Favorite frozen food?

Barber chicken stuffed breasts

Banquet fried chicken

Stouffer’s mac and cheese. Patti LaBelle’s Mac and cheese.

Tater Tots were the first thing that popped into my mind.

Trader Joe's Hatch Chile Mac n' Cheese

Trader Joe's Thai or Pork or Chicken Pot Stickers

Trader Joe's Four Cheese Gnocchi

Amy's Pesto Tortellini

Used to love Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazini and also their chicken pot pie.

I like boring old fish sticks and pommes duchesse. why not make it a comfort meal and throw a frozen strudel in the oven after the fish comes out.

Trader Joe's burrito's are good too but they all have super high sodium content

Red Baron deep dish pepperoni pizza.

Stouffers Mac & Cheese, but has to be eaten with cranberry sauce

That sounds good, R9

Stouffers makes the best frozen entrees.

TGI Fridays Boneless chicken wings

R9 that does not sound appetizing to me but to each their own!

R7 - have you tried the ones that they have with the fresh salads? I find it kind of less salty. I also add a bit more lite shredded mozzarella and some green salsa. Right next to it I hear half an avocado and half a tomato drizzled with lemon and a bit of chili powder and salt. Heaven....

Im eating Seapak spring rolls right now. I always have their stuff in my freezer

Costco’s Italian sausage and beef lasagna.

Simple one, but I like frozen peas & frozen chopped spinach. Good to have either or both on hand.

Stouffer’s Bowl Fulls Blackened Chicken Alfredo.

I don’t buy a lot of frozen food but I was briefly addicted to this when there was rarely any meat, pasta or rice in the grocery store during the early days of covid.

Does anyone remember Stouffer's Restaurants.. Always enjoyed their food that's the only frozen food that I buy.

White Castle cheeseburgers. I have found over the years the best way to cook them as use the steam method. I know it’s a pain but it’s worth it. I also sauté some chopped up jalapeño and put it on there. Sometimes I add a tiny bit of barbecue sauce & bacon!

I used to like the original Gardenburgers. Then they shrunk down the size of the burgers. Then many other players entered the market. Now, impossible to find (however still in production).

R19 as a kid I lived right by one on the east side of Detroit. It was attached to a mall called Eastland. I remember it had a red carpet leading to a fancy revolving door. I used to like to get caught in the door and go round and round. We would have to get dressed up to go there. It closed when I was about seven years old. I remember the food was good! Here’s an interesting article:

[quote]R9 Stouffers Mac & Cheese,

I ate that a lot in college because they sold it in the bodega by my house.

It was a proximity relationship, tho tinged with love.

[quote]As a kid I used to love Banquet pot pies and Banquet fried chicken. As an adult I don’t like them.

Oh Honey there is no way today's chemical laden junk was the same food you ate as a kid.

TJ's potstickers

Stouffer's mac and cheese

Jimmy Dean's sausage breakfast sandwich (croissant or biscuit)

I may only buy any of them once a year but they're enjoyable when I do.

i like the Alexa spicy sweet potato fries

trader joe's orange chicken, tilapia filets also their pepperoni pizza mac and cheese

farmrich plant based bbq sliders. they are pretty new i put extra bbq sauce on them

Michael Angelo's Eggplant Parmigiana.

I finally tried the Stouffer's mac & cheese and didn't enjoy it as much as I hoped I would.

Oregon Farms Frozen Carrot Cake- it hasn't been available in 20 years.

Totino's Pepperoni Pizza Rolls

Trader Joe's Chile Verde burritos and FROZEN Mac & Cheese.

Stouffer's Mac & Cheese and Meat Lasagna

Sea-Pak butterflied shrimp.

I eat each of these maybe once a year, when I'm feeling sad or nostalgic and my family is out of town.

That's so funny, R32, it is kind of "alone" food. A lot of it is trashy stuff we'd never bother with if there was anyone having dinner with us that day.

That's because I spoiled the fuck outta you

SPOILED

you're never gonna find this level of greatness anywhere

"Stop making creme puffs" you said

Proof. You're insane

Ya happy now, freak?

[quote] Im eating Seapak spring rolls right now. I always have their stuff in my freezer

These are so good

Michael Angelo brand Eggplant Parmigiana.

