There are a number of different meals available, many of which I’d never normally eat (such as sweet and sour chicken, burrito/tamale combo, etc), so I’ve been systematically lunching on the foods I do like and thus are more likely to buy regularly. My choices are simple ones that just about every frozen food manufacturer out there provides, such as noodle-based entrees, meatloaf, and pizza. Each Banquet entrée is similar to others with the portion sizes being well within line of their competition, so on that front alone Banquet can’t be beat. But what about the taste? Price matters little if it tastes like crap, so here’s what I’ve found:
Meatloaf and Salisbury Steak (both come with mashed potatoes and corn)
Okay so what’s the difference between meatloaf and Salisbury steak? They’re both made from (mostly) beef with some spices and grains mixed in. Some folks say the real difference is the ‘sauce’ or gravy: meatloaf can be garnished with tomato sauce or ketchup, while Salisbury steak has proper gravy. Frankly, there’s no real difference between the two in Banquet’s versions. The spices being used are clearly a little different for each so the taste of the patty is not the same, but both have brown gravy. The meatloaf doesn’t really look much like homemade meatloaf at all; it’s really just a slightly modified version of Salisbury steak. There are two major differences with the meatloaf, however; the gravy is a bit thicker and the patty is slightly bigger. The mashed potatoes and corn are virtually identical in each meal, and they taste just fine. The corn is not “buttery” as it sits/cooks in plain water, but thankfully they’re not mushy either; there’s a “snap” to each little kernel that shows they were frozen while still fresh. The potatoes are actually rehydrated but if they’re prepared correctly (see tip below) they’re not bad at all. They may be a bit bland but a little salt and pepper goes a long way here. Generally speaking, both of these meals are very, very good for only one dollar. They’re ridiculously simple creations – meat and potatoes with a side of veggies. It’s hard to go wrong with that combination, and for only a buck they’re great for the money-conscious.
Microwave cooking tip: I’ve found there’s no need to stop cooking to stir the potatoes and then resume cooking, as the instructions indicate. Just nuke it for the full time, and then stir the potatoes. You should then let it sit for a bit while everything cools down; it will “plump” them up a bit more. If the mashed potatoes are runny/watery, then you didn’t let it cook long enough, and/or you didn’t stir them up.
Swedish Meatballs – absolutely horrible. See previous week’s post for more lurid details. Bleah. :p
Cheesy Macaroni & Beef – let’s get this out of the way right now: I am not a sauce person. This is especially true when it comes to macaroni and cheese. I have dairy issues, so that explains most of that, but years ago I got into the habit of making mac-and-cheese with ground beef while using less than the full powdered cheese packet. I liked this greasy, cheese-flavored “goulash” so much that I’ve never gone back to the original, unadorned version. Having said that, I felt this meal had slightly too much sauce, but for the average consumer it’d probably be just fine. The beef nuggets are small and slightly rubbery but there are plenty of them, and it’s easy to get some in every single spoon/forkful. All things considered, this isn’t bad at all, especially with a dash of salt.
Chicken Nuggets and Fries – this meal seems pretty chintzy when compared to the others, there’s only three nuggets and a handful of fries. The chicken also reminds of the old recipe McDonald’s used for their nuggets – ie, the thoroughly-processed mystery meat that clearly isn’t all white meat. This also has the same problem as microwaveable pizzas, in that it might come out slightly soggy.
Microwave cooking tip: flip everything over right after its finished cooking so the water doesn’t get soaked into the nuggets’ breading.
Spaghetti & Meatballs – Meh. The noodles are slightly overcooked, the sauce is a bit bland, and the meatballs are large enough to cut but not very flavorful. Salt makes it better but not great, in fact something about this sauce just doesn’t thrill me (sauce again!). For this item, you really do get what you pay for: for only one dollar, you get something that looks (and even tastes) vaguely like spaghetti and meatballs. It’ll sustain you for a few hours, but don’t expect much more than that.
Pepperoni Pizza (comes with chocolate pudding) – for the size of the tray that this meal sits in, it actually looks as though there’s more pudding than pizza. The side with the pizza is actually bigger than the pudding side, but the pudding literally FILLS its cabin, while the pizza looks like its swimming in open space. It’s something of an optical illusion – it’s not really all that small; the compartment it sits in just makes it look that way. It’s not bad pizza, ‘though. There’s plenty of spicy pepperoni cubes and the sauce is decent, and even if the cheese isn’t great, it could definitely be worse. I’m mystified by the inclusion of the pudding, however. Hot pudding? I’d never heard of such a thing; I’m used to it being cold. You have to stir this after cooking, and then it just sits there coagulating into a strange chocolate mess. I licked the spoon after stirring and it wasn’t bad at all, but once it cooled down – yuck. I’m just not used to eating hot pudding before tackling the main course, which is what I’d have to do if I bought this regularly. If they got a different dessert (or left it alone and just made the pizza bigger) I’d say for a buck this is actually pretty good.
Microwave cooking tip: I’ve found the secret to preventing soggy-crust nuked pizza is to get it out of the tray as soon as possible after cooking and letting it “air dry”, in a manner of speaking. The crust is definitely not going to be crisp from microwaving it, no matter what kind of foldable “crisper” sheet it comes with, or how large the font is on the box proclaiming its existence (Lean Cuisine, among others, has this feature). Microwaved pizza simply has soft crust, period. No way around that. But leaving it in the tray with the plastic film over it…that guarantees a squishy crust, which is just gross. The key is getting it out of there quickly, so that the condensation doesn’t have time to collect in the pan and thus get soaked up by the crust.