Masala Meatballs

Frozen Thursdays are an old blog relic. Back in the early days of the blog I used to have fun trying and writing about various frozen food products. I don't really write them anymore since I rarely buy frozen meals and when I do, I stick to my favorites (Amy's Vegetable Lasagna and Pesto Tortellini). Except about once or year or so I like to bring it back to share a new discovery, like today...
Sukhi's Masala Meatballs
Like the other Sukhi's products I've tried they aren't really meant to be meals, instead they're better as appetizers. But that doesn't stop me from eating it as a single serving. They also aren't the easiest to heat up since the sauce comes in it's own packet and you need a separate bowl to heat it up. But assuming you're willing to go through the extra work they're well worth it.

They do pack a punch, and by the end of them my mouth was on fire. But if you were to serve this at a party where you're only eating one or two at a time I think they'd be the perfect intensity.

Do you have a frozen meal that you always seem to go back to?

This product was purchased by me, without any motivation except being hungry. All opinions are my own.

Spinach & Feta in a Pocket

Amy's Spinach & Feta in a Pocket
Let's start by saying that I messed up cooking this. Yes, I read the directions wrong on a frozen meal. But here's how it happen....underneath the microwave directions it said to put in toaster over for 2-3 minutes at 375. So I put it in the toaster oven for 2-3 minutes, except parts were still frozen when I took it out. Instead since it was under the microwave directions you were supposed to do that AFTER microwaving it. To use the toaster over by itself it needed 25-30 minutes. So I had to wait forever to eat this.

I think the suspense is what killed it for me, because this wasn't as good as I was hoping. Basically it's an organic (and more expensive) hot pocket. Except I don't like hot pockets normally because they're a little too cheesy & gooey for me. But I'm obsessed with feta, so I knew I'd love this.

My problem though was that there wasn't enough feta, and there was a ton of spinach. It wasn't bad, and overall I did enjoy it, I just probably wouldn't buy it again. Although I do have a friend she said she sprinkles feta on top of these before heating them, so if I ever try them again I'll definitely take that route.

No, this meal was not provided to me. I bought it completely on my own. So somewhat obviously then, all opinions here are my own!

Roasted Polenta with Swiss Chard

About 2 years ago Frozen Thursday used to be an almost weekly feature on From L.A. to LA, where I'd review various frozen meals. I did one this past June, but they're still pretty rare. Unless of course I come across something new and interesting that I want to share... and that's what we're doing today!
Amy's Roasted Polenta with Swiss Chard
I've honestly never seen a frozen meal like this before, which is why I was so excited to try it. And like normal Amy's didn't let me know. I was a little hesitant to eat frozen & microwaved swiss chard, but it turned out really good. (I do like chard in general, so I wasn't necessarily worried whether I would like chard, but more of it would taste like I'd expect.) The sauce which contained squash, tomatoes, and mushrooms was awesome.

My only complaint was really the polenta itself. That's not that it was bad, but more that it wasn't heated all throughout the middle. Amy's meals normally end up on the extra hot side, so for the last recommended 2-3 minutes, I went out 2:30. But I think with the extra time, it would have been almost picture.

And did I mention that somehow this is only 140 calories? It definitely didn't feel that small when I ate it, but with so few calories this has the potential to be a great snack.

I'd definitely buy this one again, although it still doesn't top my favorite Amy's lasagna. And no, this post was not sponsored. I just wanted to be able to remember this meal, and hopefully lead someone else to try it!

Frozen Thursday

Anyone around here remember my Frozen Thursdays? It's been about a year since I posted one and even longer since I posted them regularly. (So if you do remember them, props to you!) Back then I used to each frozen meals quite a bit (I have cut back since them, which is part of the reason why they aren't here anymore), and would post reviews so I could remember which ones I wasn't a big fan of and which ones to buy again. When I started doing it the blogger disclosure policies hadn't really been in force. But all of them (including this one) were of my own doing and no one ever contacted me asked me to review their product or supplied one for free. With that said let's have a little flashback
Kashi Spicy Black Bean Enchilada
I was really excited to find since I believe I've had every other Kashi meal. I'm normally a little hesitant which enchiladas for fear they'll be too cheesy for me, but based on the picture on the box I figured I'd be safe. And thankfully, it wound up being the right decision.