R26- I just bought Trader Joe's Peperoni Mac and Cheese today. I've never had it. Is it good?

basically French fries (restaurant style, krinkle cut, steak fries) any of them!

Oh dear god YES on the Michael Angelo's eggplant parmesan.

Harder for me to find now that I live in the boondocks.

Totino's Triple Cheese Pizza. But you have to broil it a bit to get the cheese dark and burnt.

I used to love the Tombstone cheese pizza and also loved the Stouffer macaroni and cheese, too!

Now my favorite frozen food is lemon sorbet - so tart and refreshing!

Kinda "old country" comfort food, but personally I find Stouffer's Stuffed Peppers better than any homemade recipe I've ever tried making, and just not worth the time. I make theirs and put one in a bowl of mashed potatoes.

Stouffer’s stuffed peppers have been my favorite frozen food since I was a little kid. I haven’t had them for years. Tomorrow I head to the freezer section!

Honestly, anything Trader Joe’s. Egg rolls. The flat bread with ham and gruyere. Macaroni and cheese. Mochi ice cream. Even the Turkey corn dogs are decent and they only have 150 calories per corn dog.

Sara Lee Cherry Cheesecake--wish I had a slice right now.

Blake's macaroni cheese and chicken pies.

Stoufer's Lasagna Italiano...Delicious! Heavy on the anise sausage.

I love cheap Banquet pot pies. All crust and gravy, maybe one pea and carrot floating in the midst of it. A carb lovers delight.

R37 yes, TJ's pepperoni pizza mac and cheese is very good. It's best when cooked in the oven, even though it takes a while.

Ice cream, of course.

That other crap you people are talking about is disgusting.

R49- I don't know if I have the patience to wait for it to bake in the oven because I'm a FAT WHORE and I want instant gratification.

The same is true for any mac and cheese - needs to be the oven.

La Choy egg rolls with that hot mustard packet. Do they still make those/

Edwards Chocolate Crème Pie

Inquiring GAY minds want to know why they no longer say- Macaroni And Cheese now it's SOLEY Mac and Cheese.

I'm with a lot of people here - Trader Joe's frozen food pretty much hits it out of the park; i've had probably only 1 or 2 things i didn't think were that good. Especially like their indian selections, burritos and potstickers.

A non-TJ thing i like is TGIFriday's cheeseburger sliders. they are pretty good.

And now that i've heard someone sing the praises of Stouffer's stuffed peppers, i will be trying those. I've been wanting to try them!

It's "solely," R55.

In the 1970's my FAVORITE frozen pizza was the full size round Ellios Pizza. My mother would buy it at the A&P. I remember seeing Tree Tavern pizza which my mother never bought. I always liked the packaging on that. Ellios was sold in 1988 ,so I'm sure it's crap now.

Stouffer’s French Bread Pizza (cheese or pepperoni variety) was my favorite growing up, and in recent months I’ve returned to it. No regrets. Still as satisfying now as it was 25-30 years ago.

I also loved their frozen meat lasagne way back then, too, but I haven’t wanted to try that again for some reason. Too heavy?

Omg, I LOVE pizza pockets. Can't even have them in the house because I will scarf those stupid things down. all of them.

i remember liking Mama Celeste pizza in the 80's. As an adult it probably sucks, As a teen i liked the Red Barron mini deep dish pizzas. I think there were two in a box. The Stouffer's bell peppers are good. I haven't had them in a long time.

I like most of the Amy's frozen entrees that I've tried. My favorite is Amy's Chili Mac bowl.

My favorite frozen food is Marie Calendars Dutch Apple pie. It's the best.

Tony's pizza, the cheapest...almost, but the best. The sauce is a bit hot and the crust is not too thick or thin.

R43 Since you haven't bought the Stuffed Peppers for years, as a suggestion, you might want to first check the Stouffer's website to see where that entree and size you want is still sold. I used to be able to find it just about everywhere in my metro area, but it's been discontinued at several stores now. Only one supermarket carries the large size now (2 peppers), and only one Walmart in the area is carrying the family size which is too big for me. Another is supposed to carry the single size, but it's always "out of stock."

My local convenience store has some frozen entrees and the stuffed peppers are one of them. I guess i'm lucky :)

You can seduce your man with the chicken tetrazzini.

Truffle Parmesan Mac n Cheese

Any of the Amy's Indian dishes. Most of the Amy's brand frozen meals are top-notch, but the Indian ones they offer are shockingly good. I love their mattar tofu plate.

