The Good & The Bad Of The Prepared Meals That Have Graced Your Table (Or TV Tray)

[taxlady]

I came across something I hadn't expected to find, already cooked whole grain basmati rice in a bag that is ready after 2 minutes in the microwave. It's a lot more expensive than cooking the rice myself, but this stuff would be very handy on occasion. So, I got some with the grocery order that was delivered today. There has been more than one meal I didn't feel like making because I would have had to wait for the rice to be ready.

 

[dragnlaw]

I've not had that particular brand taxy, but I have bought pre-cooked rice. Very tasty and extremely handy! Think you will like it.

Plus it is shelf stable for almost 2 years if I am reading the date on the bottom of that bag correctly - which makes it even handier!

 

[taxlady]

I've not had that particular brand taxy, but I have bought pre-cooked rice. Very tasty and extremely handy! Think you will like it.

Plus it is shelf stable for almost 2 years if I am reading the date on the bottom of that bag correctly - which makes it even handier!

Well, I do hope I like it. I have bought brown basmati from this brand, Tilda, and it was good. It had a lot more flavour than Lundberg brown basmati.

When I have more spare space in my freezer, I always keep single serving packets, wrapped in waxed paper and stuck in a large zipper bag. It doesn't take more effort to make extra rice when you are cooking rice anyways. I've been doing that since before I had my first microwave oven.

 

[caseydog]

I've not had that particular brand taxy, but I have bought pre-cooked rice. Very tasty and extremely handy! Think you will like it.

Plus it is shelf stable for almost 2 years if I am reading the date on the bottom of that bag correctly - which makes it even handier!

I use microwave rice when I just want a single serving of rice. Minute Rice has small, single serving cups that are fine, once you mix them with a bowl of gumbo or beans. I have a rice cooker, but I can't make one serving of rice in it.

CD

 

[dragnlaw]

I still make the rice in the cooker, divide into 3, one immediate, 2nd in a day or so, and freeze the last if I don't think I'll have it soon.

 

[medtran49]

Sorry, but I don't understand the issue with cooking rice. You bring the water or stock to boil, add the seasonings and rice, stir, cover, bring back to boil, turn heat off and let it sit for 20 minutes or so while you are cooking rest of food. Cooks perfectly.

Of course, that doesn't work for brown rice, which takes longer to cook.

Minute Rice, well, no thanks.

 

[dragnlaw]

I can't speak for others but for me it is a matter of burners and space available. Only bought the rice cooker when I moved here. It is very handy and I love it. For me it is also a matter of timing. Not very good at remembering when it is time to put it on. I think of it all day and then when the time comes... I forget.

 

[medtran49]

I can't speak for others but for me it is a matter of burners and space available. Only bought the rice cooker when I moved here. It is very handy and I love it. For me it is also a matter of timing. Not very good at remembering when it is time to put it on. I think of it all day and then when the time comes... I forget.

I start the rice first. It sits and cooks all by itself and, if it sits longer, it doesn't hurt the rice since it's off the heat.

 

[dragnlaw]

That is really a good idea medtran. Unfortunately too late for me but I will certainly remember should the need arise. Do you use a heavy pot or cast iron? My go-to was my enameled cast iron for making rice.

Aside from all that, with risotto (which we were talking about on another thread) it won't work as you add your hot liquid a little at a time. I never realized that risotto was also often used as the 'main'. I can certainly understand that as I could eat just the mushroom risotto and nothing else - I'd be a happy camper!

 

[medtran49]

That is really a good idea medtran. Unfortunately too late for me but I will certainly remember should the need arise. Do you use a heavy pot or cast iron? My go-to was my enameled cast iron for making rice.

Aside from all that, with risotto (which we were talking about on another thread) it won't work as you add your hot liquid a little at a time. I never realized that risotto was also often used as the 'main'. I can certainly understand that as I could eat just the mushroom risotto and nothing else - I'd be a happy camper!

I use a heavy bottomed stainless pot. We bought a set years ago not long after Craig and I got together, so they are 30+ years old. They weren't cheap by any stretch of the imagination, but I think we've gotten our money's worth, and then some.

I eat risotto as a main all the time, especially mushroom as that is my favorite, though a lightly lemon flavored and asparagus risotto with seared diver scallops is a close second.

 

[dragnlaw]

especially mushroom as that is my favorite, though a lightly lemon flavored and asparagus risotto with seared diver scallops is a close second.

I think my knees just buckled.

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

I can't remember if I mentioned Batch Cooking?
But here we are:

Chicken & Spinach Stuffed Shells done two ways - jarred Alfredo & Marinara
The two small round tins are for mom
The two round white bowls are for tonight
and the four tin pans are for the freezer, with one of them going next door.

 

[rodentraiser]

I use the Minute rice in the bags because I know how many meals I can get off of them. If I use one chicken breast and make something like teriyaki chicken, I can make two bags of rice and split them three ways with the chicken to get three meals. It's just an easier way for me to figure out how many meals I'm going to eat in a month and that determines how much I'm going to buy in any month. I shop for the entire month in usually only one or two grocery store trips unless I need something special.

I like the Hormel pork roast, but it's $7.99 where I live and I don't get that unless I'm feeling really rich.

