How to Get Taco Bell's New $1 Crunchwrap Sliders Early

Taco Bell's new $1 Crunchwrap Sliders are set to make their debut starting December 22 but you can get them as early as the 19th by ordering them via Taco Bell's mobile app.

I previewed them earlier but in case you missed it, they're basically a smaller version (about half the weight according to the nutritional info) of the Crunchwrap Supreme at less than half the price. Instead of a tostada shell, the sliders rely on Fritos corn chips for crunch.

There are three varieties to the $1 Crunchwrap Sliders:

Review: El Pollo Loco - Cheesecake Chimichanga

El Pollo Loco's Cheesecake Chimichanga features cheesecake and chocolate wrapped burrito-style in a flour tortilla and quickly deep-fried. A chimichanga is basically a fried burrito.

I bought one for $2.49.

Jack in the Box Testing New Black Pepper Cheeseburger

Jack in the Box was spotted testing the new Black Pepper Cheeseburger out in Las Vegas. The key feature of the new burger appears to be a creamy black pepper sauce and black pepper (or pepper jack) cheese.

Frito Pie Taco in the Works for Taco Bell?

At a recent investor meeting, Taco Bell gave a glimpse of possible future menu items on one of the presentation slides. Among the items pictured included something that appears to be a Fritos Pie Taco.

Review: Corner Bakery - Chicken Pomodori Panini

Corner Bakery Cafe's Chicken Pomodori Panini features slices of roasted chicken, fresh basil and spinach, oven-roasted tomatoes, and provolone cheese with pesto mayo on grilled sourdough bread.

It normally costs $8.29 but I received this courtesy of Corner Bakery. The sandwich comes with a side (chips, baby carrots, or salad) and a pickle spear.

Starbucks Offers Holiday Version of $1 Reusable Cups

Among the many holiday cups, mugs, and tumblers available from Starbucks this year is a new $2 holiday edition of their $1 Reusable Cup for those of you looking to cut back on paper cup waste.

It's also nice if you frequent Starbucks a lot and don't want to spring $10 or so on one of their other cups, as it's good for a 10 cents bring-your-own-cup discount.

McDonald's Newest McItaly Burger Features Fresh Mozzarella

McDonald's Italy's latest addition to the long-running, locally-source McItaly burger line is the McItaly Marchigiana, which represents the Marche region of Italy and is fancier than any McDonald's burger you're going to see here in the States.

Review: Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread

Reese's Peanut Butter Chocolate Spread is a spread that aims to deliver the classic flavor of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

A 13-oz jar cost me $3.99.

Domino's Australia Offers Lava Cakes with Starbursts Baked Into Them

Calling them "Candy Fusion Lava Cakes," Domino's Australia now offers molten lava cakes with various candies baked into them, including Starburst Wild Berries jelly candy.

McDonald's Lets You See How Chicken McNuggets are Made

Perhaps still haunted by that 'pink goop' or 'pink slime' picture circulating the Internet, McDonald's gives a behind-the-scenes look at how Chicken McNuggets are made.

Review: Smashburger - Smashfries

Smashburger's Smashfries feature French fries tossed in Italian olive oil, rosemary, and garlic.

An order cost me $2.29.

Crispy M&M's are Back

Crispy M&M's have begun rolling out into stores starting this month and should be available nationwide by January.

The returning flavor features a crispy wafer center covered in milk chocolate and a colorful candy shell and comes in a new, bright green bag.

French Toast Crunch Makes a Triumphant Return

French Toast Crunch, a maple and cinnamon-flavored variant of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal is back in select stores starting this month and is slated to be available nationwide by the middle of next month (January 2015).

Frozen Friday: Chili's - Pepper Jack Mac 'N' Cheese

Chili's Pepper Jack Mac 'N' Cheese frozen meal features rotini pasta in a pepper jack cheese sauce.

A 10-oz box was $2 on sale.

McDonald's UK's 2014 Festive Menu

While we get hot white chocolate and sometimes a Holiday Pie or Egg Nog Shake from McDonald's, over in the United Kingdom, they get an annual Festive Menu with a number of menu items of varying Christmas-y quality (some seem a bit shoe-horned in).

Here's what they get this year:

Tostitos Now Comes in Rolls

Similar to their own Dinamitas or rival Takis, Frito-Lay now offers new Tostitos Rolls tortilla chips. They're basically regular Tostitos corn tortilla chips that are rolled into a tube shape before frying. 

Unlike Dinamitas or Takis, the new chips don't come dusted with seasoning.

Review: Church's Chicken - Jalapeno Cheese Bombers

Church's Chicken's Jalapeno Cheese Bombers feature breaded and deep-fried cheddar cheese with bits of jalapeno.

An order of five is normally $1.89 but I got these as part of a combo.

McDonald's to Ax 8 Menu Items; Let's Guess Which Ones

At a recent investor meeting, McDonald's announced that they will be slimming down their menu by 8 items heading into 2015 but didn't choose to mention which so I thought it'd be fun to try and figure out which items would get the boot.

Let's start with the items that are pretty much untouchable. These are pretty much the signature items at McDonald's and as much a part of the brand as the golden arches:

Pork Carnitas Back at El Pollo Loco in New Sopes

Pork carnitas makes its way back to the El Pollo Loco menu in a number of dishes including wet burritos, tostada salad, tortas, soft tacos, and new sopes.

Pork carnitas is something El Pollo Loco brings back now and again, but typically introducing at least one new menu item each time.

Review: Pizza Hut's "Get Curried Away" Crust

Pizza Hut's Curry Crust (they call it "Get Curried Away") is a new crust flavor option on the menu and features "a blend of traditional curry spices that includes coriander, cardamom and fenugreek." It's only available for a limited time and I was told Pizza Hut was reserving the slot for rotating in other crust flavors.

I got a large pizza with extra chicken (counts as two toppings), the new premium crushed tomato sauce, and curry crust for $7.99.