To start with it definitely lives up to the spicy part of it's name. The pilaf was good, except that only thing I could really taste in it was the spice. The star of the meal was by far the actual enchilada. It honestly was really good. Inside the tortilla are black beans, roasted red peppers, roasted corn, spinach, and what I think made it all come together, red skinned potatoes.

It was really enjoyable and I would easily be willing to try this again. Although I think I'd enjoy it better if there were two enchiladas instead of the pilaf on the side.

Mayan Harvest Bake

Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake
I've spend months looking for this meal so I could try it. And last week I finally laid eyes on it. I was so excited that I was finally going to be able to buy one. So did it live up to expectations?

One thousand times yes! It was even better than I had hoped for. I knew it was going to turn out well when I could smell the dish cooking in the microwave. I mean microwavable food doesn't normally have incredible smells. The last step on the directions said to leave it in the microwave so it could finish cooking, which I did but was a bit torturous.

When I was finally able to take a bite, well... It had a nice sweetness to it at first, but after wards there was a nice kick from the "spicy ancho sauce." The sweet potatoes (which I sillily thought were carrots while eating) had the perfect texture, and there was a nice little crunch from the pumpkin seeds. Then there were the plantains, which were kind of the cherry on top.

I was a little afraid parts of it were going to be burnt. But the cooking directions were pretty spot on. The only think I would maybe change would be mixing it a little before I started eating. I was about half way through when I realized I had far more grains (pilaf, amaranth, & polenta from the packaging) than the sauce. But I mixed it up at that point, I it worked out fine. Now hopefully I can find this again so I can stock up several in my freezer.

This post is no way sponsored. I paid for the meal, and decided to write this point mainly on my own, mainly so I could remember what I liked and what to buy next time. Although if Kashi wants to send me a few off these let me know! Or I'd settles for stocking them at my local market!

~Shoshanah

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Kashi's Sweet & Sour Chicken
Anyone remember my Frozen Thursdays? Well, I won't say they're back, but they're at least here this week. I've actually had this meal in my freezer forever. Seriously, see how long ago I posted a Frozen Thursday? It's been there at least that long. I remembered trying this several years ago when these meals first came out, but that was before the blog so I had no review. I had a feeling I didn't really enjoy it, but I couldn't quite remember. So I bought this, but was a little reluctant to try it until tonight.

And now that I've tried it, I know where my hesitations come from. Mainly I wasn't a big fan of the sweet and sour sauce. Although now that I think about it, I'm not a huge fan of sweet and sour sauce in general. I guess it just wasn't meant to be for me.

Besides the sauce there were a few other let downs. The green beans, which in general are one of my favorites, I didn't really enjoy. Normally these meals always taste really fresh, but the green beans tasted distinctly frozen. Although that could have been partly due to the fact its been sitting in my freezer for around 6 months.

There was also only one mushroom in the entire dish. Interestingly enough, there's a single mushroom shown on the package.

Really for me, the only high point were the yellow and red peppers. Clearly not enough to make it an very enjoyable meal for me, or to justify buying it again. While I wasn't a fan, I'm sure if you love sweet and sour sauce you'd probably love this meal too.

And for the record, no one asked me to review this meal, or gave me any products for free. I just always liked these meals and thought this would be a fun way for me to keep track of my favorites.

~Shoshanah

Asian Noodle Stir-Fry

Amy's Asian Noodle Stir-Fry
I've heard a lot of good things about this meal, and have been wanting to try it. The only hesitation I had was that brocoli seemed to be featured pretty prominently on the box. I did want up removing half of the brocoli before it finished heating, and was worried that the amoun of vegietables would be a little deplated. But that wasn't the case at all.