Marie Callender's are the best, I can't stand those cheap ones anymore. The crust is good enough by itself, but use the oven not the microwave.

Clam Jumpers Coconut Cream Pie

Anyone ever tried Beechers mac & cheese? Is it any good?

Chocolate ice cream and frozen daiquiris. I hate frozen meals. I'd rather have peanut butter on toast and an orange or scrambled eggs than some frozen "meal".

R71 Yes. It's not bad, but it's overpriced and overrated.

Stouffer’s Creamed Chipped Beef on toast—comfort food for me because it’s like my mom made from scratch when I was little.

Screamin' Sicilian Boss Hog sausage pizza (to which I add mushrooms and onions).

Trader Joe's almond croissants and chocolate croissants. You let them defrost and rise overnight and then bake.

From the Asian market: Ajinomoto fried chicken kara age and Gourmet Family Berkshire pork & vegetable dumplings. Pretty much every Bibigo frozen dumpling I've tried is great.

Agree about Michael Angelo's eggplant parm. It is remarkably good for something inexpensive and frozen.

Deep Indian dishes. The chicken tika is amazing as is the saag paneer. Excellent for when you're craving Indian but don't feel like ordering in.

The Stouffer's French Bread pizza's were what I stocked up on during the early days of the pandemic. They are pretty good and only 400 calories. Their small lasgana's are pretty good too. When you're single and don't feel up to cooking, these work with a salad and some Texas Toast garlic bread.

Hate the Marie Callendar's pot pies. Bought one and cooked it in the stove and it was terrible compared to what I remember. Barely edible. Their other frozen meals are ok.

r75 forgot about the chocolate croissants from TJ's - they are really good. I didn't know they had almond flavor...but it's been 9+ months since i've been to TJ's, sadly.

Amy’s cheese enchiladas, Trader Joe’s macaroni and cheese, or tater tots.

Clams or Shrimp by Seapak

Michael Angelo’s Lasagna (better than Stouffers)

DiGiorno Supreme self rising pizza

How would you like a big TUREEN of it... like in this ad? I call it “A Fat Whore is Born”.

It would take 20 packages of Stouffer’s Mac & Cheesse to fill that! (Or the photo’s perspective is all wrong.)

[quote] Any of the Amy's Indian dishes. Most of the Amy's brand frozen meals are top-notch, but the Indian ones they offer are shockingly good. I love their mattar tofu plate.

Maybe I need to try these.

Amy's are good...in fact, i live a couple of miles down the 101 from her drive-in restaurant and this is where "Amy" was actually born and grew up.

All the entrees are either vegan or vegetarian and there are some dairy-free options as well. I've liked most of what i've had of her meals. The chili mac fries at the drive in are delicious!

I like the Amy's spinach pizza. Costco stopped selling those.

However, the Amy's lasagna (I think it was the spinach lasagna) was not that great. Noodles were like cardboard.

R31 I haven't had them in quite a while, but those are a favorite of mine, too. And I love those cheap Patio Beef & Bean, and Beef & Cheese burritos. But I'm not eating those things now, because I'm trying to get off blood pressure medication.

I know they are trash food but I love those frozen Tina burritos, they are 50 cents, the other day they were on sale for 39 cents. I pour some taco sauce on them and melt cheese on them and they are so good and ready in 3 minutes.

March is National Frozen Food Month.

r86 i thought i was the only one. i love those too!

Bell & Evans Chicken Tenders

Newman's Own Four Cheese Pizza

Ice cream.

Stouffers vegetable lasagna and their deluxe French bread pizzas.

Also spanakopita.

Amy's Thai Green Curry. Never gets old. Back when we still worked in the office and heated up our lunches in the microwave people would say how good it smelled and asked me what it was.

Tombstone Pizza - specifically pepperoni. It takes me back to being a teenager, living in a small town that didn’t have a pizza place, and thinking that Tombstone was just like real pizza. Even now, I will occasionally have one, just for the memory trip.

I love the "mouth feel" of Stouffer's mac and cheese, if not the actual taste of the cheese in it. To replicate that creamy consistency in home-made mac and cheese you need to use about 3 times the whole milk that most recipes call for.

