Testing column reader Kristine Ortolani, Kaysville, suggested we try Chicken Tonight Sauces from Ragu. So our panel served up six of the seven different flavors: sweet & sour chicken, creamy chicken with mushrooms, creamy chicken primavera, chicken cacciatore, country french chicken, Oriental chicken and salsa chicken. The one pound, 7-ounce bottles of sauce retail for $1.79.
Don Russell: "This sauce is tasty, tangy and runny. It is more of a salsa than a thick and rich sauce. Although we liked it, we were expecting a little bit more from it. The ingredients are wholesome and healthy (with the exception of the usual heavy dosage of salt) which is a lot more than you can say for many sauces. Plus, there's only 35 calories per serving."Nihla Lake: "We tried the creamy chicken with mushrooms and it was pretty good. It should have been because it had moderate amounts of fat, cholesterol and sodium. We have tried other flavors and this one seemed just a bit bland. It's not something we would care to eat every week, but we'll use it once in a while."
Judy Slack Wilson: "My kids even liked this. It has little carrots in it that plump up when you cook it. This is one of the best products we've tried. It made a nice meal, very easy to prepare. This is something we'll use again and again and again!"
Edyth Jensen: "We had the sweet and sour chicken and we quite liked it. My daughter, her husband and children were here when we made it and they liked it, too.
"I always skin my chicken so that made it even better since the flavor was on the chicken and not just the skin. It was just pretty good and it is easy."
Linda C. Tingey: "This was a good sauce for a quick meal it's very convenient. It flavored the chicken and was really yummy."
Rich Firmage: "I think it's safe to say this Ragu Oriental sauce is not going to be on my Christmas list.
"I was amazed they actually called it `Oriental.' To me, tons of green and red peppers and a few pineapple chunks doesn't make it Oriental. I would rather have had a little flavor instead. The sauce was bland with little or no spice at all. To say the least, I won't buy this again."
Conclusion: An out and out rave review, a couple of "once in awhile it's nice" and some words tossed around like "bland" and "runny." Ragu chicken simmer sauces garners a thumb up and a thumb down from our panel.
The Deseret News testing panel independently tests products purchased by the Deseret News. Readers with suggestions for products to be tested should contact the Today Section, Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110.