Steven Helmer Publications

  I would have preferred to make a homecooked dinner tonight but had a bunch of errands to run this evening and just didn't have time (I will tomorrow though). Needing something simple, I picked up Marie Callender's Swedish Meatballs & Pasta for my wife and me.  While it wasn't the best Swedish meatballs I've ever had, they weren't terrible and even exceeded my expectations. Preparation of the dinner was easy enough. It was just a matter of putting it in my microwave for about 13 minutes, stirring halfway through. I didn't need to follow a bunch of separate steps (as is the case with some frozen dinners) and this was done in a timely fashion. As far as taste goes, there was no doubt it was a frozen dinner. However, the flavor was OK and, unlike what I had expected based on past experiences with products like this, it wasn't super salty. Plus, there were plenty of meatballs. Many more than I thought there'd be. There was just the right amount of food ...

  My wife and I decided on frozen pizza for dinner last night and, while at the store, I decided to give Motor City Pizza Co. Supreme Detroit-Style Deep Dish Pizza a try. I've seen this product before but was turned off by the $11.99 price. However, since none of the other pizzas happened to be on sale, it wasn't much more expensive than the alternatives. As it turns out, it is now one of our favorites. There were a couple things that really stood out about this frozen pizza brand. The main one was the crust. It was thick and, thanks to the pan you bake it in, came out crispy without being too hard, just the way my wife and I like pizza. I was also surprised by the number of toppings on the pizza. A lot of other brands tend to skimp on those, but this one had a decent quantity. It both added flavor to the pizza (along with the well-seasoned sauce) and made it filling. We even have leftovers, something that is rare with frozen brands. Final Opinion: It's not a brand I'm...

  One of our local grocery stores has had Chef Boyardee skillet meals in their freezer section for several weeks and while I've been tempted to buy them on more than one occasion, I usually passed because of the $11.79 price (I can buy the ingredients and make them from scratch cheaper). However, I wasn't really in the mood to do a whole lot of cooking last night, so I finally decided to give the Chicken Alfredo dinner a try. Overall, I have to say this exceeded my expectations. I think my youngest daughter described this best when she said it wasn't as good as homemade or from a restaurant but was considerably better than a normal frozen dinner version. While I personally would have liked to see this have a little more to it, such as maybe some broccoli to go with the pasta and chicken, it had a decent flavor all four of us enjoyed. Preparing the meal was easy as well. You just empty the contents (including four sauce packets) into a pan, add some water and cook until it i...

My wife and I both had places we needed to be yesterday evening and, since neither of us thought to get dinner started in advance, decided to have frozen pizza . She had seen this particular one when out grocery shopping a few days ago and mentioned it to me. So, when I stopped at the same store yesterday evening, I wound up buying it. Overall, I was happy with the purchase. We wound up making this on our pizza oven when I got home from the store and I found it exceeded my expectations. The stuffed crust probably could have used a little more bacon (it was mostly cheese). But, it still ended up being enjoyable and, at minimum, was good as some of the stuffed crust pizzas we've purchased from local restaurants for much more money. It also proved to be much more filling than I was expecting it to be. Normally, a pizza like this would barely be enough for two of us. But, I was getting full after just two slices and needed to wait a while before having more. And, as far as tast...