Random Craving: Chicken And Apples

The other day, I packed a Luck's Chicken and Dumplings Microwave Bowl and an Emerald Breakfast On The Go: Breakfast Blend pouch into my lunch bag for work.  The granola pouch has yogurt covered raisins, granola clusters, honey roasted peanuts, dried cranberries, apple cinnamon glazed walnuts and dried apple chips. As it got closer to lunch time, I randomly started thinking "Oh gosh, what if I mixed the granola in with the chicken and dumplings ? That sounds amazing right now." And it turned out I was right. Yum! If you're thinking "eww, granola and dumplings ?", trust me, this concoction tastes better than it sounds.

Applegate Farms: All Natural Breaded Chicken Patties

"The golden crispy breading on our chicken patty is the perfect complement to our tender antibiotic-free chicken."
"Ready to heat * Fully cooked"









Recently, the AMW family taste tested Applegate Farms chicken patties. Normally I cannot get anyone here to eat chicken patties from the grocery store. Their response is always "But I want the juicy Chick-Fil-A stuff. Why can't we have that instead?" However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that wasn't the case when I cooked the Applegate Farms chicken.

I was excited to see "no antibiotics" and "all natural" on the Applegate Farms box. But what really got my attention was the nutrition label. Normally I find myself saying "What the heck is in this ? I can't pronounce half the ingredients." What a change from the usual chemical laden ingredient list:

"Chicken, Water, Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Corn Starch, Salt, Natural Flavor, Breaded With: Wheat Flour, Sugar, Yeast, Soybean Oil, Salt, Battered With: Water, Wheat Flour, Corn Starch, Yellow Corn Flour, Salt, Breading Set In Vegetable Oil."

The Applegate Farms breaded chicken patties were really easy to cook. Ordinary chicken patties become soggy if cooked in a microwave or an oven. The Applegate patties, however, were a pleasant change from that scenario. The coating came out crispy in both the microwave and oven tastings. The meat was moist and tender, too!

Another plus with the A.F. chicken was the creativity & flexibility I had in the kitchen. One night the AMW family had succulent chicken sandwiches with lettuce and tomato (Adios, Chick-Fil-A!) Another day I sliced the chicken into strips for a salad. The chicken patties were also delicious at dinner with sides of applesauce and green beans. I got requests for second helpings and even "Is there any left from last night ? I really liked the chicken."

I would definitely buy Applegate Farms Chicken. I liked the all natural ingredients and the ease of meal preparation. The patties also pleased everyone in the family. Thumbs up for Applegate Farms Chicken Patties!

Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake

"Plantains with roasted sweet potato, black beans and kale. Spicy ancho sauce with pumpkin seed garnish served over Kashi seven whole grain polenta, plus amaranth."





Yesterday I received a coupon for a free frozen Kashi meal. I picked the Mayan Harvest Bake because that was the most appetizing looking variety the store had. Click on the link in the title to view the other meals; you'll see why that's not a compliment.

Plantains = 2 pieces of horribly mushy,pasty plantain. Plantains are one of my favorite foods, so I know they normally aren't awful like these.
Black beans = 3 Tbsp black beans. Lacked seasoning and were not tender enough
Sweet potato = 6 small chunks. Bland and pasty.
Kale = Just a few shreds scattered in between the beans. Not noticeable
Amaranth Polenta = Another one of my favorite dishes Kashi botched up. The polenta and the pilaf were all mixed together in a watery, grainy pile.
Spicy ancho sauce = Ancho chile pepper paste. Strong, obnoxious flavor. It wasn't spicy, although it had heat.
Kashi 7 whole grain pilaf = See polenta above. The ingredients were oats,long grain rice, rye, hard red winter wheat, triticale, buckwheat, barley and sesame seeds
Roasted and salted pepitas= Soggy pumpkin seed kernels that were mixed in with every layer of the meal

Thumbs down for Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake.

