durhamonthecheap

Monday, December 30, 2013

(junk) Food Review: Burger King Dollar Menu Rodeo Burger and BBQ Rib Sandwich

Earlier today I saw an article about the Dollar Menu at Burger King and since I have been running around most of the day and trying to get my rental ready for the new tenants, I did not feel like preparing dinner. So a couple of burgers from the Dollar menu at BK sounded good, together with some salad and yogurt and fresh fruit for dessert. Not too unhealthy since the Dollar Menu burgers are small enough that the calories, fat and salt do not reach astronomical proportions on the daily chart.

I opted to try two different menu items and ordered the Rodeo Burger and the BBQ Rib Sandwich. Not knowing what to expect, I figured that the flavor would be hopefully different enough that we could form our opinion about the rebranding of BK. The article that I saw earlier today is linked to here and mentions the Rodeo sandwiches.

The Rodeo Burger is described in the article as "a savory freshly fire-grilled beef patty topped with sweet and spicy BBQ sauce and crunchy, golden onion rings served on a toasted, sesame seed bun for just $1". This is an accurate description. The sauce actually adds a nice tangy taste to the sandwich and even after driving home, the onions rings still provided some crunch to the sandwich.

I was quite satisfied with the Rodeo Burger, nice change from the usual blah fare of having a burger pattie and some pickles thrown on a bun with ketchup.The cheese is not that noticeable, but the sauce and the crunch from the onion rings is definitely there and liven up the flavor.

So next up the BBQ Rib Sandwich. Like the Rodeo Burger, this sandwich may be limited time only. So if you want to sample either one of these, you better get over to Burger King and have a bite. This sandwich is also only $1 and for the price it is quite tasty and relatively satisfying. If you are really hungry, you better grab a couple, but as a snack in between meals or a quick lunch with a salad or some fries, this sandwich or the Rodeo Burger will do the trick.

The BBQ Rib Sandwich is definitely more for meat lovers because besides a couple of pickles, some onion slices and the BBQ sauce, the meat patty occupies the rest of the sandwich. So if you want a lot of meat for $1, this sandwich is for you. Since we do not have the onion rings as buffers, this sandwich is also packing a lot more heat than the Rodeo Burger because the BBQ sauce really comes out. I actually preferred the BBQ Rib Sandwich because it was more flavorful.

Overall, two nice additions to the Burger King Dollar Menu that add some new twists to the burger menu in the fast food area. Depending on how spicy you like your food, you will definitely have an easy time picking a favorite between these two despite the same BBQ sauce being used in both. As I stated, I prefer the BBQ Rib Sandwich because it packs more heat and the pickles go so well with the tangy BBQ sauce.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Harris Teeter Roasted Chicken - one bargain with so many uses

I occasionally pick up a roasted chicken at Harris Teeter, especially if I find a plain roasted chicken with one of these lovely coupon stickers on it that give me another $1 or $2 off the regular price. I love to buy the whole chicken because it is a quick dinner prep that is affordable and then gets used for several more dinners when the bread meat is cubed for chicken salad and the bones are used to make a nice clear chicken broth, sure to help fight the flu or cold better than anything out of the pharmacy.

Usually on the first evening, when the chicken is still nice and hot, I pair the chicken wings and drumsticks with a simple side salad. The salad will usually include a little bit of extra toppings from the Harris Teeter salad bar and then either some simply bag lettuce or, as in this case, fresh spinach that I got on sale. Whatever is left over from the chicken on the first day, will then be cubed into bite size pieces for a curried chicken salad with pineapple or fresh grapes. And then the bones with whatever little meat is left will be put into the crockpot to make a nice clear broth. This broth, especially in the winter month, is great to warm you up from the inside and makes for a great light dinner if combined with a sandwich.

If you buy a roasted chicken, what do use it for? Do you have any go to recipes that you use to extend the life of your roasted chicken?

Private Selection Streusel breads from Kroger - perfect for tasty French Toast

I was able to grab two Streusel breads from Kroger at marked down prices. In case you have never had the Private Selection Streusel breads, they come in two flavors. One flavor is Apple Cinnamon and the other flavor is Maple. Both breads come in slices just thick enough to make French Toast. So this morning, as a weekend treat, I made French Toast using the Sugarhouse Maple Streusel Breakfast Bread.

