Product Review: Kraft Fresh Take

I've gotten some coupons for Kraft's new product, Fresh Take. Essentially this is a cheesy Shake-and-Bake recipe helper.  Never one to turn down a free sample, I turned to the freezer for something to use it on. There's plenty of ideas on the package - they recommend fish and chicken - but what I had was a Hormel pork tenderloin which sounded like it'd go well with the Rosemary & Roasted Garlic Fresh Take.

The Fresh Take packaging is clever:  the bread crumbs and cheese are segregated in a folded-over zip-type bag.  Open the bag and gently pull the seam at the fold, and you can re-close it and mix the ingredients. Then you have a coating bag all ready to go!

Tenderloins coated with Rosemary & Garlic Fresh Take just going in the oven

I sliced my tenderloin into medallions. They were quite juicy, so I didn't bother dipping them in water as the package suggested.  I put two at a time into the bag, zipped, shook, and then put them on a foil-lined cooking sheet.  I highly recommend covering your cooking sheet as there's cheese in there, and baked-on cheese is never fun to clean up. You might even use a light coat of cooking spray.

Ready to serve. I wish you could smell it!

I arranged the coated pork medallions in a single layer on the baking sheet and baked at 350°F for 30 minutes.  It's incredibly easy and delicious. We have also tried the Cheddar Jack & Bacon variety on a Hormel Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin, which was a very rich combination but not bad at all.

Final Review:  A different and reasonably priced option to add variety to your same-ol' dinners.  Very easy to use, although I'd recommend planning ahead to make clean-up easy. Tasty and easy, I'll be buying it again.

Okay, corn and white rice are boring sides. 

Disclaimer: While I received a coupon for a free package from the Kraft First Taste program, this was an uncompensated and unsolicited review.

Meat Bonanza

After singing praises of Safeway the other day, I struck gold again.  Junior and I popped in for a gallon of milk (holy bananas, these boys can drink a lot of milk!) and running by the lunchmeat section I saw real meats in their clearance bin.

What you may not be able to see in the picture is they are all marked at $2.99; their sell or freeze by date was today.  The three-pound ground beef chubs are regularly $7.99 and the pork tenderloins are regularly $10.99, although they were on buy-one-get-one-free this week.  That's at least eight meals (probably a couple more with leftovers) for $14.95, and a savings of $31.00 or 67%.  

Needless to say, Hubby grilled burgers for dinner!  I made the rest of the burger into one- and two-pound packs for casserole and grilling.  I really contemplated loading up on burger, as there were probably 20 of those chubs marked down in the meat section, but we just didn't have the cash to spend today.

Pork tenderloin are really expensive for our budget so I couldn't resist the treat.  It's a tasty cut of meat and Hormel does a good job on the seasonings.  If you've never cooked one they're ridiculously simple (and there's instructions on the package).  Just pop them in a 350 degree oven for about 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.  Slice and serve!