Walmart Ready Pac Bistro Chicken Caesar Salad Bowl

Readers of this blog know that I take a rather dim view on convenience products like store bought, pre-cut fruits and vegetables as well as salad kits.  In general, they are over priced and laden with preservatives.  In the case of salad kits, you have no control over the fat content of the salad dressing.  When we are at our home in Ontario, buying a salad kit would not even be a consideration.  When we are travelling, I prefer to enjoy salads when on the road or flying.  Salads are light on the tummy, nutritious and provide much needed hydration when flying.  A lot of folks don't realize that the air in air planes is very drying especially to the mucosa tissues which makes them more susceptible to viral infections.

We left for our winter vacation at our vacation home in Florida on November 29.  As per our norm we stopped for dinner while waiting for the flight, so I had my regular salad.  Our flight was delayed so we didn't arrive into Tampa until after midnight.  By the time we got our rental vehicle and drove to our vacation home, it was about 1:30 AM.  We stopped at Walmart to get a few groceries.  Since we had left food in the fridge, freezer and cupboards as there was only five weeks between our fall and winter vacation, we really only had to pick up perishables.

While in the produce aisle, my husband put a Ready Pac Bistro Chicken Caesar salad bowl into the cart to replace the Caesar salad ingredients I had in the cart.  His premise was, we had plans for the following few days and didn't need a large bottle of Caesar salad dressing so this was a nice solution to my salad fixation and for only $2.98.  Then he hit me with the whammy "this will give you a comparison of ready salads to blog about."  Trust me at 2 AM, running on empty with no sleep in over 24 hours, his reasoning sounded rather good.

Salads on the go are a norm when travelling but sometimes it is hard to tell which is the better deal.  Most fast food restaurants offer some type of salad in the average price range of $4.  So, I decided to compare this salad bowl to the McDonald's Caesar Salad with grilled chicken, croutons and dressing.

Now, take-out salads really are not the best solution as they are more expensive per serving than making a salad from scratch.  Then there is the packaging.  Most take-out leaf salads come in two piece plastic containers.  The clear plastic top protects the salad while the bottom serves as the bowl for the salad.  The dressing usually comes in a plastic condiment packet.  Toppings are usually already on the salad.

This salad had the bowl was covered with a sealed plastic lid as was the dressing.  There was a separate insert for the dressing, chicken and cheese.  It definitely had more packaging than a fast food take-out salad.  However, just as with fast food salads, the trays and lids can be reused or recycled so it isn't as bad as it seem and if anything, since this salad had the dressing in a covered cup, there was less throw-away waste than there would be with a fast food salad.  Next up was a taste, price and nutritional comparison.

McDonald's Caesar salad with grilled chicken, croutons and dressing is 9.8 ounce (278 g) while the Walmart salad bowl was 177 grams so I converted everything to the 278 g weight for comparison.  Again, this is a time to do the math to be sure you are making the right comparison.  The general conversion was:  Y/177 g = X/278 g  which works out to be (Y x 278 g)/177 g.  For example, price was $2.98/177 g = X/278 g.  Solving the equation, the price of the Walmart salad bowl worked out to be $4.68 for a comparable amount.

The McDonald's salad was $4.19.  The comparable amount of Walmart salad bowl worked out to be $4.68, so 49¢ more.  In terms of flavour, the McDonald's salad comes with a full piece of grilled chicken which tastes fresher than the chicken in the salad bowl which seemed to have more of the texture of thick cut chicken lunchmeat.  However, the salad bowl included a parmesan style cheese that really added to the flavour of the salad.  The dressing included with the salad bowl had a nicer flavour with just the right amount of tang.  The lettuce was crisp.  Now something to be aware of,  all greens based salads sold this way are treated with a sulfate spray (copper sulfate).  This presents a health problem for those of us with sensitivities to sulfates that trigger asthma attacks and if you have melasma as I do, excess copper in the body makes the condition worse.  So be aware of that.

Let's talk nutrition.  Pictured is the nutritional label on the salad bowl.  After doing the conversions to get to 278 g (same as McDonald's) I came up with 361 calories, 25 g total fat (4.5 g of that is saturated, 0 g unsaturated), 78.5 mg cholesterol, 12.5 mg carbs (4.7 g sugars, 1.6 g fiber), 1,539 mg sodium, and 25.1 g protein.  I compared this to the nutritional value for the McDonald's Caesar salad with grilled chicken, croutons and dressing.  The McDonald's version (278 g) came in at 490 calories, 31 g total fat (7 g saturated, 0 g unsaturated), 140 mg cholesterol, 17 g carbohydrates (sugar 4 g, fiber 3 g), 1110 mg sodium and 27 g protein.  The Walmart salad bowl was higher in Vitamins A and C content than the McDonald's version but the McDonald's version was higher in calcium and iron.

Going by the numbers, the Walmart salad bowl is lower in calories, fat and cholesterol and higher in Vitamins A and C.  The McDonald's version is lower in sodium, higher in protein and higher in calcium and iron.  The bottom line is, neither of these salads are good for anyone on a sodium restricted diet.  In my opinion, both salads are too large for one person and there really is no reason to have to use the full amount the salad dressing included with the salad.  Reducing the amount of the dressing in either will reduce the fat and sodium content.

The reality is, neither of these salads are as healthy as a homemade version.  That's a given but think about it.  If you go to a restaurant and order a Caesar salad, you have no idea of the nutritional value especially with respect to sodium and fat content.  Unless you order a dinner size Caesar salad, most served in restaurants will average about 125 g but they usually have bacon.  At the same time, both of the salads are healthier choices when the dressing is reduced than a lot of fast food or take-out choices.

My bottom line is, I liked the Walmart salad bowl.  It tasted fresher.  I used less than half of the chicken, about half of the dressing and about a quarter of the cheese.  It was more than sufficient for flavour while reducing both the sodium and fat content.  If I had to pick up a take-out quick salad when out, my choice would be the Walmart salad bowl.

