Recipe Inspirations

When we were in Florida on Spring Break a couple of weeks ago, I was watching television. This is not something I do at home. We don’t have cable or one of those boxes that replaced antenas. I have an HD TiVo that can pick up PBS and CBS, which helps since the boys watch some PBS, but other than that I watch DVD’s. Consequently, it had been quite some time since I’d seen a commercial. So I was watching television and this commercial came on — something about, “Need inspiration for dinner?” That got my attention so I looked at the screen and watched a commercial for this:

(Note: This is not a marketing post for McCormick. No one contacted me and asked me to write it, and I doubt I would if they did. I turn down way more marketing requests than you will ever know.)

It’s called “Recipe Inspirations.” Basically, it’s a selection of seasonings and spices that I believe are pre-measured, but I could be wrong – it could just be the same amount of each and you have to measure – that comes with a recipe on how to cook a dish. I thought this was BRILLIANT. I love the fact that it gives people a chance to smell different spices, see what different seasonings do with different spices, give ideas on what to do with spices, give ideas for a new meal with new flavors — all without requiring someone to purchase a $6 bottle of spice that they may never even use again.

I realize that there was already a shortcut version to seasonings in those seasoning packets that you can buy. So, just for kicks, I looked up the ingredients for a fajita seasoning packet:

MALTODEXTRIN, SPICES (INCLUDING BLACK PEPPER), SALT, ONION, GARLIC, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, CARAMEL COLOR, LIME JUICE SOLIDS, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVORS, AND MODIFIED CORN STARCH.

And I looked up the ingredients for fajitas in this “Recipe Inspirations” product:

GARLIC, ONION, CUMIN, BLACK PEPPER, OREGANO AND CILANTRO.

I’m loving that there’s something simple that will encourage people to cook real food and give their families real flavor without all of the added junk that comes with even just a simple seasoning packet.