LIVE - Breaking Las Vegas Breakfast Plate Image from Reader Blak2oof

We are posting this photo from an I-HOP in Las Vegas from our mobile device embedded reporter Blak2oof. This plate when posted was only 2 minutes old.

Boston Market Meatloaf - The FPT Test Kitchen Review

If you want to get full from a frozen & microwaveable meal, then the Boston Market frozen grocery line is for you. We found these to be 95% as good as getting the meal from the actual Boston Market restaurant. We are featuring the 'Meatloaf' in the photos, but we have tried the others and all are good. Huge portions, great flavor and easy heat-ups make for an excellent frozen food experience. Something that is not easy to find.

Combos Snacks Debate - An FPT Roundtable Discussion & Vote

VIcodin I love those hollow pretzel pieces with cheese inside VIcodin what're they called VIcodin fergit etathedPoCo Combos etathedPoCo me too! VIcodin oh yea VIcodin tks etathedPoCo I eat them daily really VIcodin damn stores don't stock 'em etathedPoCo i have em in the snack machine VIcodin only party stores have 'em VIcodin yea VIcodin I want a 40 oz bag PXGuest my dog loves his combos VIcodin instead of these damn 8 oz bags etathedPoCo FP is Anti - combo etathedPoCo see VIcodin aw no, say it tain't so PXGuest they look like 'snausages' PXGuest j/s PXGuest you wanna roundtable it? PXGuest mafers? etathedPoCo FP i got new doritos PXGuest whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa VIcodin http://blog.rifftrax.com/wp-content/photos/bacon_combos.jpg PXGuest ebay? VIcodin I gots to try those PXGuest this is a roundtable PXGuest cooll? PXGuest to be posted on the FPT PXGuest COMBOS DEBATE PXGuest STATE YOUR TAKE PXGuest i say no to the combos PXGuest even on sale PXGuest nobody wanna debate it etathedPoCo Im into Combos PXGuest gd PXGuest people etathedPoCo I like pepperoni pizza most PXGuest do you own a dog? etathedPoCo I eat them daily etathedPoCo While at work etathedPoCo No sir PXGuest the ones with pizza be nastiest VIcodin I'm a Combivore http://www.combos.com/ PXGuest cheese is edible PXGuest ohgd PXGuest its getting hot up in here PXGuest VI throwin bones etathedPoCo You know they come in cracker and pretzel etathedPoCo Both are good PXGuest i do not throw in with the pretzel crowd VIcodin I don't care for the cracker VIcodin teh pretzel rocks tho etathedPoCo i used eat the outer shells first... then the inncheese PXGuest i admit i did eat the combos i bought PXGuest even after i dissed em etathedPoCo well ssure VIcodin what's sad is...their BIG BAG is only 13 oz VIcodin sad sad sad etathedPoCo yes, thats a shame PXGuest i got a 2.2 pound milk carton of cheesy goldfish PXGuest by pepperidge farms etathedPoCo you ever try a bulk supplier? VIcodin gimme a 40 of malt liquor and a 40 of Combos etathedPoCo those are good PXGuest ok PXGuest so VIcodin goldfish...meh. PXGuest combos are voyed PXGuest voted PXGuest approved by the FPT crew PXGuest by a 2-1 vote etathedPoCo Different strokes for different folks though PXGuest ty for your participation etathedPoCo try em and see VIcodin yea boyeeeee PXGuest --- posting chat is over----