Steak 'n Shake

I am on a lot of foodie lists because being a foodie I'm always looking for a new dining experience.  Foodies tend to talk.  They share the good, the bad and the nitty gritty of their dining experiences.  My husband and I are not big fast food diners by any stretch of the imagination so even though so many recommended Steak 'n Shake we viewed it as a fast food restaurant so passed it by.  During a recent road trip we finally decided to try Steak 'n Shake and was pleasantly surprised.

Steak 'n Shake is a chain restaurant famous for their steak burgers.  The first Steak 'n Shake was founded in February of 1934 in Normal, Illinois.  The founder, Gus Belt was determined to serve the finest burgers and shakes possible.  He would wheel in a barrel of steaks then grind the meat into burgers in front of his customers leading to their famous slogan In Sight It Must Be Right.  Steak 'n Shake is a diner style restaurant chain in the Midwestern and Southern United States.  While most have a drive-through and front-window service, the main attraction is the diner-style sit-down service.

We were quite impressed.  The restaurant was quite busy yet we were seated promptly.  The decor was delightful, almost retro.  The wait staff was extremely friendly and very attentive.   The prices are very reasonable, if even a bit lower than the main stream fast food restaurants.  Steak 'n Shake offers soft drinks, tea and coffee.  It is very family friendly, just an overall very pleasant dining experience.  I honestly would not put this eatery into the fast food category.

The burger patties at Steak 'n Shake are made from ground T-bone, sirloin and round steaks.  The burgers are packed full of delicious flavour.  My husband ordered the cheesy cheddar steak burger (not pictured) and the double steak 'n cheese burger meal (pictured) and a white chocolate milkshake (not pictured).  The burger meal came with seasoned fries.  You can buy the seasoning if you would like to make the seasoned fries at home.  The predominant flavour of the fry seasoning was nutmeg, something just a bit different but absolutely delicious.  Believe it or not this delicious burger meal was only $4.99!  Now that is a frugal meal if you ask me.

I ordered the guacamole steak burger meal (pictured).  This double steakburger is topped with fresh guacamole, lettuce, tomato, pepperjack cheese, red onion and chipotle sauce served with fries.  Oh my gosh, this burger defines the reason for discovering new eateries and I'm not kidding.  This burger was amazing!  I am definitely going to be duplicating the flavours of this burger at home!

I love avocados but seldom use them for much more than guacamole or in salads.  This was a wonderfully refreshing way to use avocados on the burger.  I really liked the chipotle sauce as well so will be working on a clone recipe for that as well!

Harvey's Revisited

During our recent move we ate out and had take-out a bit more because it was practical when living for fifteen days between two houses and during the settling in period.  Once we were back from our fall vacation the first week of October, we quickly got into the routine of cooking at home again.  We generally go for wings at Crabby Joes on Tuesday nights and to our favourite English fish & chip restaurant on Friday nights leaving five nights a week most weeks for home cooked meals.  The weather has been getting gradually nastier so we even skipped going out the last couple of Fridays in lieu of have a nice home cooked fish dinner.  My husband surprised me last week by bringing home Harvey's burger and fries.  He seldom does this because he knows I usually have dinner on but that particular night he had a couple of meetings so was running late for dinner.  It's a good thing I didn't have dinner on!

I wrote about the Canadian restaurant chain, Harvey's before.  By far, Harvey's is one of the very few fast food restaurants I will eat at.  Their charbroiled on a flame grill burgers are very much like the burgers we make at home on the outdoor grill.  The burgers are deliciously unpretentious with custom toppings of your choice.  What is really nice is you can order a topping like pickles on the side.  They are quite generous if ordered this way. 

Pictured is the old fashioned cheese burger with fries and dill pickle slices on the side that my husband brought home for me.  He had a double original bacon burger and we shared the fries.  It was a delightful taste of summer on a cold, dreary, rainy evening.

We grill year round but during the months of November and March, the weather tends to be the nastiest.  Quite often it is raining or drizzling or sleeting or whatever else Mother Nature wants to toss at us making it not the nicest grilling weather.  It doesn't help that its dark by 5 PM in November either.  It's nice to have an alternative like Harvey's where the burgers are very close to homemade to enjoy should the craving for a grilled burger arise during those months.  Now the biggest difference between our homemade grilled burgers and Harvey's is the actual burger patty.  Our homemade burger patties are handmade, never flattened or frozen into a pattie so if you want to make one Harvey's style you need to flatten the patty using a burger press then freeze and grill from frozen without thawing.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Top Ten List of Take-out Food That is Cheaper to Make at Home

Busy families often turn to take-out foods under the misguided perception that the food in inexpensive and a rather good value.  Don't get me wrong as I'm not against take-out foods.  What concerns me is not considering take-out food as part of the overall food budget.  If someone budgets $150 per week for grocery shopping then picks up take-out twice and eats lunch out daily their actual food budget is more in the line of about $225.  The problem is take-out being a spur of the moment, I'm too tired to cook thing can seriously put a huge dent in your pocketbook.  The worst part of this is there is no mental connection that take-out food really is part of your total food budget.  This week's Frugal Kitchen 101 focuses on my top ten list of take-out foods that can be made cheaper at home and quite often just as fast.

