People are always impressed with my New Orleans inspired dishes. I'm almost embarrassed when asked for my recipes to confess that I use boxed mixes. Zatarain's!

I've never been a big fan of pour and cook products. Generally, they are more expensive and don't taste as good as cooking up from scratch. Yep. I'm a scratch girl with a few exceptions.

Many years back the Zatarain's Jambalaya mix was on special. "Add meat to make a complete meal," said the box. I must have been tired and hungry too, because I decided to give it a try. The picture on the box helped. The dish did look really good.

I was completely impressed with that first mix, and I've been using the jambalaya mix as well as a host of other Zatarain's mixes. They make over 200 products, and most of those are not stocked in my area. I may have to talk to my Food Lion manager about that. He's good about adding products on request.

Now, I'm sure I'll have some New Orleans folks check in (howdy there) with some scratch recipes. I always love to try out new dishes, so send those favorites on (or recipe links). But, I can't imagine that I could cook up any tastier pots of New Orleans dirty rice or red beans with rice. Plus, the mixes only take 20 minutes to cook if the meat is pre-cooked.

You can buy cans of chicken or other pre-cooked meats to add to Zatarain's mixes, but when chicken or sausage go on sale, I buy up and cook up. Then, I freeze baggies with about 2 cups of meat in each so that my box meal days are truly quick and easy as well as being inexpensive.

When the Scouts or the church have pot luck dinners during the week, I usually bring a pot of Zatarain's. People look for my green Cuisinart coated cast iron pot. That's been a darn good pot, and the cast iron holds the heat so that the dish is still warm even after the drive and sitting on the table.

Since New Orleans food is not so common in this area, it took a while for folks to give my (secret) recipes a chance. Now, I always bring home an empty pot. And, I do share my recipe even though I hate to say I've gone the quick and easy route. Family and friends are always shocked. They know I usually avoid mixes, but the proof here is in the tasting. I have no objections to a simple life as long as it's full and delicious.

I guess I'm not the only one turned on to Zatarain's. They've been around since 1889. You don't last like that, unless you're doing something right. They get a full thumbs up from me and the folks around here. If you've not tried them out, try a box (or other product) and see for yourself. I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

If you want a quick and easy dessert to go with your New Orleans feast, then try out my one of these easy recipes:

Easy Strawberry Pudding

Super Easy Key Lime Pie