Slightly Expensive, but a filling healthy choice for lunch.

Nutritional information is as follows:

 South Beach says, “You could spend half your lunch break in the deli waiting for the same old cold cuts on white bread. Or, you could pop our delicious Turkey Santa Fe in the microwave for a deli-style hot sandwich melt with that perfect Southwestern flavor. ”

     I found a coupon for this dinner in the Dallas Morning newspaper for $1.00 off, so I picked one up to try at our local Wal-Mart. This is my first South Beach frozen dinner to review, and from looking at the nutrition information at 350 calories, an ideal choice for a quick fulfilling lunch.

     Initially after opening the box, everything was packaged seperately in a high quality fashion allowing you to build your sandwich to your liking. It also contained the microwave material in the paper to prevent soggy bread. I was very impressed with the packaging as it is first class.

 Taste and Flavor
The sandwich I put together contained everything in the box which was some turkey, cheese, spicy ranch, and wheat bread. The sandwich appears quite small but after putting together it thickens up enough for a meal. It says to wait and let cool, except that is tough to do when you are hungry so I slightly burned my tongue…ouch!

The turkey was very high quality and covered all the bread supplied containing several thin slices(4 or 5). The turkey was similar in taste as you would find with any store purchased prepackaged lunch meat, nothing ground breaking here.

 The pepper jack cheese joyfully melted atop the turkey under the supplied microwave heating directions. The melted cheese was the highlite of the lunch, as it made the sandwich adding flavor and a little heat. Without the cheese, this lunch would have been boring.   

The supplied spicy ranch packet was not at all that spicy for my taste. It was a red colored sauce which I added right before completing the sandwich build. The wheat bread was slightly gummy, I was hoping for a fresher feel, but I realize this is a frozen dinner. The taste was similar to a whole wheat bread, with no added sugar, honey or fun stuff. Next time I try this meal, some butter and toasting the bun would take this sandwich to the next level.

Overall
South Beach gets 3 stars as overall I am pleased with this sandwich, just not ecstatic. The packaging, style, and directions of the dinner are first class. The turkey is…….turkey, the sauce is no so great, and the cheese is the bomb. If they could figure a way to have less gummy bread with a sweeter taste, it may have almost got 4 stars.

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Nutrional information is as follows:

 Taste
Although these frozen dinners are very inexpensive and can usually be found at 1 dollar or less, the taste and quality of this meal is sub-standard. It is unfit to eat…..yes, even for third world countries.

The corn was the only thing that was semi-edible in this meal, needless to say, save your money and purchase a .60 cent can of corn.

The potatoes were very instant,  cheap tasting, and hardly resembles what a potato taste like. To be honest, I have never been a fan of instant potatoes, but I have experienced instant potatoes prepared correctly and still I wonder what this white pile is Banquet calls mashed potatoes.

The most curdling taste here was the “barbecue sauce”, this tomato based sauce had no sweetness whatsoever, and was actually quite bitter.  The consistency was an extremely watered down liquid, with the taste better resembling tomato soup.

The Chicken? How could the chicken possibly be bad, after all it is chicken!

This chicken should not even be classified on the same planet as chicken. Better yet, it should be labeled “Pressed Chicken Parts”. That is exactly what I experienced, it is chicken breast shaped, but it consisted of fatty pieces, cartilage, and bone ironed into a yummy treat. No, that was not a typo I said Bone! There were at least one bone sliver that I could not chew, and several pieces of cartilage and fat that I had to pick out of my mouth.

Overall
Needless to say, my stomach felt queasy after eating this meal, not sure if it was the actual contents, or the reflection of what I actually consumed. Rather than Barbecue Chicken Meal, the correct term for this dinner should be “Banquet - Whole Chickens Grounded into Pieces and Packed into a Patty served in a watery Tomato Mystery Sauce” along with a disclaimer in case you chip a tooth or get sick. All I can say is never again!

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Nutritional information is as follows:

      Weight Watcher’s says “Indulge in an Italian favorite pasta dish tossed in with deliciously chunky meat sauce full of seasoned beef, diced tomatoes, mushrooms and onions, accented with oregano and basil.  So delicious, so satisfying … and another way you can be good today.  Smart Ones(r)  taste so good, you want to be good.”

