Food Trend - "Easy For You" Heat and Eat - $7.99 the Pound Entree and Sides

I spotted this neary the dairy section at the Kroger in Southgate Plaza and it is in a refrigerated case offering heat and eat gourmet type entrees and sides for $7.99 lb.

The instructions indicate heat up the product in a covered skillet for 8-12 minutes. 

Without having tested out I cannot say anything to the taste, a few issues are:

• Labeling -  obviously one this is that everything needs to be clearly labeled and in the 3rd picture down 3 items are not.

• Costs - Cheaper to make from scratch, some by a little, some by a lot.   The entrees would be more worth the cost as the products cost more than the sides.

• Time  - Cilantro Lime Rice can be made from scratch in the same amount of time and a fraction of the cost with using the Cilantro Lime Rice recipe at Closet Cooking and Minute Rice or any other quick cook rice.

• Freshness - would be fresher and have more nutrients than frozen, but not sure how they would handle the "best by" date on something like this and would be a question I would ask the store before purchasing.

• Ease - The more complicated the dish might be to make from scratch, the more it might be worth it.   

• Time - being ready in less than 15 minutes on a weeknight might be worth it, but if you can postpone at least part you can make Ina Garten's Garlic Roasted Potatoes in about an hour with little prep work for $3-4 per pound.

• Prep - If you don't eat a certain food and no experience preparing, such as chicken, preparing from scratch could be disastrous to prep from scratch and might be worth it.   Live Science has a good article on proper chicken prep to avoid Salmonella and cross contamination.  Like wise on Shrimp, that center vein in shrimp is their digestive tract and needs to be removed.  Epicurious has a video on Youtube how to devein them.

For me, I could see any of the shrimp dishes possibly being worth it for a special occasion for family members as I don't eat seafood, but would have to buy a little and have a seafood lover try it out first. 

What do you think of something like this?  Is this something that you think you would buy and if so, what types of dishes would you try?

Sides:  Cilantro Lime Rice, Parmarella Mac & Cheese, Garlic & Herb Roasted Potatoes

4 Shrimp dishes and Salmon Ravioli

Mushroom Truffle Risoto on left, Roasted Pepper Mac and Cheese on right, center item not labeled.

Prime Rib Strips with Mushrooms and Gravy. Orange Mango Chicken, Chicken and Sausage, Rustic Roasted Tomato Basil Chicken and Vegetables.

Mary Quant Style Mini-Dress - Link to Free Pattern

Photo:  Snapshot from pattern

I stumbled across this via a vlog I follow on Youtube called Michoumakes by lovely English woman who sews, designs and crafts.

In the link below she shares a story about on a field trip to the London when she was in a design class and how they bought something small at two of the expensive stores so they would have a high end shopping bag to show off on the train ride home, but also shares a link to the V & A Museum of Art and Design where they currently are showing a collection of the iconic 1960's designer Mary Quant.

I was just a young child when she was popular and the first designer I ever recall my Mom talking about and she thought the style would be cuter on younger girls if they wear a pair of shorts underneath for modesty.  I think some of the Simplicity and McCalls pattern she sewed for me were knock-offs

The V & A has a link on their site to a free pattern for a Mary Quant Style Mini-Dress that was made by mother-daughter team of Alice & Co Patterns.

It is an A line shift dress with several variations available.  I think it is really cute if you are younger and have the legs to show off, but if I make this, I like, the woman at Michoumakes would wear it as a top as my mini-dress days are long gone.

For those that do make this you can share your creations on social media #WeWantQuant @vamuseum @aliceandcopatterns.

Link to pattern on V & A 's website here

Red Robin Smoky Jack Tavern Double Burger - Review

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Red Robin Smoky Jack Tavern Double with endless fries and a side of ranch dressing for dipping. The barbecue sauce is smoky with sweet with a hint of bourbon whiskey and really makes the burger. #Red Robin #SmokeyJacTavernDouble #whiskeyriverbarbecue #BottomlessFries #ranchdippingsauce

A post shared by Kathryn (@kmomcrafter) on Dec 23, 2018 at 1:26pm PST

I shared this on my Instagram page and thought I would share it here as well.

I had previously signed up for Red Robin Royalty with is a free loyalty program on their website and texted "JOIN" to 98666 (they previously discontinued their app) and received a "Buy One Burger Get One Free" coupon.

The above burger was a little over $7.99 plus tax on their "Tavern" menu, which our waitress pointed out is smaller than the premium burgers, which the coupon was good for as well, but we were fine with the smaller burger.

This sandwich is a simple on with the addition of the barbecue sauce, but as I indicated in my Instagram, the sauce is really what makes the burger better.

It  two burgers topped with a bourbon whiskey barbecue sauce, Pepper Jack Cheese, red onions, pickles, lettuce and mayo.

Their burgers included their "Bottomless Fries" on the side, which means you can order as many side of fries.  We usually order mayo on the side but we were asked if we wanted to try their Ranch or Campfire Mayo sauce. Above pictured is the Ranch, which was not quite a good as Hidden Valley's Ranch Dressing.

I also tried the Campfire Mayo (not pictured) and it was a light orange color but mostly was a smoky sweet flavor with a slight tang that was neither tastes of ketchup or mayo.  It was not something I cared for, but I could see many other people that like that sort of flavor enjoying it.

