Steven Helmer Publications

  I went to the grocery store without any idea in mind about what I wanted to make for dinner. My wife was doing some stuff at her sewing studio, and we had a small bag of ravioli that I could make for the girls so I focused on finding something I could make as a late dinner for two. I ended up purchasing Rana Chicken Alfredo Lasagna because it was on sale for a little less than $12. It was my first time trying this product and I wasn't sure what to expect but after making it last night, it is a product I wouldn't mind purchasing again. As far as meal prep goes, I couldn't ask for easier. I followed the microwave instructions, and the lasagna was ready to eat less than 10 minutes later. This was ideal because, with us already eating later than usual, I wouldn't have been a fan of anything that took a long time to make or dirtied a ton of dishes. Taste-wise, this exceeded my expectations. The sauce had a good flavor and there was quite a bit of chicken. This, in turn, al...

  I went to the store early this morning, before it got crowded with people who were stocking up before the winter weather hits later. Since I was there, I figured I'd pick up something easy for breakfast. I saw Dutch Farms Breakfast Bowls for less than $3 each and, figuring it was a low enough price, decided to give the Meat Lovers variety a try. Overall, I have to say it was OK. To be honest, it wasn't anything overly special, at least when compared to the other breakfast bowls that are out there. However, that was one of the things that I thought was a bonus because while it wasn't anything that stood out, it also wasn't anything that was noticeably lower quality either. I have had that with other cheaper brands in the past, buying one that promised plenty of protein from meat and egg only to be mostly potatoes. That wasn't a problem with this bowl, which had plenty of the two.  Taste wise, I thought it also was good. The breakfast sausage wasn't spicy but ha...

  One of our local grocery stores has had Chef Boyardee skillet meals in their freezer section for several weeks and while I've been tempted to buy them on more than one occasion, I usually passed because of the $11.79 price (I can buy the ingredients and make them from scratch cheaper). However, I wasn't really in the mood to do a whole lot of cooking last night, so I finally decided to give the Chicken Alfredo dinner a try. Overall, I have to say this exceeded my expectations. I think my youngest daughter described this best when she said it wasn't as good as homemade or from a restaurant but was considerably better than a normal frozen dinner version. While I personally would have liked to see this have a little more to it, such as maybe some broccoli to go with the pasta and chicken, it had a decent flavor all four of us enjoyed. Preparing the meal was easy as well. You just empty the contents (including four sauce packets) into a pan, add some water and cook until it i...

  I went to the grocery store last night looking for something simple for dinner. I had other things on my agenda yesterday evening and didn't want anything that would take long to make. As I entered the meat section, I decided on ring bologna and wound up buying the Kewaskum brand. My decision to purchase this particular brand came down to size. At first, the $7.99 price seemed a bit high, especially since I figured I would need to purchase two of them if I wanted leftovers for lunch. However, when I looked at other brands, I found the price was comparable to those and the bologna from this brand was quite a bit larger, giving me more for my money. As far as quality goes, I had no complaints. I thought the ring bologna had a good flavor to it, plenty of garlic without it being overpowering and was, at minimum, as good as better-known brands. My wife and daughters said they thought the skin was a bit on the tough side. I, however, did not think it was any tougher than I would norma...

We spent Christmas with family and after driving home for three hours in a thick fog yesterday, I ended up keeping dinner simple and just picked up a couple frozen pizzas when I went to the store to get cat food. After reviewing a couple choices, I decided to give Lippers Deluxe Pizza a try, both because it was on sale for $5.99 each and because it was made in Wisconsin. I didn't regret the decision. I won't say it is the best frozen pizza I've ever purchased but for a lower-priced brand, it turned out to be pretty good. There were a reasonable number of toppings and plenty of cheese. While I'm not normally a thin crust fan, I did like how the crust on this pizza came out crispy without being hard to the point I was afraid of breaking my teeth. The sauce on this pizza was also decent as well. It had plenty of seasoning and, just as important, there was the right quantity. The pizza wasn't dry, but it also wasn't overflowing with it (something that can make pizza...

