Try it Tuesday.....Owl's Nest 3 Cheese Italian cheese spread

Ok, so I couldn't find an image for the 3 Cheese Italian cheese spread, but the Vermont White Cheddar container looks the same with a diff name. I really would like to try the white cheddar too. Actually, I'd like to try the whole crazy line of this cheese spread!

The inspiration for trying it was the New York Style Focaccia Sticks that I had tried a couple of weeks ago. Find that review HERE.

I was looking for a cheese spread to eat along with the Focaccia Sticks . I was bringing them to a *FUN* get together at my friend Caity's house. (It was a nice, relaxing night by the way...lots of laughter. I needed it. Thanks Caity!)

I stumbled upon Owl's Nest 3 Cheese Italian spread at my local Meijer in the deli section. $3.49 for a 10 oz. tub. I really love cheese, so a spread with 3 cheeses really appealed to me. It contains Romano, Parmesan and Asiago cheeses.

The Focaccia Sticks are a *4* cheese bread stick, so we were cheesing it up that night!

Taste? Well, I really enjoyed it. It was creamy and smooth. The container says it can be a dip, but I thought it was more of a spread. A little thicker than a dip. It can be spread on a cracker, pretzel or whatever you choose.

Eaten alone and this cheese spread is quite strong. As a matter of fact, little Ava just dipped her pretzel in it and made a funny, yet cute squinty face! Don't get me wrong, it isn't that strong. There is no strong smell etc. But I would suggest eating it on a cracker or something else and not eaten alone out of the tub.

If you are looking for low fat, go somewhere else. This crazy good cheese is also crazy fattening. 2 tablespoons has 100 calories and 8 grams of fat. Combine that with the Focaccia Sticks and you have a fattening little appetizer. On the bright side, the Owl's Nest cheese spread can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 60 days after it's opened. You can also freeze it, but it will be crumbly after thawing.

Owl's Nest spreads come in these yummer sounding flavors:

3 Cheese Italian
Horseradish
Mozzarella Garlic
Port Wine
Cheddary
Vermont White Cheddar

Don't they all sound delish? Get out there are try them!

Oh, and I hate to do negative reviews, but 2 people that tried this cheese, really weren't into it. One was my hubby and he isn't a fan of strong cheese. He also thought it was a bit dry but I have NO idea where he gets that. It's creamy goodness to me. A little goes a long way.

My 13 year old daughter Macie, loves the stuff, but she loves most anything (this coming from a girl who had therapy as a toddler because she wouldn't let food touch her mouth!). She dips Deli Style Pretzel Crisps. We bought the garlic flavor. Yummo! They were excellent with the Owl's Nest cheese spread. The pretzel crisps also have the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

Oh, Owl's Nest has a store locator on their website if you want to find it in your location.

Oh, and on the personal side, look for a 'catch-up' post to come soon. I haven't posted much lately, so I have some random photos to share. I'm failing as a journal blogger lately. I guess life gets in the way too much. And Facebook! I Facebook waaaay too much. Why? I dunno. You tell me ;)

Something To Think About Saturday

I love this quote. So, so true.

But sadly, sometimes you CAN see something with your eyes and still be deceived. I'm talking about how the media portrays a situation that is quite possibly not even the actual situation at all. Money and ratings seem to be their only goal. It seems as though once something gets blown out of proportion (Hello? Swine flu???) it can turn into a big fat messy tornado that destroys all it can.

My new philosophy is this the simple adage we always hear- Don't believe everything you hear or read. Aaaaand be careful about judging what you see unless you were right there when it happened.

I really do.

Frame & elements from Simply Tess.

Something To Think About Saturday

Try it Tuesday....New York Style Focaccia Sticks

Have you tried the newest product from New York Style brand? Focaccia Sticks come in 3 flavors: Roasted Garlic Herb, Rosemary Sea Salt and Quattro Formaggio. I picked up the Quattro Formaggio at my local Wal-mart for $2.48. I was intrigued by the ingredients in this one. Parmesan, Romano, Cheddar and Blue cheeses. The blue cheese hooked me into buying it. Weird how they spell it Blue, but isn't it really "bleu"?

Too bad I can't really differentiate between the cheeses. The blue/bleu cheese could be non-existent because I don't really taste it. Good gimmick, but please add more bleu cheese!

Here is what the company says about their new Focaccia sticks:

Focaccia Sticks are a tasty new snack from New York Style. These unique
snacking sticks are made from real focaccia bread at a traditional bakery in New
York City. Twice-baked for a hearty crunch and lightly seasoned with natural
herbs & spices, they are delicious snack right out of the bag or
to serve at parties with your favorite dips and spreads. They also add crunchy
flavor to your favorite soup or salad.

I loved that they are baked!