The description on the website says that this bread is "crafted with maple syrup and topped with decadent streusel to be sweet and indulgent ." I could not agree more. I have had this bread before, simply toasted to a crisp with some butter, it is perfect as a sweet afternoon snack. But as French Toast covered in some Private Selection Maple Syrup, it is simply divine.

Making the French Toast was really simple because the bread is already so flavorful. I simply whisked two eggs with 1/2cup of milk, then sprayed some liquid butter on a heavy skillet and off we were to make a fantastic breakfast treat.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Beef shoulder roast - Inexpensive cuts of beef turned into entrees with multiple uses thereafter

Ever so often I just love the treat of beef rather than always chicken or sausage. So rather than settle for a small steak and pay the high prices per pound, I will get inventive with cheap cuts of beef such as London Broil or Beef Shoulder Roast. Still more expensive than chicken, these beef cuts are much more affordable than steak and the finished product can be used in a variety of ways afterwards, stretching the yummy beef flavor over multiple days.

Today I picked up a reduced for sale beef shoulder from Food Lion, which was priced at less than $3 / pound and looked very lean. So I decided to turn this into a simple roast and use left-over slices and bite-size pieces on subsequent days for sandwiches and salad protein additions. How to prepare this meat in a quick way since I wanted to finish up a bunch of other things this morning also and did not want to start chopping vegetables or fresh herbs? I remembered that I had McCormick seasonings and decided to use the Montreal Steak variety. The seasoning contains salt, black and red pepper, garlic and some paprika; all of which sounded perfect for a simple roast that was supposed to end up on sandwiches with some horseradish mustard and on salads.

Using some pretzel rolls, horseradish mustard and American cheese, the sliced roast was perfect for a quick lunch sandwich! Goes to show that incorporating beef into your weekly meal planner does not have to burst the piggy bank and can be stretched over several days, making beef a quite affordable meal component.

What kind of cheap beef cut do you usually turn into a great tasting, multifunctional lunch or dinner item?

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Product review smiley360.com: SLEEP NUMBER® 5” CoolFit™ Foam Contour Pillow ($139.99 value!)

This weekend I got a huge smiley360.com package delivered to my door and in it was my reward for reviewing the new dual temp Sleep Number bed. I got my very own SLEEP NUMBER® 5” CoolFit™ Foam Contour Pillow, which is valued at more than $130.00! I love the comfort this pillow provides. Because, even though it is soft, it really provides support and now my tired head can rest in comfort at night, having a nicely elevated position and the foam base is providing the right mix of comfort and support that I need to wake up really refreshed.

I always need to sleep in a slightly elevated position and so the regular pillows find themselves routinely being crumbled in bed to get them high enough that I can actually fall asleep. When I took a nap on the guest bed this afternoon to test out the new pillow I realized now more crumbling. This pillow is finally high enough that I can simply put my head down and fall asleep - I love it!

But do not fear, this pillow is very soft and comfortable. No worries about having a painful neck in the morning because your neck and head have to adjust to wood planks. The pillow is extremely soft, but the foam provides enough structure (something that down feathers cannot provide) to guide your head into a comfortable position.

Disclaimer: Thanks to smiley360.com I received a free SLEEP NUMBER® 5” CoolFit™ Foam Contour Pillow in exchange for testing the new Dual Temp Sleep Number bed. Nevertheless, the opinions expressed on this blog are solely my own and have not been influenced by smiley360, Sleep Number or any other third party.

Monday, December 16, 2013

Bend the branches outward for a more natural look - or how much Christmas joy can $10 buy these days?

Coming from Germany, I am used to real Christmas trees. You know the ones that always have one side best turned towards the wall, with sap running in all the wrong places and needles, that despite your best efforts, keep falling way too soon and make moving the tree from the living room on Epiphany a treacherous journey, sure to remove the last remnants of Christmas spirit, because mom sees hours of cleaning to get rid of all the needles, while dad is reassuring mom that he really makes the best effort to avoid banging the tree into obstacles and does try to limit the needles falling all over the house.

