The skinny on Stove Top’s Stuffing Mix for chicken!

Having pretty much exhausted the line of Banquet Dollar Meals, I now turn my culinary eye to Stove Top and their line of stuffing mixes. The question I had uppermost on my mind today was who actually gets stuffed here? Is it my taste buds? Maybe my waistline or even my pocketbook? Hmm?

I’ll wager that, you the reader, have a box of stuffing mix hidden away somewhere in your pantry. Possibly a box that never got used on the last holiday. Come on. Get up right this minute and go check. I’ll wait…. My box was behind some other boxes of Mac and Cheese (which I will not be reviewing thank you kindly). And, I’m guessing it’s been around a while as the use by date is set for January 2012. My how the time does fly!

The directions for making the stuffing could not be easier. You bring one and a half cups of water mixed with butter (4 tbsp) to a boil then stir in the package contents. Cover this and let it stand off the heat for about five minutes. Voila – you’re ready to rock. Note: If you do, in fact, find these directions confusing, I would suggest contemplating suicide in the drive up lane at McDonald’s.  'Yes, I’ll have that order super-sized. Ka Bam!'

Before getting into the nutritional stuff a word of caution. Kraft’s idea of a serving is rather strange. They must think the world is full of midgets. A serving, according to them is 28 grams. Check the picture A for how that much looks on a standard plate. What is that? Maybe a mouthful? Two? Anyway, that’s not what I call a man’s portion (picture B at 78 grams). So, right off the bat, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna get screwed here. Instead of just 110 calories, I will be ingesting more like 300! And the sodium, who doesn’t need more sodium in their diet? Well, 430 milligrams now shoots up to 1,195 milligrams or about half a days worth! Think I’ll stop right there, I’m already depressed. I should have been wary of any food with the word ‘stuffing’ in it!

But wait! There is a redeeming quality to be had! For one thing the smell of this side dish is to die for. If you’ve just thrown together a dinner that screams leftovers, the addition of a little stuffing could be the game saver you’re looking for. So, for that alone I’ll give this one a score of 8 on a scale of 10. Just remember, that for most of us, the calories here are the real stuffing.