  I came across Ellsworth Cooperative Creamery Cheese Curds at one of our local grocery stores a couple weeks ago. They were on sale for $2.50 per pack, so I picked up some to give a try. Overall, it wasn't a bad purchase. These weren't as fresh as some other cheese curds I've purchased. I mean, they didn't taste old or anything like that, but you can tell by the lack of a squeak when eating them.  That said, I thought the curds had a good flavor to them. A lot of times, you'll buy a brand of curds and all you'll taste is salt rather than cheese. That was not the case with this brand though. The curds had a mild cheddar flavor, and I couldn't taste much, if any, salt when eating them. They also proved to be filling. At first, I thought I'd end up eating the whole bag in one sitting. However, it took me about three tries to get through it, adding even more value for the lower price. Another thing I found intriguing about this brand was the wide range of ...

  My wife was in the mood for burgers last night and, since I really didn't have the energy to make them from scratch but also didn't want to spend a fortune at a restaurant, I stopped by the store for some frozen patties.  I ended up picking out the Silver T Brand Beef Chuck Patties primarily because they were on sale for $12.95, slightly less than the brand I'd normally buy. They proved to be an OK purchase. I made these on the grill , both because it was a nice day out and I've found frying patties in the house tends to lead to a lot of unwanted smoke. Since they were chuck patties, I hoped they wouldn't be as greasy as some of the other frozen brands we've purchased. Unfortunately, that didn't turn out to be the case and, as has happened on more than one occasion, I found myself contending with uncontrollable flames from the dripping grease. As far as taste goes, I had no complaints. There is always going to be a difference between frozen and fresh but, ...

Everyone else was sleeping in on this Sunday and, even though it was my birthday, I wound up getting out of bed early. Rather than pace the house, I went to the grocery store to find something for breakfast. I came across Totino's Breakfast Snack Bites in the freezer section for $8.25. I wasn't sure if I wanted to spend that kind of money when there were less expensive options, but I ended up giving them a try. Overall, it ended up being an OK choice. I think the thing that surprised me about these is the sausage wasn't overly spicy. I don't normally mind spicy foods but did appreciate not having that early in the morning. In fact, when combined with the cheese, it was a good flavor overall. Preparation was convenient. There are a number of ways you can prepare something like this, but I chose the fastest route, the microwave . As a result, the snack bites were ready in less than three minutes, something that can come in handy when in a hurry on a workday morning. The b...

  After slipping a bit, I've been trying to get back to being on my DASH diet . This is both because I have a physical in a couple months and because my wife's blood pressure has been a bit on the high side lately as well. As part of this, when I decided to make my skillet lasagna for dinner last night, I looked for a pasta sauce with less salt and decided to purchase a jar of Prego Lower Sodium Traditional Pasta Sauce , despite it being slightly more expensive ($2.99) than my normal brand, because the 350 mg of sodium was by far the lowest I could find on that shelf. Overall, it ended up being a decent choice. One of my biggest concerns when it comes to "heart healthy" foods is taste. In many cases, the salt that is being cut from the product was the only flavor that product had. That, however, didn't turn out to be the case with this brand. While I always doctor up jarred/canned sauces, I took the time to taste this first and it wasn't bad.  In fact, by the ...

  My wife wasn't feeling well on Sunday, so I decided to keep dinner simple with soup and sandwiches. I picked out Campbell's Chunky Smoked Turkey with White & Wild Rice for me, mostly because it was a variety I hadn't tried before, and it looked like it would be something I'd enjoy. Well, I had that half right. I didn't end up making this Sunday because my sandwich was much more filling than expected. Instead, I brought it with me to the office for lunch the following day and when I finally gave it a try, I wasn't overly impressed. My biggest problem with this product, other than a sodium content that blew up my DASH diet with one meal, was it didn't have any sort of "wow" factor to it. Don't get me wrong, it's a canned soup and I wasn't exactly expecting something that was restaurant quality. However, I was expecting, well, more. The soup, other than the salt, was kind of bland in my opinion. I didn't really taste the smoked...

