Surprisingly filling! Shrimp didn't get too rubbery, good for the price, a good amount of protein. Wound up adding my usual red pepper flakes and garlic salt hehe. Sauce was flavorful and thick though - wish I'd made some garlic toast to go with it. Not bad! Would prob buy again.
Flavor is good. I added some black pepper and garlic salt for my own taste preferences, but would have been good without. Portion is what you'd expect for a 190 calorie meal. Could have used so much more mushrooms - such a cheap, flavorful filler, it boggled my mind there were only a few pieces.
Insanely put off by the ingredient list as far as it pertains to the "steak". Tasty sauce, but the ick with "water and binder product" is so strong I personally won't be buying again. What did I actually eat for lunch today. Uncanny, surreal, Black Mirror ass lunch. Why is beef in parentheses. Just give me the same sauce and broccoli with nothing but mushrooms, maybe some slivered onions, white beans for flavor-absorbing protein? and this would be a 9/10 rebuy for me. but uh. yeah. I'm good on this one 😥
/u/No-Celebration3097 recommended this to me on my last Night Hawk post, but celebration is indeed on the docket: went traveling and found a place that had it!
Now, full disclosure: this had been thawing at my destination for nearly three hours before I got to it - delivery services and travel times are both fickle mistresses. this is to say, we did our best with cook times. I think the tortillas were more forgiving as a result, since they had had time to soften and didn't get crunchy, but almost went too soggy? But I truly think that's because of defrost and not quality.
Man the flavor is there. I tried to give everything a good stir to make the visuals live up to the anticipated flavor, not sure I did the job. but don't hesitate on this one. the queso is flavorful and plentiful, enough to drag a forkful of rice and beans through. the protein flavor is there (don't look at it - as someone from the south, I didn't realize how much visual stock I put in the word 'brisket' and it almost gave me the ick but the flavor is absolutely there). for less than four bucks, I cannot recommend this enough. I haven't been able to find it where I live so far; if you see it, give it a shot, esp if you're a fan of tex mex.
(third pic, fresh from Chef Mike. fourth pic, after a good stir)
Actually got this recommendation from this sub!!
Y'all I have no notes on this one. Amazing heat, good portion size, needed nothing added to be delicious. Sodium bomb af but worth the edema. If I'd had some fresh green onion on hand it would have made a great addition, maybe a squeeze of lime or toasted sesame seeds to bring it up a notch? But genuinely so tasty as-is from the box.
(third pic: fresh from Chef Mike. fourth pic: when I stirred and realized we were in trouble.)
Y'all. Let's start with the pros: I didn't scald the sauce (thank you to everyone who educated me on microwave power settings!). The green beans were good af.
That's all we got.
This was the weirdest soggiest slop bowl I've ever had. Conceptually, I'm all about it - I love a slop bowl! But the mashed potatoes never came together; it was just this weird, mildly gritty, runny gravy soup glue. How can a sauce be so thin and so sticky. The breading on the steak bites just sloughed off when I started stirring. Stabbed them with a fork, lifted from the bowl, beef bite skin left behind, trapped in the eldritch horror swamp that is this bowl.
I didn't even bother adding seasoning, but had plans for maybe extra black pepper, maybe a sprinkle of cheddar jack. but it was just so painfully unappetizing. I ate the green beans, I had a couple of the half-naked steak bites, I called it a day.
Definitely not getting this one again :(
(Last two pics: Fresh from Chef Mike pre-mix, after some stirring and zhuzhing.)
Alright. So I'm a huge beans and rice fan -- no matter the style. Black beans with cilantro rice, arroz con gandules, refried and Spanish, you name it and I'm eating it. But my favorite of all is a good Cajun style red beans and rice. This is all to say that maybe I'm being a lil harsh: all in all, this is a perfectly fine dish, and it will certainly satisfy a craving.
My biggest problem is that it smells better than it ultimately tastes. On the midpoint "uncover, stir, re-cover" portion, there is such a strong smell of the Holy Trinity: onions, bell pepper, celery. But by the time you get to the finished dish, those flavors just don't pop as much - not really in a melded way, just hard to find. The sausage is present, they didn't skimp on protein portion, but the flavor is a little lacking on that front too. It writes a check to the nose that the mouth can't cash unmodified. Not that it's bad by ANY means -- you just expect a smidge more based on how delicious it smells.
Like any good rice and beans dish, it's born to be dressed up -- I added Crystals Hot Sauce, some Tony's, and some green onion for flavor. In hindsight, I think a pinch of celery salt would have gone a long way. And you know, it didn't hit every flavor note I would have expected, but I got 50% in 5 minutes of what would have been 100% after a couple hours making it from scratch. To me, that's a decent dish. And bonus points for not a single grainy or crunchy bean.
I would absolutely buy this again -- portion size is good, incredibly filling, still hits those rice and beans notes of comfort food I look for. So long as you go in with the right expectations, and some good fixins to really make it your own, this is a good bet.
Let me start with the cons on this: the ends of the enchiladas always wind up crunchy. This might be one of the furthest things from an authentic Mexican food experience. There could stand to be a liiittle more rice to balance out the amount of beans, and without fail part of the beans always winds up being kinda dry. In a perfect world, there wouldn't be that center barrier because my soul just wants to mix it all up.
But god this is such a nostalgic, delicious dish to me. It reminds me of going to Pancho's in the 90s. It's filling and tasty - I add a bit of hot sauce for spice, but no salt needed on this one. Definitely won't be everyone's cup of tea, but such a comfort meal for me!
(also I know the edges are fried again like the butter chicken post, I swear my microwave is overpowered - it says 1000w, I cook according to 1000w, we get scalded sauce 😭 but still delicious all the same haha)
I know this is frozen dinners, but I hope frozen breakfast counts!!
This is a heartbreaking 4 to give.
Let's start with the pros. Flavor is there for sure. I added a little hot sauce and black pepper for my own preference, but it would have been perfectly fine flavor-wise just the way it comes. Some of the bacon pieces were just straight fat, buttt I'm a big back - I didn't hate it at all (though I know it would be a turn off for some people). The bacon tasted like real bacon, not artificial bacon-flavored protein. Portion size was great, cook time was reasonable, and even though I often find dishes with cheese to have too much for my taste, this struck a perfect balance for me.
The first three bites were great!
And then something happened. I tried researching it; something with heating proteins and water content? But the eggs turned *gritty*. Almost like whatever exists between sand and aquarium gravel is what the mouthfeel turned into.
It was really disappointing because again the flavor really was there from the jump, but I wound up throwing it away unfinished and just had some toast to round out my breakfast instead.
I bought two of these and still have the second in waiting, so if anyone has tips or insight on what happened here, I'm happy to try again and do another review!
This is one of my favorites - ol reliable. The herb sauce is delicious but a little under-seasoned for my taste, so I usually add garlic salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. The chicken is pretty alright, a lil rubbery in parts but not bad. The veg is excellent. Obviously with it being an intentionally light meal, it's not the most filling, but I love it for a midday work mini-meal.