While I still enjoy the smell of a real pine tree or Douglas fir, I have plenty of mature trees in the backyard and so now I too settle for the convenient three piece self-assembly Christmas tree, prelit and all. This year, I decided to spruce up the loft space with a smaller Christmas tree to add extra color to the house. I saw a special sale of a 3ft white tree for $10 and figured to give it a try. If it turned out to be really bad. the tree could always be used as a gag gift at a holiday party. I figured it would be more useful than the girdle that made the rounds for years at a gag gift swap in Iowa.

So today was the big day. A longish box, one end half-open awaited me at the door. In the box, I saw white feathery structures of metal and plastic (?). I opened the box and pulled out the structure - see image number 1; the tree right out of the box and I did not include the picture of the box because the shape of the tree gives you a pretty good impression of the size of the box.

I put the stand together and looked the structure. Long and narrow, not quite the tree shape I recollect from pines in Germany. But instructions were included for the clueless - so there is hope yet!

Okay, so I am kidding, I could have figured it out by myself that I am supposed to shape the tree into a more realistic tree-like structure. But I love the fact that the card is included and the explanation includes the words "natural look" because my sparkling white tree with sparking white stand that forms a perfect triangle will not look very natural to me, no matter how much bending outward of branches I do.

So after much bending and turning of the tree to make sure that I had minimized the bad site to the amount absolutely unavoidable, I put the tree in the loft space and used some red lights for extra Christmas decor. Below is the final result and you know what, for $10 - this tree is not bad, especially when viewed in the correct light. This means, turn off the regular lights, wait until it is dark outside and let the Christmas lighting take care of the rest.

Product Review and Giveaway: Herbal Essences Naked Collection Volume Kit + $50 Walmart gift card giveaway!

Herbal Essences asked me to review the new Herbal Essences Naked Collection Volume Kit. Plus, they provide me with an opportunity to give away a $50 Walmart Gift Card to one lucky reader of my blog! More about that below. The Herbal Essences Naked Collection Volume Kit is available on walmart.com starting today 12-15-13 and from January 6th, 2014 it will also be available in Walmart stores nationwide.

The Naked Collection Volume Kit includes Naked Volume Shampoo, Conditioner, Volumizing Soufflé Styler, and Dry Shampoo and retails for less than $15! I will provide some information about the contents of the kit below, but in essence the Naked in Naked Collection refers to the absence of dyes, heavy residues and parabens - who does not like that? Keep in mind that the Naked Collection Volume Kit is intended to give you irresistible volume and is a limited edition kit. So order while it is available at http://www.walmart.com/ip/33006917.

Below is a video of the ordering process. Keep in mind that while logged into my account and added a Walmart GC for paying (since I had some balance left on my giftcard account), you can just as easily order as a guest without logging into Walmart.com and pay by credit card. Also keep in mind that free shipping requires a minimum order of $35, while you can order less and select free store pickup, which is what I ended up doing. In any case, the order process is very, very easy and self-explanatory!

The shampoo and conditioner included will restore the natural body of your hair and the conditional will also nourish your hair and help in maintaining its full volume.The dry shampoo, which is also part of the kit, is great for refreshing your hair in between washing it and smells of citrus and mind. it is really easy to use, simply spray into your hair and brush out - done! The final piece is the Naked Volumizing Souffle, which is
a weightless, volumizing styler that gives you a lift for fullness that lasts. Let me stress again that the Volume collection contains zero dyes to leave your hair naturally clean and full of irresistible volume.

Now to the Giveaway!
This is open to all US residents and will, due to the holiday, run until January 5th 2014. I use Rafflecopter and have provided a number of options to accumulate entries. The winner will get a $50 Walmart gift card from Herbal Essences that can be used to order your Herbal Essences Naked Collection Kit online from walmart.com.
Since Herbal Essences will handle the prize mailings. I will need your full name and mailing address, so I can forward that information to Herbal Essences.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I was provided with a Walmart gift card for ordering the products described above online and a Walmart gift card was also provided to me for the giveaway - all by Herbal Essences. Furthermore, I will provide the relevant information of the winner to Herbal Essences, so a prize can be mailed to the winner. Despite Herbal Essences providing me with the gift cards and, through them, with free product, the opinions expressed in this blog are solely my own.