Forsythkid

Critique: Michelina’s Stroganoff Sauce with Beef and Pasta!

2012-02-27T09:06:00.001-06:00

Just for a change of pace, here’s a TV entrée I’ve actually been looking to enjoy! Beef Stroganoff is one of only nine foods that I could easily eat every day for the rest of my life (it if weren’t so darn fattening). Something that good and that filling, has just got to be truly horrible when it comes to nutrition. (God, in his infinite wisdom, made the universe work that way just to piss us males off). So, it was with no little trepidation that I purchased this entree for the paltry fee of $1.39 USD!

Now before even getting to the directions or the scoring or anything else, I want to cover the nutritional panel. For should things go sideways, I felt it would start there! First off, you’re getting about a cup of product for your money. That’s 8 ounces at $1.39 or about 17 cents per ounce. Not all that bad for a frozen product. Next, eating said product will dump about 300 calories into my body. Once again, I can live with that figure just so long as I make sure any side dishes are low calorie vegetables or perhaps a tossed salad. Surprisingly even the cholesterol at 25 mg was OK and the sodium at 700 mg was one of the lowest I’ve seen for an entrée of this size! Well, I’ll be horn-swaggled and stomped on like a frog! If this meal passes the taste test, then I’m a true believer in all things Michelina!

Preparation is a snap – You lift a corner to vent – nuke it for 2 ½ minutes on high – open and still the contents – recover and re-nuke for about another minute! Wham bam, thank you ma’am! For this test, I decided to go with some boiled Brussels sprouts and a small carrot. The veggies came to about 80 calories for a total of 380. Now for the scoring:

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Appearance: 6 Not as appetizing as I had hoped for!

Smell: 6 Decent aroma, but still with that TV made after burner smell.

Texture: 7 The noodles were al dente and tasty!

Taste: 7 Not a slam dunk! Just OK to somewhat good is about all.

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Average: 6.5 A good dish to have as a back up to the real thing!

For the money, this is a fair bet. Still, if you’ve ever had real stroganoff made from scratch you’d realize this meal was an insult. Also, it could use more salt!

Disclaimer: All content in this post is the sole opinion of the author and may or may not reflect that of other readers.

Let's face it - We're all a nation of dingbats!

2012-02-24T05:12:00.000-06:00

The TV and my toilet – Twins!

Whenever I catch myself watching too much TV these days, I mentally want to smack myself up the side of my head! BAD BOY! I think to myself. With life being as short as it is, why an I wasting my time in such a mindless way? The entertainment channels no longer amuse and the media controlled 'news' is anything but news. Even the presidential debates have become something of a running joke. Did you catch the recent debate in Arizona that was sponsored by CNN? Not one question was asked about many of the major challenges that face this nation. Instead, I guess the burning issues for Americans everywhere must center on the candidates sexual preferences. Like how they felt about birth control or condom use for instance. Questions such as those were asked often and to all the candidates, while the real burning issues we all face like unemployment and even corruption in our government were left untouched. Housing problems? Hey, Arizona has been gutted with foreclosures and yet how many questions were there that addressed that very important issue? How about zilch...zero...nada! Who is CNN really trying to protect here, I wonder?

Mr. President – Let's see you talk your way out of this one!

Ever since Obama took office, he has been the Teflon Don! Nothing sticks to this man! Not the economy, not the war, no not nuthing! It's always the same old song and dance. His 'just look at the mess I inherited,' lament has been repeated so often and by so many of his supporters, perhaps it should be engraved above the entrance to the White House! But, now the screw has finally turned. Gasoline, Obama baby. It's all about the gas. And, this is one God awful mess that has your personal socialist and environmentalist stamp all over it. I'm gonna watch very closely this summer, when the national average tops $4 to $5 a gallon to see just how you try and dodge this bullet!

Opps! Ron you were right! Iran is clean after all!

Turns out that our intelligence community is now backing up something you've been saying all along! In a leaked report to the LA Times, it seems classified documents indicate that 'Tehran is not currently seeking to build a nuclear bomb'. Well golly and gee willikers. After listening to all the other candidates lambasting you on this issue, it must give you a little sense of satisfaction to hear this news Ron. Hey, perhaps. Just perhaps, you're not crazy after all...

The thing is America, you've been had by the media. Iran has played the fake nuke card very nicely and the media ate it up like candy. In the end this country now looks, well quite frankly, we look a little hysterical to much of the rest of the world. It'll be great fun, however, watching those presidential hopefuls do the 'dingbat back-peddle'. That's a new dance were you consistently go backwards in the eyes of the voting public. Everyone, that is, except for Ron...

Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers

2012-02-21T12:09:00.000-06:00

A semi-original effort on my part that produced a nice result! I was looking for a meaty entrée that was low in calories, relatively low in cholesterol and sodium when I stumbled across this winning combination!

Ingredients:

Add half the can of tomato sauce.

2 bell peppers, seeded & tops removed

½ lb ground beef, browned & drained

¼ medium yellow onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp dried basil

8 oz can of tomato sauce

1 cup of instant rice, micro waved

2 slices of brick cheddar cheese

Paprika

Salt and pepper (optional)

Directions:

Make sure to overfill the pepper a bit more than shown!

Make up the rice (about 1 cup) according to package directions. Set aside. Blanch peppers in hot boiling water for about 3 minutes. Combine the hamburger (about half a pound) and onion, brown in a pan over medium heat and drain off any excess fat. Add the rice, basil and garlic. Mix a little then add about half the can of tomato sauce and mix well. Add this mixture to the bell peppers. Overfill the cavity slightly. Place these in a crock pot that has been set to low. Drizzle the rest of the tomato sauce over the top of each tomato.

Place the peppers into the crock-pot, stuffed side up. Cover and cook on low for about 3 to 4 hours. Just before the end of this time, cut the cheese into four narrow strips and make X’s over each bell pepper. Re-cover and cook for another 15 minutes (or nuke briefly in the microwave to melt the cheese). Remove and sprinkle with some paprika! Note: I did not use and slat in this dish. If I feel the need to do so, I use the so-called fake salt or potassium chloride for that purpose). Serves 2.

Nutritional Information:

click to enlarge

Here’s the nutritional panel I came up with for this recipe. It represents two large stuffed bell peppers with lots of ground beef and rice. This is a meal you have to be careful with if you're on a diet like me. In my case, I only eat half of a pepper (see line of figures in blue) that’s been cut lengthwise. To this, I like to add one of more vegetable sides like streamed green beans, corn or whatever you might have in the pantry. In most cases, you should be able to stay under 400 calories for a filling and great tasting repast!You'll also stretch the budget a bit as I paid a dollar apiece for the peppers on this date!

Notes:

The peppers turned out pretty good with the exception of the way the filling had a tendency to fall apart. Next time, I may elect to add one or two egg whites to the mix to see if that helps. I also plan to add about two to three tablespoons of ketchup to the tomato sauce to kick it up a bit.

This recipe was redone slightly the next day using grated cheddar cheese (about 20 grams) that was mixed in with the meat and rice just prior to cooking. The peppers were also placed in small Pyrex glass container to allow them to stand up better in the slow cooker. I also added about two tablespoons of plain ketchup to the mix which helped the over all flavor a lot!

Critique: Healthy Choice Lemon Herb Chicken

2012-02-19T10:26:00.000-06:00

I figured it was high time for a change in the manner in which I score and rate frozen TV dinners! It suddenly came to me that the way I was going about things before were ambiguous in terms of sidestepping the truly important issues; that being the taste, smell, texture and overall appearance of the meal in question. So, from now on, I’ll drop the cost and package art scores from the scoring panel (which no one gave a rat’s ass about anyway)!

Today, I will be savoring, devouring and otherwise rending apart, the hoped for goodness of a creation from the folks at Healthy Choice! This time the lucky winner (and focus of my culinary lust) is an entrée by the name of Lemon Herb Chicken! According to the HC site, this meal consists of ‘tasty chicken tenderloins are prepared in a savory herb lemon-Chardonnay sauce and are mixed with firm whole-grain pasta, juicy cherry tomatoes, and succulent green beans!’ Wow! Now, who could resist that? They then go on to tell me that I will be ingesting only 210 calories. (Hold up a minute! The box plainly states 200 calories. Well, perhaps it’s just a misprint…)

Upon opening the package I had a strange discovery – whole frozen cherry tomatoes. Why golly gee, how Californ-i-a is that? Upon reflection, this whole meal deal does reek of all things San Francisco! (For some reason the tune, ‘Do you know the way to San Jose? I’ve been away so long…’ popped in my head) Well, it was a great song, so maybe this entree will be too! (Feel free and play the song by Diane Warwick on another tab while reading the rest of this mess)!

Nutritionally, I’ll score one for the owner of the company as he has lead the charge to keep the sodium levels down in this line of products! This one comes in at only 480 mg. Awesome! As I mentioned earlier, the calories are good to go at just 200 and both the cholesterol and carbohydrates are very low! From this standpoint, what we have here is a ‘diet quality meal’! See that my jelly belly – I’m looking out for ya! (My belly promptly rumbled in what I will assume was an affirmative response). Now, on to the scoring:

Category Score Comments

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Appearance: 6 Lots of veggies complete with eyeball tomatoes!