R94 I'm old enough to remember when Tombstone Pizza was 'bar food' - you couldn't buy it stores. Every bar in northern Wisconsin offered it. OMG, Tombstone pizza and a couple of icy-cold Miller beers...heaven.

FarmRich mozzarella sticks.

Stouffers spinach souffle!

Ice cream is a separate category. We're not comparing frozen casseroles and pot pies to your favorite Ben and Jerry's flavor. That's a whole other thread.

That really needed to be said, R99.

Amy’s is great but pricey.

Apparently, I'm in the minority, as I find Amy's above average and pricey. I only buy it at Tarjay where it's usually about a dollar cheaper.

Quality costs $ R101!

Amy's pizzas are good. They had a bbq tofu one but i can't find it anymore

R103 I just don't think they're worth what they cost in regular supermarkets. They're good, but not that good.

What a shock..to see Stouffers entrees in the freezer of a Dollar General Store. . Now you may ask what was I doing in a Dollar General Store, I was following someone that looked interesting.

I was obsessed with Stouffers chicken pot pies, but they shrunk them in size and now they're almost like appetizers. They might be big enough for a little old lady, but I need a man-sized pot pie.

Sukhi's Chicken Tikka Masala I get it at Costco's. Delish.

R107 Maybe your market only carries the 10oz. size?? .. Stouffer's also makes a "large" 16oz. size. That's a 1 lb. pot pie!

Marie Callender Chicken Pot Pie.

Since we're talking about Amy's, wanted to mention "Tasty Bite." It sounds like a dog treat, but it's not. It's shelf-stable (not frozen) bagged food. Nice to have on hand for emergencies, esp. now during the pandemic.

Any recommendations of frozen entrees for low carb dieters? Tired of home cooking and want something that’s easy to pop in the microwave from time to time.

R112 The Healthy Choice cafe steamers are pretty good. I hate Lean Cuisines now, all their entrees taste the same. WW used to be good. I tried the lasagna and it was good but left a bad smell in the microwave.

Once I started making Indian food at home, I never bought it at the store again. Just make a big pot of tikka masala or biriyani and freeze up whatever you don't eat.

On the recommendations of YOU, dear dataloungers, I have purchased the Michael Whatsit's frozen eggplant parm because it's a bitch and a half to make. I will report back on my findings.

I also picked up some ice cream, I agree it belongs in a separate category.

Trust me, I am not a healthy eater at all but I love the frozen Brussels sprouts that cook in the microwave, the bag expanding like Jiffy Pop. Doused in butter, of course.

R115 Have you tried the frozen Brussels sprouts with bacon and butter? Yummo!

No but you've got me ready to do a Dukes of Hazzard and race over to Publix to find them, thanks!

I haven't eaten this kind of food since before most of you were born, but the thread piqued my interest, so I bought three Stouffer's items at the store today: stuffed peppers, macaroni and cheese, and meat loaf and mashed potatoes. I'm going to eat the first two together, at one or two meals, then have the meat loaf/mashed potato dinner separately.

It was the stuffed peppers description upthread that made me want to try it. I hope I like it.

R42 good thing Simply Potatoes makes really good mashed potatoes. All you need to do is press a few buttons on your microwave and you have dinner!

Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini. But haven't seen it in stores for a couple of years.

R118 Report back on the stuffed peppers, please. I love them especially with mashed potatoes just like R42.

I loved La Choy egg rolls as a kid. College-me loved Totino's pizza doctored up with onions, black olives, and canned mushrooms. I still do this sometimes to a frozen California Kitchen pizza.

I miss Stouffer's Noodles Romanoff and a chicken crepe dinner that was just delicious. Their Chicken with Noodles dinner is drek.

Edwards Key Lime Pie

Stouffers has the best pot pie, Hungry Man pot pies were good too.

All those different Swanson TV dinners, even German style, from when I was a kid. And all those five portion ones with soup. TV dinners were a treat when I was a kid.

R120 They still make it. Maybe check "Where to Buy" for your zip code.

Swanson Turkey Dinner in those aluminum trays! Anyone remember the Le Menu Yankee Pot Roast? The best!

[quote] I need a man-sized pot pie.

Costco deli often makes up giant chicken pot pies using their rotisserie chicken that you take home and bake in your oven. Enough to feed a family and delicious like home-made.