The Kentucky Bourbon Burger - From Carl's Jr. - The FPT Staff Review

While all of the staff here is familiar with burgers and bourbon, we called in a 'special teams' player to help us here. BoBandy eagerly agreed to try this new burger with us and use his extensive knowledge of liquors to judge this new offering from Carl's. This sampling occured around 10 AM, as BoBandy usually has a quart of Rye in his gut by noon. The Kentucky Bourbon Burger - From Carl's Jr is "smooth and with excellent tang" BoBandy tells us. However, we allready knew this. While we did this via video conference, the staff here allready had knocked back a couple of these burgers before the call. This burger is another solid, stand-alone offering from Carl's Jr. This and a large fries will satisfy the biggest of appetites. We are happy to fully endorse the consumption of the Kentucky Bourbon Burger, but we also endorse 'eating responsibly' as well. For those needing support with eating responsibly visit: "Welcome to a place where all Kentucky Bourbon Burger™ addicts can feel at home. Here you can find out more about your situation. Don’t be afraid. At our meeting place you can come to terms with – and be proud of – your obsession. We’re here to help, we’re here for you. Welcome friend, you’re not alone. eatresponsibly.com OFFICIAL STATS: A Charbroiled, All-Beef Patty, Two Strips of Bacon, Pepperjack Cheese, Garlic-Pepper Onion Straws, Lettuce, Tomato Slices and Kentucky Bourbon Glaze

Safeway Bagel Sausage Sandwich - An FPT Test Kitchen Staff Creation

When in need of a decent bagel, we recommend Safeway markets bakery. They have a nice variety, are always fresh and priced to eat at .69 cents or lower. Pictured above is one of our own creations - a jalapeno & cheddar Safeway bagel with cream cheese and four mini sausage patties. This can be done with sausage links as well. However, for best results we suggest slicing the round links in half, so they dont roll all around.

Yakisoba Noodle Bowl from Murachan

We noticed this new offering from Maruchan (who also is a well-known 'Ramen' maker) on the store shelf as it comes in a plastic dish as opposed to the common styrofoam cup. These are 'Yakisoba' noodles, long and tasty - very different than any type of Ramen noodles. These noodles microwave in 4 minutes and are quite tasty. We found them for as low as 99 cents - and the staff agrees that even $2.00 would be a fair price. We tried and endorse the teriyaki and roast chicken flavors, but there are a few other flavors a well. Look for these near the Ramen cups, but look for a stack of rectangular items.

Mrs. Skep's Homemade Egg Muffins - Including Recipe & Pictures!

One of our favorite readers sent us the following recipe and pictures of her homemade 'Egg Muffins'. We are aware that the picture of the recipe cannot be read and have sent it to our graphics person for enlarging and re-posting ASAP. Skep tells us "I use about half of the meat (turkey sausage) and cheese (feta!) called for in the recipe and they turn out great for an easy on-the-go breakfast". We here at the FPT test kitchens could not agree more, however we also think this would be a great "eat them all" and take a long powernap item as well.

Crispy Burritos by Carl's Jr. - FPT Staff Review

Carl's Jr. ad campaign for these suggests that we need food in between meals - and we here at the FPT could not agree more. We sampled these new guys recently with the guacomole side (we know the guac at Carl's is excellent from our many experiences eating the Guac $6 dollar burger). "A crispy flour tortilla filled with seasoned ground beef, cheese and jalapenos - served with Carl's Jr. Taco Sauce", and as a bonus they are less than a dollar for each one. The staff here recommends them both as a snack and as a side dish to compliment other Carl's items.

Oregon Shrimp Bender Platter

During one of the recent 'lost weekends' in the FPT test kitchens recently, we purchased a few pounds of nice mid-size Oregon shrimp for grazing. These shrimp came from Safeway and were at a nice price and they came cooked and de-veined. They can be used in many, many ways - pictured above is the simple honey mustard & black pepper paper plate serving.

Arby's Sourdough Melts - FPT Staff Review

Always trying to match the competition, Arby's is now doing sourdough melt sandwiches. They are at a nice introductory price of 2 for 3.00 at this time. We sent over a staffer to grab some on the way back from picking up our new business cards. They come in a bag marked "Rescue Brigade". We still do not know what that means. Inside we found both roast beef and ham sandwiches to sample. We found them pretty basic as expected - meat, cheese and bun style. The horsey sauce spiced them up they were decent. Our final conclusion is that we are on the fence on these - the 2 for 3.00 deal is sweet but if we had to pay 2.99 each we might move on down the road.

New Hard-Boiled Egg Art from regular contributor Chris Norton

Since we are lucky enough to have had multiple submissions of hard-boiled eggplatters photos from our friend Chris Norton, the staff here decided during our roundtable meeting yesterday that we are now declaring them as art. Mr. Norton scores very high in the presentation arena. This photo is of a "Tabasco Ladden Egg Platter".

