Feelin' Hot, Hot, Hot!

The Black Bean & Corn Salsa Challenge: Newman’s Own vs. Pace

Who can resist a bowl of chips and salsa? Certainly not me. I love Mexican restaurants with salsa bars, proof positive there are more ways to make salsa than with tomatoes, onions and cilantro. That is why I was so excited to discover black bean and corn salsa in the grocery store. It was a nice change of ‘pace’ when I first discovered it. But which brand is the best?

We purchased two different brands, Newman’s Own and Pace. They each have their own distinctive taste. Newman’s Own has a beanier, smoother taste. Pace is spicier and has a bit of a kick to it. In our house, we were split between these two. My husband preferred the smoother taste of Newman’s Own and I preferred the spicier Pace. That is until we discovered some beans in the Pace salsa that were hard and crunchy, not exactly the way black beans are meant to be eaten. We made bean burritos and he was picking those teeth-crackers out, first blaming it on the refried beans until we finally found the real culprit. It pushed me to make the final call. In The Black Bean & Corn Salsa Challenge, the winner is Newman’s Own….creamy not crunchy! (leave that to the chips). Get some chips and dig in!

Winner: Newman’s Own

Can You Spare a Square?

Toilet Paper: Charmin Ultra Soft Big Roll vs. Klennex Cottonelle Double Roll

OK, let’s face it. Most people don’t like to talk about what happens in the bathroom. We close the door for a reason. If things don’t go well in there, it can be an embarrassing situation. The throne room should be well equipped to make this stinky situation as pleasant as possible. Toilet paper is a major player in the bathroom experience. Ever been caught without it? Enough said.

When making that all important decision of what brand to stock, there are three key factors involved: softness, durability, and quantity. Softness-if you’ve ever suffered from (ahem) stomach trouble, this is a non-negotiable feature. Durability-toilet paper should be thick enough that it doesn’t require using up half the roll in one sitting. Quantity-no one wants to reach the end of the roll, so having enough squares to put that off as long as possible is a major bonus. Most brands have stepped it up in this area with the ingenious double roll. Thank you!

In our house, we have tried several brands, and two in particular have become our most frequent purchases: Charmin and Cottonelle. Both have made it into our purchase rotation because they are great products, but which is better. Let the showdown begin.

Softness: Charmin is the clear winner. If you’ve ever tried Charmin, you know this is true.

Durability: Charmin is also the winner. It has some real substance to it, almost like cloth. However, this can be a drawback if you have a tendency to clog toilets.

Quantity: Cottonelle wins this category. Cottenelle Double Roll has 308 sheets, and Charmin Ultra Soft Big Roll only has 200 sheets.

In Charmin vs. Cottenelle, the winner is Charmin.

The Cornbread Challenge: Video Blog

A video blog of a cornbread challenge between Martha White and Jiffy.

I Like Peanut Butter…

Skippy vs. Jif: Creamy Peanut Butter

Like most red-blooded American kids, I grew up on peanut butter, not only PB&J sandwiches and peanut butter crackers but also peanut butter candy, ice cream, milkshakes, etc. You could say peanut butter was one of my favorite foods when I was a kid, but that wouldn’t be quite right. That’s because peanut butter is still one of my favorite foods. I like -no, LOVE-peanut butter.

Skippy was my main squeeze. It was the brand my mom bought and I stayed loyal when I launched out on my own. It’s a great product and I would have never cheated with another if I hadn’t been forced into it when the store was sold out. Then I tried Jif for the first time.

It wasn’t love at first bite, but Jif does taste more like peanuts. I realized that after I tried to go back to Skippy. Jif also has a low-fat alternative that tastes really good. Skippy has an oilier flavor, and after eating Jif, I just couldn’t go back. It was a bittersweet farewell, but I had a new love: Jif Peanut Butter. Sorry, Mom.

Winner: Jif

Store-Brand Microwave Popcorn Challenge

Publix vs. Walgreens: Microwave Popcorn, Movie Theater Butter

My husband is a popcorn junkie. For some reason, throwing a bag in the microwave has become a nightly ritual. Needless to say, we keep plenty of popcorn in the house. But one fateful night, we ran out, prompting a late night trip to Walgreens. The store was sold out of our regular brand, so out of desperation, we purchased the Walgreens brand.

Much to our delight, we liked the Walgreens popcorn better than the brand name we had gone in search of. It had just the right amount of butter flavoring and nearly every kernel popped.

Curious to see how good other store brands were, we picked up a box at Publix on our next trip to the grocery store. The Publix brand was good, but had a few drawbacks. The butter flavoring left a waxy aftertaste and there were a few too many unpopped kernels in the bottom of the bag. In the Publix vs Walgreens Microwave Popcorn Challenge, Walgreens is the victor.

Winner: Walgreens