A New New Orleans Dinner

As I write, my stove top is cooking Red Beans and Rice. I found it in my cupboard. It's Tony Chechere's brand. I apparently bought it awhile ago and forgot about it. It's a couple months past the "best by" date, but I'm sure it's fine. If I croak, you'll know why. What made me think to cook it, in spite of the fact that it will likely make my current upset stomach worse, is that the nutritional label kind of appealed. Each serving (two per box) contains 150 calories, 1 gram of fat and 5 grams of fiber, which adds up to only 2 pts! With that low a point count, you could add some meat and still have a very reasonable meal! Even without meat, the beans give it a good amount of protein (8 g) on its own, which is how I plan to enjoy it. It would also be good with some bell pepper, onion, or broccoli if you wanted to add an additional healthy punch. In fact. Excuse me while I go add some peppers and onion to the mix.

Tra la la. I also added some fresh mushrooms.

I think I'll save this post and come back to it after I eat it to make sure it's good. Of course, I could have done this whole post after getting done, or edited for past tense. But what fun is that? Isn't this semi-live blogging so much more exciting? Aren't you just all anticipation right now, wondering what I'll write after the taste test? Egads, how can you stand it?

The suspense is over, and the verdict is: delicious. It's a bit too saucy (not in the "oh, you saucy minx" good kind of way). I think next time I will reduce the amount of water. It calls for 2.5 cups, but I'll probably put in 1.75. It's that soupy. However, the taste is fantastic. I'm very glad I added the peppers, onions, and mushrooms. Go Veg!

There are two caveats here. One is salt. It's...not low (830 mg). The other is that, like any packaged food, it's got artificial ingredients aplenty. That means I'll use this as an occasional meal rather than for a frequent solution. But you know what? I'm good most of the time, so I don't feel too guilty enjoying a little simple boxed meal now and then.