20 Quiznos 5 Dollar Subs - More Info?

As you have probably seen the media blitz from Quiznos - they are now touting there are now 20 subs for 5.00 at their locations. Sounds interesting......however. Good luck finding out what they are and are not. Again Quiznos is leaving us sub eaters confused and unsure. A visit to their website will not be of any help, and dont bother to download the menu as it has zero prices or list of the 20 subs. Are these footlong subs? Are they just like the previous measly boring ones from their previous attempt at a 5 dollar offer? The staff here refuses to visit a Quiznos to find out what is what - as our experience is that the menus inside the stores are also like a confusing maze. Tell us the straight story please.

The Bacon Explosion - The Internet Recipe Gone Wild!

Thanks to reader Heather for sending us a link that tells the tale of the recent web wonder - the Bacon Explosion recipe. Essentially, this recipe calls for two pounds of bacon woven through and around two pounds of sausage and slathered in barbecue sauce. While no one is claiming to be the 'inventor' of this unique meal, it has appeared in similar forms on different sites/blogs at different times. The staff here would like to see the true first creator of the Bacon Explosion get their credit as this is a wild meal. NY Times Article And Photos Link

Oregon Crabbing Adventures - SPECIAL TO THE FAT PRIDE TIMES

Our featured post for February is from Barnabus, our Oregon Coast Drifter reader: I am crabbing in the Siuslaw River in Florence Oregon. Locals without boats like me are pretty much restricted to crabbing from allowed docks and marinas. This is fun, though. Mid summer you can find people crabbing 24/7 at some locations, as they follow the tide for the best possible results. You have to work with the tide to be successful at crabbing in coastal rivers. The currents can get to be very bad and will take your traps for a ride rather than let them sit and gather the catch, and the crabs will have a difficult time moving around as well. You want to time it around the high tide. I find that going about 6 hours previous to high tide will allow several hours of good solid crabbing. As the high tide mark nears, the incoming surf relents and lets the river pour out again, bringing the swift currents that last clear past low slack tide. I have seen currents so fast that heavy traps are hoisted to the surface and will skim the water. At that point all you can do is hit a bay or go home and wait it out. I'm not sure how far inland you can expect to find crab, but the marina here in town is like 2.5 miles in and there are plenty of dungeness there. Bait today will be some really large turkey legs and a turkey neck and giblets from our holiday meal. Our local stores stock chunks of innards and nasties that they know will sell as crab bait. I find that most locals use animal scraps other than fish. The bait sold mostly to tourists is frozen shad, or fillet-less carcass of whatever the catch of the day may be. It is great bait indeed, and novel for the family crabbing on vacation, but not great for shallow waters where the majority of dock-crabbers will fish from. This is because the local seals will be very insistent on stealing fish, even un-doing bait box clasps to get to it. It is amazing, and predictable. They will not touch any other animal parts, only fish/seafoods. I am excited to now have 3 rigs, 2 are traps and one is a "pot". Traps are enclosed thus the crabs have a much more difficult time getting out, but can also take longer to let them in as well. The pots are open top nets with a wide top ring and smaller bottom ring with mesh netting making up the shape, like a big wide net bucket that lays flat on the bottom, then takes form when you pull it up, scooping the crabs into the bottom of the pot. A good bait box is necessary even when using animal scraps for bait, as you will want the bait in a protective enclosure such as a heavy plastic mesh bag or small steel cage. This way the crabs will not eat up your bait when they are in the trap. Hungry crabs can devour an entire turkey leg faster than you might think, so it is best to not let them have much real contact with the bait, or you might find yourself needing more nasties. Pots will catch crabs much quicker, but crab can easily escape or climb over the edge if you pull the pot up too slowly or let the line slack at all while bringing it in. This combination of 1 pot and 2 traps works well, as you can throw the traps in for a long soak, and use the pots by pulling them up every 5-10 minutes so you can see where the best spots are. Crabs