Lean Cuisine's Culinary Collection

If you've been reading this blog for a while, it's probably clear that I'm not a huge fan of frozen, packaged foods or meals. While the occasional frozen product has surprised me, I'm the type of person that would much rather use fresh, whole foods in my cooking.

However, when DailyBuzz Food contacted me a few weeks ago to see if I'd be willing to sample one of Lean Cuisine's Culinary Collection dinners as part of their Tastemakers Program, I was surprisingly intrigued. The "Chef's Pick" Culinary Collection meals were crafted by talented chefs like Michelle Bernstein, Paul Kahan, Anita Lo, and Brad Farmerie, to name a few. I figured, with big names like that behind these frozen meals, they must be somewhat tasty.

For my pick, I decided to sample the Mushroom Mezzaluna Ravioli, which consists of ravioli filled with portobello and button mushrooms and romano and ricotta cheeses, smothered in a marsala wine sauce with spinach and red peppers.

Like all Lean Cuisines, the preparation for this dish was easy: Remove plastic bowl from carton, heat for 2 1/2 minutes in the microwave, remove plastic wrap and stir, replace plastic wrap and heat for an additional 2 minutes.

My favorite aspects of this meal were the creamy marsala wine sauce, the abundant pieces of spinach and red pepper, and the fluffy, large raviolis.

What I didn't love about this dish was the sodium content (610 mg), the fact that there was too much sauce (not a good ravioli to sauce ratio), and the extensive ingredient list. 

Lean Cuisine's Mushroom Mezzaluna Ravioli is definitely tasty, but not something I would eat on a regular basis - mainly because of its sodium content and scary ingredients. It's also made with chicken broth, which would have been nice to know before eating it, as one would assume - given the description of the dish on the front of the box - that it was vegetarian.

Are you a fan of frozen meals like this one?

I have partnered with Lean Cuisine through DailyBuzz Food to help promote their new line of Chef's Pick products. I have been compensated for my time commitment to work with this product. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you Lean Cuisine!

Robinhood Meetinghouse Biscuits + Giveaway Winner

Pre-packaged, frozen foods rarely have these phrases on their packaging: “Family-owned”; “no GMOs”; or “Only fresh, simply ingredients.” But Robinhood Meetinghouse’s packages do.

30 years ago, Chef Michael Gagne of Maine created what is now Robinhood Meetinghouse’s frozen biscuits. The combination of flaky puff pastry with the traditional texture of a biscuit is what made Chef Gagne's recipe so popular - eventually, Chef Gagne was even able to open his own restaurant in Maine, called Robinhood Meetinghouse. At the restaurant, patrons were treated to baskets of his piping hot biscuits. And now, decades later, the Gagne family’s biscuits are available to all of us – right in our grocer’s freezer.

I had the pleasure of trying out three of Robinhood Meetinghouse’s biscuit flavors, thanks to their PR company, People Making Good. The three flavors I got to try were the Cream Cheese Biscuits, Sweet Potato Biscuits and Cinnamon Rolls. (Other available flavors include Double Chocolate Biscuits, Triple Ginger Biscuits and Herb Parmesan Biscuits, to name a few). Here’s how each flavor I tried fared:

Cream Cheese Biscuits

Before.

After (three biscuits were eaten before this picture was taken).

Made with only seven simple ingredients, these flaky, buttery biscuits were the most versatile of the bunch. We enjoyed them dipped into vegetarian chili, but I could also see these being the perfect bread for brunch sliders, or simply slathered with butter and jam for a snack.

Cinnamon Rolls

The box for these cinnamon rolls says that with every bite, you’ll be reminded of your childhood. Well, my childhood included a lot of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, and while they were delicious, I don’t think they were made with legible, real ingredients (but I could be wrong). Robinhood Meetinghouse’s version is made with real ingredients, resulting in a sweet, decadent pastry that lacks all of the extra fat and chemicals. I also was able to quickly pop these in the oven on a work morning, resulting in the house smelling like the weekend (and resulting in Z and I having something different for breakfast during the week).

Sweet Potato Biscuits

Real sweet potato is added to Robinhood Meetinghouse’s Cream Cheese Biscuits to create this perfect-for-fall recipe. We enjoyed them alongside some kale, sweet potato and lentil soup (recipe to come!), but I could also eat these for dessert with a smattering of cinnamon and butter on top.

Robinhood Meetinghouse's frozen biscuits can be found at a variety of grocery stores (click here to see where you can buy them near you), and they can also be purchased online. After trying these three flavors, Z and I are definitely planning to buy their biscuits in the future. Not only did they taste homemade (but were very easy to prepare), we're also always eager to support a local family business - not to mention a product that's made with real, legible ingredients.

What's your favorite frozen food product?

Disclaimer: These biscuits were complimentary, but as always, the opinions expressed in this post are honest and 100 percent my own.

Also, we have a Stonyfield Oikos Organic Greek Yogurt giveaway winner!

Thanks for all of your entries! I picked a winner using Random.org. 

And the winner is....Kate!

"I love enjoying my yogurt as my breakfast with some berries and sometimes granola. I also use plain yogurt as an alternative to sour cream or for a base of a dip!"

Congrats, Kate! Please email me at theeconomicaleater@gmail.com within 48 hours to claim your prize.

Home, and already planning my next meal

After a week of traveling for work, I'm beat - the time change, contracting the common cold, and working my socks off at the CAPPS Conference. Traveling also makes it difficult to eat regular meals at "normal" times, and I never seem to get the right amount of nutrients while on the road. However, now that I'm home and have the time to cook this week, planning my meals for the week to come is - sadly - really exciting. For tonight, thankfully I froze my leftover vegetarian chili earlier this week. I'm plopping that baby on the stove to simmer, and diving in.