R121, the Stouffer's Stuffed Peppers get a C-. The peppers themselves were watery and the whole dish needed salt. I had them with Macaroni and Cheese, and that was another C-. It didn't taste horrible, but the pasta was beyond overcooked.

My frozen food selections will be limited to Haagen-Dazs and Ben & Jerry's, just as they were prior to today.

Stouffers Swedish meatballs and DiGiorno pepperoni pizza.

[quote] I had them with Macaroni and Cheese, and that was another C-.

That was my impression as well.

Dirt

Trader Joe’s vegan Mandarin Chicken

I recently had Skor ice cream for the first time. Best ice cream I've ever had. Perfect combo of chocolate slivers and caramel. It's dangerous.

On another thread someone told me about a different way to make frozen pot stickers (dumplings). The poster told me they baked them in the oven at 400 degrees until they were crisp and puffed up. I tried them that way and they are really good. They turn out, almost like you fried them

Celentano has been my go-to eggplant parm, but I’ll try the other.

Frozen Chicken Strips (with powdered cream gravy, natch). But the key is don't get a name brand. I have to go out of my way to a Kroger to get their store brand, but they really are the best.

[quote]Costco deli often makes up giant chicken pot pies using their rotisserie chicken that you take home and bake in your oven. Enough to feed a family and delicious like home-made.

A couple of years ago, I bought a chicken pot pie from Costco that was the size of a large pizza. I did have to bake it, but afterwards, I cut it up and put most in the freezer, and ate it throughout the next few months. It was wonderful.

I used to live right by the Stouffer's factory in Solon, OH. They have a small outlet store there where you can get their products dirt cheap. I would get stuff like an entire case of frozen flatbread pizzas for like $8.00.

Michael Angelo's Chicken Piccata Dinner Starter Kit, delicious, serve over your own pasta.

All the Michael Angelo meals really.

Devour Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese if you like strong blue cheese flavor, also their White Cheddar Mac & Cheese with Bacon

Stouffers Welsh Rarebit if you can find it.

Lean Cuisine meatloaf with mashed potatoes is really good. It does not taste like "diet" food.

About two hours after eating the Stouffer's Stuffed Peppers, I have a headache.

In addition to peppers, tomato, ground beef, and rice, the Stouffer's Stuffed Peppers also contain textured soy flour, whey protein concentrate, autolyzed yeast extract, dried soy sauce (something I generally avoid), caramel color, calcium chloride, gum arabic, lactic acid, sodium phosphates.

The macaroni and cheese, besides macaroni and cheese, contains margarine, vegetable mono and diglycerides, vitamin a palmitate, xanthan gum, yeast extract, lactic acid, and potassium chloride.

Not gonna eat the meatloaf dinner, more than likely.

R137 were they selling the food that dropped on the factory floor less than five seconds?

Believe it or not- Lean Cuisine Tuna Noodle Casserole. I can't find it any longer. I also loved Banquet Fried chicken and Banquet Chicken/Turkey pot pies when i was a kid..

R1 what’s banquet fried chicken like now? What do you like about it?

I get this one a couple of times a year.

r143, it's mostly extremely greasy, really crunchy batter with the occasional maybe bit of chicken. It's disgusting. I love it.

Read OP again, dyslexics. It says "it can be sweet or savory." Ice cream is acceptable on this thread

Well, tell us about some good ice cream, then, R146.

I really like trader joes stuff. Their chicken gyoze and chicken tik masala. Their tamales. Samosas.

R144 how is the chicken in that TV dinner? Is it decent? I like spicy!

R145 sounds interesting, enticing, and horrible for you. Maybe I’ll give it a try!

I'm not really a frozen foods person but have been buying them a lot over the course of this pandemic. I did so especially in the beginning when we were all sheltering in place and barely leaving our homes. Because I didn't want to have to leave my apartment for anything, including the grocery store, I'd stock up on everything I could find to keep from going out and frozen dinners really came in handy.

I have loved these since childhood for Advent and Lent.

Nobody carries them anymore...

😢😢😭

[quote] Any recommendations of frozen entrees for low carb dieters? Tired of home cooking and want something that’s easy to pop in the microwave from time to time.

Real Good has low carb pizza with the crust made out of fried chicken cutlets.

When I was a kid I loved this. I've not had it in years, I've not even see it at the stores.