My wife and I decided on spaghetti for dinner last night and, while in the breadstick section of the grocery store, I came across this product. It was $6.99, but I had just gotten paid so I figured I would give them a try. Overall, I would have to say it was at least a unique option. The breadsticks were loaded with beef, nacho cheese, jalapenos, tomato and onion. They had a decent flavor with a bit of a kick and not too spicy and were definitely different from the normal garlic bread sticks or cheesy bread we would normally buy. The bread sticks were easy enough to make. I just needed to remove the outer wrapping and put them in the oven for about 30 minutes. They even come in their own baking dish, so you don't need to dirty any pans. The box is a bit misleading about the size of the bread sticks but that wasn't too big of a deal since we ended up just eating them as five bread sticks rather than nine since they were stuck together by the cheese anyway, which made them about...

  I wasn't in the mood to cook last night so, since I had to stop at the grocery store anyway, I decided to pick up a frozen lasagna as a way to keep things simple. Normally, I would just buy the one from On-Cor because, while it isn't necessarily the highest quality, it is also less than $5. However, I saw this one in the freezer section too and, even though it was about $3 more, decided to give it a try. After making it, I am convinced I should have stuck with the On-Cor brand. Just to be clear, I didn't necessarily hate this lasagna. It did, after all, succeed in giving me what I was looking for - a dinner that was convenient, filling and didn't taste terrible. I just think I spent more money on something that wasn't any better than the cheaper alternative. The very first thing I noticed about this product when I took it out of the microwave was the way it looked nothing like it did on the box. This isn't unusual. However, there was a very noticeable lack of...

Kwik Trip was running a special on Pothole Pizzas last week, buy two and get a 25 cent/gallon discount on gasoline. Since I knew we would likely need something simple for dinner this past weekend (my oldest daughter graduated high school), I took advantage of the offer. Worst case was the pizza would just stay in our freezer for another day. I ended up picking out the Kitchen Sink pizza because of the variety of toppings on it, ranging from sausage and pepperoni to various vegetables. Overall, it ended up being a good choice. Normally, I'm not a huge fan of thin crust pizzas because I rarely feel as though I got my money's worth. That was not the case with this brand. Unlike most other thin crust frozen pizzas, this one was filling, to the point I was feeling full after only two slices rather than my usual four. A big part of the reason for this was the generous amounts of toppings on this pizza. This was especially true of the sausage, both because of the quantity and the siz...

  My wife and I decided to have tacos for Cinco de Mayo and, since we needed ingredients, I stopped by the grocery store on the way home. Since everything else was more expensive than planned, I looked for any savings I could get and wound up picking out this brand of seasoning because it was 50 cents per pack instead of 75 cents. Overall, it ended up being a good choice. One of my biggest concerns about this brand was taste. I've purchased other discount seasonings before, and they were either very salty or flavorless. That was not the case with this brand. Instead, it had a fairly decent kick to it - a hint of spiciness without being too spicy. Even my kids, who aren't normally into spicy foods, loved it and both came back for seconds (I think my oldest might have even made a third trip). Final Opinion: This was a lower-cost item that turned out to have just as much flavor as the more expensive brands. I'd recommend looking for this one the next time you make tacos. I, fo...

  I had been eying this product at Kwik Trip for a few weeks now and, needing something for dinner last night, decided to finally purchase it (though, admittedly, my first plan was to get their taco meat, which ended up being sold out). After trying it, my opinion wound up being mixed. There were a couple things I really liked about this product. One of the main ones was the price. A 1-pound package cost $3.49. A pound of hamburger currently costs about $5, and that's only if I happen to find it on sale. When you add in the cost of a can of sloppy Joe sauce , this product ends up costing half as much as the way we usually make sloppy Joes. I also found I liked the convenience. Since the meat is already cooked, all I had to do was warm it up in the microwave for a couple minutes rather than frying the burger, draining the grease, and adding the can of sauce. The pre-cooked meat also meant I was getting what I was purchasing, it didn't cook down into a smaller quantity. Taste-wis...