 Taste and Flavor
My last review of a Smart One meal received 4 stars so I was anxious to try another. This selection although shared the same healthy traits, differed in taste substantially. The sauce had a heavier seasoned flavor than I cared for. Two turn offs for me were the large slices of mushroom and hunks of canned tomato which I found some discomfort eating.  If these items were chopped up, I would have handled it better.

Also, there was way to much meat sauce with the amount of noodles given. I was done and ended up with a bucket of sauce still. It did have ground beef mixed in with the sauce, but I even found the taste of the beef a little off. It was almost like a sausage, or Canadian bacon taste. It did not seem to match the dish and sauce.

Overall
Personally I would not try this one again, the noodles were about the only thing that was adequate. The sauce was seasoned with oregano/basil too heavily giving off a “wang”, the ground beef did not taste like ground beef, more like Canadian bacon. Large chunks of tomato and mushroom will find their way onto your spoon which take away from the image and flavor of good spaghetti. Did you say you like cheese? Sorry, you will not find any cheese on this dish. On a positive note, it is healthy lunch or dinner choice at 310 calories.

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Served with mushroom gravy and asparagus. Now with a full serving of vegetables.
Nutritional information is as follows:

As I am trying to lose my spare tire, I am interested in some healthier choices and this is my first review that would fall into the “health” category. After my days in public school, we had Salisbury steak every other day so needless to say it is not one of my favorites. Also, I normally prefer home made macaroni and cheese so this dinner had a lot to prove.

Taste and Flavor
The meal turned out to be a big surprise in taste so I gave it 4 stars. The macaroni and cheese actually tasted like it was home made with real cheese. It was cheesy enough to give it that creamy texture, and quality was there. The macaroni had been cooked well and survived the microwave with flying colors.  I did add a dash of pepper and salt, which also added to my enjoyment of this side.

The Steak was fairly large for a meal this size, as the box says, it weighs in at 9.5 ounces. The taste of the steak itself was what I traditionally remembered with Salisbury. However, the gravy around it is what I enjoyed the most. The “Good Brown Gravy” had sauteed onions and mushrooms which brought out a little kick into the steak. I found myself mopping up the gravy, which is something I normally refrain from.

Overall
The portions are obviously small, but look at the nutrition statistics. The mac and cheese, along with the brown gravy made the steak and for 260 calories it was well worth it. I am guilt free, semi full, fat guy, hmm I can have that piece of cake now. I do plan on trying more from the weight watchers genre if the others live up to this standard. The lunch tasted great and coupled with an apple or orange, it will fill you up. I will definitely purchase the Salisbury Steak from Weight Watchers again.

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Breaded chicken breast with rib meat topped with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese with spaghetti.

Nutritional information is as follows:

Chicken Parmigiana is one of my favorite dishes to order in restaurants so I was excited to try Stouffers version in their single serving frozen dinner.

Taste and Flavor
The chicken breast was quite thick and I had trouble getting it warm throughout with no cold spots without nuking the rest. The breaded chicken was fairly tender and tasted like it had been baked. I was able to cut with a plastic knife successfully. The crust of the chicken was neutral tasting and since it is a frozen dinner, it was completely soggy as expected.

The marinara sauce and the noodles are what made this meal, I could not tell that either were from a frozen meal. The noodles were soft and I had ample sauce in proportion to the rest of the meal. Other than the slight issue I had with warm-up, the only other complaint I had with this meal was lack of cheese.  I prefer a small amount of cheese, but even with my preferences I found myself wanting a little more.

Overall
I was very impressed with Stouffer’s compilation of Chicken Parmigiana, the flavor of the spaghetti and sauce were top notch. The good sized chicken breast was exactly enough, as I left feeling full. The cheese was a little light, enough maybe to taste the mozzarella for 2 bites or so. It is still a good value for the money especially if you can find on sale as the Stouffers line can be expensive. It is definitely a step up in quality when compared with your cheaper brands out there. I would eat this dish again, nice job Stouffer’s!

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Today we are reviewing Roasted Pork, another choice from Boston Market. This meal is also around the $3.49 range at your local grocery store.

