Stouffer's Easy Express. Cheesy Garlic Lasagna With Meat & Sauce, Rigatoni With Chicken, and Cheese Manicotti. $7.39 per 28-ounce to 35-ounce package.
Bonnie: I expect nothing less than good-tasting pasta meals from Stouffer's. But I was a bit skeptical about them cooking in a microwave oven in less than 20 minutes, as Stouffer's claims.
The first dish I tried, the tomato-sauce-topped and cheese-stuffed manicotti, was a bit too sweet. The middle of this pasta dish was also not fully cooked after the maximum recommended time. Once I zapped it again, the dish was a bit watery. So much for "express" meals.
I tried again with the Rigatoni With Chicken and got the same cold interior. I also didn't like the pesto sauce's "canned" taste. I opted for the conventional oven for the lasagna, resulting in a dish that was heated all the way through in 75 minutes.
The package suggests you could feed 4 1/2 people with this tray of food. I say Stouffer's suggests that only so the nutrition facts look more reasonable. By serving a more realistic four persons, each serving would provide 371 calories, 15 grams of total fat (with 8 saturated) and 968 milligrams of sodium.
That's pretty indulgent, but then so are most red box Stouffer's meals. If you do decide to indulge in any of these, try to cut back on what you eat the rest of the day.
Carolyn: Stouffer's family- and party-sized frozen dishes have long been an easy and affordable dinner alternative for Stouffer's lovers who wouldn't think of cooking up a family meal from four or five individual frozen dinners. They have not been a quick meal to cook, however. Even when microwaved, Stouffer's regular family-sized Lasagna With Meat & Sauce takes more than half an hour to get on the table.
Stouffer's new Easy Express slices that time roughly in half. I'm not sure how, because these three initial varieties taste essentially the same as their multi- or single-serve counterparts. The price is also comparable.
Stouffer's is likewise to be commended for making the less-than-obvious Rigatoni With Chicken in basil pesto sauce one of its first choices for Easy Express treatment — although, due to its richness and sophistication, I would recommend it only for families with older or culinarily adventurous kids.
Betty Crocker 80-Calorie 100 Percent Real Mashed Potatoes. Homestyle Creamy Butter, Cheddar & Sour Cream, and Roasted Garlic. $1 per 3.3-ounce pouch.
Bonnie: "Great taste in 3 minutes, just add water," touts these pouches — along with the fact that each of the four servings provides only 80 calories, 3 grams of fiber and are made with "100 percent real mashed potatoes." I couldn't help but chuckle at the last part. These do begin with dried potatoes, but that's about the only real thing in these. I'd skip potatoes altogether if these were all that were available. Potatoes cooked in the microwave are almost as quick and much more natural.
Carolyn: I've finally found the source of those horrible potatoes served in the school cafeteria of my youth: Betty Crocker. These have the exact same dehydrated taste, which overwhelms the butter, cheese, garlic and chives.
This makes sense, considering that you don't cook so much as rehydrate these with boiling water from the stove or in the microwave. The speed with which you can do that is really the one thing these potatoes have going for them. These would be perfect served beside On-Cor Salisbury Steak and canned green peas — otherwise, they're a BIG pass.
Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Decadent Carrot Cake. $2.89 per 20.45-ounce box.
Bonnie: I've never liked cake mixes. Their flavor never even comes close to homemade. And unless you don't keep standard baking ingredients in your home, using a mix doesn't even save that much time. I only agreed to review this new mix at the urging of Carolyn, the convenience queen.
I dutifully made the cake, first rehydrating the carrots and raisins packaged separately in the box, and then adding my own oil and eggs to the mix. Forever hopeful, I baked, cooled and frosted the layers, and then served it to visiting friends. But this moist carrot cake just confirmed my prejudice: A mix is a mix is a mix, meaning it has a chemical taste and an odd texture, making it no match for homemade. It's no nutritional bargain either: One-twelfth of this cake (aka, a sliver) without icing is 260 calories, 11 grams of fat and 22 grams of sugar.
Carolyn: The aughts have been a throwback to the 1970s in terms of colors, designs and natural foods. In other words, it's high time for a revival in interest in the hippie's dessert of choice: carrot cake. If you agree, Duncan Hines new Moist Deluxe Decadent Carrot Cake is the one you should try. Three out of four consumers in focus groups who tried it told the company it was as good or better than homemade. (The fourth was named Bonnie.)
I agree with the majority, with two caveats: For a truly authentic and decadent cake, you'll need to add your own walnuts, and you'll need to soak the dehydrated carrots for much longer than Duncan Hines suggests. Do that and hide the box in the trash, and nobody (except Bonnie) should be able to tell the difference between this and homemade.
If only it were as easy to hide the evidence (i.e., extra pounds) from all of the desserts Americans have eaten since carrot cake became popular.
Bonnie Tandy Leblang is a registered dietitian and professional speaker. Carolyn Wyman is a junk-food fanatic and author of "Better Than Homemade: Amazing Foods That Changed the Way We Eat" (Quirk). Each week they critique three new food items. For previous columns, visit www.supermarketsampler.com, and for more food info and chances to win free products, visit www.biteofthebest.com.
© Universal Press Syndicate