Smell: 7 Mildly appealing! Fresh, at any rate!

Texture: 8 I was somewhat surprised! Pasta was al dente!

Taste: 8 Much better than I was hoping for! It's da sauce!

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Average: 7.25 Good taste at a fair price! Go out and buy some!

Seeing as how you can prepare this meal (and others like it in the line) in just about four minutes in a microwave, justifies it as a good bet for a low calorie lunch candidate at work! I plan on keeping a few in my fridge at home also.

Disclaimer: All content in this post is the sole opinion of the author and may not reflect that of other readers.

Obama! We've had enough!

2012-02-17T22:59:00.003-06:00

Critique: Freschetta’s Pizza by the Slice!

2012-02-17T16:48:00.000-06:00

By the slice! And, a perfect slice at that! I’ll tell you one thing I can see coming right now. Nobody, but nobody can eat just one slice of pizza. That is unless it’s really horrible! And, as for perfect? Well, they’re setting a mighty high bar!

Another interesting thing about the Freschetta web site; no mention is made of the product I’m reviewing here. Yeah really! What’s going on with that?

I’ll forgo the normal scoring grid and whatnot on this dish and get right to the meat of this review.

1) The pizza tasted sweet actually. Not a good thing for a pizza to do.

2) The coupon on the inside of the box was expired! This begs the question as to how long this item has been sitting around in the freezer section of my store?

Bottom line; Game over! Zip up your fly and go home! I plan to avoid this particular item in the future and have forwarded a complaint to the folks at Freschetta! Note: A week later I got an email which did not address the problem with quality, but did promise a 'discount coupon'. Not sure I plan to ever use it.

Disclaimer: The content of this post is solely the opinion of the author

Mitt or a bag of nuts? You make the call!

2012-02-16T07:49:00.003-06:00

Will soaring gas prices spell the end for Obama?

2012-02-16T07:12:00.000-06:00

Let me see now, if I recall the day President Obama was inaugurated, the average price of a gallon of gasoline was $1.84. Today that average stands at $3.52 (for regular) and is said by some experts to be rocketing upwards towards $4 or $5 by this summer! That’s an increase of at least 90%! Hmm.

Source: http://fuelgaugereport.aaa.com

Since Obama took office in 2008, oil production in the US has declined from an average of 9 millions gallons per day to 5, most of which is due to increased regulations imposed by…you guessed it Obama and his ‘No Energy for America’ stand.

Today, this world stands on the brink of war with Iran over….oil! And, America, you have one man to thank for the troubles coming your way. I give you Barrack ‘Insane’ Obama!

Just remember Mr. and Mrs. Middle Class Citizen, when you are spending almost as much to get to work as what you make from working, which Party got you into this mess. And, while I’m certainly no advocate for the GOP these days, even they would be a breath of fresh air compared to what the Democrats have done to the nation in just three short years.

Tightening up on discarded waste!

2012-02-14T08:19:00.000-06:00

Scene from South Park Season 14, Episode 10

A few days ago, I wrote a post concerning how much throwing stuff out drives me crazy. A friend of mine heard me talking about this and cautioned me to be careful. She said that’s the way many people who become ‘hoarders’ start out. I told her that I remembered a show done on South Park "Insheeption" about that. Pretty funny actually! But, very sobering too! So, perhaps I am walking a tightrope here, even though all I really want to do is become a more responsible citizen in the area of recycling. That’s a good thing, right?

Problem! Who's got a problem?

I think my ‘affliction’ with this area of recapturing used stuff began some years ago as an offshoot of my hobby in backyard gardening. While growing veggies for the table, I started a small compost pile and then watched in amazement as kitchen scraps turned into dark soil! At that point, I was hooked! I’ve been composting ever since and perhaps was ‘pre-infected’ with the idea. After all, composting is recycling on the most organic level, is it not?

Today, I like the challenge of making purchases at the grocery store last for more than just one use. Plastic bags have now been discarded in favor of paper, or better yet, for one of those canvas tote bags that I see other people beginning to use more and more often! (These days, I try and make sure to keep one in my auto for those times when I’m going to purchase a small amount of stuff). Otherwise, it's ‘paper please’ at the checkout counter from now on!

Well...at least the tray is made of paper!

This idea of reusing items that I purchase also extends towards products I select to take home with me. Whenever possible, I opt for glass containers over plastic. Failing that, I try and avoid anything that will end up at the transfer station and thus condemned to a landfill. Take TV dinners, for example. I try and purchase items like Aunt Jemima’s Scrambled Eggs and Sausage breakfast meal mainly because they use a paper tray. (Even thought the contents of this meal totally suck, they do have the right idea when it comes to packaging)!

