Catbird

Brother Brent arrived yesterday.  Took him out for lunch before he started the task of unloading his van. This seemed a good way to ease into the meals thing. I'm used to cooking for just me.  The things I make are generally edible but not always pleasing to look at.  Plus I've gotten used to two meals a day - big breakfast and something early afternoon.  Brent knows he has to fend for himself for supper.  Thought I'd stock up on frozen meals.  Could fall back on those for lunch or Brent could make one for himself at night.  Rao's makes, in my opinion, a superior alfredo sauce.  Couldn't figure out why it was so much better until I checked out the contents on it's jar vs. the other three brands I've tried.  The not-so-great ones have water as their primary ingredient while Rao's has cream.  Duh.  When I saw that Rao also makes a frozen lasagne, I bought a package.  Turns out Rao does not make a premium lasagne.  From the small portion to the unappatising appearance it was a failure.  Resorted to melting more of my own mozarella on top of it in an effort to make it look appealing.  Next I tried Marie Callender's beef pot pie.  Marie Callender makes totally excellent pies.  Now I know she also makes a pretty good beef pot pie.  I baked it in the oven rather than go the shortcut route of the microwave.  Was rewarded w/ a flaky crust and flavorful gravy filled w/ vegies.  Can't say I was a fan of the perfectly square cubes of meat.  Texture was off and on their own they were bland.  Not a problem though.  Easy to push them off to one side of the plate and Whip who was waiting patiently for any scrap thought they were wonderful.  (Just to put things in perspective, this is the dog that drags putrid deer bones home for snacking.)