Quick Bites: This Frozen Pizza Knocks My Socks Off

When it comes to preparing dinner, I have to admit I'm a bit of a slacker. After a full day of work, errands and time with my little chickie, it's at least 7:30 pm before I can prepare dinner. I never learned that whole slow cooker (though it does seem genius; do you use?!), and we try to avoid those individual frozen meals or spending a lot by ordering take out.

Our new fave dinner these days? An oversized salad plus this pizza by Greenwise (a Publix brand, if you have near you). Yes, it literally knocks my socks off. Promise. I had one tonight and well, I'm not wearing any socks right now! Ha. I make these at least once a week.

The hubs and I split either the Margherita or Spinach Feta (there's a third but it has tons of peppers; not my thing). Delicious and clocks in at about 350 calories and under 10 grams of fat for the 1/2 pie. I'm pleased with that for a hearty, pretty healthy meal. Sprinkle on a dab of parmesean cheese, and you're in heaven.

If you don't have this pizza near you, the organic brand Amy's has some good options.

TAGG TIP: Check the calories and serving size whenever getting frozen pizzas or meals. Most of the serving sizes are kind of tiny, so calculate accordingly if you plan to eat more than one. For example, we're each eating a 1/2 pizza pie, not a 1/3 like the serving size suggests.

Mmm? McCormick & Schmicks

Date night! The hubs and I headed to McCormick & Schmicks at CityPlace in West Palm Beach, Fla. for a belated anniversary celebration. A national chain with nearly 90 locations in more than 20 states, we had pretty high expectations for this popular seafood restaurant. With a $100 gift card to use from my birthday back in March, we were ready for a good meal. And, what we had was...alright. Not spectacular or delish, but just alright. Fortunately, we had such a nice time out, people watching, chatting about who knows what and relishing about our adorable little girl, that the night was just wonderful. But, of course you're here to read about what we ate, so here goes... (and read to the end for a TAGG tip!)

First up was the fried calamari ($7.95). While it was flavorful, it was also slightly soggy, not offering a crispy bite like you'd expect. Can't say we left it over though... we were hun-gry!

We also ordered the flash-fried lobster roll. We love sushi and lobster, so what's not to like? Again, we were slightly disappointed. They should have taken note from Lemongrass in Delray. Now that's a lobster roll! At M&S, the lobster meat was chopped and put side-by-side with julienned vegetables. We decided the lobster could have easily been crab. It didn't have much taste, even when pulled out of the roll to sample. Oh, and random rant: the soy sauce was in a dish smaller than the pieces... pet peeve! What does the chef expect me to do??

Moving on to the main course, the hubs ordered the Chilean sea bass with udon noodles and vegetables. Nice presentation when they poured the sauce at the table. Love that. His dish was really good; fish was soft and buttery yet seared nicely on the outside and the noodles were al dente. We recommend!

I got the corvina (a mild white fish) with a sweet potato shrimp hash and corn chowder that the waitress referred to as "a sleeper hit" on the menu. I went for it! While the fish had a nice, mild flavor some of the sweet potato pieces weren't fully cooked! We couldn't even get our forks in them. Bad news. And, while the corn chowder (which can be ordered separately as a soup) had a nice, bold corn flavor, it was lacking some corn kernel pieces that I enjoy. Personal preference. The leading disappointment though was that two-thirds through I noticed what looked like a few small pieces of bacon under my fish. Eek. I don't eat bacon! (another story: don't ask how I made it through three cities in Italy without eating pork!). While the waitress first tried to convince me it was red onion, she quickly came back, took my plate, apologized and brought us a complimentary dessert. Oops!

I'm glad she did though. While we were too full to order a dessert, who can turn away a complimentary one? Not these two. Mmm. We had a decadent chocolate-constructed cup filled with white chocolate mousse and a few berries. M&S is smart: end the meal well!

While I wouldn't rush back there, I would go back. The fish was fresh and they have great, affordable lunch dishes; there's a 10 for $10 menu. If I lived closer, I'd certainly check them out.

REVIEW
Food: B-/C+
Service: B

TAGG TIP: If you go, it's totally worth getting the M&S preferred member card. It costs $25 but they credit you $25, give you $30 credit on your birthday, plus a whole smorgasbord of other perks that make it totally worthwhile. Right now, I have a $55 credit waiting to be used!

Mmm: Oven-baked fries

I don't know about you, but at our house it as soon as it hits 7 p.m. the hubs and I start the same banter (with one of us at the fridge and one by the pantry). "What do you want for dinner?" "I don't know, what do you want??" We don't do take-out too often -- except for the occasional sushi or Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza -- and we don't do frozen meals, so we're often left wondering what to make with what we have at that very moment. Sometimes it's breakfast for dinner -- yum! -- and sometimes it's just a random pasta, protein, veggies concoction that tastes pretty good and gives us leftovers for the next night.

If you're already making chicken, burgers or steaks, here's one of our newest favorite sides: oven-baked fries. It's a different take on a traditional baked potato and healthier than some other carb options. Nice that you can buy some potatoes or sweet potatoes and make when the mood strike... they last for ages. I'm sure some of you reading this -- if you even got this far -- make much more complicated dishes. This is crazy simple, I know. My bro is a great cook, for example, who is constantly glued to the Food Network yet he's never made these so I'm hoping I can add something to your dinner repertoire as well.

Ingredients:

- potatoes or sweet potatoes (look for round, long ones; weird shapes are hard to cut); estimate one per person.

- olive oil

- salt

- pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put potatoes in microwave for two minutes to soften. Slice in half long-wise and then cut half in the shape of long fries. Put on a coated baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt and pepper. Put in oven for 40 minutes, flipping half way. Done... and yum!

Once you make these once, play around with different seasonings, such as paprika, garlic powder (or salt) and/or chili powder, and cinnamon for sweet potato fries. All delish.