I love the Stouffer's mac and cheese and I just heard they have a new product. This one is two different kinds of mac and cheese on the dry shelves, probably where the Kraft products are. They got some real good reviews so I might try them if my store carries them. I have much more storage space in my cupboards than I do in my freezer.

I like the Marie Calendar's potatoes and ham in cheese sauce. But I tried their new chicken and rice with cheese the other day and ended up throwing it all out. First of all, it comes with broccoli and broccoli to me tastes like grass sprayed with fertilizer. I didn't see it on the box until I got home but then figured I could maybe pick it out. Uh-uh. The broccoli is all through the chicken and rice and by the time i got half of it out, half the rice and all the cheese was taken out, too. I tried eating it anyway and got two bites in when I started spitting it out.

Maybe someone who likes broccoli could eat this, but I won't buy it again. If I want chicken and rice again, I'll just throw a seasoned chicken breast into a small casserole dish with some cheesy Rice-a-Roni and chicken broth and let it cook in the oven like I used to.

 

[rodentraiser]

Oh, I forgot to add Shrimp Shumai. I always buy these frozen because I wouldn't begin to know how to make them. There's a couple different brands in some of the stores here and I think I like the sweeter ones more. I don't get them that often because they're expensive and the store with the best ones is about 40 miles away from me. The last time I got them was from an Asian store, but I didn't like those as much.

I also make these weird, too. You're supposed to fry them in a pan in oil, but I always just stick them on non-stick foil and bake them at 350° for about 35 to 40 minutes or until the top edges crisp up.

 

[medtran49]

The Hormel products noted above were on sale at Publix. They were out of the beef tips but had pot roast and Italian braised beef. Craig chose the Italian braised beef so I'll report when we eat it.

Even though the best buy date refrigerated was in December, I froze the dish. Thawed it and cooked tonight. The roast was okay. Would I buy it again at full price? Nope. Maybe on sale though if deeply discounted.

 

[BAPyessir6]

I have a freezer that is mainly used for "I am sick food and don't feel like cooking meals," and most of them are things like Aldi egg rolls, corn dogs, pizzas, etc. snacky yum food. As my husband magically gets wayyy less sick when we get sick, he's usually the one caring for me and cooking/reheating stuff. I also make different kinds of gyoza/dumplings and freeze them for a quick meal when I'm tired and don't feel like cooking, and I also have pierogi and gnocchi in the freezer due to the large amount of potatoes I sometimes get. (Though I made both with instant mashed and they turned out wonderful).

 

[dragnlaw]

I had a prepared freezer meal by P.F.Chang's Korean inspired Pork. I never even noticed the 4 out of 5 hot peppers heat level. WOOF!
Hope it's not as hot leaving as it was arriving.

In a microwavable cardboard bowl. Stood up to the cooking and eating from. I didn't care for the pork. The rest was ok. Won't buy again. Had the meat been good I would have considered buying again despite the heat being one pepper too hot for me.
I'm sure pepperhead would have considered it too mild! LOL!

 

[medtran49]

I had a prepared freezer meal by P.F.Chang's Korean inspired Pork. I never even noticed the 4 out of 5 hot peppers heat level. WOOF!
Hope it's not as hot leaving as it was arriving.

In a microwavable cardboard bowl. Stood up to the cooking and eating from. I didn't care for the pork. The rest was ok. Won't buy again. Had the meat been good I would have considered buying again despite the heat being one pepper too hot for me.
I'm sure pepperhead would have considered it too mild! LOL!

Yeah, I made that mistake once thinking it couldn't possibly be that hot for mass consumption. Yes, it can.

 

[blissful]

@taxlady, The only problem with premade rice is the oil they add to it, just 2.4 grams of it per serving, that we wouldn't eat if we're eating at home. I'm glad to see it doesn't have salt added though. Almost every processed food has extra oil, just a little, that all adds up at the end of a year. In a pinch or a hurry, hungry and no time, it works.
I stopped wondering how I gained weight in my 50's when I figured out just 2 tablespoons of oil in a day would be 87118 calories, or 24.8 lbs at the end of the year. Honey, 2 Tablespoons per day add up to 13.4 lbs in a year.
I'm not saying I never eat honey, I do use it judiciously. The only oil though, I plan to wipe the cast iron pan with sunflower oil when I make plain oil free ww tortillas tomorrow. I don't actually add any to my food.

 

[taxlady]

@taxlady, The only problem with premade rice is the oil they add to it, just 2.4 grams of it per serving, that we wouldn't eat if we're eating at home. I'm glad to see it doesn't have salt added though. Almost every processed food has extra oil, just a little, that all adds up at the end of a year. In a pinch or a hurry, hungry and no time, it works.
I stopped wondering how I gained weight in my 50's when I figured out just 2 tablespoons of oil in a day would be 87118 calories, or 24.8 lbs at the end of the year. Honey, 2 Tablespoons per day add up to 13.4 lbs in a year.
I'm not saying I never eat honey, I do use it judiciously. The only oil though, I plan to wipe the cast iron pan with sunflower oil when I make plain oil free ww tortillas tomorrow. I don't actually add any to my food.

Yeah, I noticed the oil on the ingredient list. I did buy it for those emergencies. But when I cook rice, I always make extra and rice freezes well. Earlier today I was wondering when I would get a chance to try that rice.