What it all boils down to is choice. Even if scientists were to discover tomorrow that landfills are a ‘good’ thing, I would still be opposed to filling them up in the manner that we do. It sickens me that some of this crapola will still be hanging around when generation 20 is out walking the earth!

Adkins would have loved this!

2012-02-13T12:37:00.001-06:00

The 'evil meat' is back there hiding among the good veggies!

Now, this being my millionth year of dieting, I’ve discovered that while a small amount of bread is important in any diet, you need to limit it if you want to lose weight! Those bad old carbs!

So saying, I have come up with a hamburger that is 'sans buns' and all the calories that go with them. This ‘bun-less’ hamburger meal is comprised of a small xxx gram all beef patty, steamed broccoli, carrots and a bit of steam potato in place of the French Fries! Here’s the nutritional breakout:

Click to enlarge

At 423 calories this was definitely a filling meal, but as a result I should be able to avoid snacking during the afternoon hours. Because I’m using a salt substitute, the sodium comes in really low also. Actually, the only fly in the ointment is the high cholesterol level, but I figure that’s offset by the very low carbohydrate level. And keeping the carbohydrates down is what the Adkins Diet is all about!

Critique: Macaroni & Cheese!

2012-02-13T11:12:00.001-06:00

With all those calories! This would be a good survival food!

While watching an episode of Glenn Beck on GBTV one afternoon, he made the remark that ‘everyone should stock up on Mac n Cheese’ or something to that effect. He was talking about the need for his viewers to ‘hoard food’ as a hedge against when the United States crumbles into pieces. Everyone, he maintains, needs to have at least a year’s worth of food on hand for the ‘hard times’ that are coming.

Is he right? I dunno. Perhaps. But, it got me to wondering why he mentioned this very common boxed meal by name? Personally, it’s be a long time since I enjoyed a dish that used to be a staple around my house. At half a buck a box, it’s relatively cheap and packs a wallop in the calorie department. (Something that would serve you well in a disaster, I guess).

So, for this critique, I decided to stay on the cheap side of things and go for a generic ‘Cheese and Mac’ boxed item I found on the shelves of my store. It’s branded ‘Always Save’ and is made by a company called Associated Wholesale Grocers (leastwise it’s distributed by them).

After getting home, I got a pot and filled it with 6 cups of water as per the directions. This was brought to a boil and then I added the pasta and let it cook for about 8 minutes. (Important: Whenever I do pasta, I begin testing it a few minutes before the recommended time for proper doneness). I found 7 minutes on light boil to be about right! After draining off the water, I then added the packet of cheese mix along with ¼ cup of butter (half a stick) and ¼ cup of 2% milk. This was stirred with a fork and before my eyes, I had made a meal! Man, just feast your eyeballs on all that cheesy goodness!

Now before you dig in, understand that a serving is considered to be about 2.5 ounces of product. There are about three of these per box, so to make things simple just divide it into thirds. Note that this will work out well if you are feeding yourself and two kids. (Not so well if you have two kids and a significant other)!

In the top picture, I have about half a serving or 200 calories! Use the fork for comparison. Hmm, doesn’t look like much does it. And yet, a full serving is almost 400 calories! That’s the equivalent of eating a McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger! (Personally, I’d take the cheeseburger)! Anyway, let’s get the scoring done:

Box appeal: 5 Not real sure about those sliced tomatoes on the box!!

Reality: 6 No, it’s not rotting maggots. It just looks that way!

Cost: 8 Forty five cents won't break the bank! Go get some!

Texture: 7 Not bad – once you learn how to cook pasta! Duh!

Smell: 7 Who doesn’t like the smell of cheese?

Taste: 7 At first it’s great and then it becomes so-so…needs a side!

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Average: 6.7 OK! So, not a world class dish, but it was filling!

Now for some bad news! My box informed me that this product is best consumed by Dec 15, 2012! Hey! That’s not very long. Also, if you ‘hoard’ this product; you better make sure to place it in an 'insect proof' container. Bugs can drill right throw paper in no time at all! Now, with that in mind, I plan to pick up a few boxes next time I go shopping. While Mac n Cheese will never make it to the culinary Hall of Fame – it is a pretty tasty addition to a regular meal, and no matter what, kids love it!

Author's note: The only issue I would have, for hording this product in times of trouble, is the need to have butter and milk on hand as necessary ingredients. Tough to do in a collapsed world!

I know you're somewhere out there!

2012-02-13T09:46:00.000-06:00

GM announces car with a built in microwave!