This meal consist of a Roasted Pork with Gravy and Garlic Redskin Mashed Potatoes. The marketing hype from Boston Market suggest:

“Hearty chunks of pork in a delicious gravy with a side of garlic redskin mashed potatoes. So good, it doesn’t need any more explanation.” http://www.bostonmarketfrozen.com/products/dinner.aspx

Nutrional information is as follows:

The Review

Appearance and Packaging
The potato’s actually looked quite nice after heating up as you can see the real sliced potato and skins.  Brown Gravy fills the left side with small pieces of pork swimming, or perhaps drowning. Not the most appealing look, perhaps more like a soup rather than “roasted” pork.

In general, the meal is lacking in color, and screams heavy in starch with all the gravy and potato’s.

Taste and Flavor
The brown gravy was extremely generic tasting, possibly too neutral of a taste to even assist the roasted pork or the potatoes. Also, normally I like to add the gravy onto my potato’s, but given the flavor I decided against it.

Despite the gravy, the potatoes were a treat! I actually enjoyed everything about them, style in which they were prepared, the texture, and the taste were all notwhat you would expect to find in a frozen dinner. Although they were advertised “garlic potatoes”, I tasted just a hint of garlic which is what I prefer. Mostly they were mashed and creamed, but parts were left un-mashed along with cooked skins which gave it a home style feel.

In my opinion the pork also made a poor showing, the pieces were small, some so fatty that it required some extra chewing. The flavor of the pork just did not seem to match the gravy, almost like they did not go together. Some pieces were quite rubbery, while others appeared to be tender. As far as taste, it delivered nothing, just pork.

Overall
Larger higher quality cuts of pork would help this dish along with brown gravy with a tad more flavor. The potatoes were surprisingly good, but this alone would not justify purchasing this dish again.

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      Today, I had the pleasure of a lunch date with my wife, we decided to try Razzoos, a popular Cajun restaurant in the Dallas, TX area. I ordered the Cajun Chicken Fried Steak, which was $9.49. Chicken Fried Steak has always been a delicacy in the south, however I had never associated  it with “Cajun food”. I went out on a limb and tried their “Cajun” version of a chicken fried steak. My initial thinking was why mess with something that already taste so good….

Temperature - Delivery
The restaurant was very clean and the service was awesome on this visit. But I am not reviewing the restaurant, I am more interested in this slice of beef. The dish had obviously been freshly prepared and delivered quickly as it was piping hot. My first bite burned my mouth! - I had to tell myself “Slow Down fat guy, its not going anywhere”.

Appearance
Hope you are not hungry, if so this picture will be tough to look at without hoping in the car and heading down to Razzoo’s. The large portion of fried steak takes up most of the plate smothered in sausage gravy, a healthy portion of red skin mashed potato, some not so healthy green beans and topped off with a beautiful piece of bread. The gravy was a little heavy for my taste, so before eating I did scrape as much as I could off, so you may want to consider ordering your gravy on the side. Notice the Cajun seasoning sprinkled on top, this dish is a colorful platter of goodness.

Fried Steak
A steak knife comes with the meal, but I found that the sharp knife really was not needed. The steak cut easily, this had obviously had been some steak that had been tenderized correctly. The cut of meat was high quality as well, I was able to consume the whole steak with only one bite of the tough chewing gristle. This cut of meat is common for this, so it is refreshing to have a chicken fried steak you can eat without all the chewing.

The crust had the most interesting desirable flavor, possibly a buttermilk crust livened up with some seasoning to deliver the Cajun taste. While the crust was softer, I found that it went along perfect with the dish, the crunch was fulfilled by the bread. The steak was pulled from the fryer at a perfect time, as to not burn the crust or the steak yet it was well done with no pink. The steak along with the flour sausage gravy and maybe a dip into some ketchup and this is now one of my most favorite treats.

Mashed Potato
Everything else on the plate was practically invisible until the steak was consumed. The mashed potato’s were traditionally cooked with skins still with the final product being  fairly tasty and creamy. Even thought they were good, it was not as unbelievably good as was the fried steak, perhaps a tad bland as one might expect a little more kick from a Cajun restaurant. But I do understand that it gives kids and people who do not like spicy food an option as well.

The potatoes were seasoned with plenty of salt-pepper already. As most restaurant dishes are pre-salted, I did not find the need to add additional salt to anything in the meal. I did not or could not finish them all.