My top ten take-out foods that can be made cheaper at home are:

1. burgers -  In general take-out burgers from fast food chain restaurants are cheaply priced but a very poor value nutritionally.  They are laden with salt, sugar and fat.  These burgers can be easily made at home not only cheaper but better in nutrition with the key secret to the burger patty is thin and frozen.  Other take-out restaurants often offer take-out burgers, usually of higher nutritional quality than the chain restaurants but they come with a higher price tag.  These burgers can be duplicated at home for less than half the cost. 
2. hot dogs - The simple hot dog usually goes for somewhere around $1.50 and nine times out of ten it is the smell of them cooking at the hot dog cart that draws you in to buy.  Each weiner costs about 20¢, the bun 22¢ and toppings 5¢ for a total of 47¢ to make at home.
3. soups - Soup is a rather popular take-out food especially amongst the lunch crowd who haven't realized brown bagging it is cheaper.  Take-out soup costs roughly $2.50 per bowl or higher.  Ready-to-serve commercially canned soup cost about $1.79 while homemade soup comes in at about 30¢. 
4. salads - The average individual take-out salad costs about $2 but some are as high priced as $7.  The main ingredient in these salads is iceburg lettuce, a lettuce that is nutritionally poor and really only good for its crunch.  Toss in a couple of tomato wedges (not even a full tomato), a few pieces of cucumber and onion then a packet of chemically and fat laden salad dressing for a salad that costs about 40¢ at most in ingredients and takes less than 5 minutes to put together and yet folks will pay $2 or more.  Did you know some take-out salads contain more fat than a burger?
5. sandwiches - Take-out sandwiches are popular with the lunch crowd as well but most are high priced in comparison to homemade.  Consider the assorted sub that costs about $5 can be made at home for about 60¢ then brought to work and warmed up just as the take-out sub. 
6. French fries - French fries are just popular plain and simple but did you know you are getting more than you think with many take-out fries?  Sugar is added to help with that golden brown colour and then there's the salt.  A large fry will cost about $1.50 but is about the equivalent to one extra large potato or two medium.  The raw ingredient cost in that large fry is about 10¢.  Consider that potatoes are usually priced at about 99¢ to $3 per 10 lb bag that would be enough to make 20 or more servings of large portion size fries.  French fries are very easy to make at home, they taste better and they are better quality than take-out fries without all the sugar and salt.
7. onion rings - Onion rings have to be about one of the most overpriced take-out foods there is.  A large onion ring take-out will cost about $2.  If you count the rings there is likely about 20 of them or the equivalent to 2 slices from a large onion if that.  A large onion will yield about 6 slices so the take-out serving gives you one third of a large onion.  A large onion costs about 20¢ so one third costs about 7¢.  Add in the batter that would not even cost 3¢ so the onion rings they charge $2 for costs only 10¢ in raw ingredients.  Onion rings like French fries are extremely easy to make at home.
8. pizza - Take-out or delivery pizza may or may not be expensive as far as price.  Where we live delivery pizza costs about $30 but with specials at our vacation home costs about $20.  Large take-out pizza go a low as $9.99 but the toppings are limited.  Pizza consists of dough and toppings.  The dough is the ultra cheap ingredient coming in at a cost for homemade pizza of 32¢.  Adding in the price of sauce and toppings a homemade pizza can easily come in at under the $2 mark so even that $9.99 pizza is looking rather expensive.
9. fried chicken - We do not buy much in the way of take-out chicken especially from the most popular chain where one of their secret coating ingredients is powdered milk that contains lactose which isn't good for those of us who are lactose intolerant.  One of our friends insists on bringing two buckets for the superbowl party.  I just about died when I found out two buckets cost just a little over $80!  Chicken has gone up in price but still making fried chicken at home either stovetop or in a deep fryer is considerably less expensive especially if the chicken is bought on sale.
10. tacos - The most popular taco restaurant in Canada sells tacos for 99¢ which is over priced according to the lawsuit claiming the meat product used cannot even be claimed to be beef since it is only 30% beef.  While the price is cheap the quality is beyond cheap.  Other taco restaurants offering take-out are higher priced.  Even at the 99¢ price though, tacos are over priced with the raw ingredients coming in at about 40¢ and that is using 100% ground beef not a meat product.

Chicken with Mushroom Fried Rice

There are four Chinese restaurants within about 40 minutes of us, each with their own unique style.  That is something I appreciate because even though it is Chinese it isn't all the same.  We usually get Chinese take-out at our favourite restaurant two or three times a year and eat in at the other two once a year.  The furthest from us has a rather interesting menu with a couple of sides unique to them.  This restaurant is not one we would go out of our way to go to but when in the area take-out is in order.  Most of their dishes have almonds and I've noticed that almonds play a large role in a lot of their dishes.  My husband stopped for take-out there a couple of days ago. 

Chinese take-out is expensive coming in at about $50 per order for a dinner for three plus extras.  However, it usually gives us two meals each plus a bit of leftovers for another meal.  With respect to other take-out, Chines take-out despite the initial cost tends to be the more fugal choice sine all of it reheats nicely.

There was a bit of mushroom fried rice left over so we sautéed boneless, skinless chicken breast strips to a golden brown.  Then we tossed in the mushroom fried rice to create a new creation with lots of flavour.   This was an easy, peasy meal at it's finest taking about 15 minutes to put together.


Mushroom fried rice is extremely easy to make and there really are no measurements.  Start with mushroom slices then sautée them in butter until nicely browned.  Stir in the desired amount of cooked rice along with about a cup of cubed cooked carrots and sweet peas.  Add just enough chicken stock to give a nice, creamy texture.  I think cooking the rice in chicken stock boosts the flavour as well for this dish. 

Chinese Take-Out

My husband brought home Chinese take-out from our favourite Chinese restaurant last night.  This restaurant is quite good.  They offer a 10% discount on pick-up orders of $22 or more.  We usually order the regular dinner for three ($29.95).  Along with our regular order he also got sweet and sour shrimp and won ton soup.

Now a funny thing happened this morning as I was getting this post ready.  When I went to upload the picture, I noticed another picture for Chinese food fairly similar to this one I took last night.  There went my plans for talking about last night's meal!  Apparently I had already shared this with you back in February of 2010.  So onto plan B.

Many Chinese dishes are relatively easy to make at home and we often do.  One of the key ingredients for chow mein and eggrolls is bean sprouts.  Sprouts take about 4 days to harvest so planning ahead is necessary for making Chinese dishes requiring sprouts at home.  I will post a few of our homemade Chinese dishes as I make them.  Do watch for the homemade fortune cookies as well.  I'm sure you will like those!

