What I'm into these days

Costco Finds

This Chunky Guacamole is to die for.  I seriously cannot hand make it any better.  They come in individual servings, so you can eat as many as you'd like and not worry about the leftovers browning.

Chicken Salad - I love this stuff too.  Perfect little single serving sizes as well.

All of the ingredients in both of these foods passes my "I know all of the ingredients" test which is a plus in my book.

Butter Reds - Have you ever made something and it turned out delicious and you had no idea what you did that was so special?  I bought these potatoes at Costco for no other reason than they said "butter" on them.  Really, I'll eat anything with butter in the title.  I scrubbed them, threw them in a 9x11 baking dish, sprayed them with canola oil, salted, turned them over and repeated.  I remember putting them on a low heat 250 for about an hour instead of higher because I was going to be gone for awhile and didn't want them to cook too fast.  Once I got home I raised the cooking temp to 350 for another hour.

They were absolutely perfect.  Salty, crisp skins and and the creamiest interior you could imagine.  My whole family loved them and they couldn't have been easier. I'm sold.

Crio Bru
I've been eyeing this stuff for months now.  I'd see it online, read reviews about it and then think some more. Some people loved it and others hated it.  I love hot chocolate.  Particularly dark,  hot chocolate.  I could drink it every day and even have a special hot chocolate maker in my kitchen. The darker the better as far as I'm concerned.  But this stuff, according to reviewers is more bitter like coffee than sweet.

I really wanted to try this, but it is brewed and I did not have a french press to try it out.  Heck, I didn't even know what a french press was.

At some point I decided to give it a go as I was intrigued about having a daily hot drink with the dark chocolate taste and without all the sugar.  Plus, this company claims all sorts of healthy stuff about regularly consuming cocoa.

I bought a cute little french press, brewed my first cup and took a sip, not knowing exactly what to expect.  The smell coming from the cocoa beans is absolutely divine and it makes you certain this is going to be the best tasting cup of hot chocolate ever.   Sure enough it was exactly what some of the online reviewers said.  It tasted like weak, watery, slightly bitter,  hot chocolate.  I was somewhat disappointed, but didn't want to give up quite yet on this experiment.

I have tried their different roasts, tweaked the brewing time a bit and added some milk in with the water for a slightly thicker drink.  I also add a dash of cinnamon as well.  And you know what?  I really like it.  I look forward to drinking it every morning.  I can't compare it to hot chocolate because it is bitter and tastes nothing like it.  In fact, every time I make it, smell the chocolate and pour it into my cup I have to remind myself, "Tiera, remember this is not hot chocolate."  After about the 2nd sip I get into it and enjoy the rest of the cup.  I would say it is a comfort thing to drink it every morning. Who knows if all their health claims are true, but I'll consider that a bonus.

So.... if you really love dark, dark chocolate and would really love a "healthy" hot drink in the morning,  give it a try... but I warn you.  Do not expect hot chocolate or you will be disappointed.