Review: Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn & Backup QB vs. JFG: NFL Week 11 & What Do You Bring to Holiday Potlucks?
Junk Food Nation, Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and that means office potlucks, Friends-givings, and other holiday parties are in full swing. So, today, I just have a simple inquiry – when any of you are called upon to bring something to a holiday potluck, what is it that you bring? I want your go-to – it could be simple as green bean casserole, or scalloped potatoes, or maybe you have a signature cake/pie you bake, or a good protein recipe to share… whatever it is, tell me about it in the comments below. Link to the recipes. Shoot me some cool Pinterest stuff, I know you use it! Let’s do a little recipe swap – let me know how you make it.
My go-to has usually been something in the crockpot – usually my grape jelly meatballs. Find the recipe here – I SWEAR IT’S GOOD! I mean, until you eat 30 of them and are constipated the next day, BUT WHATEVER. Who are you, Bobby Flay? Prove it – in the comments below.
FOOTBALL TIME! Who else watched that awful Thursday night game featuring my beloved Bills? Yuck city. Here’s the tally so far regarding the season long bet between me and the BackUp QB:
| Backup QB Picks | JFG Picks | |
|---|---|---|
| WEEK 10 | 4-8-0 (8 pts – HIT LOCK) | 8-4-0 (8 pts – MISSED LOCK) |
| SEASON | 66-66-5 (78 pts) | 70-62-5 (82 pts) |
Luckily, I am able to still cling to a thin 4-PT lead. Stupid Steelers – MICHAEL VICK BEAT YOU. Live with that, chumps.
The BQB’s lock for Week 11 is Tampa +7. His explanation: “Yes, I’m taking a 1-win team as my lock. Washington wins since mid-September are by 2 over Tennessee and in overtime over Dallas. Tampa, on the other hand, has played teams tough of late: they led last week in the 4th quarter and lost by 5 and 6 the previous two weeks. Take the points and look for the Bucs to be right in the game, RG3 or no RG3.”
My LOCK OF THE CENTURY…OF THE WEEK… is the Steelers -5.5. Cmon Steelers. On the road again, you can’t be as bad as you looked against the Jets. It’s the BERGERS: Ben Roethlisberger vs. Zach Mettenberger. ZACH METTENBERGER??? You’ve got to be kidding me.
The rest of our picks here:
| GAME | Backup QB Picks | JFG Picks |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings @ BEARS | Vikings +3 | BEARS -3 |
| Texans @ BROWNS | BROWNS -3 | BROWNS -3 |
| Seahawks @ CHIEFS | CHIEFS -1 | CHIEFS -1 |
| Falcons @ PANTHERS | Falcons +1.5 | Falcons +1.5 |
| Bengals @ SAINTS | SAINTS -6.5 | SAINTS -6.5 |
| Bucs @ REDSKINS | Bucs +7 (LOCK) | REDSKINS -7 |
| Broncos @ RAMS | Broncos -9.5 | Broncos -9.5 |
| Niners @ GIANTS | GIANTS +4 | GIANTS +4 |
| Raiders @ CHARGERS | CHARGERS -10 | CHARGERS -10 |
| Eagles @ PACKERS | Eagles +6 | PACKERS -6 |
| Lions @ CARDINALS | Lions +1.5 | Lions +1.5 |
| Patriots @ COLTS | COLTS -3 | PATRIOTS +3 |
| Steelers @ TITANS | TITANS +5.5 | STEELERS -5.5 (LOCK) |
Fine, FINE! I’ll pick the Chiefs.
Today’s junk food: Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn!
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn: The Money Shot
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn was spotted at my local Wegmans, and I’m not sure if it’s new. I usually see Angie’s Popcorn at a place like Target, so I was surprised to see it pop up somewhere else. This Pumpkin Spice popcorn may be a bit outdated since Halloween was two weeks ago, but when I saw it on sale, I couldn’t pass it up. I’M ALL ABOUT DEALS, SON!
