Guilty Pleasures

I saw Garrett's confession over at Vanilla Garlic a while ago, and I've been meaning to play along ever since. Today's as good a day as any; I give you five guilty pleasures my kitchen would feel naked without:

1. Chicken Flavored Ramen Noodles - They're the trailer trash version of the medicinal magic chicken noodle soup, but when I'm sick with a cold or the flu, these freeze-dried noodles boiled with salt-smothered bouillon (with a poached egg stirred in for protein) are my comfort food of choice. And while my version probably makes cardiologists everywhere wince, it's nothing compared to John's. He boils the noodles, drains them, then sprinkles the flavor packet on top and tosses them with a couple of tablespoons of butter.

2. Post Cocoa Pebbles - While the marketing material still tries to convince us they're healthy (I give you: "Post Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Pebbles are wholesome, sweetened rice cereals. They are low in fat, cholesterol free, and provide 10 essential vitamins and minerals. While Fruity Pebbles has a delicious fruity taste, Cocoa Pebbles chocolaty flavor comes from real cocoa!") the nutritional information scares me. But not enough to banish the small box occupying a dark corner in the back of my pantry. They make *great* chocolate crispy treats!

3. Girl Scout Thin Mints - Sugar and spice and everything nice my (_]_). Heavily processed flours, sugars and transfats is what these babies are made of. But nothing beats a frozen thin mint with a big glass of milk after a long day. At least nothing non-alcoholic.

4. Mountain Dew - Dew was a key component to all-night study sessions in college, and while I'm decades past the all-nighter, there's always a can in the 'fridge in case I need a quick kick with caffeine.

5. Canned Cream Style Corn - The trendy garlic/wasabi/chipotle mashed potatoes have their place, but my grandmother's recipe for mashed potatoes (a couple of pounds of boiled potatoes, a glug or two of whole milk, and a can of cream style corn) is still one of my favorites.

How about the rest of you? surely you've got one or two items in your pantry that would make you cringe if your food-loving friends knew about it. 'fess up!

From the archives...
In 2007 I announced the esteemed judges of the March DMBLGIT.