Review: KFC - Chunky Chicken Pot Pie

KFC's Chunky Chicken Pot Pie is one of those items I've always wanted to try but always got sidetracked by other menu items and promotion.

Thankfully, KFC currently has a promotion where the pie is $3.99 and that's as good an excuse as any to finally get me one.

News: Starbucks - Spring 2012 Line Up - New Petites Pies and Tarts

Starbucks is expanding their line of Petites mini-desserts with new Petites pies and tarts.

They're are two new pies and two new tarts and they're available for $1.50 each, two for $2.50, or six for $7.50.

News: Arby's - Buy One, Get One Free Reuben Sandwich

Arby's is offering a "buy one, get one free" coupon for their Reuben sandwich on their Facebook page here. The coupon is only good this upcoming St. Patrick's Day weekend from Friday, March 16 through Sunday, March 18.

Arby's Reuben comes with fresh, carved corned beef, melted Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing on toasted marble rye bread and carries a suggested retail price of $4.99.

News: Burger King - Free Fries on March 17 and 18

This St. Patrick's Day weekend (March 17 to 18), Burger King is giving you a little green (they're calling it "Heinz St. Paddy's sauce" but I think it's ketchup) as well as a free value-size order of their new fries.

There's no purchase necessary and you don't have to wear green or anything like that (although you can... it is St. Patrick's Day after all). As usual, it's limit one order per customer and while supplies last.

Review: Nabisco - Belvita Blueberry Breakfast Biscuits

Nabisco's Belvita Breakfast Biscuits come with the tagline "Nutritious Sustained Energy" and are supposed to help keep you energized through the morning. They really make it sound like health food.

Each 1.76-ounce (50g) pack comes with four crunchy biscuits which provide 18g of whole grain. I picked up a box of the Blueberry flavor which contains five packs and was on sale for $2.99 at my local supermarket.

News: Krispy Kreme - HOP-inspired Donuts

While rival donut chain, Dunkin' Donuts is going all St. Patrick's Day this Spring, Krispy Kreme is going Easter with new, limited-time, egg-shaped, HOP-inspired Donuts

Celebrating Easter and the DVD release of the Easter-themed family comedy, HOP, the two new donuts are the Sprinkled Chocolate Iced Egg with Kreme Filling and the Drizzled Iced Egg with Chocolate Kreme Filling.

News: Dunkin' Donuts - New St. Patty's Day Donuts

Dunkin' Donuts has your green this St. Patrick's Day time with two new St. Patrick's Day-themed donuts: the Lucky Mint Donut and the Green Shamrock Donut.

The Lucky Mint Donut is a glazed chocolate cake donut with chocolate icing and topped with mint chocolate bark.

The Green Shamrock Donut (pictured) features a yeast donut with green icing and shamrock-shaped sprinkles.

News: McDonald's Testing Fresh Bakery Goods in New England

According to the Boston Globe, McDonald's is testing freshly-baked... um... baked goods (yeah, I really strained my brain for that one) out in the New England area.

The new items are: Cheese Danish (McDonald's actually used to serve Cheese Danishes back in the '80s), Blueberry Muffin, Multi-grain Berry Muffin, Banana Bread, and (frosted) Mini Vanilla Scones  and are made with ingredients like butter, fruit, and whole grain oats.

News: Hostess- New, Limited-time Spring Twinkies and SnoBalls

Hostess is celebrating the Spring with two new, limited-edition Twinkies and SnoBalls.

New Lemon Creme Twinkies are the result of a contest a while back where fans voted on what would be the next Twinkie Flavor. Lemon Creme beat out other flavors like Raspberry Tart, Cookies 'n Creme, and Blueberry Pie.

As for Springtime SnoBalls, instead of pink, the creme-filled chocolate cakes coated in marshmallow and coconut will be lavender for the a limited time.

Review: Carl's Jr. - Strawberry Biscuit

The Carl's Jr. Strawberry Biscuit is one of the recent menu additions brought about by introduction of sister chain Hardee's Made from Scratch Biscuits which has rolled out in the southern California market.

The biscuit is a sizable biscuit (it actually weighs more than a Sausage Biscuit at McDonald's) topped with warm strawberry jam and a squiggle of sugary glaze for 99 cents.

