It Doesn't Just Remove Staples!

Just an FYI, if you don't happen to have a bottle opener handy, one of these will suffice:

Just try not to get root beer all over your desk, your day planner, or the documents you printed out for the meeting in five minutes.  

One Thing I Don't Need: A Banana Slicer

Far be from me to judge other people on the kitchen gadgets, but this one really does seem particularly unnecessary:

It's $10, and it slices bananas.  

It also looks terrifyingly dangerous.  

The reviews on Amazon, though, are pretty hilarious.  

V8 Fusion

I feel the V8 Fusion drinks are marketed directly at me.  Why yes, Campbell's, I am an adult female, between ages 25 and 55.  Yes, I do have children.  Yes, I am often on-the-go, and I do look for healthful beverage options for my whole family.   Oh, and yes, I would indeed like to see Jackie Chan in a commercial.

Actually, they really don't need to make more commercials for V8 Fusion juices for me, because it's already a staple in our household.  I'm going to guess that it is for others too, since when they are on sale, I find myself in the company of several other women standing in front of the V8 Fusion drinks, scanning the various flavors to find the one that our kids like the best/are most likely to drink.  The drink says each serving contains ½ cup of vegetables and ½ cup of fruit, with no added sugar - it's got to be good for you, right?  It will make up for the fact that our child won't eat carrots today, right?  It's a good alternative to the Brussels sprouts I meant to make as a side for dinner, but forgot about, right? Right?  Well, maybe not, but it tastes good.  

Princess Goat's preferred flavor is the Peach Mango, or what we refer to as Yellow Juice.  She loves the stuff.

Tardis Cookie Jar: So Fun, So Not Fun

And ... we're back!  I bet you didn't even notice we were gone .... wait, what?  It's been almost a year since our last post?  The Doctor promised that he could get us back in time to post the next day!


That Tardis can be a little problematic.

The Tardis can be problematic as a cookie jar too. How fun is it having the Tardis sitting on the counter, full of cookies?  So much fun. 

True, it isn't actually bigger on the inside than on the outside, so it doesn't actually hold more cookies.  But the real problem is the Tardis souns it makes when opened.  On the one hand, the sound of the Doctor leaving the brakes on, well, that's just cool.  Not as cool as bowties, but cool.

On the other hand, the fact that the Tardis effectively also  ANNOUNCES TO THE WHOLE HOUSE that Ladygoat is eating cookies AGAIN, well, that's not so cool.  It pretty much shouts out, "Hey, look who has no self control!" 

Review: Bertolli Shrimp Scampi & Linguine Skillet Meal

We rarely buy frozen meals around here, since Foodgoat can, well, cook.  (The only exception?  Frozen pizzas on draft day.  Which, given the changed draft schedule, was rendered unnecessary this year.)

So I was all prepared to hate on the Bertolli Skillet Meal.  Surely this would be a travesty. 

The instructions were so simple I was doubtful it would work.  You put the contents of the bag into a skillet.  Put a lid on and turn it on high for 3 minutes.  Turn it down to medium high for 6 minutes, until the sauce is boiling, stirring occasionally. 

That's it.  Nothing else to add.  Nothing else to do.  And it really does only take 9 minutes total.  It's ridiculously simple. 

As for taste ... surprise!  It wasn't a horrible, inedible wreck of a dish at all.  It's about on par, maybe even better, than something I might have at the Olive Garden.  Nothing fabulous, but more than edible.  Not bad at all.


As it happens, we had this meal at the end of a long week of sickness for GoatSpawn during which it was a cause of major celebration when she ate more than a bite of anything.  So little did she consume that I had given up on giving her her own plate for food and frequently just fed her from my plate. 

But in this case, she ate almost an entire bowl of the pasta, eating Ladygoat's entire bowl and leaving me with just the shrimp and the peppers. 

The meal served 2 people, and cost $7.99 at my grocery store - a bit more, I thought, compared to other frozen meals. It's probably cheaper to make from scratch of course (depending on how much you spend on the shrimp), but about the same or cheaper than a fast food place.

 Like all frozen foods, though, it's not the healthiest option out there - the sodium levels were particularly bad. 

All in all, I was surprised that we enjoyed it so much.  Will we buy it routinely?  Probably not.  Foodgoat can whip up a good pasta dish with a creamy sauce in his sleep.  But it's great for people who don't know how to cook or don't want to, who don't have time to cook, who don't feel like fast food or takeout, or like to have something on hand for super-quick, no think, meal ... well, they could do worse than this.

Per FTC disclosure guidelines, I did get a gift card in order to purchase the Bertolli meal, though I didn't actually use the gift card, and I'm not even exactly sure where the gift card is.  I also got a wine aerator, which GoatSpawn is now using as a bath toy.