I did keep a piece or two of brocoli in. But even so, I was still left with lots of onions, tofu, soybeans, red peppers, carrots, mushrooms, cabbage, green peppers, and green beans. Clearly quite a selection.

The pasta was the perfect consistency. However, my favorite part of the whole meal was the sauce. Just the perfect amount of sweetness for me. Definitely another Amy's meal I would try again.

(And no one's paid me anything for this review. Nor were any of these meals provided to me. I just want to try them, and would rather keep track for myself and you all.)

~Shoshanah

Indian Mattar Paneer

Amy's Indian Mattar Paneer
It's been a while since I've posted a Frozen Thursday, which is a little assuming because they would have been a perfect way to ensure NaBloPoMo hasn't been completed. I think part of the reason its been a while, is because I feel like its getting hard to find yummy looking frozen foods that I haven't reviewed yet and want to eat. I actually had to double check my archives to make sure I hadn't posted this meal already.

Honestly, though I don't have a lot to say about this one. Or at least I don't have anything negative to save. The rice was a perfect texture. The chana masala (aka the garbanzo beans) were really good, and had the perfect about of spice. But by far the best part of the dish for me was the actual mattar paneer (aka peas and cheese). And I do promise there is fairly large blocks of paneer cheese hidden by the peas. Actually if you look closely you can see a corner of a block.

So yes, I would easily eat this again. And if you're wondering how I think this compares to the Shuki's frozen meals I've tired, who actually specializes in Indian meals, overall I actually like Amy's meal better. Mainly because Amy's gives you an actual meal with different sides to eat, while Shuki's really just gives you a main dish.

And since I feel like I'm starting to run low on good Frozen Thursday options, let me know if you have a favorite frozen meal you really think I should try!

~Shoshanah

Red Curry Chicken

Kashi's Red Curry Chicken
It feels like its been a while since I've had a Frozen Thursday where I've raved about what I ate, but I'm hear to end that. This dish was completely amazing. First the smell! Just smelling the curry in the microwave was divine. And the taste was just as awesome.

What were my favorites? All the vegetables were really good, but I do think my favorite was the sweet potatos. And do you see how big some of the sweet potatoes above were? I wouldn't have expected to see such large pieces, but they were there.

The chicken its was really good, which can be the low part of some of the Kashi frozen meals. But no complaints here, at least this time.

And have a talked about the "zesty Thai style red curry sauce?" Again, so good. It was a little spicy, but not too bad. Plus every few bites there was a nice sweetness to it.

This is easily now one of my favorite Kashi meals, and I really can't wait till I get to eat it again!

~Shoshanah

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Amy's Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

When I first saw this I thought this was the Amy's Lasagna I had already tried. But under closer inspection I realized this was ROASTED vegetable lasagna, completely different clearly. I remember how much I loved the (non-roasted) vegetable lasagna, and really wanted to try this one as well.

Really, I should have reread my post on the last lasagna. At that time I was a little worried that it would be too cheesy for me, but I decided to chance it and wound up loving it. This time I hadn't really thought about the cheesy-ness. Which of course meant it wound up being a little too cheesy for me. I really wasn't a big fan.

There were some things I did like. The was a tomato or maybe red pepper layer at the very bottom that was really good. Except there wasn't a lot of it, and in order to get to it I had to wade through the many layers of cheese. What can I say, I'm not a big fan of lots of melted cheese. I'm pretty sure I won't be trying this again. On a similar note, just in case you were wondering, I won't be trying Amy's Mac and Cheese either. Again, too cheesy for me and I'm not a fan of Mac and Cheese in general. Although I'm sure if you really like melted cheese you'd love this, and from what I've heard their mac and cheese is great as well.

~Shoshanah

Caribbean Carnival

Kashi's Caribbean Carnival Pizza
I want to know who the person at Kashi was who thought to themselves, "You know what would make a great pizza? Mangoes, plantains and kale on top of mozzarella!" Yeah, not the most normal of combinations. But surprisingly good!