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Nix Take-out Containers for Restaurant Doggie Bags

Restaurant portion sizes are often too large resulting in not being able to finish the full meal.  Most restaurants will package the left over food in styrofoam clamshell take-out  containers.  Compounding the problem is some restaurants put these containers into plastic bags for easy carry-out.  We try to eliminate these types of containers as much as possible in our quest to make our frugal kitchen eco-friendly.  Our recyclers won't take the containers so they end up being sent to the landfill.  The second problem with these clamshell containers is they don't seal tightly allowing foods to deteriorate quickly if not used the following day resulting in food spoilage.  Not bringing home the unfinished meal is wasteful of both food and money.  Today's Frugal Kitchens 101 discusses how I solved the restaurant doggie bag problem.

What I have noticed is many restaurants have resorted to bringing out the container for you to put your leftover in rather than take the plate to fill the container themselves.  That sparked an idea that works quite nicely.  I carry the following with me in the car so they are handy if we decide to stop to eat where we know there will be leftovers:

• three  plastic Rubermaid® Lock-its (1 - 5 c container, 2 - 3 c containers) - The 5 c size is perfect for holding the two halves of the huge burger we enjoy from our favourite pub.  The 3 c size is perfect for the majority of any other leftovers like spaghetti.  I carry the appropriate container into the restaurant in my purse.   Plastic is best for this purpose as well as a secured lid.  So far I have not had a problem doing this.  I think what helps is when the waitress asks if we would like a take-out container I tell them we avoiding disposable containers so brought our own container.

I don't bring containers in if eating at a buffet style restaurant or all you can eat dinner.  Generally doggie bags are not offered at either however, portion control is considerably easier as you can take only what you will eat. 

A&W

Come with me down a trip of memory lane.  Eons ago much to my Mom's dismay I got a job one town over for the summer.  Now Mom saw things as being my responsibility was to get straight A's and I did but I begged for this jog.  I'm not kidding, I seriously begged to work at A & W.  My first night there I met the most amazing guy with the most gorgeous smile I had ever seen,  It was love at first sight.  Neither of us were 18 (age of consent) but we were so in love!   I still love that guy I first saw with the big toothy smile that lights up his face after all these years!  Oh my gosh, what a ride it has been in over 30 years of marital bliss :)

The A &W we met at wasn't quite as modern as this one but this is the one we go to about twice a year when going to the movies.  Back in our day we had the autowaiter so folks pulled up and gave their oder then us waitresses would take the order out to their car.  My Mom hated the whole idea but I loved it. 

At that time my two best friends for ever were guys.  It's funny but I have always been able to relate better to guys than gals.  Anyway onto the scene came the guy I really became smitten with.  Much to the dismay of his parents and my Mom we wed less than a year after meeting.

We are not fast food people but A&W holds a special place in our hearts.  Our best friends worked at A&W with us.  He was a manager and oh my gosh the trouble we put him through!  I can still remember the look on his face when my now husband had 28 patties on the grill with not a car in the lot.  True to form too my husband ate all 28 patties.  It is still a well talked about time of our lives.  Our best friends are still our best friends and you know what, sometimes somethings just don't change!

Gone are the days of ordering in your car via the autowaiter and food delivered to your car on a tray that clipped onto the window.  That's a pity because it is another sign of our childhood gone.  And let me tell you it was a fun time! 

If you are going to A&W the very first thing you need is their root beer served in frosty mugs.  Back in the day nicking a mug was the norm but we've grown up since then.  You can buy the glass mugs just by asking.  The current attraction A&W is offering is the oldies cruise usually on Friday nights.  This really is the place to go if you waant to see the older cars mainly from the 50's and 60's while enjoying good food.

My husband's burger of choice has tamed a bit from his 28 pattie we don't know what to call it burger.  He always orders a Grandpa burger and a mocha milkshake.  Eighteen patties is is not but you know what that isn't such a bad thing given our ages.  It is still a nice looking burger with 3 patties, cheese and bacon.  Toppings include a choice of mayo, ketchup, mustard and relish. 

We really miss the old A&W with the autowaiters.  Perhaps that was part of the charm that just can't be captured sitting in the restaurant.  The food is still good with pretty much the same menu from yesteryear.  Speaking of which it has been years since I've had their fried chicken.  It was always tastier than KFC.  I'll have to remember to get the chicken the next time we visit.

Deli Meal

During the busy holiday season there is a greater tendency to eat out or pick up take-out.  The premise is this saves the time of cooking.  At the same time is covers dinner on those nights where an unexpected delay occurs or you are simply just too tired to cook.  The problem with eating out is the expense and time it takes.  The problem most take-out is you spend a lot of time in long lines waiting for your food so you don't really save any time.  There is also the expense and the fact that most take-out food is laden with excessive fats, sodium and calories.  An alternative that puts a quick, home style cooked meal on the table at a fraction of the cost of most take out is deli take-out.  Save time by making the grocery store or superstore with a deli counter the last stop of the day and simply bring the meal home with your other purchases without having to make a separate stop.

Did you know that KFC is the top take-out food over the holiday season? 'Tis true!  While KFC is tasty, it is high in fat and calories as well as having lactose as an ingredient in the form of milk solids in the coating.  It is also expensive with a 20 piece bucket going for $31.99 (15 pc - $25.99, 10 pc - $19.99) and a 20 piece meal for $46.99 (15 pc - $39.99, 10 pc - $29.99) in our area.  Extra sides of course will cost you extra as well.

Consider though that a comparable meal from the deli counter for a family of 4 costs about $12.  A rotisserie chicken costs about $6 if not on sale and each side depending on the size cost about $3.  The food is closer to home style cooking and there is a larger variety of sides (including leaf salads) than available at KFC.  In the end you can have a healthier, less expensive and more convenient take-out meal by taking advantage of the deli counter.

A Pit Stop At Checkers

If you have been following this blog you will know my husband and I are not huge fast food fans by any stretch of the imagination.  From time to time we hear about a fast food restaurant that we are familiar with.  Depending on the recommendation we may make it a point to try out the food when we are on a road trip.  So it was with Checkers.