Green Beans
Although the side item is not a flagship selling point of the dish, I found them to taste pretty good. However these vegetables would be unrecognizable to something in the fresh healthy category as they were soaked and cooked in a pretty heavy sauce with chunks of bacon. This would be probably  be one of the few times it would be healthier to avoid the greens! Needless to say, I could not finish nor had the desire to finish them anyway.

Bread
This garlic french bread forced me to eat every bit after tasting it, I tried but could not stop. I have no idea how they prepare it, possibly grilled, as both sides were slightly toasted giving it a nice crunch. More importantly, butter was soaked through out and so every bite was buttery goodness. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside, top notch garlic flavor and was perfect as a supplement to this dish.

Overall
As you can tell from my long winded post, that I was very impressed with the Cajun Chicken Fried Steak and the bread. Flavor was perfect, with just the right amount of spice to know this is not just your regular everyday steak. The side dishes may need a little touch-up, but the main course makes the meal and Razzoo’s stepped up to the plate. One downside to the dish is price. This is ususally one of the cheaper dishes to prepare yet the price was nearly $10, if you want to add a drink+tip+tax,  you will spend $15 on a lunch easily. Depite this, I will order again, and maybe get a water instead. I give this dish 4.5 stars!

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     Welcome! This is the first post on this website! I look forward to trying/reviewing meals and posting them on this blog. It is a new hobby for me, but one I anticipate enjoying quite a bit. I hope you find my first review usefull and please drop a comment if you have time. Thanks, Patrick

    Today’s Lunch entailed the Country Fried Chicken frozen dinner from Boston Market which is priced at $3.49 at a local grocery store. Like most other selections, the picture on the box was scrumptious, so I had to select this meal for review and for survival.

     This meal consist of a Breaded Chicken Patty with Home style Mashed Potatoes, White Gravy, and a Side of Peas & Carrots. The marketing hype from Boston Market suggest:

“We use tender all white meat chicken dipped in a seasoned batter. It’s served up with country gravy and our Homestyle Mashed Potatoes along with a side of tasty peas & carrots.” http://www.bostonmarketfrozen.com/products/dinner.aspx

 Nutrional information  is as follows:

The Review

Appearance and Packaging
The presentation after opening the box was not impressive. The potato’s were actually hidden underneath the fried chicken mixed with the gravy.  The vegetables appeared healthy and colorful. The container was solid enough to support the weight of the food.

 A seperate gravy packet would help the presentation quite a bit. It would also allow the customer to control how much gravy gets on the food for odvious taste and health reasons.  Another suggestion that would help the look of this meal would be a seperate area for the potato’s to hang out so it all does not end up looking like hog food mashed together in a trough. 

Consistency
The vegetables appeared to be fresh, steamed and firm which are my favorite. After biting into them, they were soft and “cheap” feeling. The fried chicken crust was soggy as expected, but the chicken texture was actually fork and plastic knife tender. The mashed potatos were completely creamed.

Taste and Flavor
The most important thing ofcourse is the taste, and this meal did deliver with the exception of the vegetables. The basic flour gravy tasted fresh and comporable to what you would find at high quality restaurant or home made.

The fried chicken, which is the flagship of this meal delivered in taste. Like the gravy, it was cooked in a more traditional fashion fried in batter, with no suprise spice/flavors. It did also appear to be a high quality peice of breast meat which the gravy complimented nicely.

The mashed potato’s also made a great showing “after un-hiding them”. They tasted and probably were real potatos as opposed to instant. Again, hope you like the gravy mixed in with them (I do), because the gravy and potatos were already mixed. Leave the salt shaker alone, these potatos already were seasoned with plenty, I did add a bit of pepper though.

Overall
I made it through half the vegetables soaked in butter sauce before losing interest.  The flavor of the fried chicken, cream gravy, and potatoes is where this dinner shines. Kudos Boston Market! No, I did not leave any scraps in that arena.  The meal was generally a tad bit salty for my taste, but as you can see did not keep me from going without. The quantity was enough where I felt comfortable but not stuffed. I was satisfied with this purchase, and will probably purchase again , especially if it can be found cheaper than $3.49. I give it a 3 out of 5.

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