I think my favorite part of the pizza was the plantains. Which could be seen as a little surprising since I'm not a big banana fan. The mangoes were a close second though. Its funny because you wouldn't necessary think fruit would work on the pizza, but it was by far my favorite part. Although, come to think of it, I'm a fan of pineapple on my pizza. So I guess adding fruit isn't the oddest of idea.

Instead of having a tomato sauce the pizza had a "sweet and spicy guava-infused jerk seasoned sauce." Sounds amazing right? Except I couldn't really taste the sauce. Actually, the parts of the pizza that didn't have the fruit on it tasted like a normal cheese pizza.

I would say this isn't necessarily a pizza I'd want to eat all the time. But every once it a while, it would be a fun change of pace.

~Shoshanah

Vegetable Lasagna

Amy's Vegetable Lasagna
I've been seeing this around forever, but I've been a little hesitant to try it. Partly, because lasagna is one of my favorite foods and I was afraid I'd be let down. I was afraid that since it was meatless it would disappoint me. Also that since there wasn't any meat it would be a little to cheesy for me. Especially considering ricotta is one of the ingredients in this, and its pretty much my least favorite part of lasagnas in general.

I did suck it up, and decided to make the jump. Of course I'm glad I did! The lasagna turned out even better than I imagined. There wasn't too much ricotta. I could actually barely taste any of it. I even forget that it was meatless it was so good. And there was the spinach, some might say that adds a meatiness to the lasagna, but I think it more just gave it an extra kick.

The lasagna wasn't perfect though. As you can tell from the picture the edges got a tiny bit overcooked. But it was cooked all the way through the middle which I guess is the important part. Other than that I don't have any major complaints.

Honestly I should have had a little more faith in Amy's After all they haven't let me down yet!

~Shoshanah

P.S. I know its been a while since I've posted a Frozen Thursday. With the change of schedule for the fall semester the boy has been home more often lately. And instead of making frozen dinners we've been eating something together. But I do have a few things in my freezer that I can't wait to try, so while I may not be posting one of these every week they will definitely NOT be going away!

Chicken Curry

Sukhi's Chicken Curry
I picked up yet another of the Sukhi's frozen meals at Fresh Market. I've been a big fan of them in the past, and was hoping this would be yet another smart choice. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.

My main pros and cons and the same one I have for most of their meals. Their naan is really yummy and amazing. But the actual package isn't really a meal. You're only getting meat and bread. I think their products could be easily improved if they also had a bit of a side something even as easy as rice. Or maybe just a few vegetables mixed in.

As for the actual meal itself, I wasn't a huge fan of the actual chicken. The pieces seemed to be too big, and I think it they were smaller they would be able to get more of the sauce. Also the actual quality of the chicken wasn't amazing. The sauce was good and there was a lot of each. Which was good, because I was able to use the naan to soak it up. Although it wasn't a very spicy curry, and I have had curries that have been a lot better.

All in all it could have been worse. Although I probably won't go out of my way to try this exact product again. Although I am still a fan of Suhki's (partly because I can't stop thinking about their samosas!).

And for dessert? Well it is a Frozen Thursday after all!Haagen Daz Mango sorbet
This easily made up for the letdown of the dinner. I'm still amazed I haven't gone back for seconds on it yet!

~Shoshanah

Ranchero Beans

Kashi's Ranchero Beans
Part of me remembered not liking this the first time I tried it. So I was a little reluctant to buy it, and once I did buy it, it sat in the freezer for a while. But I hadn't ever blogged about it, so tonight I went for it.

Surprisingly, I liked it! (I think maybe just the name is what I remember disliking. Even now I feel a little silly admitting I enjoyed eating ranchero beans.) I thought my favorite part was going to be the red pepper because in general its one of my favorites. But it wasn't. The red pepper was still really good. I just liked the pinto beans more. They were the perfect soft texture, which is impressive considering its a microwaved beans and beans don't always reheat very well.

The overall verdict, I'd probably buy it again. Although maybe Kashi would let me change the actual name on the box?