Checkers is a drive-in restaurant only.  There are no on site seating arrangements.  This keeps their overhead low and that definitely is reflected in their food prices.  The Checkers restaurants are rather sleek with a lot of chrome combined with a red, black and white theme.

We stopped at the Checkers on US 98 North.  The chrome sparkled with the bright sunlight creating a nice contrast to the deep blue sky.  The drive-in itself is quite small.  We drove in on the right hand side, placed our order then picked it up on the left hand side.  There was a slight wait for our order.  I don't know if this is the norm or not but we really didn't mind.  Our total meal cost came to $11.21 for two people.

We ordered a small onion rings with our meal rather than fries.  The onion ring portion was more than enough for two people.  The coating was crunchy but on the spicy side something we were not quite expecting.  They would have been nice with a bit of ranch dipping sauce but that wasn't offered.

Without a dipping sauce the spicy coating on the onion rings was a bit over powering.  I'm glad we didn't order a larger portion or a portion each as they would have gone to waste.  The onion rings were simply over seasoned to the point they were just too much by themselves.

My husband ordered the road house special - 2 road house burgers for $4.  The road house burger comes sandwiched between two slices of Texas style bread. The beef patties were topped with onion rings, American sliced cheese and barbeque sauce.  These were good sized burgers with the bun making them a bit on the unique side both in appearance and taste.

My husband really enjoyed these burgers.  He had one for dinner and saved the other for lunch the following day.  It reheated well which is a nice bonus for a left over fast food burger.  He said the burgers were quite good.

I ordered the buford burger at $3.49 which in hind sight with my appetite I should not order anything called a buford!  The burger came with 2 beef patties, American sliced cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions and pickles.  Condiments included ketchup, mustard, relish and mayonnaise.  It was huge, way more than I could eat.  The burger was nice and juicy though.  What was interesting is the burger came packaged in the standard cardboard burger box but it was inside a paper cone for easy holding while eating.  I thought this was a rather interesting concept, one a bit more developed than the standard wrap-around-the-serviette method.  At any rate the buford burger is quite tasty, well worth ordering!

Papa John's Pizza in Lakeland, Florida

It has been rather a standing joke that everywhere we have lived one of the first things we do is seek out a good pizza delivery service.  At home we can take our time but vacation homes the rules change.  We camped in a self contained RV for about 15 years.  Pizza consisted of homemade, quick pizza and very rarely take-out.  There are some areas we camped that pizza could have be ordered for delivery but we never did.  This vacation home is different because it really is the same as a permanent home only being used part of the year.

The second night we were there and being totally exhausted we ordered Papa John's delivery pizza.  What is really nice is this pizza can be ordered and paid for online so all you need to do is sit back and wait for delivery then tip the delivery person.

We decided to try Papa John's through a recommendation.  When we were out shopping we checked out the location and liked what we saw.  Their prices were good and ordering was about as easy as you could get.  We really like what we saw from the website so that was the final deciding factor.

We ordered an extra large original crust 7-Topping Pizza (beef, grilled chicken, mushrooms, ham, onions, three cheese blend, sausage) and BBQ chicken wings with special garlic and barbeque dipping sauces.  The total cost including delivery, tip and taxes was $25.  As a comparison we would pay about $40 for this order where we live at home (ON, Canada) so the price was more than reasonable.

The wings came with a nicely flavoured barbeque sauce along with 2 dipping sauces.  At $6.99 for the wings it was a good deal.  We will definitely be including wings with our next order.

The pizza was well worth the $12!  The crust was excellent as were the toppings.  It had a gorgeous eye appeal and even better flavour.  The rich sauce was nicely seasoned.  The pizza was wonderfully cheesy and I really liked that it came with a hot pepper.  This definitely is a pizza worth ordering.  The service itself was great with painless ordering and quick delivery.

I was really surprised that we were able to find a pizza delivery service that easily.  When we are at home pizza more often than not means homemade pizza from making the dough, homemade sauce and then topping from there.  At the vacation home cutting out a couple of steps might be desirable.

I'm debating buying a stand mixer for the vacation home that would be available for use to us and family but not anyone who rents the house.  So home baked yeast products will continue mainly as normal so homemade pizza will become a norm on longer stays there as well but our experience makes me feel quite comfortable ordering this pizza occasionally and recommending this pizza delivery service.

My Husband Brought Home Take-out Burgers

Take-out Burgers

April 16, 2010

Since becoming empty nesters Friday night has gone from family night to date night unless one or more of the kids are home.  So most Friday nights we eat out.  Last week was one given the week we had, my husband surprised me with bringing take-out home with him.  He stopped at a burger place we haven't been to in ages!

This burger place has a small eat in area but their popularity is the drive-in so you can eat right in the comforts of your car.  It is family owned and operated.  They hand make their burger patties from scratch using 100% Canadian beef when the burger is ordered.  Their burgers are referred to as culinary burgers.  The buns are not regular, run of the mill buns either.  Their coleslaw is freshly made on site and the fries are fresh cut.  This is about as close to home cooking as you can get without cooking it yourself.  Pictured on the left is the deluxe burger with 2 burger patties and cheese.  To the right is the Large Marge with a full 1 lb pattie and a rather humorous story as to how the burger came to be. 

PS. My husband also brought home a kitchen surprise but that will be tomorrow's post.

Chinese Take-out

Friday nights are traditionally our going out to eat night. Occasionally though we decide to pick-up take-out instead. It's a bit more difficult at this house because we are so far away from any take-out that any food is usually cold by the time we get it home. This defeats the purpose. Last Friday night we decided Chinese take-out was in order since both of us were tired so lounging around the house was more appealing that going out.

Chinese Take-out

Chinese take-out is one of the few foods that can handle the traveling time to get from the nearest town of any size to our house. We ordered the Dinner for Three for $29.99 that included egg rolls, soo guy, sweet and sour chicken beef chow mein, chicken fried rice and fortune cookies. This place gives us 10% off for pick-up which is a nice bonus. The price is less expensive than if we ate out and with Chinese take-out we have left-overs that tend to warm up rather nicely. We can usually get 2 meals out of a dinner for three so in terms of price it isn't bad at all.

