Archive for the ‘Chicken’ Category

Healthy Choice Sweet & Sour Chicken

Monday, October 12th, 2009

Healthy Choice Sweet & Sour Chicken - Ad

Healthy Choice Sweet & Sour Chicken

Looks: The vegetables in the chicken mixture don’t have nearly the lustrous sheen that the box depicts, and the peach “crisp” looks more like peach-applesauce. However, all the ingredients pictured on the packaging are there, and they’re mostly the correct color. 3 out of 5

Taste: Depending on which piece of chicken you try, the chicken is either crispy, chewy, soggy, or bland. The vegetables (broccoli included) add nothing, but the rice + sauce mixture is pretty tasty. The peach crisp didn’t do much for me, although it made me forget about the broccoli. I wouldn’t buy this again. 2 out of 5

Marie Callender’s Chicken Pot Pie

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

Clerkerist sends in this week’s reader submission and does a pretty good job of emulating the photo on the box:

This one is pretty much on target. The pie is browned and flaky. The only deviance from the package cooking directions was a little cooking spray in the pan before microwaving. Otherwise you pretty much have to serve the pie upside-down. Very tasty with crisp peas and carrots, all-white-meat chicken, and rib-sticking gravy. 5 out of 5

Wait a minute… “crisp peas and carrots, all-white-meat chicken, and rib-sticking gravy”? Clerkerist, are you an undercover Marie Callender’s rep sent here to counter the effects of my post on your disgusting cheesy chicken and rice? For shame, Marie Callender, for shame.

Healthy Choice Country Breaded Chicken

Saturday, October 10th, 2009

Healthy Choice Country Breaded Chicken - Ad

Healthy Choice Country Breaded Chicken

Looks: Once you account for plating the meal the way they have it on the box, the food looks pretty close to the packaging. The cherry dessert isn’t as thick as its representation, and the carrots are underrepresented in the vegetable triangle, but the rest stacks up pretty well. 4 out of 5

Taste: Disappointing. The potatoes were gluey, and the chicken tasteless (and soggy where it touched the potatoes). The cherry dessert was sickly sweet, and I certainly didn’t find any “vanilla crisp.” The vegetables sure did taste like vegetables though! (Note that scores of 1 out of 5 or lower are mainly reserved for meals I couldn’t finish or wouldn’t finish. I finished this, but wasn’t very happy about wasting an eating opportunity on it.) 2 out of 5

Bertolli Chicken Alfredo & Fettuccine

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Bertolli Chicken Alfredo & Fettuccine - Ad

Bertolli Chicken Alfredo & Fettuccine

Looks: This is the first Bertolli meal I’ve had that didn’t look almost exactly like its packaging. The noodles are off-color (if they were a movie, they’d be rated PG-13… ba dum bum), and the chicken and mushroom pieces shown on the bag are most definitely not that size. 2.5 out of 5

Taste: Although it doesn’t look as expected, it tastes fantastic. I used to call the Bertolli Chicken Florentine & Farfalle my favorite Bertolli meal, but my wife and I both agree that this dish tops it. The noodles have just the right amount of bite and texture, and the sauce is a nice light alfredo (admittedly, our favorite kind of sauce). The chicken is most, as Bertolli always manages. (You might be thinking, “Man, this guy is in love with Bertolli.” You would not be incorrect to think this.) I cannot think of enough things to say in praise of this meal. 5 out of 5