2012-02-12T13:43:00.000-06:00

What came as no surprise to auto industry insiders, GM has announced a new line of 'fully connected' vehicles that will not only offer all the conveniences of a home office, but that will now come equipped with the latest in kitchen appliances. Scheduled for release this fall will be in-dash microwave and portable refrigerators, so the busy motorist can pop in a frozen pizza while driving in to work! (Why, that should be such fun! What could possibly go wrong>)?

Also in the works for a possible 2014 release will be such futuristic luxuries as a built in port-a-potty in both the driver and passenger seats. According to the designers, when you feel the need to 'go' while on the 'go', a popup 'privacy partition' (patent pending) will encircle the passenger while leaving just enough room to see out! Not to be left 'behind', it's also rumored that BAJAJ AUTO has announced a full line of in-car washers and dryers for the man or women who want to look 'fresh' when they arrive at their destinations.

Coming Next week! We are excited to be the first to cover the safe use of so-called 'pleasure devices' while traveling at high speeds!

Fast food, Sonic's Chicago Dog and all that extra trash!

2012-02-10T09:17:00.000-06:00

For under four bucks there's not much that beats eating a Chicago Dog and fries from Sonics in my little town of Forsyth, Missouri. Eating one of these takes me back many years to when I lived and worked in a suburb of Chicago. I can still remember having to wait in a line for my food at one of those roadside joints that used to spring up in and around the Industrial Park where I worked. You'd get this little tray that barely was big enough to hold the dog and fries at the same time. And those fries, they were always limp and sprinkled with some kind of red pepper that gave them a special taste all their own! Back then, I would scarf both down in just a minute or so during my lunch break and would get back to work. That little tray and a napkin would be unceremoniously dumped into a waste can and forgotten.

Back in those days nobody really ever talked about recycling. Trash was trash and that was that! We had landfill space a plenty and the throw away society was just getting cranked up. I do remember that about the only thing that was recycled was those coke bottles that you could redeem for a couple of cents each. But, even those quickly disappeared when aluminum cans were introduced. Then plastic came into vogue and the dumping party was in full swing! Now, as I stare at the remains of my meal. This pile of trash that weighs about 66 grams. I'm once again reminded of a growing problem.

It's trash! These days, many of us still toss out an awful lot of solid waste (about 73%) which ends up in landfills situated all across the country. But, most of us will readily admit that the writing is now on the wall. even though there is still plenty of space left, it's still just a matter of time before recycling will become the law of the land, and not just a good idea. Also, it's worth noting that nothing we use is infinite in supply. Aluminum, steel, tin, glass, plastics and even paper are now routinely used and then reused again and again. Did you know that aluminum can be recycled at just 5% the cost of making it from raw ore? That's also true, to some extent, for just about anything made of metal, glass or plastic. So, if you're all for saving energy, this is one way to help!

Just a reminder everyone. The militia is still here!

2012-02-09T14:21:00.002-06:00

Does Glenn Beck sponsor Home Made Energy Org?

2012-02-08T09:22:00.000-06:00

There's an email being circulated around that purports to be sponsored by Glenn Beck. I'm going to say that no, he does not. This group has been around for some time now. They promise great savings on electricity by showing a homeowner how they can make their own solar cells so they can 'get off the grid' while saving tons of money.

Here's an example of what I found on the Complaints Board site about this company:

Posted: 2012-01-19 by

Jizze

This site is run by a new breed of thief interested only in your money and willing to do anything to get it.

Complaint Rating:

Homemadeenergy.orgCompany information:
Homemadeenergy.org
United States
homemadeenergy.org

Keep away from this site. It is run by a new breed of thief interested only in your money and willing to do anything to get it. Basically this man tells you that he can show you how to make solar panels from dirt, he then tells you to beg for damaged panels from your local authorities. Before you get to finish reading the e-book your computer resets and the e-book can no longer be found or accessed.

There were three more like this posted on the site.

Why our society is breaking down and who's doing it!

2012-02-07T16:11:00.000-06:00

After reading an article about how two groups of golfers got into a fight when one group want to play ahead of the other, resulting in one person getting stabbed in the groin by a broken putter, I did a double take!

Is our society losing what little we had in the way of social graces? I seem to be seeing that more and more and not just in the media. I’m seeing it right here in small town America where a growing majority increasing display little if any couth. And, it’s not like their actions are intentional either. No, these individuals seem to be clueless in the extreme. It’s as though they were never trained to respect their fellow man, follow the rules or even know how to act with a sense of common decency. The result makes me feel like we’re already headed back to a Middle or Dark Age society where life was very brutal and extremely short. Seems the ‘me society’ is fast becoming the ‘me at any cost society’. But are they really to blame? Are the outside forces at work here?

