Scalloped potatoes are high calorie!

Whenever I want to make a sure fire side dish that will be liked, I often will grab a package of Scalloped potatoes!

There are quite a few manufactures of boxed freeze dried foods and the choice of makers of Scalloped potatoes is no different. I choose a box of Best Choice made by Awg Brands which are distributed out of KC MO. I generally choose what I'm going to buy based on price, and Best Choice nearly always beats out the more name brand offerings. (I'd guess I'm losing something in the way of quantity or quality by doing this, but when you're poor, that's what you do).

When making a side dish like this it's far better, in my opinion, to prepare it in the oven as opposed to the stove top or microwave. You get much better eye appeal if you allow the oven to brown the top of the food slightly. But, no matter how you make them, these babies are loaded with calories! Just a 28 gram serving (about half a cup) has 160 calories! So, watch yourself and your waistline when eating this fine comfort food!

Critique: Best Choice Scalloped Potatoes!

For someone who is still on a diet (me), I’ve some how been emotionally shanghaied by the desire to eat and critique more of the many variations of packaged potato offerings that are out there. Today, I’ve undertaken to write a post about this offering from the folks at Associated Wholesale Grocers (www.augbrands.com). The 140 gram contents supplies about 100 calories per half cup prepared (there are 5 of these portions per box). That’s the same number of calories as a recent post I did on a similar product made by Idahoan; a similar scalloped potato dish that came in at just a little bit more money and which offers up only 4 - ½ cup servings. Ah, I see some savings here! The thing is I’m not trying to pit one company against the other for just the difference of a few cents! What I am doing is hoping to catch a ‘comfort food’ that makes sense. (For the record, this box cost me $1.79 on July, 2012. It was purchased in Forsyth, Missouri and has an expiration date of May 30, 2013). Ultimately, I want to do a comparison between commercial boxed preparations versus homemade with respect to cost and nutrition.

The instructions on the plain Jane box were pretty straightforward; preheat your oven to 400F, add 2 cups of boiling water along with 2 tablespoons of butter and ¾ cup of milk into a 1.5 quart baking dish. Next, stir in their little packet of ‘cream sauce’! Whatever that is??  Next, you add them dehydrated potato slices and stir the whole thing up. Bake this in a quart and a half oven proof container, uncovered, at 400F for 35 minutes or until them tatters are tender. (Note: if you live in the mountains; set your oven to 425F)! Side note: This package does have directions for the microwave and stovetop, but trust me, just do the oven deal if at all possible…

After baking, here’s the result! Very pleasing to the eye and the taste was on a par with most everything else I’ve tried. Gave this one a score of 8 and due to the extra quantity for a cheaper buck would recommend it to all.

Betty's Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes!

I've always had a soft spot for scalloped potatoes. The 'soft spot' is actually my stomach! (It keeps getting softer and bigger with every helping). That aside, I thought I would do a quick critique on Betty Crocker's Cheesy Scalloped potato dish that's ready in just twenty minutes!

I picked up this boxed product at the local grocery on a whim. The last time I'd eaten scalloped potatoes was over a year ago on Thanksgiving. At that time, I had made this dish from scratch to take over to a neighbors as part of a large layout of food. I seem to remember that it was quickly consumed.

This time, however, I wanted to just grab a box and cook it up in what? Only twenty minutes! Wow! (Is that like a selling point)? I was also advised on the box that I would be enjoying '100% real shin-on potatoes'! (Was there a possibility that I was going to get a substitute)? Not sure. As to the term 'skin on'! Hey, Skin on or shin off, it's no skin off my bloated nose!

Looking at the directions, I also noticed another item in the 'preparation section' that slightly bothered me. They call for 2 and ¼ cup of boiling water. Why that measly fourth of a cup? Why not adjust the ingredients slightly to allow this to be a man-sized half a cup. Another mystery of life to which I am not privy. Anyway, this is a pretty simple deal to throw together. Once it gets into a preheated oven, the timer gets sets for the twenty minutes or until done. Whichever comes first.

Even though this box cost me $1.75, and so, was quite a bit more expensive than the generic options sitting nearby. I still elected to grab for Betty, as I have become very aware that you get exactly what you pay for. Don't believe me? Then move over a couple of isles and try one of the Hormel 'Compleats' meals. That stuff costs just a buck and it's pure crap (in my modest opinion)!

As expected, this side came out and tasted near perfect! Be careful though as these taters pack a powerful calorie punch per miniscule serving! But, if you're careful you can have a nice meal like the one pictured above that comes in at 130 calories!