While at the grocery store yesterday I spotted these little Hormel Compleats meals – small servings of what looked like comfort food – like this one, Chicken and Mashed Potatoes with Gravy.  It looked so yummy on the package label and sounded like a great little lunch, coming in under 300 calories and having only 6 grams of fat.

I heated it up for lunch today – but only ate a few bites before giving up.

The first bad sign was the smell.  There wasn’t actually any smell to it.  I expected the gravy aroma to lift up immediately when I opened it but it didn’t – so I put it right under my nose and still smelled nothing.  How can food smell like nothing?

It just wasn’t any good at all.  I’m really disappointed – and glad that I didn’t buy a whole bunch of them.

Last night, I tried a new Zatarain’s product. It is called “Dirty Rice”. Have you ever tried it?

It was so easy and good.

All I had to do was brown some ground beef – of course with onion and garlic. I had to sprinkle a bit of chili powder in, also, because I can’t leave any recipe alone.
Then …. I put the contents of the box with water in the pan and brought it to a boil. It simmered it for 25 minutes.

I served it with a big of a garden salad and we had a great meal!

I think Zatarain’s is becoming my best friend!

I ran an errand with my daughter today. We will be homeschooling again. I’m thrilled!

We were hungry and stopped by Burger King for a light lunch. It has been years since I’ve stopped by the palace. They had these adorable “Burger Shots” that I had to try. They were really good!

They were just enough for a lunch on the run. Have any of you had Burger Shots?

Let me know what you think about them.

Fat Tuesday is the literal translation of the french words “Mardi Gras”. It marks the end of Carnival season which actually starts on Janary 6th with the feast of the Epiphany. As of tomorrow, the gluttony will be over (for some) as it is Ash Wednesday or the beginning of Lent which was traditionally a period of fasting and prayer spanning 40 days. That’s your history lesson for today. Now on to the FOOD!

One of the FABULOUS parts of Carnival and Fat Tuesday especially is that it is truly a time to indulge. (or in my case, gorge.) [Read more...]