With school back in session and both of us working again, my wife and I still need to get ourselves back into a routine when it comes to planning dinner. As a result of this, we needed to figure something out at the last second and neither of us was in the mood to thaw something from the freezer. Since the kids had already eaten at their grandmother's, I decided to just pick up something at the store. After walking around for several minutes, I ended up with this in the cart. The primary reason I picked this particular frozen skillet dinner ($6.99) versus several other choices was because it had the least amount of steps. Frozen dinners are meant to be convenient. If we have to go through a long process and prepare certain things separately (as is the case with a surprisingly large number of skillet dinners) then we might as well just make something from scratch. This dinner, in comparison, only had three steps and none of them were overly complicated. Preparing the dinner proved t...

I had to stop at the grocery store yesterday afternoon anyway and decided to find something for dinner while I was there. As I was walking through the freezer section, this product happened to catch my eye and, figuring it would make a different side dish, I picked up a bag ($3.90). Overall, I was happy with this purchase. I ended up making these in my toaster oven and they came out better than expected. Even though the bag referred to them as "crispy" carrots, I figured they would come out a bit on the soft side (as usually happens). Instead, they really did have a crisp texture to them. I thought the product also had a unique flavor. The breading complemented the carrot slices without drowning out the carrot flavor. It worked both as a side dish and my wife and I also thought they would also be a decent snack item as well (she especially liked hers with a side of ranch dressing). The only real negative is the product didn't take the next step by having a gluten free bre...

  I honestly didn't even know Muenster cheese curds were a thing until I happened to notice them while at the grocery store last night. I was intrigued, mostly because this one of my favorite types of cheese, and picked up a bag ($3.49). I gave them a try last night and was glad I made the purchase. One thing that really stood out for me when it came to these cheese curds is they weren't as salty as some others I've purchased. The curds had a nice mild flavor that made them enjoyable to eat and, because they weren't salty, I didn't feel like I needed to have something to drink immediately after. In fact, I liked the flavor so much, I had to force myself to put them back in the fridge because I was afraid I would wind up accidentally finishing the bag in one sitting (I still wound up sneaking a few more before getting ready for bed). I also liked how these cheese curds were cut in cubes. It's something relatively simple but it makes the product more attractive fo...

  This was another one of my purchases when I stopped at the grocery store last night. I was in the mood for some string cheese as a work snack and, since I didn't want to raid my wife's supply, figured I would try this brand. I did have some concerns about this product when I purchased it ($5.99), mostly in regards to how salty it was. I have had other string cheeses that were way too salty for me and didn't know if this particular brand would fall into that category or not. As it turns out, however, it was a decent purchase. Yes, the cheese does have a bit of a salty flavor to it, as I think I would normally expect to be the case. However, unlike the other brands I've tried, it wasn't anything that was overpowering. In other words, I could taste the salt, but I could also still taste the cheese flavor. In fact, as far as string cheese goes, I thought this was a good product overall. The sticks are larger than some other brands, making them a more-filling snack, an...

  I first noticed this item at one of our local grocery stores a couple months ago, near the dairy section. It looked interesting but I always found an excuse not to give them a try. However, I was waiting for someone to pick out a gallon of milk yesterday evening (something that apparently required some serious thought on their behalf) and, since these were only 79 cents, I picked up a couple packs of them. I decided to try the Wisconsin Cheddar variety as a snack last night and, as much as I wanted to like this item, I found I really didn't. I will admit, it is an intriguing idea and the whole "low carb" thing would be appealing to several people I know. It's just I didn't enjoy the flavor as much as I thought I would. I could taste the Wisconsin cheddar, as promised, but the snacks left a dry aftertaste in my mouth, leaving me feeling more thirsty than satisfied. To be fair, this might have just been a matter of personal preference. Cheddar cheese tends to have...