Ice Cream posters = ASPIE

When I was a kid in the 80s, Stouffers French Bread Pizzas were the epitome of latch key kid love. I don’t eat many frozen entrees, but the best I’ve had recently is the gruyere and ham tart/pastry from Trader Joe’s, wow!

I just love my St. Paul Pork Products!

da fuq is that^^^

I don't do frozen prepared foods much. I do have frozen shrimp on hand. I thaw them and either bread them in panko crumbs or stir fry them in Thai curry or other stir fries. I also sometimes have fries, usually shoestring as I like them crisp.

Tai Pei Pork Potstickers. You get around 30 per bag, so it lasts a long time, and all you have to do is put them in a pan, add a cup of water, cover and let it steam for 10 min. They even give you two large soy sauce/vinegar/sesame oil sauce packets.

For dessert I like Patti LaBelle's Bread Pudding.

Pity my wretched soul...I keep these little pies in my freezer for carb day. The steak & ale pie with a Guinness is very good. Also their chicken mushroom pie is very nice. These are small, and cook up beautifully in a toaster oven. Good service, too.

I love this thread and can't wait to hear if r114 and r134 enjoy the Michael Angelo's eggplant parm.

Jamaican Beef Patties

If you want to go high end, Mackenzie has good quality everything, from entrees to desserts. I got their spring catalog yesterday.

What I do with them is order enough entree, sides and dessert for 10 and put it in the freezer. When I have people over for dinner and don’t want to cook, defrost and heat.

With Covid this year I had to eat the stuff myself!

Pure trash but I love 7 Eleven spicy beef and bean burritos. I cook them in my air fryer so the tortilla gets crispy, almost like it was fried. They're not too large so they're a perfect size for lunch.

R164 Snazzy I saw that catalog and it looks amazing. Are the portions tiny? I’ve been tempted to send for some of their treats but wondered if the product in real life was meager or skimpy.

I would probably do some kitchen forensics and lean to replicate some of these items, for fun.

Learn, not lean

R166, the portions are fine. A couple years ago we had a family reunion at our house for thanksgiving. People were flying in from different places and we were all busy and just wanted to catch up so we got all the stuff there. It was all excellent and there was plenty of everything . The only things that you can slightly tell aren’t fresh are the vegetables. I don’t buy frozen vegetables at the grocery store and wouldn’t order them again from Mackenzie. Everything else tasted great and looked special.

I used to eat the Stouffers French bread pizzas but tried Red Baron French bread pizzas one day when they were on sale and now prefer them over the Stouffers.

I came here straight from the How You Lost Those Extra Pounds thread.

It's like being able to breathe pure oxygen again.

I lived in a converted garage apartment with one sink, which was in the bathroom. For cooking, had a toaster oven and a one-burner hot plate. Made Mrs. Paul's fish sticks in that toaster oven. Haven't had them for a long time, though. Got to liking fish sticks from Catholic school. Still like Filet O Fish from McD's.

R147, Talenti ice cream has only 6 or 7 ingredients and is great. The dark chocolate ice cream and raspberry sherbet so great together. It's like eating fine chocoates with raspberry centers.

Stouffers so good. I ate a lot of that in college.

Stouffers and Marie Callender have the best frozen pot pie.

R171 Filet O’ Fish is delicious. I only eat them when I’m on the road driving a long distance. They remind me of being a kid and getting one after baseball practice. They are very soft and savory and taste a little like a fish dumpling. So good. I hope they always sell them.

One of the joys of becoming an adult was buying these ON MY OWN and not having to share!

(It's Lent, darlings. McD filets-o-fish are on sale every Friday until Easter!)

The Jack fish sandwich is a bit better.

r177 do you mean the Jack in the Box fish sandwich?

Banquet was the sub-Swanson brand even when I was a kid. Obvious dreck.

in honor of this thread and the fat bitches posting in it, I made chicken wings (flash frozen) and French fries for dinner

r178, yes.

r177

Oh, dear unenlightened R158, who has yet to live... It's a clip from this masterpiece of cinema. This should be required viewing for all gay men.

r177 & r178 i googled jack in the box fish sandwich and apparently last year in honor of lent they had a SUPREME fish sandwich with 2 fish patties. Not sure if it's back this year.

Guys, try Carla Lalli Music's "filet o fish" one time and you'll never go back (unless you're trapped on the road and have to).