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn: DIZZLE DIRZZLE
I’ve reviewed a couple of Angie’s popcorn before, and generally liked it. Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn is another addition to already existing holiday flavors like Iced Gingerbread.
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn: Pumpkin Spice and everything nice
Oh I WILL stuff my cheeks. That’s the only way I know HOW to eat popcorn, Angie’s. And why does DAN get no run here? There should be a separate Dan’s Popcorn, no?
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn: 140 per serving
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn: Natural flavors
MMMM MMMMM Love those natural flavors! I keed, Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn, I keed.
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn: spiced all nice
I opened up this bag of Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn and snifffffed – definitely got some pumpkin spice going on, but oddly the strongest smell I got was…butter? Except I don’t think this popcorn contains butter. Natural flavors, anyone?
Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn: SPICE IT UP
I took a BIG mouthful of this Angie’s Holidrizzle Pumpkin Spice Popcorn, crunched, and of course it tasted pretty good. Plenty of cinnamon, nutmeg, general pumpkin spice flavor. The thin piping of icing on the popcorn itself kept the popcorn plenty sweet; this was definitely more of a sweet treat than a salty/sweet treat.
As for the actual PUMPKIN flavor, I didn’t get a lot of that, so if you’re looking for it, go elsewhere. The spice profile is spot on but there, to me, isn’t enough pumpkin flavor for anyone to eat and say, “Yes, unmistakably pumpkin.” But the flavor profile was exactly what you’d find in, say, a Pumpkin Spice Latte. So yeah – this was definitely pumpkin SPICE, not pumpkin pie or pumpkin cheesecake flavored popcorn.
All in all a solid treat that was a bargain for a buck.
Have a good weekend everyone! And share those dishes/recipes below!
PURCHASED AT: Wegmans, Germantown, MD
COST: $1.00 on sale!
Thoughts? Please comment below or hit me up on Twitter @junkfoodguy or LIKE my Facebook Page and message me there. I also have Google+!! Let’s hang out.
Sincerely,
Junk Food Guy
Discuss - 35 Comments
For holiday parties I normally make something from my vast cookie repertoire. Molasses spice cookies, peppermint brownies, or sugar cookies are all faves.
If for some reason sweets are not needed, I will bring guac. Yeah. I do that. If that wouldn’t work I’d probably glaze some nuts with something good.
@Lindemann: well, of COURSE your cookies.
Unless I was asked to bring something else (I’m actually a good cook so that does happen) I stick to cookies. They’re easy and single serving by nature.
@Jessica: Cookies are quadruple serving to me, by nature 😉
Depends on the party. If the host is one of my wife’s vegan compatriots, then I make my homemade vegan mac and cheese. No recipe online to link to as it is my adaptation of a recipe I got from a cooking class I took. It is always a crowd favorite. JFG, I think I’ve brought you a sample to taste.
Lately, I’ve been into a gnocchi in sage brown butter sauce recipe I found online. I’ve veganized it by using soy-based butter and no cheese, but the original recipe sounds good too. I’d probably bring this to a party, especially because it is pretty easy to make. Here’s the link: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/gnocchi-with-sage-butter-sauce/
And it’s the kind of dish that you can stick toothpicks in to make it single serving/appetizer style.
@Steve B: Gnocchi in sage brown butter is a winner! Thanks for the recipe
I am the dude who goes to the gas station on the way to the potluck and takes a bunch of free plastic silverware to “contribute.” Maybe a bag if chips. I eat the good stuff, I don’t make it
@CannedWalrus – oh yeah, I’ve been plastic silverware guy too!
I either do some homemade meatballs three ways (marinara, BBQ and swedish) or this Cocktail wiener things, both work great in the slow cooker. Sometimes I’ll make a Chex Mix.
Thanks to the Dolphins, I’m already halfway to my win total from last week, yay me!
@Sascha – THREE WAY MEATBALLS??? Do you have, like, three crockpots??