Where we live the red sweet and sour sauce is quite popular. This is a very thick sticky sauce with a characteristic bright orangy red colour. I haven't found a comparable product in the stores. VH® Sweet & Sour sauce comes the closest but still isn't the same. Chinese food is so easy to make at home and we often do because it is also quite quick to make. Getting Chinese take-out just gives a few more ideas of what we can try making at home.

Pizza Arca, New Hamburg, Ontario

A road trip always means a culinary adventure because you never know what you will discover. Many smaller communities scattered through-out Ontario have some of the best home style cooked foods you will ever taste and that is due the fact it cooked very much like you would cook at home. The food is fresh, cooked to order and usually a good value for your restaurant food dollar. The food is not fast food the service tends to be quite good, well worth the little extra time it takes to be served. Slowing down to the speed of life and enjoying a bit of face to face conversation while waiting for your food to be served is a great way to unwind from the fast paced lifestyle many of us lead.

Pizza Arca

New Hamburg is a smaller community located on Hwy 7 about 25 km east of Stratford, Ontario. Stratford is home to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and the esteemed Stratford Chefs School featured on Food Network Canada's Chef's School. The area in general is one of the oldest in Ontario so features beautiful, old archecture and picturesque smaller communities where it is easy to find several restaurants featuring good, old fashion home cooked meals. Don't let that fool you though as there are also several fine dining establishments such as Rundles Restaurant (average cost per person $110) in Stratford and Puddicombe House (average cost per person $60) in New Hamburg.
Pizza Arca is located at 98 Peel Street in New Hamburg, Ontario. If you are in the New Hamburg area this is definitely the place to buy pizza! This is a small pizzeria located in a small building that was a former private bank. Much of the exterior and interior details from the original use have been retained. Pizza Arca specializes in take-out only gourmet pizzas. You can call ahead with your order so your pizzas are ready when you arrive for pick-up or you can order then browse around the quaint little town while you wait for your pizza order.

Gourmet Pizzas

On this particular road trip the kids picked up 5 large gourmet pizzas at a cost of about $65 so averaging $16.25 per pizza. Pictured are the pizzas: Hawaiian (1), Cheese (2), Pepperoni (3), Mediterranean (4). The crust was regular, nicely crisped. The tomato based sauce had a rich, nicely seasoned flavour. The Hawaiian pizza was topped with ham, pineapple and mozzarella cheese. The Cheese pizza was sauce and mozzarella cheese only. The Pepperoni pizza also had mushrooms. The Mediterranean was my favourite with black and green olives, bacon, red onion, mozzarella and Feta cheeses. [edited] Not pictured is the Arca Special. (Please see comments).

White Castle

If you have been following this blog you will know that we are not huge consumers of fast food. In fact we seldom have fast food which is fine with me. We were out on Boxing Day to finish up a bit of shopping for our Christmas celebration on the 28^th. Boxing Day is a statutory Canadian holiday with some stores holding huge sales. We decided to avoid any shopping crowds so headed to the US. On the way home we picked up a bit of take-out food.

Crave Case™

White Castle® is a take-out burger chain that specializes in the cutest little burgers you have ever seen. I'm not sure what it is about these burgers that are affectionately called Slyders™ but you either love them or hate them. There's no in between. Those who love them are called cravers and their purchase of choice is the Crave Case™. This is a case of 30 burgers with or without cheese or pickle. A sack of 10 burgers is available or you can buy less but this is one time to buy more!

The exterior of the White Castle® buildings is designed to look like a miniature white castle with blue trim. Food can be ordered through their indoor take-out counter or their drive-through. The burgers themselves are unique for two reasons. First they are miniature burgers and second the burger patties are steamed on a bed of onions yet they are never flipped in a process called steam-grilling. White Castle® first opened in Wichita, KS in 1921 as the first American burger chain. They did not use frozen patties until 1931. The all beef patties are square with a signature 5 holes similar to the 5 face on a die. The chopped onions are placed on a hot griddle then the patties placed on top of the onions followed by the bottom buns. When cooked the burger and onion is slid onto the top bun. A signature pickle slice is added for those wanting pickles and cheese is an option. The miniature burgers. Each burger is about 2½ x 2½ - inch square and about 1½ - inch high. They are the perfect size for toddlers but count on a lot more for adults.

White Castle® Cheeseburgers

These burgers are so well loved by Cravers that cases of them are taken home then frozen and reheated as the crave hits. White Castle® restaurants are located in Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. They are so popular some of the grocery stores in these states sell frozen White Castle® burgers in the frozen food section with or without cheese but no pickle. Pictured are two Slyders™ from the Crave Case™reheated and ready to enjoy.

Cravers living where they don't sell Slyders™ have been known to even fly in a case or two of Slyders™. Recently there have been copycat recipes online to make these little beauties at home. I checked out a couple that use fresh onions but White Castle® uses rehydrated onions. At any rate that shows how far Cravers will go to fulfill their craving. I may even try making Slyders™ at home just to see how close I can come to the original. These would be great for Superbowl Sunday entertaining!

Eating Out on a Road Trip in Southwestern Ontario

Have you ever had one of those weeks where things just kind of piled up then the unexpected happened? Now it might start innocently enough with deciding to splurge for pizza delivery because the weekend was a planned work at home weekend. Such was the case on Thursday evening when my husband and one of the kids decided to hook a new audio system and didn't feel like a traditional dinner so we ordered out. Ordering out is quite rare for use because we pay premium delivery charges since we are rural. From there things snowballed to unexpected but welcomed travel. The problem with this kind of week is cooking quickly becomes the last thing on your mind. Well it was on my mind but life got in the way and sometimes that becomes the priority :)

Pizza & Wings

Thursday night we ordered pizza and wings from our favourite pizza parlour. The intentions was this would be our night out (but in) because we had a work weekend planned that included two smaller home renovations projects.

