Ruffles Ultimate: Kickin' Jalapeño Ranch Chips & Smokehouse Bacon Dip

I have to admit, I do enjoy being one of the first to try the newest stuff, especially when it comes to food items.  I also tend to be adventurous when it comes to wanting to try all the "wild" snack flavors that come out--most of which don't end up staying on the shelf long, but hey, I was one of the ones that got to taste them.  So, that means that when I saw these new "Ultimate" Ruffles chips in the store the other day, there was no question that they were going to take a ride in my shopping cart.  I settled on the Kickin' Jalapeño Ranch flavor to try first, and I noticed that on the bag it suggested that they should be paired with the Ruffles Ultimate Smokehouse Bacon Dip, so into my cart that went as well.  I had to try the combo, right?

Ruffles Ultimate Kickin' Jalapeño Ranch Potato Chips
Made By:  Frito-Lay, Inc.
160 calories per 1 oz. serving (pictured)

The first thing I notice about the chips once I open the bag is that the shape is a little different than regular Ruffles chips; instead of the tiny "ridges" that everyone is familiar with, the shape and texture is very similar to Wavy Lay's chips, except the "waves" are a bit more angular.  I guess the sharp corners make them more edgy and cool or something.  The flavor is really quite nice!  The trend in novelty chip flavors recently had been to just make things extra spicy and call them "extreme," so I was kind of expecting something along those lines.  Instead, these are just mildly to moderately spicy, and the main flavor note is a fairly good rendition of the 'green' flavor of a jalapeño pepper.  I am pleasantly surprised!  :)

Ruffles Ultimate Smokehouse Bacon Dip
Made By:  Frito-Lay, Inc.
70 calories per 2 tbsp. serving

I'm just going to get straight to the verdict and say that the dip is another pleasant surprise!  In this case, the "Ultimate" factor seems to be the thickness of the dip; it is really rather thick, and loaded down with a generous amount of real bacon bits.  The sauce is very creamy, and seems to be somewhere between a sour cream and an alfredo-style flavor.  I actually had to warm up to it, but I think that's because of what I didn't taste more than what I did--my 'usual' is a Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix in sour cream, and I think I was used to the tartness of the buttermilk and sour cream, which is really not present in this dip.  After I got used to the flavor, though, I started really liking it on most things I tried it with, especially raw veggies like snap peas and baby carrots.  Even my sweetie, who is not really a big dipper, told me she enjoyed this.  I really only bought this because the potato chip bag told me to, but out of the two products, this one is the one that stands out to me--I don't feel like I would have to have more of the chips once the bag is gone, but I've already purchased another jar of this dip for when the first one runs out.  :D

And finally, of course, I had to try the two of them together!  I would have to say the bag was right--they do pair together very well!  The flavors seem to combine to make something new; the creamy base of the dip seems to mute the jalapeño pepper flavor a bit, which lets the underlying ranch flavor of the chip come through more.  The result is a nice balance of creamy ranch and bacon, with the jalapeño becoming the undertone.  So I guess the bottom line is, if you do get the chips to try, go ahead and get the dip to go with them and you shouldn't regret it.  And if the chips don't sound like your kind of thing, the dip is really good anyway.

Yamachan Shoyu Ramen

Made By:  Nippon Trends Food Service (Product of USA)
Required to Prepare:  Saucepan & Range, Boiling Water
360 calories per package

While I was browsing the aisles at Uwajimaya Bellevue on my last visit, I found a section of fresh noodles in the refrigerated section, away from the extensive dry-goods instant noodle aisle.  Since they are fresh and need to be refrigerated, they obviously have a shorter shelf-life than the 'normal' dry ramen, so I just picked up one to try this time.

Inside the package there is a styrofoam tray that holds the pack of fresh noodles, and a little foil packet of liquid soup base.  To prepare, we need to boil water in both our saucepan and our teakettle; we add the noodles to the saucepan and cook for 1-1/2 minutes (or 2-1/2 minutes if frozen), and meanwhile we mix 1-1/4 cups of boiling water with the soup base in our bowl.  Once the noodles are cooked, we drain them and add them to the bowl, and the noodles are ready to serve!

