If you've taken a look to the left column, you've probably noticed something a little different. I've joined The Foodie Blogroll (along with becoming an affiliate of AsiaJam, a clothing company with some adorable Asian-Inspired designs). The Foodie Blogroll is something that I had wanted to join before I even had this blog because it united a community of food bloggers.

So check out some of the links of my fellow bloggers, keep checking out my page, or join! 

I`m a little nervous about what I have lying in front of me. Chocolate Mix Skittles. I enjoy Skittles, but as I am a chocolate fan, I mostly stick to Resee's and the like. However, as I passed the campus convienence store, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try this odd product.


The Chocolate Mix has five flavors: Vanilla, S’Mores, Chocolate Caramel, Chocolate Pudding and Brownie Batter. I ended up with only 5 of the brownie batter, with the chocolate pudding running about 20 pieces in my bag.

Chocolate Pudding: Tough textured, tasted like pudding for sure, but more like the skin that forms on the top of the pudding. Not bad, but biting down on it hurt my teeth.

Vanilla: At first bite, the vanilla wasn't overwhelming, then as I chewed it, I began to feel like I had just drank some vanilla flavoring. Way too strong for my taste.

S'mores: My least favorite. The S'mores taste bit the back of my throat, and was almost completely marshmellowy. Like a Jelly Belly, I decided to try the Chocolate Pudding and S'mores together. Much better together than apart as there was just a hint of marshmellow.

Brownie Batter: My teeth sank right into these, then I spit it back out. Not wonder they included only five in the bag. Horrible flavor, nothing like brownie batter, with a nutty aftertaste which reminded me of the after taste of my least favorite Jelly Belly: Buttered Popcorn. Ugh.

Chocolate Caramel: I would love an entire bag of just this. The caramel isn't overwhelming like some of the other flavors in the bag, yet it remains true to the caramel. Not the chocolate however, but it doesn't matter to me on this one.

Even with their dense, chewy texture, they are gluten-free and would make a good sweet treat for someone GF to try at least once. Personally, I doubt I'll buy another bag of these. Unless I have decided to go the route of some Skittle art where these muted colors will be best suited.

Oven Fried Chicken Katsu Nuggets 

1 pound of chicken, sliced into 1 inch cubes

1 cup Panko bread crumbs

1 egg, beaten 1 cup flour

Garlic Salt

Pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Garlic Salt and pepper your chicken. Toss in the flour, dip into the egg, then toss in the Panko bread crumbs. The flour creates a dry base for the egg to stick to which makes the dish crunchier.

Place on a cooking sheet and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until no longer pink. Serve with the delicious tonkatsu sauce, which is available at local Asian markets, or even Harris Teeter, or with ketchup.

Tired of turkey, my mom decided to fix the stir fry she had been raving about for a few weeks. It was a nice change from the typical holiday food, a needed change. The recipe was quick and simple, but delicious. The recipe can be adapted for your own taste. For example, I`m not a fan of onions and peppers, so I might substitute them next time for maybe some broccoli or something. Cooking is about eating what you want to eat, using a recipe as a guideline, not being limited to the dimensions of what it written down. Anyway, enjoy!

Mom's Shrimp Stir Fry

Defrosted Shrimp (as much as you want), can be fresh shrimp, just made sure that you have peeled the shell/tail off. De-vein them if you wish, we didn't.

3/4 Cup Onions

3/4 Cup Green Pepper (any color pepper works, this is just what we had bagged)

Lemon Pepper

Rice

Cajun Seasoning

1. Get the shrimp cooking. Usually about medium heat, just until they pink up. Throw in the onions and peppers.

2. Get the rice cooking. We used instant rice because we were starving, but any kind of rice you want works.

3. Season your shrimp with the lemon pepper. About two or so palm fulls, again, this is to what degree of flavor you want to have. Add the Cajun seasoning, about half of what you put of the lemon pepper, again, to your liking.

4. Serve. Simple enough!

This serves about 3 people nicely. I went back for two servings and had plenty left over.