Consider this. Some media pundits, most notably people like Glenn Beck, are stating that we can expect to see a huge upswing in violence in some of the larger cities as the jackals known as the Occupy Wall Street will be joining forces with financiers like George Soros and Union leadership with orders to cause as much terror and chaos as possible. Whether or not this is true, I don’t know. In point of fact, it’s major media outlets that are saying it! (SEIU became so infuriated by Glenn Beck’s comments that they even created a webpage before Glenn left Fox with a message you can sign and send to his sponsors. Here it is:

“To President/CEO & Board:

I want to alert you to the fact that Glenn Beck - whose show you sponsor on FOX - is using his platform to make outlandish accusations about the President and Democrats and to advance baseless theories that prey on race-based fears.

His kind of rhetoric can instigate unbalanced individuals into committing rash and violent acts.

I presume your company does not want to enable such rhetoric, nor have your products or services associated with the kind of views and tactics espoused by Beck. I urge you to immediately cease all advertising on the Glenn Beck Program on the FOX News Channel.”

Uh, Really? – Well, now Glenn’s got his own program and it airs every workday on the web at GBTV! I kind of enjoy watching as he guts these people almost daily. (Gee, you’d think they would sue him if he was lying wouldn’t you. Well, no lawsuits as of yet)!

In point of fact, I agree with Glenn and other that our citizens are being intentionally and maliciously lied to by people and organizations with just one agenda – the take down and restructuring of America in a form that will benefit them. And, I think part of this has been actions designed to disassemble the core American family while also assaulting our religious base by now forcing birth control on our religious organizations. It's too bad for these bad folks that Americans are waking up to who may really be the true enemy of the state.

Nothing can stop us now!

2012-02-06T14:04:00.000-06:00

Hey! Watch my head explode!

2012-02-06T12:35:00.002-06:00

A soon to be announced decision by the Arizona courts may open the way for people who speak only 'broken English' the opportunity to take elected office in the US. Hey! Why should they have to speak English at all? The Uber Left wants the American People to become more tolerant of other nationalities and continues to seek special provisions for them even if it is to the detriment of the US citizen.Well sorry, I'm just about all out of tolerance these days.
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While I'm at it, I would like to state another obvious fact that the Far Left believe as gospel - 'that it's the American people who are the real reason why things are not going well here in the States not the government. Well, sad to say, it is the government and as a group you folks are a total Cluster Fuck!
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Finally, I would like to ask those of you in mainstream America who are cheering the police on, when they are cracking heads during an OWS eviction to please remember that these jobless wonders actually need you're sympathy. It ain't them, its the unions that are behind all this crap! They're just useful idiots. Wait for it! Wait for it............

KA BOOM!

Disclaimer: Did you have trouble reading this post? Was it a little dis-jointed? Well congrats! Now you know how I feel.

Critique: Health Choice Rotini & Zesty Marinara Sauce

2012-02-06T09:46:00.000-06:00

I’m not real sure what you’d call this dish exactly: is it an entrée or a side? OK, I’ll go with an entrée. It looked interesting when I happened across it at the grocery today. Close inspection revealed it to be a two part meal with the sauce separated from the dried Rotini by a plastic barrier inside a plastic tub. Real strange looking and therefore something I wanted to critique.

After getting home, I had more time to examine the packaging. One of the first things to catch my eye was the lack of any absurd little messages like some of the other package meals display. (My current favorite is Banquet’s dollar-a-throw TV dinners that advertize ‘A Good Source of Protein’! Really! Now who would have guessed anything might have protein in it)!

Another thing that caught my attention was the expiration date – in this case December 04 of 2011! Whoops. We’re a little bit beyond that date. Yet, what’s interesting is that there are no signs that this product has been sitting on the shelves at the local Country Mart for what is apparently quite some time! (I figure that most products like this are good to go for at least a year from the date of manufacture). Whatever the case, this package must have been sitting around somewhere for the better part of that time! Well, you know what they say, in for a penny and all that! Not only will I have a chance to critique a product made by ConAgra, but will also get to see how well this product has stood up to the test of time!

Preparation

According to the directions for preparing this ‘oldie, but hopefully goodie’, fixing it is pretty straightforward with simple instructions for cooking the pasta and sauce. Total time to from microwave to table is about four minutes. Nutritionally, you’re getting about 300 calories, no cholesterol and only a little sodium, so not too bad in that department.

Scoring

Now, as is my style, I’ve broken the meal down into six categories with a score of 1 to 10 and then some snide remarks made after each to help explain why I rated that aspect as I did. Here’s what I came up with:

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Pkg Art: 6 Good job – I like the picture and overall package design!

Reality: 4 The reality was rather damp and soggy looking!

Cost: 4 At $3 a throw, a little on the high side for cheapies like myself!

