(tender macaroni in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce)
(and no red peppers!)
Directions: Microwave on HIGH 3 minutes, stir, microwave for 1:30 - 2:00 extra
I don’t remember how old I was when I first was fed Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, but it rocked my world. As I got older and more sophisticated, my standard was raised to Kraft Velveeta Shells & Cheese (Velveeta being a sign of prosperity in my blue-collar upbringing) and Martha Stewart’s recipe if I had money and time to make it myself.
So I loves me my macaroni and cheese dishes. Even though Lean Cuisine (oh please, God, let there be another brand on sale next week, for I want a different color box in my freezer) calls it a “One Dish Favorite” I call it my comfort classic.
I needed a meat-free dish today (self-flagellation for having lots of chocolate cake last night) and I’m feeling a bit blue, so out came the mac&cheese.
I nuked it, I ate it slowly and I savored. It has the comforting electric yellow color I associate with cheese product, and this even has real cheese! Both cheddar and “cheddar club” cheese are listed in the ingredients. I wonder if cheddar club is like the government cheese I ate as a kid? The noodles are a bit soggy and the cheese was a bit more watery than I’d have liked though. To its credit, the tray filled me up very nicely…so nicely that I don’t need the salad or jello that I have scheduled for sides. I’ll eat the salad anyway because it looks absolutely divine and I’m striving for more fresh veggies in my life.
Quite a good meal. But to be fair, I’ve yet to try the current incarnations of Smart Ones and Healthy Choice so I’ll refrain from saying it’s the best ever!
7g fat, 290 cal, 6 POINTS
Eaten on May 19th, 2008
(with tomatoes, onions, garlic & basil)
There’s a reason this, a part of the “One Dish Favorites” collection, is the last frozen meal left in my freezer this workweek. Microwaved pasta is just horrible. Mushier than mush. The gravy (that’s what I call spaghetti sauce) is flavorless and watery. And there are no chunks of meat to count.
Also, this is NOT angel hair pasta. It is regular spaghetti.
But there are no red pepper chunks, so I should stop being angry that this 240 cal meal didn’t fill me and left my mouth sad, right?
4g fat, 260 cal, 5 POINTS
Eaten on May 16th, 2008
(roasted turkey tenderloins with mushroom gravy, green beans AND RED PEPPERS!)
(strips, not chunks, but still)
Directions: Cook 4-5:30, let stand in microwave for 2 minutes.
When I eat at work, like today, I let the meal sit at my table for 2 minutes. If I leave it in the microwave then I’m just hogging from someone else who needs it.
I’m going out to eat tonight and will likely completely blow my day’s plan, so I thought I’d scrimp as much as I could during lunch. I ran to Wegmans to get my Diet Green tea, and picked up .36 lb of their mozzarella/tomato salad. I’m a sucker for that salad. I ate 2 pieces of cheese while my meal was cooking. Anyway, from past experiences, turkey dishes are decent and low-cal.
And this was just that.
Today’s little black tray from the “Comfort Classics” collection brought me 9 turkey chunks which were a bit larger than my thumb. They were tender but a bit flavorless unless you dipped them in the gravy first. Speaking of the gravy, it tasted like regular turkey gravy but had a few sliced mushrooms added for panache.
The green beans were very watery. I left behind the red pepper strips as I’m not a fan.
That meal, 2 mozzarella cheese balls and the Diet tea (sadly, not in a beer glass today) filled me up wonderfully. And then I blew it and finished off the mozzarella/tomato salad (about 30 calories per ball of cheese…6 balls…yipe). So I figured what the hell and ate the 10 calorie jello.
5g fat, 150cal, 3 POINTS
Eaten on May 15th, 2008
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