Del Monte Harvest Selections: Cheese & Spinach Ravioli

I've seen Del Monte's ravioli several times at Super Wal-Mart. And you know I love spinach and cheese, so I had to try it.

The bowl is microwavable. That'd be great, except the plastic was difficult to remove [yes, Delmonte reps, I know you cook with it on, not off] I pulled off one layer of plastic, only for it to split into two layers : / I ended up with sauce on my shirt, the counter and my fingers. The smell of the tomato sauce was repugnant. If you dislike Chef Boyardee and Spaghetti-Os, you will hate this smell, too. Yuck !

But I decided to heat up the ravioli and give it a shot. That made the sauce taste richer and more flavorful. However, the ravioli filling was beyond nasty. The cheese and spinach filling resembled chopped mystery meat with green streaks. The filling and after taste again brought to mind Chef Boyardee. I won't buy Harvest Selections again : P

This was all Del Monte had on their website about Harvest Selection:

Del Monte® Harvest Selections® Meals
Talk about convenience! Harvest Selections are a shelf stable meal that can be kept either in your cupboard at home or within easy reach in your office desk drawer. Pop them in the microwave for 90 seconds and you get a hearty and delicious meal loaded with vegetables. No more diet-dooming trips to the vending machine!

Del Monte® Harvest Selections® Meals
New Del Monte® Harvest Selections® entrees are a line of delicious, wholesome, microwavable meals that deliver two full servings of vegetables per meal. Harvest Selections® does not require a fridge or freezer. Available in six varieties, including Beef Stew, Italian Pasta Bake, Chicken Cacciatore, Homestyle Chili with Beans, Cheese and Spinach Ravioli and Santa-Fe Style Rice and Beans, this convenient new product can be eaten in the office, at home or on the go.

Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowls: Bacon

Let's try an experiment. Go in your kitchen and look for a bottle of Bacon Bits. Found it ? Great ! Now open it up and gulp down the whole thing. Not too pleasant, eh ? That is the closest comparison I can give to Jimmy Dean's Breakfast Bowl of bacon, eggs, potatoes and cheddar.

The amount of bacon in one bowl was astoundingly disgusting and salty. My reaction after reading the sodium, cholesterol and saturated fat count was "Holy moley, how did my heart not stop working after one spoonful ?!"

The potatoes were rather mushy, even after being cooked in a frying pan. Yes, I am aware it is a microwave product, dear sweet Jimmy Dean lawyers / or product quality assurance folks. I don't think microwaving, sauteing or balancing it on my nose like a seal would have made a difference.

A big fat [no pun intended] "F" goes to Jimmy Dean.

Taco Bell Fiesta Steak Bowlz

"Mexican-Style Rice, Refried Beans, Steak Strips, Smoky Fiesta Sauce With Onions, Red Bell Peppers, and Green Bell Peppers"

Two problems with this product:
#1. The name. I keep reading it as "Fiesta Bowels", which makes an interesting commentary on the quality of this product.
#2. The package says "steak strips." Yeah, I'm not seeing any of those here. What I have is a big bowl of refried beans, smushed rice and what looks like onion soup with just a tiny pinch of meat thrown in. There's no such thing as 1/8 x 1/8 inch steak strips, y'all. It's pitiful to look at. I give this product a big thumbs down.

**I see I'm not alone in my disdain:

Bonnie Tandy Leblang's review, Taco Bell's Bowlz are boring, short on meat, Deseret News (Salt Lake City)April 25,2007

Amy's Pesto Tortellini Bowls

"The ultimate in comfort foods…tender organic tortellini pasta and ricotta in a rich creamy pesto sauce."

I wasn't too pleased with Amy's pesto tortellini. The pasta on the bottom of the bowl became horribly soggy after being microwaved. The ricotta filling was brown and barely noticeable. The pesto sauce was also disappointing; Amy's did not add enough of the basil traditionally used in pesto sauce. I will stick with making my own pesto sauce and pasta from scratch.