You’re looking at a picture of my dinner last night: Thick-cut pork chops grilled with McCormick’s Cinnamon Chipotle Rub and finished off with Wertz’s apple-cinnamon barbecue sauce.

A natural accompaniment to this dinner, of course, was sauteed apples. I chose to use two Mutsu apples that I purchased from a farmer in downtown Blacksburg on Saturday. The Japanese Mutsu (also known as Crispin) is good for cooking and needs no sugar, so it’s ideal for diabetics.

On the side: Birds Eye steamed, seasoned brussels sprouts. It was the first time I’ve used those and I was impressed by the flavor. Although I did feel a little bit guilty about the plastic tray and box I had to throw out.

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We used to run a little wire piece in Inside Out every Thursday where several women who called themselves the “Lunch Ladies” would eat and rate convenience food products like frozen dinners.

I had to think of the Lunch Ladies recently when I received a huge box packed with four frozen dinners inside a styrofoam cooler. The brand was Claim Jumper, which owns a chain of restaurants out West. They have also staked a claim in the land of frozen foods, and although you can’t find one of their restaurants in our area, you can now purchase their frozen dinners, pies and other goods at local grocery stores.

They looked pretty good in the boxes, which were huge. The flavors were Chicken Marsala, Cheese Ravioli, Beef Pot Pie and Shrimp Scampi. I believe they go for around $4 or $5.

Four co-workers agreed to eat and rate the frozen dinners. Check out our ratings (on a scale of 1-5) after the jump, then tell me whether you think you’ll try Claim Jumper frozen foods sometime soon. If you have already tried them, feel free to add your own ratings!

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