Smell: 2 Maybe I had a cold! Couldn’t smell much of anything!

Texture: 1 The pasta was overcooked and mushy. Yuck!

Taste: 1 Took two bites and dumped the rest into the compost!

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Average: ? Pending review - see follow up section

Summary

I’m not sure if maybe the fact that the package was old or if the idea of making micro Rotini is a bad idea or what! Plan to steer clear of this one for the future. However, I will be doing a follow up post where I plan to take regular spaghetti, homemade sauce and see if I can’t use this cute container to make up something edible!

Follow Up

I contacted ConAgra with a complaint on this product and was told I should not eat something that far past its due date (duh). I agreed. And to be fair, the reviews it has received on their site were all positive. The gentleman I talked to (Matt I think it was) was helpful and informative. He was also kind enough to send me a coupon good for a replacement product which I intend to use on their Balsamic Vegetable Medley. A product that was highly rated by a couple of reviewers.

Update: Feb 12, 2012

My coupon arrived on time, but surprisingly, I could not use it on another Fresh Mixer product as that was an item that was specifically excluded!

Iran's expertise in stalling is pure genius!

2012-02-06T05:17:00.000-06:00

When thinking about Iran and her development of nuclear capability over the past decade, I'm reminded of a saying:

“If you can't awe them with the facts, baffle em with bullshit!”

Shuffling nukes around to hide them is a lot like the game of 'Three Card Monte'! Everything, and I mean everything that the West has learned covertly about the progress of Iran towards bomb making has pointed unerringly towards a 'furious and focused effort to develop weapons of mass destruction' and in such a manner that what should have taken decades to accomplish has been accomplished in less than one! Catching them in the act has been the problem!

But here's the facts. While the civilized nations have pussyfooted around with sanctions for much of this time, Iranian leadership has engaged in all manner of deceit, misdirection and even bald-faced lies in a concerted effort to elevate their extremist Islamic agenda.

The most recent visit by international nuclear inspectors to Tehran this last week was termed a failure as the following quote attests to...

“The agency expressed interest in all the areas of concern,” said a diplomat based in Vienna, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “The team asked for access in the future to different types of sites and personnel, and that was denied."

One senior American official described the session between the agency and Iranian nuclear officials as “foot-dragging at best and a disaster at worst.” But a diplomat at the agency’s headquarters in Vienna said “disaster is too strong a word.” He added: “Iran has refused to address the issue for three years now. To be fair, you have to give them credit for at least discussing it. The dialogue is continuing, and that’s a good sign.”

A good sign of what? And for whom?

Reheated pizza and my path towards the Matrix!

2012-02-05T10:00:00.000-06:00

Cypher: You know, I know this steak doesn't exist. I know that when I put it in my mouth, the Matrix is telling my brain that it is juicy and delicious. After nine years, you know what I realize? [Takes a bite of steak]
Cypher : Ignorance is bliss.

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It is a fact of life that eating a pizza is perhaps one of the fastest ways of breaking a diet that is known to man. Everything on that pie, with the possible exception of the olives, is bad for you in one way or the other. And, like potato chips, I dare you to eat just one slice. Can’t be done! No way Jose!

Leftover pizza is even worst. It sits in the fridge and calls to me like a siren from Homer’s Odyssey. This goes on until sometime about 1 AM when I can take it no more. I get up, pop a slice into the microwave and moments later all is cheesy bliss! As I eat though, I have to forcibly ignore this little guy in my head. He's the one who's in charge of my metabolism and he's screaming to be heard above the sound of a klaxon. ‘all hands on deck – get those fat cells ready to take on a sh**load!’

The next morning dawns and the cycle repeats itself as I mentally justify having pizza instead of cereal for breakfast. I manage this by promising myself I won’t have yet another slice for lunch [lie] or two slices for dinner [lie #2]. This torture goes on until the last satisfying morsel is consumed.

That line from the Matrix brought it all home to me! Were that I was a bit more naive, I could consume copious amounts of this most wonderful food in complete and utter bliss.

Could Global Warming have hidden benefits for northern states?

2012-02-05T09:11:00.002-06:00

This morning while enjoying a nice hot cup of soup with the mercury outside reading in the eighties, I had a bout of epiphany. At first I wondered if I was suffering form some sort of mental seizure, but no it was one of those moments when my mind took a leap and then a jump to a new and interesting thought. It went something like this:

“Man that soup sure tastes good. It’s a little cool this morning and finally were seeing some seasonable readings. This winter has sure been warm and February was riding in on a 13 degree above average start. Hmm. I’ll bet that means we’re going to have a hellacious summer this year. And, I'll bet that for a change, a lot of people will be heading north to escape the heat…..”

