heat + eat = review

[mango]

there used to be a blog by that name that specialized in reviewing frozen meals.

anyway, yesterday, I tried this for the first time:



and it was meh.

the bread (or shall I say, the pocket) was kinda rubbery, and the cheese, too watery.

I even tried stuffing some extra (fresh!) spinach inside the pocket, but alas, even the power of spinach could not salvage its meh-ness.

which is to say I wouldn't recommend it.


have you tried any frozen meals lately?
how were they?
yuck? meh? yum?

[crazypants]

have you tried any frozen meals lately?
how were they?
yuck? meh? yum?

I do a frozen pizza crust 1-2 times per week. I prep all my ingredients fresh. Usually green peppers, mushrooms, light mozzarella and turkey pepperoni. Then take the crust from the freezer, thick layer of pizza sauce (from a can) the toppings and toss it in the oven. 14 minutes later. Boom. Best pizza ever. Its the perfect crust. Light. Crispy. Thick. Mmm.

FFS. Now I crave pizza

[mango]

dude, that is so not what is meant by heat, eat and review.

what you have described is more like semi-homemade cooking.

regardless, your pizza does sound good, although admittedly, I'm not sure how a pizza crust can be light, crispy and thick all at the same time.

[crazypants]

I'm so sorry.

[nadra24]

This is good:



Gnocchi alla Sorrentina from Trader Joe's.  It comes in a big bag that is supposed to have three servings in it, but it's more like 1.5 servings if you eat it as a main course instead of a side dish.  I like it.  The instructions tell you to heat it either in the microwave as-is, or to put it in a pan and add a couple of tablespoons of water and heat it that way.  I really like to add extra water (1/2-3/4 cup) and let it simmer longer, the gnocchi gets a little more tender and the sauce seems more creamy.  Sometimes I add some chopped spinach, and if I have a tomato that needs using I'll dice that up and throw it in.  That's a little more than heat + eat, though.

[all-smiles]

I do a frozen pizza crust 1-2 times per week. I prep all my ingredients fresh. Usually green peppers, mushrooms, light mozzarella and turkey pepperoni. Then take the crust from the freezer, thick layer of pizza sauce (from a can) the toppings and toss it in the oven. 14 minutes later. Boom. Best pizza ever. Its the perfect crust. Light. Crispy. Thick. Mmm.

FFS. Now I crave pizza

Thank you Semi Homemade by Sandra Lee

[diablita]

This is good:



Gnocchi alla Sorrentina from Trader Joe's.  It comes in a big bag that is supposed to have three servings in it, but it's more like 1.5 servings if you eat it as a main course instead of a side dish.  I like it.  The instructions tell you to heat it either in the microwave as-is, or to put it in a pan and add a couple of tablespoons of water and heat it that way.  I really like to add extra water (1/2-3/4 cup) and let it simmer longer, the gnocchi gets a little more tender and the sauce seems more creamy.  Sometimes I add some chopped spinach, and if I have a tomato that needs using I'll dice that up and throw it in.  That's a little more than heat + eat, though.

My family doesn't care for this, but LOVE the Gorgonzola Gnocchi version.

[redkitty]

Tried Bertolli's rustico bakes. Had a chicken parmesan one. It was gross.  I like their skillet meals, I think those are usually good.  This was just not good. very disappointing. I have some stuffed shells left to try. I hope those are good. 

[Ice Cream]

I think the Trader Joe's risottos are quite good.

[diablita]

I think the Trader Joe's risottos are quite good.

Agree.  We made the mushroom one last night.

[Natasha]

I was just thinking about starting a thread like this.

We got this at Costco and it was pretty good. It doesn't come with rice or a bread product, so get that separately.



ETA it's in the refrigerated section.

[Natasha]

I'm in one of those extended stay hotels with a kitchenette right now, and would like some heat and eat options. But there's no Trader Joes or Costco around. Need grocery store or Target options.

[Clementine]

I'm a fan of these vegan Indian meals from Amy's. They're only 310 and 280 calories so I usually supplement with raw baby carrots and a piece of fruit. They're a bit on the spendy side but still cheaper than eating out when I don't have anything in the house to pack for lunch. They also go on sale fairly often. In many grocery stores, they're found in the organic freezer section rather than with the other frozen meals.

[diablita]

I like those, too, though I prefer the Light and Lean ones from Amy's.

[Clementine]

I like those, too, though I prefer the Light and Lean ones from Amy's.

I haven't tried any of the Light & Lean ones. Mostly because their regular line has a number of fairly low cal options.

This one looks good. Have you tried it?

[witchypoo]

i am a big fan of the amy's tortellini w/pesto - when i have my shit together, i take them to work for lunch.

[rocketgirl]

I like the Target Archer Farms frozen pizzas and flatbreads.

[diablita]

I haven't tried any of the Light & Lean ones. Mostly because their regular line has a number of fairly low cal options.

This one looks good. Have you tried it?

It's the only one I haven't tasted. I make butternut squash all the time and am not sure ill like the mouthfeel.

I LOVE the Swiss chard with polenta and the taco fiesta bowl.

[mango]

speaking of Amy's, I did try one of their lasagnas a long while ago:



which was really good.

of course I had to eat two boxes of it, because one just wasn't enough.

but yeah, Amy's products are quite expensive, they never go on sale, and their portions are way too small to fill my forever empty belly.

otherwise, I'm also a fan of Amy's. 


anyway, since there is no Trader Joe's around here either, I'm going to second this:

Need grocery store or Target options.

[merigayle]

when we were away last weekend, we got two of these and they were surprisingly tasty for gluten free AND vegan