The noodles have a wonderful texture, much more like "real" restaurant ramen than the dry ramen everyone is used to.  The broth tastes a bit different than I was expecting from a shoyu broth; there is a strong taste of sesame oil which really overpowers the other flavors.  Overall, the soup is kind of plain, honestly, but I don't hold that against it, because it's clearly meant as a base for you to add your own ingredients (much like restaurant ramen).  So, although I think it is just okay on its own (and I felt obligated to review it that way), I am definitely looking forward to having it again--and adding my own green onion, crab stick, boiled egg, and other nifty ingredients to make this into a really awesome bowl of "real" ramen.  :)

Little Cook TVP Curry Chicken

Made By:  Namchow (Thailand) Ltd.
Required to Prepare:  Boiling Water
500 calories per package

It's been quite a while since I've been making regular updates here, but I did have a good reason for it--I've been busy trying to get my new candle business off the ground!  The website is far from done, but at least things are started up now.  Yesterday I finally made another run to Uwajimaya, so there are new noodles to review!  So, for a light dinner tonight, I decided to have this Curry Chicken flavored big-bowl noodle from Little Cook.  I thoroughly enjoyed the previous Little Cook product I tried, so I'm hoping this one will hit the spot as well.

Inside the bowl is the block of wide noodles, a small packet of seasoning powder, and the foil retort pouch that contains our curry sauce and meat.  We open the powdered seasoning and add it to the bowl, fill to the line with boiling water, close the lid, and place the retort pouch on top to warm up.  Three minutes later, we remove the lid, add the contents of the pouch to the soup, and stir it up.  While adding the pouch, I find myself slightly taken aback by how much the contents resemble the canned "Kibbles & Bits" food that we get as a treat for our German Shepherd... but it does seem to have a decent curry aroma, so I try to stay optimistic.

Once the soup is all stirred up, I note that the meat bits bear absolutely no resemblence to chicken whatsoever; they also have an unpleasant and unnatural spongy texture.  It is at this point, far too late, that I realize that the "TVP" on the package must stand for "Textured Vegetable Protein."  Beyond the distastefulness of the "meat," the broth is much more bland than I expected.  I am not sure how this happened, because something with 2,080 mg of sodium in it really shouldn't taste like it needs salt.  The noodles have a decent texture, but don't even manage to pick up the small amount of flavor that is present in the broth.  As a final insult, toward the bottom of the bowl I encounter a lot of gritty stuff that basically makes the last bit of the soup totally inedible.  If there is a high point, I guess it would be the little bits of potato that were included in the retort pouch, I kind of enjoyed the bites that included those... but if potato is what I was after, I probably should have just eaten a french fry.  :b

Velveeta Cheesy Skillets Ultimate Cheeseburger Mac

Distributed By:  Kraft Foods Global, Inc.
Required to Prepare:  1 lb ground beef, 2c water, covered skillet & range
350 calories per prepared serving (5 servings per box)

Just when I start thinking I've gone just as far afield from instant noodles as I was going to go... I end up finding a product in another new category that I'm excited about and want to review.  These Velveeta Cheesy Skillets were on my radar strictly because of their original TV commercial; I figure that if they're responsible for adding the phrase "until there can be no more smiting" to my vocabulary, then they probably at least deserve a try.  So from there, a 75¢ coupon (complete with picture of the Velveeta Blacksmith) was all it took to push me off the fence and pick this up with a package of ground beef.  Let the smiting begin!

We start off by browning and draining our ground beef; then into the skillet goes 2c of water and the powdered seasoning mix (which looks a lot like mac-and-cheese powder), which we stir it into a sauce.  We add the included pasta and return the ground beef to the skillet, bring to a boil, and simmer covered for around 13 minutes, stirring often.  Finally, we SMITE THEM WITH LIQUID GOLD UNTIL THERE CAN BE NO MORE SMITING (ahem) add and stir in the pouch of cheese sauce, and they are ready to serve!

Despite the passing resemblance to a Hamburger Helper dinner, which frankly had me a bit nervous, I have to say these are actually very good!  The cheese flavor is very rich and the sauce is nice and thick, coating the meat and macaroni well.  The ground beef itself might seem a bit bland if you get a bite that is heavy in meat, though--I might consider seasoning the ground beef with a little salt and pepper as I brown it in the future, but that is a very minor complaint.  The package claims that the box makes five servings, which is probably a little unrealistic, but it could be at least three helpings, and maybe four if it were paired with some generous side dishes.  My sweetie and I both enjoyed this!  We'll probably be trying at least two of the other flavors eventually (the Nacho Supreme and Chicken & Broccoli both sound good) and I could definitely see us having this one again too.  Smite me again, please!  ^_^

Marie Callender's Creamy Parmesan Chicken Pot Pie

Made By:  ConAgra Foods Inc.
Required to Prepare:  oven, baking sheet, aluminum foil
{OR:  Microwave}
980 calories per package

This review is a special request from my sweetie!  We usually have my home cooking for dinners here, but before I came along, she used to have a lot of convenience dinners like this.  I can relate; when it's just you, you sometimes just want something easy.  Anyway, it had been a couple of years since she had one of these and the craving struck, so off to the store I  went to get dinner!

