Critique: Marie Callender's Braised Beef Pot Roast!

This Braised Beef Pot Roast offering for $3.19 from Marie Callender's will likely be somewhat of a challenge as the reviews posted on their web site were often less than glowing! Here are a couple.
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YUCK
The description is way off. First off, the smell. My entire office now smells like bad vinegar or something a bit off. And I took this uneaten meal out to the trash over an hour ago! The gravy was NOT "savory" it tasted bitter and unlike gravy. The carrots & potatoes were rubbery. As for the beef being tender, well, I had to spit out the only bite I tried. I question if it's even meat, sorry, it was THAT bad. Glad I only purchased one of these! Absolutely disgusting!
December 05, 2013 Signed Frank

An even more disturbing review followed....

poor quality
Usually I like Marie Callender's food; but, this was terrible! This product had 3 little pieces of meat which were dry. There were only a few carrots and I found a hair and a piece of lint (this was thinner than a thread).
November 21, 2013 Signed Unhappy
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So, after reading this and other similar reviews, I will admit that I approached eating this TV meal deal with some trepidation. But, I did want to see if the folks at MC where any competition to the excellent 'Baked' offerings from Healthy Choice.

The box boldly advertises, 'Tender pieces of braised beef with roasted red skin potatoes, pearl onions and carrots in a savory gravy.' Sounded good to me. And, only 210 calories for 312 grams of food. Wow, I thought! So, it was off to the microwave as I mentally practiced some Zen thinking, so as not to pre-anticipate any bad results... 

Just like the 'Baked' series from Healthy Choice, the directions instruct one to merely slit the plastic cover and then to nuke it for about 6 minutes. Easy greasy! I followed those instructions and then let the product cool for about a minute before digging in. First, I inspected the food closely for any hints of foreign material... none seen.

How was it? In a word, it was 'just-OK'. Another word that came to mind was 'uninspired' and finally a thought briefly crossed my mind that I just might have been poisoned! I'm only kidding! But, while it was cooking, I thought I could detect the smell of burning rubber! Maybe that was just me. Also evident was the really high levels of sodium (900 mg)! I think I could taste the ocean in there somewhere...bleech...

On a more positive note, the veggies were cooked pretty well and I actually did find some meat in

I'm not positive what animal this came from..

there. So, I think the problem may be with the gravy itself. They need to seriously rework it.

The bottom line is that while it was edible, I say to take a pass on eating it. Or, at the very least buy it and then serve it anytime you have unwanted guests as an example of your own cooking while promising them more of the same the next day! Was that the sound of a slamming door?? Scored this one a 5 on a scale of 10.

Generic Luncheon Loaf review!

Well, I’ve now officially hit rock bottom with my ‘crap in a container’ review blogs. Today, I’m going to not only eat this ‘mystery meat’, but I’m also going to try and hold it down as well. As far as I am aware, no one I know has ever admitted to actually eating this kind of meat before. Seriously, is there anyone you know who has? Send me a note if you do.

I bought canned meat at a nearby grocery chain. They carry a generic brand called ‘Always Save’ which is distributed by a Kansas City company called Associated Wholesale Grocers. I think they were mentioned in the movie called Soylent Green. You know… that 1973 movie about people that were eating other people? Maybe not, I digress.

First Impressions

The container advertises the product as containing chicken and pork which was encouraging. That was until I saw that the meat had been ‘mechanically separated.’ Boy! I don’t like the sound of that! The last time I saw meat treated in this manner, it was the result of a high speed auto accident.

There’s a nice comforting meaty picture on the can that I assume is there to encourage one prior to consumption. It does look a little like ham, if you squint hard enough. OK, time to crack this baby open and think up a way to prepare it for lunch.

Prior to my taste test, I decided to serve this ‘meatloaf’ with some scrambled eggs. I wanted to push the ham imagery thing and so I cut a nice slice (40 grams) which was then seared in a George Foreman grill. (Just like you’d do a slab of ham with sear marks and everything).

In the end, the visual result wasn’t too bad! As you can see, I went whole hog on the breakfast theme and fried up some potatoes to go with the eggs and ‘ham’. The result (avec the toast, bacon, sausage and pancakes) was eerily similar to Denny’s infamous Lumberjack Slam breakfast.

An aside about Denny’s Lumberjack Slam

Speaking of which, I was shocked out of my socks to read the nutritional score on that culinary disaster. I guessing you have to be very fit, like a Lumberjack, to eat this meal without tempting an instant coronary! Get this: serving size – 21 ounces (that’s 1 1/3 lbs)! Calories 910 (half a days worth)! Cholesterol, an artery clogging 540 mg! And last, but not least, the sodium dosage was a mind boggling 3,250 milligrams. Whoa Nellie! That’s like dumping a tablespoon of table salt right down your throat! By contrast, my meal deal (as pictured) was a paltry 6 ounces, had 395 calories, 246 mg of cholesterol and only 289 milligrams of salt. Not even in the same league! (Still, I’d trade my crap for their crap in a heartbeat, that is, assuming my heart would continue beating after-wards).

Onwards

Now, as to the all important taste test. I know you are just hanging on the edge of your seat to find out!

After grilling a small 40 gram slice and getting it on the plate with the other items, I thought it looked pretty neat! However, if I was looking for the taste of ham, I was disappointed. Instead, while the meat did taste a little ‘meaty’, it was also a little mushy. I suppose in a pinch it could work, but perhaps that’s the whole point of any packaged meat. Buy some, put it on your shelf for emergencies and hope there never is one. 

Overall I would give this meat a score of 5. My recommendation is buy it, store it and then forget it.

Critique: Banquet Classic Fried Chicken Meal

Being the gluten for punishment that I am, after critiquing Banquet’s Homestyle Pot Roast which received less than stellar grades, I deiced the go ahead and give their Fried Chicken Meal a go also. As you can see, the picture looks very inviting. The meal is on the small side; only 228 grams in total. The three compartments held a round bread ball that is supposed to be the chicken thigh while the other two sported a helping of mashed potatoes and corn.

First, I would like to address the nutritional values before delving into the actual taste. OK. Hmm. Let’s see what we have here… the calories come in at 440 with half those coming from fat. Not to be out done, the cholesterol is an impressive 80 milligrams or one third of the average adults daily allowance… but wait! The real winner has got to be the sodium content! Over 1,110 milligrams or close to half an adult’s daily allowance. So, let’s review shall we? Seems we have a meal here of somewhat questionable nutritional value. For a few bucks, your body gets assaulted with a boatload of fat, cholesterol and salt! What a deal.

OK. Let’s move on to the big tamale shall we? The taste test is where it’s at, as they say. I microwaved the meal for the proscribed amount of time and was soon greeted with the smell of chicken, corn and potatoes all mixed up together. The end result is about what you’d expect from Banquet, not great, but also not all that bad considering the poor nutritional score. My grade for this meal is a C+ for taste and a D- for nutrition or a 5 on a scale of 10. (A slightly better grade than the one I gave the Pot Roast meal in a previous critique).