Recipe Review!

I thought that since other bloggers do Book Reviews, I would do some reviews of Boxed Dinners. I am a Louisiana girl, born and raised. I love Cajun food. However, it is not always easy and it takes some time. So I started trying Zatarain's boxed dinner mix. I have not been disappointed. Now, I am sure that if someone takes the time to make this from scratch it will be better; however, this is a great option for someone who is trying to cook dinner in 30 minutes and doesn't always have lots of ingredients on hand. Each of these mixes are cheap - about 1.25 each. Add your meat and you have your main dish.

This Jambalaya Pasta, which I call Pastalaya, I make every other week or so. I add a couple cooked chicken breasts and 1/2 a pound to a pound of sausage and everyone loves it. It only has to cook about 15 minutes once everything is combined in the pot. Definitely a 30 minute meal. Definitely recommended!

I absolutely love crab cakes. I usually make them from scratch; however, I don't always have the ingredients on hand. This mix makes crab cakes easy. I even use canned crab meat. Comes in a can like tuna fish but it's crab. Works great and is a lot cheaper. I know that some big name chefs might frown on my canned crab meat, but hey, I'm a mom on a budget.

There are a few things I do differently than the instructions:
1. I add a little more mayo just so that the crab cakes are not dry.
2. After I form my crab cakes I like to coat them in plain bread crumbs (Panko if you have them.) This gives them an extra crunch.

This Red Beans and Rice boxed Dinner mix is my husbands favorite. We add a pound of sausage and again ready in no time. Add with some saltine crackers and he is one happy man.

The recipe does not call for you to put the sausage in the Red Beans and Rice while it is cooking but I do. I brown my sausage in the pot and then add the mix and follow the direction. You can have sausage on the side if that is your preference.

Hope you enjoyed the Zatarain's Review!