will mass together on the bottom, you can pull up a rig with 20 crabs or more inside, then pull it up again empty 10 minutes later. They do move around a lot, but finding a large mass of crabs will ensure good results. When you seem to find a good spot with your pot, toss the traps there for a spell. Keepers are those measuring at least 5 and 3/4 inches across(again in Oregon) just after the points. You will need to have a measuring guage, and be aware that no matter how remote your location may seem, you are likely under surveillance. Rangers will roll up and surprise you, they know what they are doing. They will want to see your shell-fish license and take down information about your activities. They will measure any crabs you have kept. I see the rangers checking people out at least 2 out of 10 times I go crabbing, and also see them keeping an eye on fishermen from a distance when I am out and about doing other things. This time I went at night, at the south jetty crabbing dock. High tide was scheduled for 5:04 am at the entrance of the river. I set traps in the water at midnight. Current was rolling in strong for the entire 4 hours that I was there, fighting against the river current flowing out. This stirred things up nicely and I caught 2 keepers within 2 hours. Killing and cleaning crab is always gruesome. I always am conscious of providing a demise as humane as possible. The best way I have found to deal with the crabs is to soak them in fresh water for at least 20 minutes. This will slow them down some. Then I turn them upside down on our wood deck and place a large cleaver down the center of their body, then swiftly tamp it down with the blunt side of a hatchet, cutting the crab in half with one motion. Then remove the main body shell, guts, and gills, leaving the white clusters of meat intact with the leg and claw sections. While I am doing that, I start a stock pot or dutch oven of water with a few tablespoons of rock salt. Bring it to a nice rolling boil and throw in the crab clusters. Stir and submerge them once in awhile for 20 minutes over medium-high heat. By now I am usually so tired I could sleep for a day, crabbing is very hard work, hauling rigs, pulling them up over and over, being in the elements, etc. So I usually plate up the cooked crab and wrap it thoroughly with plastic and refridgerate it until after a good sleep. Then the cleaning process... shelling crab for the most return on your investment of hard work is a science in itself. Most people would assume that the meat is in the legs and claws, but with dungeness crab the payoff is the honeycombed clusters of body meat where the leg and claw sections all join together. You will want to take your time to carefully remove all of the meat, breaking each section with precision as you go, it really does take practice. I use a leg tip as a tool to dig the meat chunks from other portions. This catch was 2 crabs, enough for roughly 10 oz of shelled meat. There was one crab larger than the other, but it had not grown fully into its shell so there was less meat. The other was smaller, but much more solid and was packed full of juicy chunks. It all amounted to a decent bowl full of fresh caught crab meat, for 5-6 hours effort and the cost of a few turkey legs. Basically, crabbing is a hobby or getaway, it is not a fast and easy way to a delicious meal for sure. This time I served the fresh crab over penne pasta with butter and parmesan cheese. This was after a tossed salad with cut iceberg lettuce and sliced vine tomatos, lightly salted and peppered, then topped with fresh squeezed lime juice and very thin slices of pacific rose apple. The entree was accompanied by cheesy baked wheat rolls. Add a tall glass of frosty Mickey's malt liquor and Ba'ammmm!! Genuine fresh NW cuisine.

Regular Reader Crim Shares Cevapi From Arthur Avenue, New York City

From regular reader Crim: Here is an article i came up with for some food that comes from the Balkans. We buy this at a specialty butcher in New York City, straight from the famous Arthur Ave. Cevapi - Pronounced Che-va-pi Straight from the famous Arthur Ave in the Bronx comes a Mediterranean specialty. These are sausages that are made from a combination of ground veal, beef and lamb. They are seasoned with secret spices that give them an extra kick, perfect for that extra push needed by Balkan barbarians. They are usually usually with some type of yogurt, pita bread, chopped onions, etc. But this Fat Prider took the American route and went with ketchup. And to wash them down, the great American lager, Budweiser.

Pace Four Cheese Salsa con Queso - The New King of Queso?

