I was given a free coupon for an Old El Paso frozen meal. On my next grocery trip I was excited to check out the products and use my coupon. However, the store didn't have any Old El Paso frozen products. I looked at another store. Nothing. It became a bit of a challenge. Every time I went into a store I looked at the frozen aisle looking for this product. FINALLY, I hit pay dirt!
I chose the Chicken Quesadillas. It sounded good to both Todd and I. I took them home and waited until the perfect opportunity to eat them. I figured that this would be a good meal for Todd to prepare. On nights when I have zumba and he is home, I either have casserole prepared or I will have something like a frozen pizza ready for dinner so that he can pop it in the oven at the right time.
The day to try the chicken quesadillas arrived and I looked at the box. 620 calories for two quesadillas. I wasn't too concerned as that was only a few calories over what I usually allot for dinner. I will admit that I had a fleeting thought that those quesadillas could be miniature in size so that two wouldn't fill up an ants stomach. Luckily that was not the case. The quesadillas were actually a very decent size!
I looked at the directions and I had my first shock. The box was clearly marked "dinner for two". I had been expecting directions such as 'bake for 20 minutes...." Surprise!!!!! Microwave instructions were the ONLY instructions, in fact the box clearly said do not use an oven or toaster oven. Hmmmmm. Even bigger surprise? Microwave ONE at a time. Uhhhh, there are two of us.....four quesadillas.
I opened the box. Each quesadilla was individually wrapped. I popped open the wrapping and threw the first one on a plate, covered it with a paper towel and threw it in the microwave. After I had two cooked we sat down to eat while I put the third quesdilla in the microwave. (I had to interrupt my dinner to pull the third and fourth quesadillas out of the microwave). I was not happy with the cooking options.....serving two people at the same time, with pipping hot food is difficult when you can only microwave one at a time.We sat down to eat. I pulled out some sour cream and taco sauce. We took a sample bite. Todd pulled his normal jokster "ewwww" but then quickly dove in for another bite, and then another. His words were that "this is definitely a keeper". The chicken didn't have a frozen processed food taste and I was pleasantly surprised that they actually had pieces of onion and pepper that had handled the freezing process quite well. They had a touch of spice to them. I personally thought that they tasted better with a splash of taco sauce (or saslsa) and some sour cream....otherwise they seemed a tad dry. But seriously? Who doesn't put that stuff on anyway. ha ha ha
Overall, we REALLY liked the taste. It was flavorful and quite tasty!
Will I buy these again? Probably. I won't be using them as a 'together meal' for Todd and I.... (simply basing that upon the awkwardness of preparation!) .but it would make a GREAT 'alone' meal for either Todd or I...... One of those days when we are eating on our own. I would venture to say that I would probably be satisfied with one of the quesadillas...(just not after a nice intense workout like tonight!) which would take the calorie count down to 310......quite doable!
(And yes, that's a full sized plate...not a dessert plate)