These can be prepared one at a time in the microwave, with a roughly 10-minute cooking time.  Since I was making two, we went with the "for flakier crust" oven directions--remove the pie from the box (but not the cooking tray), place on a baking sheet, shield the crust edges with a bit of aluminum foil, and bake at 400° for around 65 minutes.  Not exactly a quick dinner, but still rather easy and convenient.  I let the pies cool for around five minutes, and then we dug in!

Although the picture on the box shows the pie sitting pleasantly on a plate, I actually don't know how you'd get it out of the tray in one piece like that; we just left them in the little paper bowls.  The crust is really rich and buttery, and has a nice crisp texture.  The sauce has a nice flavor; the parmesan flavor is actually a bit subtle, I mainly notice a roasted pepper flavor, but it's definitely not bad.  The chicken is tender without being too soft, and the veggies were firmer than expected, almost a little too firm (but not quite).  I can see why my sweetie asked for these!  The calorie count is a little high, I suppose, but it's filling enough to be the meal all by itself, so it's not really too outrageous.  And, it's good enough to feel like a treat, at a really reasonable price. I don't think it'll be two years before we have the next one!  :D

Pagoda Express Chicken Fried Rice

Distributed By:  Schwan's Consumer Brands Inc. [Product of USA]
Required to Prepare:  Microwave Oven
680 calories per package

Last week I found myself in possession of a Safeway coupon good for $5 off any "New" frozen products.  So, of course I cruised the freezer aisles looking for "New" things to spend my coupon on!  I finally settled on three of these Pagoda Express frozen take-out style meals, and I am reviewing the first of them today!  I decided to try the Chicken Fried Rice first, as it seems like a direct competitor to the Tai Pei Chicken Fried Rice product that I've already reviewed (and enjoyed).

To prepare, we pull back the corner of the lid a little to vent, and microwave for four minutes; then we rip the lid off, give it a stir, set the lid back on top, and microwave for another two minutes or so.  Just like that, lunch is piping hot and ready to eat!

Comparing this to the Tai Pei product, I notice that the volume doesn't seem to have cooked down as much here, and the rice is a bit less soft, probably because this product doesn't use the steaming film.  Actually, I think I prefer the texture of this product; although the rice seems a bit on the dry side, the meat is much less soft and spongy--I think the lack of steaming is probably good for the chicken.  On the other hand, I think the Tai Pei fried rice may have been a bit more flavorful; I especially noticed the baby corn pieces being very bland and watery.  That is really my only real criticism with this, though, so overall I guess I thought it was good, if not memorable.  I'd probably get it again... if I get another coupon. :|

Nong Shim Chapagetti

Made By:  Nong Shim America, Inc.
Required to Prepare:  saucepan & range, strainer,  2-1/2 cups + 3 tablespoons water
560 calories per package

Available online through Amazon.com

Today we have a pack of Nong Shim's Chapagetti for review!  This is an instant version of a very popular Korean dish called chajangmyeon, which (according to Wikipedia) consists of noodles topped with a salty black-bean paste.  They should be interesting to try!

Inside the package is a disc of the puffy-looking noodles like the ones in Nong Shim's Neoguri, along with a packet of dried 'Vegetable Mix', a packet of soup base, and a small pouch of oil.  We are supposed to boil 2-1/2 cups of water, add the noodles and veggie packet and cook for five minutes, then drain the noodles well.  We put the drained noodles in our bowl, add the oil, soup base, and 3 tablespoons of water, and stir thoroughly.  Since the soup base seemed a bit coursely ground, the stirring was easier said than done, but eventually the noodles are coated with a thick, dark sauce and are ready to serve!

The star of this show, of course, is the chajang sauce, so we'll start with that; it has a deep, nutty, almost coffee or cocoa-like flavor, and isn't nearly as salty-tasting as I expected based on the description of chajangmyeon that I read.  It definitely doesn't taste like it looks like it would taste, if that makes any sense.  The vegetable mix seems to be mainly toasted onion with some carrot and faux beef bits; they are present and accounted for but don't seem to assert themselves above the sauce that much.  The noodles are spaghetti-like in consistency (hence the "pagetti" part of the name), soft but not mushy.

I didn't find these all that exciting, but they do seem to have a comfort-food vibe going on.  Although I am a bit curious now to taste some "real" chajangmyeon to compare, I doubt if I'll be seeking them out on a regular basis. :|