Linda Masters' From the Kitchen: Aie-eee, here's jazzy entrées for the freezer

The newsroom crew loves it when manufacturers send sample food packages, so we were thrilled last week, when we received a variety of six, single-serving frozen entrées from Zatarain's, the company who markets New Orleans-style and Cajun spices and packaged mixes.

The entrées are new to Zatarain's product line. We cooked them as directed in the microwave and enjoyed a luncheon buffet of New Orleans-style food.

Here's what we sampled:

» Big Easy Rice Bowl — Red beans and rice with seasoned chicken and garnished with shredded cheddar cheese contains 430 calories and 12 g fat.

» Blackened Chicken Alfredo — Grilled chicken and penne pasta win a zesty, cream-cheese sauce contains 510 calories and 24 g fat.

» Blackened Chicken with Yellow Rice — Seasoned grilled chicken with yellow rice, bell pepper and onion contains 470 calories and 13 g fat.

» Jambalya Flavored with Sausage — Rice with sausage, onion, bell pepper and spices contains 500 calories with 14 g fat.

» Shrimp Scampi with Pasta — Creamy lemon butter sauce with pasta and shrimp contains 380 calories and 10 g fat.

» Zesty French-Style Pasta Bake — Zesty Creole-style marinara sauce with ground beef in pasta and mozzarella cheese contains 370 calories with 15 g fat.

Our favorites were Blackened Chicken Alfredo, Blackened Chicken with Yellow Rice, Big Easy Rice Bowl and Jambalya Flavored with Sausage. These were the entrées we would purchase at the store. The Zesty French-Style Pasta Bake was our least favorite.

Other available New Orleans-style frozen entrées include Dirty Rice with Beef and Pork, Red Beans and Rice with Sausage, Pasta Jambalaya with Sausage and Chicken, Sausage and Chicken Gumbo and Shrimp Alfredo.

The frozen single-serving entrées are available locally and cost approximately $3.

For information or recipes, visit www.zatarains .com.

Linda Masters is The Bulletin online editor and coordinates community news, food features and food styling. Read more about her on her blog, "Etc. and More," at www.baxterbulletin.com or follow BBnewsroom on Twitter or Bulletin Newsroom on Facebook. E-mail her at lmasters@baxterbulletin.com .