Lean Cuisine: Cheese Lasagna with breaded chicken

One of Stouffers Comfort classics microwave meals. A serving of cheese lasagna with tomato sauce and a seperate compartment with thin slices of lightly breaded chicken scaloppini, also with tomato sauce. The lasagna came out pretty good, you could taste each of the ingredients, the tomato sauce was a little acidic, but not bad. I would have liked a little more ricotta cheese but there was an acceptable amount. The breading on the chicken actually had a little flavor, though it was soggy. The thinness of the chicken prevented the flavor from really showing through, but it was tender and fairly good. Another tv dinner with annoying directions (cook at 50% power for 9 to 12 minutes). Overally if you can live with the cook time, this is a pretty good meal. (280 calories; 8g fat; 34g carbs; 19g protein; 24% sodium; 6 weight watchers points)

Doritos Collisions: Hot Wings & Blue Cheese

Two different flavors of Doritos in one bag, each chip is either one flavor or the other. The blue cheese flavor was very intense, and very true to blue cheese. I wouldn't want a whol bag of the blue cheese, it would be too overwhelming. The hot wings flavor was disappointing, it was a little spicy, but didn't have much other flavor, it didn't evoke hot wings at all. Mix them together and it came out decent, the Blue cheese mellowed out and the wings added spiciness. Overall I expected more from Doritos, if the hot wings flavor were better this would have been a killer combination, but it didn't live up to my expectations. (150 calories; 8g fat; 17g carbs; 2g protein; 11% sodium)

Miss Vickie's: Jalapeno Potato Chips

Very crisp flat sliced potato chips with a spicy jalapeno flavoring. The spicyness builds and it isn't until you finish a chip that it seems spicy. after a number of seconds, the spicyness fades again (unless you keep eating them). I like the amount of crunch, the chips aren't so thin they melt, but they also aren't too thick. Aside from the jalapeno hotness, there isn't really that much flavor with these chips. Personally, I will get my high fat, high calorie snacks from a different source. (190 calories; 11g fat; 22g carbs; 2g protein; 10% sodium; per 1 and 3/8 ounce serving)

Balducci's Stores: Rotisserie Chicken

The good thing about buying a whole rotisserie chicken at the food store is that it is hot and ready to eat. I generally like them, and Balducci's version is a notch above other stores. They put herbs and spices under the skin of the chicken before cooking it. This imparts a wonderful flavor to the chicken. The chicken itself was moist and very tender. The skin was browned perfectly. I have gotten them at other stores and sometimes the wings are dried out and inedible, but not this chicken, the wings were good too. Balducci's has locations on the east coast. I went to the one in Bethesda, MD.

Bradford: Orange Slices

Orange colored slices of some sort of gelatin like substance by Bradford Fine Candies. Not quite as thick as gummy bears. These slices have sugar crystals on them. This stuff is pretty much pure sugar, with a little food color and a somewhat unidentifiable flavor to them. The first ingredient is sugar, followed by corn starch. It is sometimes nice to grab one as you walk by the bag, but you can easily overdose on them. Each small sice is about 40 calories.

Interestingly enough, they try to make them sound at least somewhat healthy, claiming its a "Fat Free Food", and trumpet that they are "made with real fruit juice" though it is pear juice, not orange juice, and they don't put enough of it in to even bother telling you what percent juice this is. Good if you like sugar, otherwise, not so much (160 calories; 0g fat; 39g carbs; 0g protein; 0% sodium per 4 pieces)

Lean Cuisine: Chicken Parmesan

One of Stouffers Comfort Classics microwave meals. Roasted chicken breast with spaghetti and tomato basil sauce. Even though I followed the annoying directions (cook at 50% power for 8 to 9 minutes) and cooked to the low end of time, it still came out overcooked. The tomato sauce was very good, catching the fresh tomato flavor without tasting like tomato paste or being too runny. The spagetti, stuck together, but still tasted pretty good with the sauce. The picture on the box shows chunks of squash on the spagetti, but that was a disappointment, there were only 3 segments of squash, which when combined added up to less than one slice. The chicken had both sauce and melted cheese on it, which was good, but I think due to the overcooking was too hard on the edges, so I don't think it is fair to rate it. Overall, this dish has some promise, but who wants to cook a microwave entree for 8 minutes only to have it still not come out right. They need to go back and come up with full power instructions that take less time and are less error prone. (260 calories; 5g fat; 31g carbs; 23g protein; 24% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Meat Loaf with gravy and whipped potatoes

One of Stouffer's comfort Classics microwave meals. Tender, meatloaf in brown gravy with whipped potatoes. The meat is well textured and has a nice, light flavor. The gravy tastes like you would expect store bought gravy to taste, nothing outstanding, but fairly reasonable. The whipped potatoes taste a little creamy and very much like potatoes. I have a couple of complaints though. First, I cooked it at the bottom range of the cooking time (a fairly long 6 minutes) and it still came out a little overcooked and dry. Second, Potatoes always go better with gravy and there wasn't enough gravy for both the meatloaf and the potoatoes. Overall, it was ok, but I liked the Healthy Choice meat loaf better. (250 calories; 7g fat; 26g carbs; 21g protein; 24% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Lean Cuisine: Lemongrass chicken

One of Stouffer's spa cuisine classics. Roasted chicken tenderloins in lemongrass-coconut sauce, brown rice, and mixed vegetables. The chicken is moist and tender, the chunks of broccoli and baby corn, shreds of carrot and bell pepper are good, and there is enough of them, the whole grain rice is a little bit chewy. The real standout part of the meal is the lemongrass-coconut sauce, it is very good, and really enhances the meal, but doesn't totally overwhelm the other flavors. This microwave meal really stands out from the other lean cuisines and I recommend you try it. (240 calories; 6g fat; 30g carbs; 17g protein; 25% sodium; 5 weight watchers points)

Doritos Collisions: Zesty Taco and Chipotle Ranch

What a great idea, take two different flavors of doritos and put them in the same bag, so sometimes you reach in and get a taco chip and sometimes a ranch one. Unfortunately, I didn't care for either flavor. The taco tasted like the packets of taco seasoning you can get, it kind of dries your mouth out and is missing something (like the meat). The chipotle ranch sounds interesting, but it too it didn't appeal to me either. I still think it is a good idea, and I will try some other combinations, but I won't get this one again. (150 calories; 8g fat; 17g carbs; 2g protein; 11% sodium; per 1 ounce serving (about 11 chips))