Recipe Review: Nacho Cheese Chip Casserole

You'll see the recipe floating around online as Doritos Casserole. Recently, I decided to try shopping at Aldi's. I spent $46 (Oklahoma City) and have enough groceries for roughly five meals. I did buy my hamburger elsewhere. There's simply no difference in the price of beef at my local Aldi's. However, I also bought some great fresh asparagus for $1.99 and some lovely baby spinach.

Anyway, my goal with this review isn't necessarily the recipe itself. It is more about the quality and taste of the ingredients that I purchased from Aldi's. First, let's take a look at the basic recipe.

• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 lbs. hamburger
• 2 c. shredded cheddar
• Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos

Essentially, you cook and crumble your hamburger. I season mine with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Of course, drain it if you use fatty meat. 

Mix the meat with the two cans of cream soup. Place this in a casserole dish. 

Top with shredded cheese. Crush chips and place on top.

Place in oven at 350 until cheese is melted. This took maybe 10 minutes.

I already had cream of mushroom soup on hand. I bought my hamburger from Walmart. 

I bought cream of chicken soup, shredded sharp cheddar, and the nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips from Aldi's. 

We really liked the shredded cheese from Aldi's. It had a really great flavor. The only thing I didn't like was the price. It was actually cheaper to buy Kraft shredded cheddar from a local store. I didn't know that until I later went there to get my youngest son some chocolate milk. 

We really liked the cream of chicken soup from Aldi's, too. It had a really good flavor. It came out of the can easily. The top of the can is an easy open can. I was worried that it wouldn't have enough flavor or that it would be salty. I was wrong! 

We could go either way on the nacho cheese flavored tortilla chips. They were fine for the casserole. However, they are not something that we would just eat with a sandwich or for a snack. The texture is really strange (and this is coming from someone who loves the Great Value brand nacho cheese tortilla chips). They are a little salty as well. The cheese flavoring is good. 

I paid .59 cents for the soup, $2.79 for the shredded cheese, Had I known it was on sale at a local store, I could have saved almost a dollar. I paid $1.19 for the chips. The hamburger was purchased elsewhere for about $8. So, this meal cost us roughly $11. We are big eaters. Tonight there were three of us instead of five, but we ate the entire pan. Even the picky five year old liked the recipe. The hamburger was the most expensive component. You could probably save more if you used ground turkey or if you can find hamburger on sale. 

Le-Vel Products - Day 1 Review

Recently, my friend Tracy sent my husband and me a three day sample pack of Le-Vel Thrive. Bull took his this morning before he went to work...and I won't know anything about what he thinks until he gets back home this evening. 

I've always been a bit of a skeptic and a realist. I do go into things with an open mind. I am not expecting some sort of miracle. If I could name any outcome that could possibly happen, it would simply be to not be totally exhausted all of the time. 

Living with Wolff Parkinson White (an electrical problem with the heart) and microvascular disease is a pain in my ass. I may be fine one minute and then totally exhausted. My blood pressure could be fine in the morning or it could be high or narrow...or high and narrow. My pulse could be 60 or 160 at any given moment...even with meds. It's not much fun. I've always had problems with fatigue and insomnia. I've always struggled to develop a strong immune system. 

As it stands, I take a beta blocker twice each day, a statin once per day (to help with chest pain), aspirin twice each day, a potassium supplement (because doctors can't figure out why my body wastes potassium), and nitro if needed. Then, I take vitamin C, grape seed extract, and a lot of B12. Sometimes it is still just about all I can do to stay awake. Yet, if I fall asleep...I can't stay asleep or I have poor sleep quality. 

So for the sake of the possibility of more energy, I said what the hell...let's try the samples. 

Around 9 am I took the pack on the far right. It has two vitamins in it. I sat back down immediately because I was also waiting for the beta blocker to do its damn job and stop my heart from racing. 

Around 9:15 am, I actually felt a little bit better. That was a nice change. I usually don't feel better until after about an hour of taking the beta blocker. So, I made the protein shake on the far left. I had my doubts about it. First of all, I hate protein shakes. They taste awful. They're heavy. I hate them. However, for the sake of the full experience...I made it. The problem is that I only have full fat milk on hand. The flavor of the shake is vanilla. It's not bad, but if you just mix it with milk it is really, really grainy. Of course, that could probably have been fixed had I used a blender or something. I couldn't finish the whole shake it was very filling. 

Around 9:50 am I was pretty sick to my stomach. I don't think it was the shake. I'm pretty sure it was the milk. I've never been able to drink milk without being sick. I haven't even tried to drink milk (until today) in probably 20 years. I guess tonight I'll go get some rice milk. I know I can drink it without being sick. I put on the energy patch. I put it near my rib cage...mostly because my arms are covered in really fine hair and I don't enjoy having it ripped out. 

I've been in and out of the bathroom most of the day...but again - I'm blaming the milk. I've also been really full all day; in fact, I'm uncomfortably full. If I do another shake tomorrow, I'm only going to do half of it. I don't like feeling so full that I feel sick. I seriously don't know how people can eat until they make themselves sick. 

I have noticed steady energy all day. I'm still tired, but I'm not totally wiped out. I've been able to do almost all of the laundry, the dishes, take out the trash, and work. So, aside from the stomach upset...I'm relatively happy with day one. I can't wait to see what Bull thought of his sample later this evening. 

I haven't tried the thin packets you see in the middle that are made to mix into water. I might try one of those tomorrow instead of a shake. Before any of you ask, yes...I did have the permission of my doctor to do this. It has very few stimulants compared to other vitamins and supplements that are marketed for energy. 

Johnson & Johnson - No More Tears VoxBox

** I received these products complimentary from Influenster for testing purposes.**

The other day I received an amazing surprise in the mail from Influenster. I received full size bottles of Johnson's Baby Shampoo with Conditioner, Leave In Conditioner, and the No More Tangles Spray. 

I absolutely love that Johnson's now offers a baby shampoo that has a little bit of conditioner in it. I know that some parents might think that's not necessary...because baby hair is so soft. However, sometimes hair can be so baby soft that it snags and tangles like no body's business. It's still tear free and since I have a kid who loves to stick his face in the bathwater, using tear free soap and shampoo is a must! 

I also love that they now offer a leave-in conditioner in a squeeze tube. I think out of the three products I received to review, that was my favorite (but we will get to that in a minute). Here in Oklahoma, it gets more than a little hot in the summer. It gets down right humid. You can give your kid a bath and get them looking absolutely perfect. It won't matter. Two minutes after being out in the Oklahoma heat, every dirt speck within a ten mile radius is now sticking to your child. Their once perfect hair is now a mess of snarls and snags. This little tube of awesome can easily go with you in a diaper bag or even in your purse. It doesn't take much...just squeeze a little into your hand. Then rub your hands together. Run it through your child's not so trendy messy 'do and you can comb those knots right back out! 

Speaking of the leave-in conditioner, it works well for adults with fine hair, too. I've used it in my hair and it stops fly aways. So, if you have fine hair that tangles easily...Johnson's Leave-In Conditioner works double duty for the same price. :) 

The No More Tangles Spray is just as great as it was when my grandmother used it on me more than 30 years ago. It also has a convenient way to lock the spray top. I actually use it on my 13 year old son's hair. It's very fine like mine, but is also naturally curly if left to grow out. Since he plays football, it's easy for his hair to tangle under his helmet at practice unless I spray his hair first. 

The only thing I did not like about this product was the smell. I am very particular about smells. My husband said that they smell like baby powder. I just don't like the smell. The kids don't mind the way it smells (not even the teen). It is definitely a product that we will buy in the future.