McCormick Spices

I received a free sample of McCormick's "Recipe Inspirations" spices in the mail the other day.  As you can see, the package includes 5 individual spices (there are 6 little packets of spices but 2 contain paprika).  It also includes a plastic-coated recipe card (which can be saved for later use) on the back of the package to make an entree using the spices included in the package.  The one I received is for "Spanish Chicken Skillet" and includes paprika, minced garlic, thyme leaves, black pepper and red pepper. 

The thing I like about this idea is the fact that it is a seasoning mix that does not include salt!  Most packaged spice mixes that you can buy at the store are jam-packed with salt but this one just contains herbs and spices.  The recipe on the package does recommend that you add 1 teaspoon of salt when you make the recipe, but you could easily leave it out if you want to keep the sodium level low. The recipe that you make with this card also includes 1 can of diced tomatoes and you could use the low-sodium variety to further limit the sodium if you wanted to.

While someone who cooks all the time and has these spices on hand might not find this to be a useful product, this would be a good trade-off for someone who doesn't.  For example, using this product could produce a much more nutritious product than buying a frozen dinner.  The recipe lists prep time as 10 minutes and cook time as 25 minutes, and the recipe is a fairly simple one, making this a good product for a beginning cook. Also, the McCormick website touts these as "putting flavorful twists on traditional recipes".  I think they want people to get a chance to try spices that they may not be familiar with (rosemary, cilantro, sage, and dill) without having to buy a whole bottle of the spice.  For those of you with lots of cooking experience, who knows, it may be just what you are looking for too- new recipes and a little "inspiration"!