Pork Helper. Pork Fried Rice, Pork Chops & Stuffing, and Oven Favorites Breaded Pork Chops & Mashed Potatoes. $2.19 to $2.99 per 5.7- to 8.3-ounce box.
Bonnie: Pork is a tasty solution if you're looking for a meat alternative to beef or chicken. But Pork Helper is not; that is, unless you modify the package instructions. Against my better judgment, I followed these Pork Helper box directions to a tee. In each case my wonderful lean pork was overcooked and too tough to enjoy.
If you decide to try one of the skillet versions, I'd suggest cooking the pork the five minutes suggested in the instructions, removing it while preparing the stuffing or fried rice, and then returning it to the skillet. For the breaded pork chops, I'd remove them from the oven before the potatoes are done.
As for the folks at the Betty Crocker test kitchen, I'd suggest they look at the preparation tips at www.theotherwhitemeat.com for cooking the new very lean pork. Given the current box instructions, this new line would be more aptly named Pork Destroyer.
Carolyn: Betty Crocker invented this pork subline of its age-old Hamburger Helper product in response to a couple of surveys. One showed that Americans' No. 1 consideration when planning dinner is what they have on hand; the other, that 60 percent of Americans always have pork in their refrigerator or freezer.
In other words, these were another couple of surveys that make me feel like an oddball.
My main dinner considerations are time, interesting taste and texture, and cleanup. By those smarter standards, the Pork Chops & Stuffing is only OK, and the Oven Favorites Breaded Pork Chops & Mashed Potatoes is to be avoided. Both taste totally predictable, and the Oven Favorites variety requires messing up three dishes (two too many).
But the Pork Fried Rice is a winner. It's one of the few meal kits from a mainstream food company to feature an Asian flavor and is the only one whose instructions call for the authentic incorporation of a scrambled egg. This kit also adapts to using less meat. (I used only a quarter-pound of pork instead of the 1 1/4 pounds suggested and made a plenty-filling-enough dinner for two.) This is also possible with the Pork Chops & Stuffing but not with the meat-and-potatoes-style Oven Favorites — yet another reason why it's my least favorite.
Fresh Express Everything But the Dressing. Spring Mix With Cranberries & Walnuts, Baby Spinach Salad With Almonds & Cranberries, Romaine & Radicchio Salad With Parmesan-Romano & Garlic Croutons. $3.29 to $3.79 per 4.5- to 8.75-ounce package.
Bonnie: I'm always delighted to test new salad blends, especially interesting ones like Fresh Express' Everything But the Dressing. In addition to the upscale lettuces (baby greens, spinach, radicchio), each package contains complementary, separately wrapped add-ins. The most ordinary of these delicious and nutritious combinations is the Romaine & Radicchio Salad, which contains shredded cheese and croutons. The other two varieties are more unusual and feature spinach and packets of dried cranberries with either almonds or walnuts. I wholeheartedly recommend all three.
Carolyn: What could be easier than bagged salads? Bagged salads that you don't have to add anything to. That's the great idea behind Fresh Express' new Everything But the Dressing line. These packages of spinach, spring mix or romaine and radicchio greens also contain little packets of nuts and dried cranberries or (in the case of the romaine and radicchio) croutons and strong, interesting cheese. That means there's no need to peel and cut up carrots or go out and buy tomatoes or cucumbers: All you need is some dressing. The packages even feature suggestions and recipes for dressings that would go well with these particular greens and add-in combinations.
All you sharp-minded readers (and eaters) out there may remember that Dole once offered a line of even more convenient bagged salads that contained both add-ins and packets of dressing. But they didn't sell well (maybe because the greens and add-ins were much less interesting than what are in these).
Hungry Jack Pancake & Waffle Mix in Pouches. Buttermilk and Blueberry. $1.79 per 16-ounce package containing four pouches.
Bonnie: Hungry Jack Pancake & Waffle Mix provides a new level of convenience. Instead of measuring the amount of mix you need, all you do is open a pre-measured pouch (for two servings) and add water. What's also interesting: This is the first national pancake mix with bilingual packaging.
I can recommend only the Buttermilk; it's best (read: convenient) for camping or other trips. If you want blueberry pancakes, add fresh or frozen berries to that variety rather than tolerating the artificial blue bits in the Blueberry.
At home, when you have some time, homemade batter makes better-tasting pancakes. Combine dry ingredients (1 cup flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt) with liquid (1 egg, 1 cup buttermilk and 2 tablespoons vegetable oil). The pouch makes six pancakes; the homemade batter, 10.
Carolyn: The invention of complete pancake mixes made it possible to create pancakes without adding eggs, oil or milk. These Hungry Jack pouch products take this complete-mix idea one step lazier: Now you don't even have to measure the mix.
This is just enough time-and-trouble savings to make pancakes into a viable weekday breakfast option for one child and an adult (these pouches make too many pancakes for one adult, and too few for two). In direct contrast to Bonnie, I particularly recommend the Blueberry, which tasted a lot better (i.e., less fake) than its "artificially flavored with artificial blueberry bits" box warning.
The Buttermilk has a lighter, fluffier texture but a nondescript taste that begs for one of the side panel's suggested add-ins. But having to find and measure out bananas and walnuts or chocolate chips would defeat this product's convenience.
Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian and professional speaker. Carolyn Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of "Jell-O: A Biography" (Harvest/Harcourt). Each week they critique three new food items. © Universal Press Syndicate