FREE IS MY LIFE: REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Marie Callender's New Baked Meals

Monday, November 15, 2010

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Marie Callender's New Baked Meals - CONTEST ENDS 11/23 (CLOSED)

I shamelessly licked my bowl clean before going back for seconds...

I have to start out this post saying that I L-O-V-E Marie Callender's line of meals. Of all the store lines of microwavable meals, Marie Callender's meals always taste the best. So when I was asked to review Marie Callender's New Baked Meals, I jumped at the chance.

The Marie Callender's New Baked Meals are frozen diners that serve 4 people and can be heated in the microwave in less than 15 minutes for the entire 31 oz container. One of the things that I hate about microwave dinners is when the center is still frozen when the rest of the meal is cooked but that is not suppose to happen with the Marie Callenders New Baked Meals. Each meal comes in a new baking tray that is designed to cook the food evenly in the microwave oven without overcooking and burnt corners.

I actually had a little problem finding the new line of baked meals. I am a lazy shopper and I usually do all my food shopping at Target along with my regular shopping. I could not find a Target that carries this new line of Marie Callender's meals, but my neighborhood Glory Foods store had the entire line which consists of the following:

- Vermont White Cheddar Mac & Cheese
- Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna
- Creamy Chicken Alfredo with Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Southwestern Style Chipotle Chicken Bake
- Scalloped Potatoes & Ham in a Creamy Cheese Sauce

Since I love lasagna, I decided to try the Marie Callender's New Baked Chicken, Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna. Thirty-one ounces of frozen lasagna is nothing I would ever try to cook in a microwave so I was a little worried as to how it would turn out.

I followed the directions and after removing the baking dish from the box, I cut a slit in the film cover and microwaved the lasagna on high for 14 minutes. I then let it sit in the microwave for 5 minutes.

When I removed the dish from the microwave, I peeled back the film and the food was hot and bubbly. Two edges were a tab burnt, but not the corners. The test for me was if the center was throughly cooked. I inserted a fork in the middle, and low and behold, the center was just as cooked as the rest of the dish. YEAH!

Since the lasagna was still bubbling hot, I let it sit for 10 more minutes and then used a big spoon to lift out a section of the food. The lasagna lifted out clean which was a very pleasant surprise. The food was delicious as I would expect from Marie Callender's. The lasagna noodles are layered with tender chunks of white meat chicken, spinach and mushrooms and there is plenty to feed four people without anyone going hungry. I ate a small sample and then shamelessly licked my bowl clean before going back for seconds.

Marie Callender's New Baked Meals retail between $5.69 and $5.99. If like me, you have trouble finding the line at your local market, just use the ConAgra Foods Product Store Locator website to find the store closest to your home.

GIVEAWAY
ConAgra Foods is giving one Free Is My Life reader the opportunity to try Marie Callender's New Baked Meals with two FREE product coupons - a $11.38 value. HOLLA TO THE FREE!

To Enter:

-Fill out the information in the form below.

- One entry per person please.

- The contest ends on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 11:59am EST.

- The winner will be selected by random number generation.

- Winner will receive the coupons via US Mail.

- Please enter your FULL mailing address. Addresses are for contest fulfillment only and will not be sold to any third parties.

- You can get 1 extra contest entry for liking FREEISMYLIFE on Facebook.
- You can get 1 extra contest entry for following FREEISMYLIFE on Twitter.

Goodluck!

CONTEST CLOSED

FORM REMOVED

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER: GLYNISE C. OF DETROIT!

Disclosure: I was given 4 Marie Callender's New Baked Meal FREE coupons to purchase two meals for myself and two to giveaway. I was also compensated for my time to try the products and to write this review.