~Shoshanah

Enchiladas

Amy's Enchilada
Let me start out by saying that I don't normally like enchilada's, which meant I was a little hesitant to buy this. But the reason I don't like them is because they are normally far too cheesy for me, and I'm just not big on melted cheese. But since the box says vegan and non-dairy I thought I might be safe. I was a little worried there would be some fake cheese substitute thing, but luckily this was not the case!

This meant the actual enchilada was packed for of just vegetables (and probably tofu as well), but no actual cheese. The sauce that topped it off was really good, and left a little kick at the end. I think my favorite part might have been the rice though. The flavors in the rice just really seemed to work.

The only thing I was a little disappointed with were the beans. I heated it for 5 minutes like the directions said. You can kind of tell from the picture that the beans got heated a little too much. They still tasted fine, but weren't amazing. Of course the instructions do say to use heating times as a guideline, and that they may very per microwave. Maybe that means I should be microwaving my food slightly less. I know I've had this problem at least once before.

One final thing I did like about this it that is was a whole meal (yes, it actually says whole meal on the box). I'm pretty sure Amy's sell its enchilada's two ways. One as a meal with rice and beans (aka what I bought). The second with two enchiladas and no sides. If you planning on eating by yourself I'd say whole meal is the way to go.

~Shoshanah

Indian Vegetable Korma

Amy's Indian Vegetable Korma
Yes, I had Indian food last week. But I haven't had Amy's a good while so I figured it evens out. Now taken directly from the box:

"Made with organic vegetables and rice. Curried vegetables with rice & dal."

Not sure what dal is? Well neither did I. Turns out from the back of the box its the Indian word for lentils. And I know what lentils are! Honestly, I had forgotten how much I love Amy's product. It was so good, the whole time I was trying to eat slowly so it would last longer.

Starting with the rice. It had kind of a lemony flavor, and it was the pretty temperature and texture. But the rice for probably my least favorite part. Not because it was bad, but because the other parts we so good. The curried vegetables were really good. Pieces of potatoes, peas, and carrots. All perfectly soft. And then there were the lentils which were also really good. They actually had a few raisins mixed in with them which was a pleasant surprise.

What I loved about this product was that it felt like an actual meal. It gave me a variety of thing to eat. And made me realize I need to start buying more Amy's products again!

And for dessert? Well its been a while since I've had one of these!
Betty Crocker Mini Warm Delight in Molten Caramel Cake
And the caramel sauce? I was aiming to make a heart. Clearly a fail there. Even with the lack of a heart, still really yummy.

~Shoshanah

Channa Masala

Sukhi's Channa Masala

In case you're wondering exactly what channa masala, we have taken directly from the box, "Vegan Garbanzo Beans in a Sweet & Sour Sauce." Yes this is once again one of the Sukhi products. I'm pretty sure I'm gone through most of them by now!

Again my favorite part of this was the naan. Like last time I microwaved the meal, and warmed the naan up in the oven. I think I could have left the naan in the oven a tiny bit longer this time.

The actual main dish could have probably been in the microwave a tiny bit less. (If you look closely in the picture you can kind of tell on the edges.) It was still really good though. I love garbanzo beans, and the sauce was good too. It didn't start out very spicy, but the more I ate the spicier it got.

There was actually two servings in the package which I'm not a fan of. In a prepackaged meal like this, are you really going to share it? I will say I started to feel full before I had finished. Of course I wasn't very hungry in the first place, but well I'd been looking forward to trying this one. Of course when I started getting full there wasn't really enough left to save. I could have always thrown the last little bit out, but that feels wasteful to me.

Overall it was good. However, I will say that if you want to try a Sukhi's product, this does not come anywhere near to their samosas. I would say start with those, even though they are more of a party appetizer. I guess if you're looking for an actual meal for yourself the channa masala might be the way to go though.

~Shoshanah

Garden Vegetable Pasta

Kashi's Garden Vegetable Pasta
I've said it before that I'm not a big fan of broccoli. I know I had tried the before (pre-Frozen Thursday posts and probably even pre-blog), but really didn't like it. Mainly due to the fact that there was broccoli in it. This time I picked out the florets when it was still half frozen, but was afraid that it would still taste all broccoli-like.