These sticks are about 2 to 2- 1/2 inches long and about 1/2 inch wide. You get 3 pieces for 70 calories, 4 grams fat, 7 carbs and 0 fiber. I think there's kind of an ouch factor for the fat grams given the size of the pieces. Eat 6 of these and you're consuming 8 grams of fat. See? Ouch. Plus, there are lots of broken ones in the bag, so good luck trying to count calories.

But I DO have to say that these are yummy. They are crunchy like a crouton yet more dense. More satisfying. I ate them with dip and it was yummo. I ate them with no dip and they were yummo. But my favorite was to dip them in my Wolfgang Puck soup. Extra yummo. Personally, for me a few goes a long way. I can get by with eating 3-4 of them.

Speaking of dip.....New York Style brand has a section of recipes on their website here.

New York Style also makes these:

• Bagel Crisps (I looove these!)


• Pita Chips


• Pretzel Flatz


• Crispini Flatbreads (never tried those but they are next!)

Plus, I hear they make a biscotti. Hmm.

It seems like everything New York Style brand makes is perfect for a party. GNO anyone??

EDIT: Speaking of bleu cheese.....a hint for the locals: Hobo's has the *best* beach bread with hot melty bleu cheese. Mmmm. Check it out.

Something To Think About Saturday

Try it Tuesday.....Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's

Strawberried Peanut Butter M&M's? I should have known it was that time of year. Remember the Cherry M&M's and the Razzberry M&M's? Yep, Limited Edition time. This time the candy is tied in with the 2nd Transformers movie coming out soon.

The check-out girl at Walgreens asked me if I'd like to try these M&M's along with the Snickers bar that has a yellow nougat center (not appealing to me at all). I decided to try the Strawberried M&M's because I looooove the little round critters and could pretty much live off them if need be. Not the strawberry ones, but the plain milk chocolate ones, the peanut or the almond ones. Mmm.

Ok, review time. Surprisingly, there is only a hint of strawberry in these. I tasted it at first and as I ate it, I noticed that he strawberry gives way to the peanut butter taste. So by the time you eat a few, you are pretty much only tasting the peanut butter. If you want to savor the strawberry part, eat only one or 2. I'm not kidding. Oh and don't expect a 'real' strawberry taste here. These aren't gourmet..they are M&M's.

The check-out girl said there was NO milk chocolate in these, so I was a bit skeptical about just eating pb with strawberry. I was expecting it to be like a pb & j sandwich. Wrong. And the check-out girl was wrong. There IS milk chocolate. Sooo much better.

So basically these M&M's look like regular PB ones...bigger than average sized M&M's. They come in red, yellow and brown (like the colors matter to the taste!) and the yellows have red speckles (again, it doesn't matter, so why am I bringing this up?) I'm thinking the strawberry taste might be in the shell or the milk chocolate, but there is more pb than either of those, so the pb tastes overpowers the strawberry. Hence, like I said before, there is only a hint of strawberry. Seems to me, the razzberry was the same with only a hint of the taste. Personally, I like it that way.

I like them (not enough to fall in love), and Jillian thinks they are good, but like me, she prefers plain M&M's. Molly wouldn't even try one at first! She thought they sounded icky and truthfully, I cringed a little when I saw them too. I forced Molly to try one (shocker that I had to force a kid to eat an M&M!). Quickly, her hand shot out for more, so I'm assuming she likes them. The other kids aren't around, so ya snooze, you lose. :)

Rumor has that there are also Limited Edition Coconut M&M's coming out this summer or are already out. I dislike coconut with a crazy, don't come near me with that stuff passion, so I won't be trying these. You wanna try them? Knock yourself out, but don't even look at me while you're eating them or I will barf.




This past week I also tried Jet Puffed Mallow Bites. Did you know they made these?? My friendly Target had them on the shelf in a little reclosable zipper bag for $1.49. Do you like those milk chocolate covered bunnies that are sold at Easter? It's just like eating those! Tastes exactly the same. Only it's your average mini marshmallow dipped in milk chocolate. Mmm. Delish! Eat them straight out of the bag or plunk a few in your hot cocoa. I loved it in my cocoa. It was a cold rainy day, so hot cocoa with a few (or zillion) of these hit the spot. The Nutrition Facts state the calories/fat etc for 2 servings per bag, -OR- they know what pigs we all are, so they included the nutrition facts for the whole bag. 1/2 bag (24 mallows), 130 calories, 5 grams of fat. Entire package? 300 calories, 11 grams of fat. Hmm. Something wrong with those numbers. That's more than double the 1/2 bag. Whatever. Better to weigh it using grams to be more accurate. If you're not counting fat and calories, it doesn't matter does it?! Just go out and get some of these and ENJOY. :)