News: El Pollo Loco - Two New Chicken Burritos

El Pollo Loco is expanding their line of grilled chicken burritos with two additions: the Roja Wet and Chicken Avocado burritos.

The Roja Wet Burrito is available for a limited time only and features El Pollo Loco’s flame-grilled chicken joined by pinto beans, pico de gallo salsa, fresh cilantro, diced onions, and melted Jack cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla. It is then covered in Colorado sauce (a red chili pepper sauce) and topped with more fresh cilantro and Cotija cheese. On the side, there's fresh, hand-made guacamole and sour cream.

Photo Gallery: Taco Bell Headquarters Tour

I got to tour Taco Bell headquarters in Irvine, CA recently as they were preparing for the launch of the Doritos Locos Taco. I thought I'd share some of the highlights of the tour and something I whipped up in their test kitchen (it might take a while to load, there are quite a few pictures).

Review: Krispy Kreme - Chocolate-Enrobed Krispy Juniors

Krispy Kreme Chocolate-Enrobed Krispy Juniors are mini cake donuts dipped in dark chocolate. Similar to Hostess Donettes, they come in a portable pack of six.

They don't actually sell these at any of my local supermarkets, I picked these up from the Krispy Kreme Blogger Summit. I'm not sure how much they cost but I would guess between $1 and $2.

Frozen Friday: Marie Callender's - Swedish Meatballs

Marie Callender's Swedish Meatballs (aka Beef Stroganoff except with meatballs) is served with egg noodle pasta and a sour cream sauce.

The box touts a new recipe but I'd never tried it before so I really can't comment on the old recipe.

A 13-ounce box retails for about $3.99 but it's not uncommon to find it on sale around $2 to $2.50.

What's on the Menu: Lent 2012 Round Up

Here it is! A round up of the limited-time seafood fair some of your favorite fast food restaurants are offering this year. I've included pictures and descriptions to the menu items that I never got around to doing a news post for and have linked the posts I did manage to write up.

Arby's - Arby's Fish Sandwich is back

Boston Market - Baked Whitefish only on Fridays and only for a limited time.

News: Ben & Jerry's - New Flavors for Spring 2012

Ben & Jerry's has a few new flavors to try this Spring, perhaps they'll catch your fancy. They are: the returning Chocolate Therapy (last seen in pint form in 2005), Chocolate Nougat Crunch, and Rocky Road-ish.

While Chocolate Therapy has been available in Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shops, it now returns to your grocery aisle in pints. It features chocolate ice cream with chocolate cookies and swirls of chocolate pudding ice cream.

News: Papa Murphy's - New Mini Murph Make 'N' Bake Pizza Kit for Kids

Kids can now make their own pizzas courtesy of Papa Murphy's new, limited-time Mini Murphy Make 'N' Bake Pizza Kit.

Each kit is contained in kids-sized pizza box and includes:

- A seven-inch pizza crust rolled out on Papa Murphy's signature bake 'n' serve tray
- a container of pizza sauce
- 100% all-natural, whole-milk mozzarella to sprinkle on the pizza
- almost a dozen slices of pepperoni
- a temporary "Murph" tattoo
- and baking instructions

Review: McDonald's - Shamrock Shake

McDonald's Shamrock Shake is a seasonal St. Patty's Day-themed shake and blends mint-flavored syrup with reduced fat vanilla ice cream and tops it off with whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

I paid $1.89 for small 12-ounce size at a local McDonald's.

News: Ben & Jerry's - Free Cone Day Set for April 3, 2012

It's that time of the year again... Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerry's! This year on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, you can once again wait in line as many times as you want (or can stand) and stuff your face with free ice cream cones!

When: Tuesday, April 3, 2012, 12pm to 8pm

Where: At participating locations. You can check at their store locator to see which locations are participating: http://www.benjerry.com/scoop-shops/scoop-shop-locator/index.cfm

News: Starbucks - "Espresso Twice, Half the Price" Event

Starbucks is kicking off spring with a "buy one, get one half-off" promo that they're calling the "Espresso Twice, Half the Price Event."

The event runs from Thursday, March 8 to Wednesday, March 14. During "Espresso Twice, Half the Price," if you buy any espresso-based drink before 11 a.m. and bring back your receipt the same day after 2 p.m., you can get a second espresso-based drink for half-price.