Summer Fever (2-Ingredient Chicken Alfredo and Birds Eye's Steamfresh Corn)

Stuart Weitzman has a lot to answer for. I know that this is a food column, but I recently received an Arthur Beren catalogue, and saw a pair of 3” stiletto heels, in, I kid thee not, tortoiseshell patent leather, that just siren-called me to buy them. Seductive, alluring, expensive, and completely impractical, they whispered to me….Auntie, buy us! I nearly succumbed; I even fell so low as to cruise Beren’s website, ready for one of those impulse buys that the girly-girl inside you never regrets…but they were completely sold out in my size. Weitzman, you tease; to work a girl up like that and then leave her gasping!! The shoes were aptly named “Fever;” and, indeed, they caused brain fever in old Auntie, but I’m over it now.

Back to work…

If you’re as sick of summer as I am, the last thing on your mind is cooking. Here is an incredibly quick, easy, and satisfying summer “recipe” to feed your family:

Auntie’s 2-ingredient Fettucini Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli (May substitute ham and mushrooms):

• 1 24-ounce bag of Green Giant Pasta Accents Pasta, Broccoli & Alfredo Sauce ($4.99)
• 2 cups cooked chicken, in pieces (I normally use leftovers, but on busy nights, I recommend buying a Deli Rotisserie or Roasted Chicken – about $5.50 for a whole bird - and using it for dinner the first night, then shredding the leftovers, without skin, for this dish for the following night, thereby getting two meals out of it).
• Alternate option: 1-1/2 cups cubed cooked ham, or chopped up cooked ham plus
  1 can sliced mushroom pieces, drained very well.

To assemble: simply prepare the entire bag of Pasta Accents as directed on the bag; when warm, add the 2 cups of chicken, (or the chopped/cubed ham and the sliced mushroom pieces) heat slightly more (30 seconds – 1 minute) in the microwave to warm the chicken, and serve. No one will ever know you didn’t make it yourself. Serve with crusty hot French bread, and enjoy! Feeds 4 healthy appetites, maybe even stretches to five, depending upon your family’s appetite size.

Today’s quick review: A few columns back – during Blogger’s big outage – I told you I had purchased Birds Eye’s new Steamfresh Technology Super Sweet Corn, and that I would report back to you on this product when I tried it.


We tried it tonight.

On the plus side:

1. 1. Incredibly fast and easy
2. 2. Really does heat right in the bag, no cooking utensils necessary, not even scissors to open the bag after cooking
3. The corn really DOES taste fresher than “regular” frozen corn
4. The corn really is quite sweet, although not as sweet as some other premium brands.

On the minus side:

1. It’s somewhat more expensive than regular frozen corn, although not more expensive than other premium brands;
2. I’m not sure it’s remotely different enough to warrant the price differential, and
3. The corn has a slightly odd color – a grey-ish tinge to it that’s not marked, but rather subtle – it’s not quite the bright yellow corn that we’ve become accustomed to over the years.

All in all, I’m not sure what market they are targeting. If you’re really a fresh sweet corn nut, I suspect you’ll stick with just that – fresh sweet corn. For most buyers of frozen corn, I don’t think that the Steamfresh bag makes enough of a difference to warrant switching, but we’ll see. I’m going to try their broccoli to see if I think that the “steam in the bag” approach makes a sizeable difference in that particular vegetable before I pass “final judgment” on the Steamfresh Technology line from Birds Eye. If you’re curious, try it – but I just don’t think it packs a lot of “wow” factor.

Come visit us at the Icebox Diner. Read over 1000 reviews and check out over 1500 products and their nutritional information. Find low-cal dishes or low-carb alternatives, or simply find products that just taste good!