioned in the previous blog post, I am involved in a new campaign for bzzagent in which I received coupons for free beef,free pie, and 1.50 off ice cream as well as a bag of chips. I previously reviewed the chips and beef. Well, we just couldn't wait any longer, so we tried the ice cream! My excuse is that I am 8 months pregnant and LOVE all things food! :-) I ate the Black Raspberry Dark Chocolate Chunk. WOW! Usually I put a LOT of toppings on my ice cream!! However, this ice cream definitely did not require any additions. The chocolate chunks in it were so good and really chocolatey! So many times in ice cream the chocolate doesn't taste like real chocolate, but not in this one! It tasted like very rich and delicious chocolate! I had to make myself put it back in the freezer or I would have eaten the entire pint by myself in one sitting! Steve tried the Cookies n Cream. He liked it, but said that it wasn't quite as good as a brand like Breyer's Blast. He said it was pretty comparable to it though. The one thing that is a little odd about this ice cream is the price. The pints were on sale for 1.79 each (which is the size that the coupons were good for), but the half gallons were on sale for 4.99. 4.99 for a half gallon of ice cream seemed pretty high for a store brand! When Breyers goes on sale, it is usually around 3.50 for a half gallon, but when the regular Kroger deluxe brand goes on sale you can get it for around 2.50. Again, just like with everything else, I buy according to price so I pick the flavor I want and buy whatever brand is the cheapest and still has the flavor that I want. The taste of this ice cream is definitely superior to some other brands, but not so much that it would cause me to spend that much money. I don't often buy pints either because most brands are cheaper to buy in larger amounts. I will admit though, that since being pregnant, I have bought more ice cream than I usually do. Once I even bought a small container of Ben and Jerry's just because I had a craving! :-) So, I won't say that I will NEVER buy one again, but the chances aren't very good!

Private Selection (R) Taste of Summer

Another one of my campaigns from bzzagent was for the Kroger(R) Private Selection(R) brand. As you may recall, I have previously tried some of the products from this line and was not impressed! This time I got a kit which included a bag of Private Selection (R) sea salt and black pepper kettle chips, coupons for free ground beef and a free pie, a coupon for 1.50 off a pint of ice cream, and several coupons for 20% off that I am supposed to pass out to other people. I first tried the chips, since they came in the box and I didn't have to go to the store to get them. They weren't bad. They are not the kind of chip that you could eat very many of by themselves as a snack, but they are good with salsa or dip. The flavor of the pepper is too strong to have many of them by themselves. I really like Kettle chips! They have a great crispy texture and they have ridges which are perfect for dipping!! Today, I went to Kroger to pick up the other items that I am supposed to try. I was able to get the ground beef. I got 1.4lb of Angus ground beef for free. The price marked was 4.87. If I hadn't had the coupon, I would not have bought the beef had I not had the coupon because it was more expensive than the regular store packaged ground beef. I usually buy based on price, so unless the beef goes on "Managers Special" I wouldn't buy it again. The taste of the meat was very good! I made burgers. My husband and I aren't big fans of fancy burgers with lots of stuff in the meat, so I just added taco seasoning and salt and pepper. We then melted cheese on top for extra flavor. I used Provolone and Steve used American. We don't have a grill, so I cooked the burgers in a skillet using a little EVOO. They tasted really good! They probably tasted even better since they were free! :-) I think this campaign may improve my opinion of this brand! While I was at Kroger, I also picked up a pint of black raspberry dark chocolate chunk ice cream, which I only paid 27 cents for because of the coupon I was sent. I also bought a pint of cookies n cream for Steve because I didn't think he would like the other. I had a coupon that Kroger had sent me in the mail for their ice cream, so I paid about $1 for the second pint. We had hoped to try these for dessert, but we are too full from the burgers, so we will have to try those later. I was unable to find the pie that I got the coupon for. I was disappointed that they didn't have any available. I guess I will have to keep looking. Hopefully, they will have them available before the coupon expires. I was also hoping to buy a bag of chips of a different flavor with another coupon I had, but they didn't have any Private Selection Chips. I thought this was odd considering that the Private Selection(R) brand is a Kroger brand. I am really hoping to get a chance to try the pie! They look really good! I will keep checking and hopefully have a review of the pie as well as the ice cream, soon!

Pork(R) Be Inspired(R) Bzz Campaign

I am currently a member of a new bzz campaign! It is for pork! I got a coupon that enabled me to get free pork chops! I was supposed to pick a recipe and try it!
Tonight I tried a great recipe!
 
  Braised Pork Chops with Peppers and Onions

 Ingredients:
4 boneless pork loin chops, about 1 inch thick, trimmed
2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 small red or yellow bell peppers, quartered and cut into 1/4 - inch slices
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced - I used garlic powder because I didn't have any fresh garlic
1/2 cup dry red wine (I used vegetable broth, since I don't cook with alcohol)

1. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, warm oil. Sprinkle chops with salt and pepper and cook until browned. 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove chops to a plate and set aside.

2. Add tomato paste to skillet and cook, stirring for 15 seconds. Add bell peppers and onions to skillet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally for 1 minute.

3. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping up and stirring in any browned bits in the skillet. Return chops to skillet, nestling them in the liquid, and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook 4 minutes. Turn chops, cover, and cook until internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. Remove chops from skillet and let rest 3 minutes.

4. Serve Pork with pepper and onion mixture spooned on top.

This recipe was very good! I served it with mashed potatoes, but there are any number of side dishes that would work great with this recipe. I am looking forward to trying some of the other recipes that were included in the bzz kit! This has been a great campaign! Especially considering I got a 10 pack of pork chops for free!