This was a lovely pizza topped with ham, mushroom, pepperoni and extra cheese. The sauce is quite tasty on a somewhat thinner crust. It was as always an excellent pizza! We always order the wings with the sauce on the side. I like the extra hot sauce while others like either medium or honey garlic sauce. Ordering the sauce on the side allows everyone to have their choice of sauce.

Quarter Pound Cheeseburger

Thursday saw a bit of an unexpected phone call that would see us on a weekend road trip. We had to pick up a few items for this trip so did the necessary shopping on Friday then stopped at our favourite burger joint. Now this definitely is not fast food but it is well worth the extra wait. The quarter pound burger comes topped with cheese served with sliced onions and pickles. Ketchup, mustard, salt and pepper is available on the tables. This burger is so large that it is takes a lot of effort for me to finish half of it!

It is nothing fancy but the restaurant has an excellent, cosy atmosphere. The food never fails to please either. It is not fast food but it is good food. We always bring doggy bags home.

Wendy's

When we are on the road we prefer to stop at trucker's restaurants that offer small sit down restaurants usually with a buffet. This allows us to take a much needed break while enjoying a nice meal. Saturday morning found us on the road fairly early so instead of stopping at a truck stop we ended up stopping at a Wendy's on the highway. Wendy's is one of the very few fast food restaurants I like because they offer so much more than just burgers and fries.

The food was good but unfortunately the service was not! I kid you not, my husband stood in line 36 minutes to get the food. Had it been me I would have walked away. Apparently they only had one register opened with a huge line so then they opened another where those just arriving got service before those who had been standing in line. The service here gets 2 thumbs down and something we will remember in the very unlikely event we are ever tempted to stop there again.

Wiener Schnitzel

Saturday afternoon was extremely busy especially for the guys. We (the girls) stayed home to entertain the grandbabies. Later we did a bit of sightseeing with the kids then took them to a quaint little restaurant called The Old Country Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant is located at 105 Peel Street in the picturesque town of New Hamburg, Ontario. The feature home cooked food in a nice family style restaurant. When they say home cooked they mean home cooked! The service was excellent and the food even better. The restaurant has gone onto our list of to visit again.

Their house specialty is Bavarian Style Wiener Schnitzel. Wiener Schnitzel is a thin piece of veal coated with bread crumbs then fried. My husband and I both ordered the Wiener Schnitzel. It came with a choice of potatoes, vegetable, homemade soup of the day or garden green salad for $9.95. We both chose baked potatoes but he ordered the soup of the day (beef noodle) while I ordered the salad. This would be a very easy and inexpensive meal to duplicate at home!

A Foodie Christmas

When our family gets together and that is quite often one thing is always guaranteed. There is an abundance of great food. Would you expect anything else from a foodie family? We had planned on stopping at a family Christmas Eve party then heading to the kids later in the evening but the weather quickly changed our plans so we were on the road in the early afternoon of the 24^th trying to stay ahead of the weather. We arrived safe and sound glad to be out of the snow.

All of our kids are very good cooks! One thing I enjoy about visiting any of our kids is they are a bit more daring when it comes to food. Sure they have the tried and true family favourites but they step away from simple home style cooking as well. Wednesday night we enjoyed a pasta with shrimp dish. Seafood is a family favourite and we do go through a lot of shrimp during the holidays so it was no surprise that the kids used shrimp as the main feature for a dish. Oldest grandbaby loves pasta! Christmas day the kids made homemade beef noodle soup. I showed them how to use the pressure cooker to cook the soup bones to make a rich stock. I will post more on that later as I made a vegetable beef soup using the same method when we got home. The kids found these wonderful spring rolls at a little shop in the GTA. If you buy them fresh they are 50¢ a piece but if you buy them frozen they are 20¢. I don't need to tell you which ones they bought. They served the spring rolls with plumb sauce for an easy appetizer. These fall under the category of "please bring me some home the next time you come down". They were very, very good and would make a nice appetizer to have on hand for entertaining. They also fall into the category of "I want to try making these from scratch" so I will be experimenting. The kids made easy panini for lunch. Now the beauty of these were unlike regular grilled cheese no butter or margarine was used at all. They were very good! I am now convinced I need to go shopping for a panini press.

Friday night the kids ordered pizza and wings. I cannot believe how much cheaper delivered pizza is where they live! Honestly a large pizza with 2 lb of wings where we are costs $37.49 delivered. That is one reason we make our own at home. They ordered 3 large pizzas, 2 lb wings and breadsticks for under $50 and it arrived in under a half hour! That's still expensive but it was more of a treat. Pictured is the buffalo chicken pizza. This was very nice. I seriously am going to be making this at home so watch for that recipe coming very soon.

Our toaster gave up the ghost a few months ago but I didn't replace it. We use the grill and indoor grill for toasting so a toaster wasn't a high priority. Parents to youngest grandbaby gifted us with a beautiful stainless steel Hamilton Beach® toaster with slots large enough to toast bagels and thicker slices of homemade breads. Parents to oldest grandbaby gifted us with a really nice French fry cutter. My husband is really into making homemade French fries at the moment so this is a much appreciated gift. One of my husband's clients gifted him with a lovely gift basket filled with items from Orange Crate Food Co. This is a Canadian company specializing in gourmet foods with no MSG or preservatives.

After all our adventures we arrived home Saturday night. Sunday we were both exhausted and sore because not being of sound mind we discovered the kid's Wii. Silly grandma and grandpa were quite entertaining! I heated up frozen hamburg soup served with stone ground wheat crackers for a quick and easy yet very filling dinner. I love having ready meals in the freezer!