Lucky for me the most overwhelming flavor was the sauce. According to the box its a "Roasted Red Pepper, Garlic & Four Herb Sauce." According to me it pretty much amazing, and completely masked any of the leftover broccoli flavor.

I don't really have a lot to say about the other non-broccoli vegetables. I don't think I can say anything negative or positive about the squash. It was just kind of there. In general the white beans were good, although a few of them were a little too hard.

Overall, I might have this one again. Assuming of course I pick out the broccoli again. I will say the broccoli probably would have livened the picture up a little, but I guess I'm not willing to sacrifice my meal for a good picture.

~Shoshanah

Samosa & Chutney

Sukhi's Samosa & Chutney
You might remember a few weeks ago I posted about Sukhi's Chicken Tikka Masala. Well, we went to Fresh Market over the weekend and they had two other Sukhi's products. Another chicken dish (with Naan!) and the samosas. While I wanted to get the other chicken dish mainly because it came with naan, only eating chicken and bread wasn't the most filling (or wholesome) meal for myself. So I went with the samosas. The samosas were actually vegan and filled with potatoes and peas. And it came with a cilantro chutney.

Of course I kind of failed because I didn't get the samosa out until I was really hungry. And then read the box. They only had oven directions. Oven directions that took 20-25 minutes. Since I had my heart set on eating these I sucked it up and put them in the oven to wait.

Here's fail number two. When I was putting them onto the baking sheet I noticed there seemed to be a lot of samosas (10 to be exact). So I looked at the nutritional facts. The box only contains 1 serving! I can eat all 10! Alright! When I took them out of the oven I gave the box another glace. Serving Size: 1 Samosa. That meant each of the Samosa was a serving and 80 calories. And eating all 10 would be 800 calories. If I had known that I might not have heated up all 10.

Fail number three. The chutney came in its own little plastic bag, that did not go into the oven. I just thawed at room temperature for the length the samosa were in the oven. Once the samosa came out I just kind of poured it on the plate. Not the best idea as you can see, some sort of cup might have been better.

But how did the samosas taste? Absolutely amazing! So so so good! Both the samosas were amazing and the chutney was amazing too! It was hard to stop before eating them all, but I somehow manged. (I'm not going to reveal how many of the original 10 actually made it into the fridge.) I even poured the rest of the chutney into a container so I can eat it when I eat the last few samosa.

I would definitely say buy this if you find it. (I bought it at Fresh Market, I don't think I've seen it anywhere else, but if you have, let me know!) While it might not be the best for a dinner for 1, it would be perfect for appetizers and some type of dinner party. Or eat them alone if you really want. Either way, you pretty much have to try them!

And for dessert? I'm having some rock candy & salt water taffy the boy's parents brought me back from Tennessee.

~Shoshanah

P.S. I stopped at Whole Foods to have their salad bar for my lunch today. Whole Foods, like a lot of grocery stores, normally has free samples. And what type of free samples did they have in the bakery section? Slice of cake! Seriously, I've never seen anyone do that! They were thinly slice, but still pretty big, and wrapped up in parchment paper so you could pick them up with your hands. Guess what I had with my lunch today?

Mushroom & Olive Pizza

Amy's Mushroom & Olive Pizza
I have to say Amy's, I'm a little disappointed in you after this. I've loved pretty much all of your other meals to death, but I wasn't a big fan of this one. Overall, there just wasn't a a lot of flavor, and the sauce was a little too sweet for me. Trying to stay positive, the outside crust was just the perfect amount of crispiness. Actually, after the first bite of crust I really thought I would like this. But not quite. I'll still buy Amy's of course, and I might even try one of their pizzas again. But probably not this one.

On a brighter side Amber at The Girl with Red Hair has a bunch of giveaways going one to kick off her new blog. There's Cliff & Larabars, a book, and even a date night! So go check it out!

~Shoshanah