Regular reader and contributor Etathed - the East Coast Queso specialist has announced his crowning of "The King of Quesos": The New King of Queso? Queso dips are one of life's great pleasures. Until now the best store bought, readily available queso in my opinion has been the Tostitos Salsa con Queso. In fact that was just about the only queso out there. Well about a yeah ago they released a Monterey jack queso that definatly stood up to the classic queso. I have been nothing but faithful to Tostitos quesos, until now. Im not sure if this is new, or a product i have just been overlooking, which is possible as it is in the isle buy the taco fixings, NOT the chip isle. Pace Four Cheese Salsa con Queso. Thats right four cheese. Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Asadero, and Queso Blanco all in one jar. People, this offering tops all others i have found on the queso market. The label reads: "Two of these cheeses are pretty hard to find. But that didn't stop us. Asadero and Queso Blanco are both mild creations originating in mexico. The unsung heroes of this dip, they let the jalapenos, onions, and sweet red peppers make a little noise." Its true. It is a fantastic flavor and tastes much more "authentic" than Tostinos' offerings. My only complaint is the tall jar, once the queso level falls below 50 percent, its tough to get to. For those who like to pour their queso over chips or into a bowl for heating, this dip is more pour friendly than those from Tostitos. Despite Tostitos having a better designed jar for dippings, Pace's offering comes with a full ounce more of queso. 16oz compared to Tostitos 15 oz. Trust me if you like queso you will love this dip. I suggest you get at least 2 jars next time you go to the store, as upon first having this dip it is likely you may slip into a queso bender. Hail to the New Queso King!

The New Prider Size Bisquick Shake N' Pour Big Jug O' Pancake Batter

Regular reader Chris Norton sent in these photos which show us the new Bisquick pre-mixed and ready to pour pancake batter. The staff here was unaware of this new offering - but we have heard of an aerosol like whipped cream can of pancake batter. Norton only sent the photos - with no commentary attached. We are thinking he passed out after eating many servings and did not get to his review yet. This probably means these are good pancakes. Update to follow.

Andy Capp's Cheddar Fries Bag

When one of our staff shoppers spotted this at a local convenience store - she knew we would want to sample them in our test kitchens. These are not chips - they are corn and potato 'fries' - kinda like thin straight cheetos or something. Andy Capp is a thin man and we should have known that being he is loaded all the time he wouldn't know a good fry snack from a nasty one. He should have sobered up before he put his mug on this line of bagged snacks made by Con-Agra. Bland, stale and just plain boring was the consensus of those here who took place in the sampling. They were thin and full of air in the middle. Also, it was another one of those products that has 99 cents printed on the bag, but the store has them stickered at 1.29. As mentioned before, we here at the FPT believe in the honor the printed price policy. Disappointing.

Snickers Charged Bars - Limited Edition

We found these limited time flavor Snickers bar on sale at 3 for 99 cents and wisely purchased 12 at that price. Upon returning back to the FPT test kitchens, Donny (long time staffer) ate 3 of these guys, then layed out on the couch and passed out for 2 hours. He said they tasted a little different than normal Snickers - but where was the 'kick' they advertise?

New Charbroiled Steak Sandwich at Carl's Jr. - The FPT Staff Review

One of our staffers was at Carl's Jr. the other morning getting us a bag of the Big Country breakfast burritos when she noticed this new offering. Knowing full well we would want to try this, she asked the counter person if it was available - as it was 10:00 am - the answer was yes. For the price of 4.99 ala carte - this sandwich is a winner. The photos above speak for themselves. This was a nice cut of meat - no chewy spots or toughness - on nice bread with the onion ring toppers. An excellent idea to offer up an affordable and decent cut of beef in a take-out/drive-thru restaurant. We fully endorse this new menu item at Carl's Jr.

Frodo in Florida Steps Up With Spaghetti

Our friend Frodo from Florida has once again emailed in a media blitz showcasing his recent adventures cooking spaghetti: "used contadina tomato products since it has an italian lady on it so it must be more authentic. also i added ground beef to the recipe because meat sauce is king. even though i like to cook, funny enough this is my first time making the sauce from scratch (well, it's not really from scratch). it was a fine sauce" He followed this recipe here: cookeatshare.com recipe link