Smart Take-out

The holiday season is always busy and like many we too like to have a bit of a break from cooking. For the most part I rely on my freezer and pantry stock but there are those days when you get home much later than expected and really don't feel like cooking or even warming up something. If you have read this blog for any length of time you will know we are not huge fans of fast food. The food is of such poor quality and it is too costly in terms of food value. The last time we bought Kentucky Fried Chicken it was a 10 piece with side salads and gravy. The food itself was horrid even though it cost almost $30 CDN with taxes! We've discovered a whole new take-out that is affordable as well as being tasty.

Rotisserie Chicken

I cannot take credit for this idea for take-out. The kids in Wisconsin introduced me to the idea of buying rotisserie chicken hot from the deli. They can buy one for $3 then use it for a meal or pick it for soup. The grocery store where we spend most of our food dollars does not have a deli.

It was a long day on the 23^rd and with the weather conditions we wanted to be on the road early on the 24^th. At the same time we a full meal even though it was going on 8 pm before we ate. My husband picked up a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken at another grocery store. Apparently they go on sale for $5 CDN in the evening.

Now I do have to comment on the prices of whole chickens here. A raw chicken this size would cost me at least $8 if not more at our prices. Whole chickens never come down in price and they are seldom on sale! Yet a deli cooked rotisserie chicken can be purchased for less than a raw chicken? Each chicken is enough for a hearty meal for two as is or a large batch of soup with bones for stock. This is an ideal, economical solution for those days where picking up take-out is just too tempting. Serve with a couple of warmed (home) canned vegetables and a slice of bread for the taste of home cooking without the work and without the high prices of fast food.

Moving Day Pizza

After a very busy week arriving home late Thursday night we were on the go again on Friday. The nice thing about this traveling is we knew we would be staying at the home of parents of oldest grandbaby for two nights. Saturday was a family affair helping parents of youngest grandbaby move into their first purchased home. Whenever we get together as a family there is always good food!

Friday night we enjoyed homemade Philly cheesestakes and home canned coleslaw. I have to tell you I am really impressed with the home canned coleslaw! We mixed in Miracle Whip® so the result was very close to our favourite homemade creamy coleslaw. Even oldest grandbaby loved it!

Pizza Nova

Something about moving always says pizza and beer. Well, we got the pizza and it was really good! We got three large pizzas from Pizza Nova. This is a chain pizza restaurant in Ontario and Québec originating in Toronto, Ontario in 1963 that has grown to 120 locations. One taste of their pizza and you can see why!

The Portobellissimo (1) was topped with fresh Portobello mushrooms, hot Soppressata, and Asiago cheese. This was a definite hit! The Asiago cheese was different yet made for a very tasty pizza. The second pizza (2) was topped with pepperoni, mushrooms and bacon. The Deluxe (3) was topped with pepperoni, fresh mushrooms, green peppers, bacon, sliced tomatoes and Spanish onions. I really like this pizza. All had the classic tomato sauce. I really liked the Deluxe but then I also liked the Portobellissimo so will be making both of these versions at home.

Fry Truck Fare & How to Make Home Made French Fries

A sure sign that summer has arrived are the fry trucks. They pop-up in small communities, tourist areas and parks near the water. Some of them are only open on the weekends. It a summer pleasant activity to take a drive to a fry truck then sit and watch the water sights. They tend to be quite popular not only for the food but the socializing. After Labour Day as the days begin cooling and tourism slows the fry truck begin to close for the winter leaving only pleasant memories of lazy summer days. My husband stopped at one of the many fry trucks on the way home last night.

The Meal

What makes the fry trucks so popular? My theory is the smell lures you in but it's really the fries. It's all about the fries! We sometimes stop en route to get a box of fries to share while driving.

The food is not exactly super healthy but it is good, unpretentious food. The prices are quite reasonable. The total cost for our meal was $17*. It's likely healthier than a lot of fast food restaurant foods. It's not always fast either. There's nothing special about the burgers other than they are all beef patties. Toppings include ketchup, mustard, relish and American sliced cheese. Most fry trucks serve hot dogs and some also serve sausages. Salt, white and malt vinegars are available for the fries. Onion rings are available but the fries are the main attraction. Some offer bags of potato chips but many do not. A limited variety of pop and bottled water is available usually for $1 each.

Most of the fry trucks still use the pressed cardboard trays for fries and onion rings or they use thin cardboard boxes similar to fast food restaurants except bigger. If you are eating on site the burger, hot dog or sausage come in a napkin but sometimes they serve them in the thin cardboard containers without lids. If taking the food off site some package the burgers in styrofoam take-out containers as this one did or simply wrap them in paper similar to fast food restaurants. Why am I mentioning packaging? Packaging is always a concern for me and I try very hard to avoid over packaging. What can't be recycled I try to find ways to re-use. In some communities styrofoam containers can go in the blue box but here they can't so I have to find other uses or not use it. Not using is easier. Rather than toss, I washed the containers, cut them into two and they are now serving as drip trays for four plants.

* Price breakdown: total cost was for 2 double pattie burgers - $7, onion rings - $3.00, 2 large fries $8.

Fresh Cut Fries

Ok, so what makes these fries so special? Well, just take one look at these mouthwatering fries. They aren't the pale, thin, anemic looking fries that the fast food restaurants sell. They come unsalted so the customer has a choice of whether or not they want to use the salt shaker. Most importantly these fries are fresh cut! They haven't been frozen. They are fried to a lovely golden brown, essentially the same way I would make French fries at home using fresh potatoes.

Make sure you are using clean oil. The trick when frying fresh cut potatoes is to not put them into cold oil as that will cause them to absorb the oil. To test the proper temperature of the oil, drop a fry into the oil. It should not sink and bubble should remain at the surface. If it sinks the oil is not hot enough.

Method: Wash, peel and hand cut potatoes**. Soak in cold water 10 minutes with a little citric acid to prevent darkening. Heat your oil to 350ºF. Pat the potatoes dry. Fry 3 minutes. Remove basket from fryer but leave the potatoes in the fryer. Raise the oil temperature to 365ºF. Place the basket back in the fryer and fry another 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown.

** Russet potatoes are the best for French fries.

Enjoy!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2008