And with a start, I realized that that thought just might become a reality. Think of it. Last year it hit 100 degrees every single day in Texas for a month! Now look at the graph above! Wouldn’t it make sense then, that anyone going on a summer vacation might want to head for, say the Wisconsin Dells to cool off? That thought got me to thinking about other locations further north; even say places across the border in Canada as new American destinations for summertime activities. This would be just the reverse of what usually happens in the wintertime when tens of thousands try to escape the cold by heading to places like Florida.It would also represent a major shift in where dollars are spent by families all across the continent!

Now, while this may become a new trend in America as the years progress, it was fun for me to experience a thought that probably happens to smart people all the time.

Is there a creature in Vostok’s hole??

2012-02-04T14:36:00.000-06:00

No, for starters, Volstok is a place – not a person. Volstok is located deep in the Antarctic Continent and in point of truth; it’s really a vast lake that lies below two miles of ice. Scientist had spent years trying to drill down to the lake to see what might lay there in the icy depths. Whatever was there would have been undisturbed for over 20 million years! But time was running short as the ‘winter’ was about to begin when the temperatures which had been a balmy forty below zero would soon drop down to close to a hundred below. A temperature so cold that a man’s eyeballs (no to mention other parts) can freeze solid in just moments if caught outside.

Things began to go wrong when the Russian team in charge of drilling the hole failed to report back via satellite phone early in February. A competing American team nearby wrote it off as nothing serious until over a week had stretched by and then concern began to mount. Now, unless the Russians are heard from or show up on their own, nothing can be done until the next ‘summer’ period half a year away. Conditions will make it impossible for any rescue to be effected and the fate of the Russian will dim.

It is at this point that speculations as to what happened will begin to mount. Maybe what killed the team wasn’t a large creature at all, but some primeval microbe that was so novel that mankind would have no defenses to fight it. Maybe that creature took out those Russians, froze again and is now content to wait for the rescue effort to arrive in the future. (This is beginning to sound like that creepy music played at the beginning of the movie ‘The Thing’ directed by John Carpenter)! Just remember that truth can be much stranger than fiction!

Sorry, but that dog just won’t hunt! Cuz it’s dead!

2012-02-04T10:24:00.000-06:00

[this dog is not dead, he's just resting]

I love listening to dyed-in-the-wool hyper left-wing Democrats who look with hungry eyes to the corporate owners who seem to be so damn rich! Their universal complaint is, “how cum they make so much money? Why, that’s downright greedy. They should be spreading that wealth around!” This, by the way, is the mantra of the WSO movement (Wall Street Occupiers) and I can see their point. I could use a handout (or two) myself!

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But let us not be so...so anally focused here folks! What about the rest of the world? You know, it’s a fact that an American citizen making just $20K per year looks awful darn rich to someone living in Africa who makes maybe thirty cents a week! If we’re going to take from the wealthy here (to give to those who’ve never worked a day in their life), I say we need to look long and hard at all those fat pocketbooks of the Middle Class working stiffs. I mean surely, someone living on 20K could do just as well on say 13K?? Well, couldn't they?

Hey! Maybe we could even figure out some way to ‘redistribute’ that wealth in a fair manner also! Maybe Obama’s ideas on ‘Cap and Trade’ will work after all. (It too is designed to move all that greedy Middle Class wealth to poor folks around the globe). What a grand idea by a President who puts his country first! (Say what)?

So, here’s the plan, Jan – first we take anyone who makes more than $250,000 and tax them at a new rate of 80% to 90%! That will leave them on about the same level as the rest of us Middle Class jerks. (Never mind that most companies would be in danger of folding – Obama can easily bail them out with money from his stash)!

Next, we implement a Super Duper Cap & Trade (with malice aforethought) and milk those Middle Class cows until they turn pale. Why, it’d be just like those doctor’s worked in the Middle Ages – you remember – when a patient got sick, they’d attach leaches to help drain out all that nasty old blood. Patients who did survive the procedure were announced ‘cured’ and allowed to stagger home. (This worked out great until some busybody went and found the cure was actually killing all the patients).

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Now, I know I can hear many of you out there complaining that perhaps some of the money (a teensy bit) will go to fill the pockets of special interests or union bosses. I’m aware of your fear and concern. That is why I plan to set up a National American STW (spread the wealth) drop site at a mailing address I will soon put out on the net. Yes, I know it will be a lot of work managing billions of dollars in contributions a week, but I promise to soldier on until the very last penny that is ~~squeezed~~ donated from ‘You the Peeps’ is resting safely in a Swiss account somewhere far from these shores. From that account, I will then disseminate the funds as I (DanoManno Dingo) see fit. Thank you all in advance for your generosity.