Even with two soft drinks our total bill before tip was under $20 and even with a 20% tip was under $22.00 and was simple as we we only had to enter my phone number in the kiosk that was at the table.

The burger is something I would purchased again, but I would probably ask for an additional side of the barbecue sauce to be sure the entire burger was completely covered (there were a few small spots along the edge that weren't) even if I have to eat it with a fork and knife.

I will give a warning on the games on the at table kiosk as we had a situation at Applebees where we thought the game was free and we were charged $2.99 and there was no indication of that there was a free prior to starting the game.  I suggest avoiding them and enjoy a conversation with the party(ies) you are dining with instead.

Advent of Kindness Calendar for December

In today's day and age the retail pushing Christmas deals even before Halloween we can get so lost in buying presents and worrying about making the day special we forget to make everyday special and give acts of kindness.  

A co-worker posted the above on Facebook and I thought I would share it here as they are simple acts that almost anyone can do.

Jesus is the reason for the Season and God gave us the ultimate gift and we should try to pay it forward when we can.

Little Caesar's "ExtraMostBestest" Pizza Promotion

Little Caesar's Pizza started a promotion a month or so again to for a grammatically incorrect "Extramostbestest" pizza that you can create with 1 to 4 toppings with topping that are to be "edge to edge" starting at $6, but up to $11.25 + tax if you "build your own" with 4 toppings, but they do have $10 for a Veggie or Supreme (and prices may vary based on what region in the U.S. that you live).

The flyer I received encouraged using their mobile phone app, but I decided to stop in and see if it was an online-only app or if you could order in store.

It was available to order in the store and they also advertise the "make it a meal" where you can add 2 liter of pop and other items for an additional charge.

I place an order for a Pepperoni pizza and sat on a nearby bench and waited about 10 minutes for it to be made/baked. 

Close-up of the "ExtraMostBestest" menu; unfortunately my phone does not have a zoom and some of the detail was lost when cropping.

This is the pizza that I ended up with and I snapped the picture as son as I got in my van, so the pepperoni did not migrate to the center during transporting it; it came that way.

It did have a lot more than a typical pepperoni pizza we had purchased in the past, but it is not quite "edge to edge".  I think the additional pepperoni and cheese does improve the flavor and texture of the pizza in comparison to a regular Pepperoni.  A drawback is the extra topping also add extra calories, around 300 more for this pizza so it is another factor to consider.

In comparison to other take-out pizzas it seem like there sauce is mostly just tomato and lacks spices and their crust lacks the yeasty bread taste and more like a quick bread.

While this is not my favorite pizza place, it Little Caeser's, it is to most affordable one and is a good deal if you need to feed a few people on a limited budget and limited on time.  

Winter Squash Infograph

I personally have not ventured much into Squash territory but looking to expand my vegitary repertoire to make healthier food choices, so when came across this on Facebook and thought I would post this here for others that might be a Squash challenged as I am.

The ones I am interested in trying that I never have had before are the Spaghetti and the Kabocha,

What have you worked with or which one would you be interested in trying?


Source of Infograph:  Unknown

Covergirl vitalist Healthy Elixir Foundation in 720 Creamy Natural - Review

 As this was an Allure magazine Best of Beauty winner for 2017.   Ulta currently had this product for sale for $11.99 for 1 oz of product, but you may be able to find it cheaper elsewhere, especially with a discount coupon.

I selected shade 720 in Creamy Natural for use with my tan from the Summer.  On the back it indicates it is full coverage, but below you can barely see the swatch. On the Allure site, it indicates light coverage and I would agree with that assessment.  

It does help even out skin tone, but as you can see in the swatch is did not completely cover the freckles at the top of my forearm, just blurred a bit and made them less noticeable.

It does have sunscreen of SPF 20 in it so it is nice not to need a separate sunscreen.  It also contains Vitamins E, B3 and BF and it to give a healthy, natural glow.  I thought it went on more matte on my skin . 

The two issues I do have this product is that by the end of a long, hot day it doesn't look "natural" but dry and a little patchy.  The other is that halfway through the bottle the pump stopped working entirely.   The cap does twist off so you still easily have access to the product, but you have to dump it  out or coax it out with a brush.  I ended up using a cleaned out empty make jar and got as much as I could out of the bottle.   

It is an ok product, but I did not find it to be the winner that it has been touted to be and probably not a product I will purchase again, but mine would a minority opinion as has 4 stars on Ulta with 268 reviews.

Now for the dilemma of Cruelty-free:  As Covergirl is a division of Coty, it has the same policy as Coty, which is it does not test on on animals unless it is still required by law, which mainland China still does. Source: Crueltyfreekitty

Pretty much any and any business that sells beauty products in China must still test on animals as it is required by law, so while mostly Cruelty-Free, it is not 100%.

PROS:

• Evens out skin tone and looks like healthy skin 
• Worked natural going on tanned skin even with a light/medium shade.
• Contains Sunscreen of SPF 20 so protects your skin from UV Rays without need for an additional product.
• Looks nice throughout the day if you are indoors in a climate controlled setting.
• Bottle top does easily screw off if you need access to the product if pump is not working.

CONS:

• Looks unnatural, dry and patchy at the end of long hot day.
• Pump stopped working 1/2 way through the bottle.

Link to $2.00 Covergirl face product at Coupon Sherpa or Ulta currently  has a sale for buy 2 get one free on Covergirl products.