I’m not a big popcorn person, but this stuff looks pretty good. I’m always up for a good clearance sale! As for holiday potlucks, I’m all about the desserts. I make Chex Muddy Buddies and peanut butter pinwheels (the little rounds made with powdered sugar, milk and peanut butter). I also love to make a cheater’s version of vanilla fudge. Just melt a bag of white chocolate chips and stir in a can of vanilla frosting. Once it’s combined, put it in a pan and let it sit overnight. In the morning, voila! You have fudge. It works with milk chocolate chips and chocolate frosting as well, but I think the vanilla version is richer and creamier. Trust me. No one will be able to tell you didn’t slave over the stove to make it. I actually prefer this fake-out fudge over the real deal!
@Heather: Your cheater’s fudge just make my heart skip a beat. NEED TO MAKE!
Keep seeing this intriguing purple bag at Wegmans myself but not a big popcorn guy. Glad I didnt waste my time with this.
How about those Dolphins!
@MarcP: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO (Re Dolphins)
Grr…Can we quit with this ‘pumpkin/pumpkin spice is for October’ thing? Pumpkin is still in season in November. Plus, Thanksgiving is the clearly the main pumpkin pie holiday. Hershey’s, I’m looking at you. There no reason stop selling pumpkin spice kisses on November 1st.
Especially when you just sent around a great pumpkin spice cheesecake recipe which I intend on trying https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=96289 (I hoarded a few bags for this purpose).
@Caroline: You’re right – I am on your pumpkin bandwagon!
You can’t go wrong bringing extra utensils, napkins, cups, etc.
I’ve bought in desserts. Occasionally I’ll bring in finger food from Costco.
@Elisa: I’ve been the cup guy waaaay too often, haha
I bring Pumpkin Blondies to Thanksgiving. I love using this recipe:
http://www.browneyedbaker.com/pumpkin-blondies/
@Liz S: I hope you know I’m drooling. WOW
JFG, check this out, right on the heels of the diamonds: http://www.businessinsider.com/new-peanut-butter-test-is-a-quick-and-easy-screen-for-alzheimers-2013-10
Is there nothing peanut butter can’t do?
That is freakin’ amazing. Thanks for posting.
Um, I meant, “Is there anything peanut butter can’t do?” argh
@indigo: Peanut butter IS truly amazing!
“Fine, FINE! I’ll pick the Chiefs.”
Chiefs 24, Seahawks 20. You’re welcome 😉
@Dana: YEAH YEAH YEAH………..grumble
It depends on the occasion, finger foods or potluck, but my go-to dessert is probably my Cream Cheese Banana Pudding. http://jeniskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/10/cream-cheese-banana-pudding.html
Or this Mocha Punch that is fantastic! http://jeniskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/11/mocha-punch.html
And for savory, you can’t beat bacon, cheese, and potatoes! http://jeniskitchen.blogspot.com/2012/07/baked-potato-casserole.html
@Jeni: WOW, amazing recipes. THanks for posting them! I want to try that Mocha Punch!
Jenis, btw, do you have a Twitter handle? The one on your blog seems …broken?
Hm I fall into the risky trap of liking to try new recipes every time! But one thing I made last year that I’d definitely make again- Sweet Potato Gratin http://minimalistbaker.com/sweet-potato-parmesan-gratin/
Stuffed mushrooms are also easy and good for finger food.
And of course brownies! Really fudgy ones (with peanut butter butter frosting)
@Jamie: WHOA – SWEET potato gratin? That sounds amazing
Summer byo-meat bbq: marinated flank steak.
Summer side-dishes bbq: deviled eggs and snickers salad.
Tailgating: braised pork belly sliders with pickled carrot slaw.
Indoor football party: brown sugar smokies (bacon-wrapped li’l smokies dipped in brown sugar and baked).
Bring a classy dessert: beeramisu
And I can totally mix & match. All bets off if I’m hosting my own party.
@Shorneys: Need recipe for snickers salad!!!
Man, I need to fix that broken link. Thanks for letting me know! I am @AwkwardJenius on Twitter.
@Jeni: Followed! 🙂