She also does a tofu version for vegetablarians.

Stouffer's Cheddar Potato Bake.

r185 that sounds good.

I’m hungry.

[quote]—I wish you hall monitors would butt out of fun threads

My guess is that some of them have butts that are too big to get out the door so they physically CAN'T butt out.

r184 we're not cooking. it's end of days. we can't even be assed to take our damn garbage out.

Marie Calendar’s Chicken Pot Pies

Tabatchnick frozen soup. Split pea is my favorite.

Sometimes I like to go old school and microwave some pizza rolls and dip them in ranch. I like the Totinos Supreme pizza rolls the best.

Stouffer’s and Banquet seem so low end. I always go for the high end classy stuff like Marie Calendar’s, Boston Market, or Clam Jumpers.

R193- Banquet is LOW end

Stouffer's is upper middle brow.

Michelina's is the worst!

Just about any Trader Joe's Indian entrees.

I just tried Amy's Red Enchiladas. Really good. I don't love all Amy's entrees, but this was delicious!!!

What happened to the tv dinners of yore? As a kid I loved the sliced roast beef in some kind of tantalizing sauce, with mac n cheese and apple cobbler. Probably peas and carrots, too, but I didn't pay attention as much to those.

I don’t think there are any high end frozen foods. I thought they all cater to the middle class & below.

Ice cream!!!!

This is a great copycat recipe of Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini

^^ That recipe looks like an awful lot of work to replicate something I can find in the supermarket freezer section. ^^

R198 As I recall Swanson got broken up and the broth business went to Campbell's, and a company called Pinnacle Foods got the frozen food line. I believe Pinnacle still makes the pot pies, but at some point the frozen dinners with the "Hungry Man" label went to Conagra. They apparently still have this line, but I've never really noticed it where I shop, except maybe the "Classic Chicken" and the "Mexican Fiesta" dinners. I'm surprised there are so many.

Speaking of frozen food, I read this review of Girl Scout cookies the other day and they got two ratings, one as is and one when eaten after being frozen in the freezer, Is this a new thing, are people storing their cookies in the freezer now and eating them frozen?

I don’t think it’s a new thing. A lot of people store their thin mints cookies in the freezer and then eat them frozen.

Frozen thin mints has been a thing for DECADES. And it's a thing I stopped doing so I don't turn into a beached whale.

When I’m really hung over I like to vomit into my freezer. Then I just keep it there until the next time I’m feeling peckish.

I bought some Amy's frozen broccoli bowls and chili mac bowls because of this thread!

Did anyone get visits from the Swan's Man when they were kids?

My mom used to but their frozen foods.

>buy

R209 I'm guessing you mean Schwan's?

They're still around. (See link.) About ten years ago, the people across the street from me were still getting deliveries, sometime more than once a month. Then, another neighbor who saw this, began getting something delivered from them too. Trays of lasagna, I think. Both of them have since moved, so I don't see the truck any longer. I remember it used to make a lot of noise when it showed up...lol. Refrigeration, I'd guess.

I got visited by the Schwanz man.

I am HERE for Amy's....her Indian dishes kept me alive during the worst of the pandemic....and that Green Thai Curry--I'm addicted.

I bought Stouffer's French Bread pizza the other day

These Benihana dinners are pretty good

I sometimes will eat Lean Cuisines. If I get really hungry I know I have something somewhat low calorie I can microwave and have ready fast.

I had Stouffer's Meat Loaf and Mashed Potatoes today. It was the last of 3 of these I bought for $10 a couple of weeks ago. It was not quite as bad as the stuffed peppers, but I have no intention of ever buying this crap again.

I did have a new Ben & Jerry's Topped flavor, Tiramisu. It was frozen, and wonderful. Ice cream will continue to be the only thing I use my freezer for.

r214, those Benihana meals are VILE. I used to go to Benihana's about once a year and I loved the yakisoba. I purchased that item you posted and was excited to try it. It was inedible. I tossed it out after two bites.

r216, I use my freezer for breads (I only make toast so keeping it in the freezer means I don't have to go to the store as often), left overs, (I order pizzas from my favorite pizza joint. I freeze most of it to eat later. Heats back up nicely in my convection oven), when I make food in my crock pot like chili I will freeze it in individual portions and have it for the next few months, etc. You learn through poverty that the freezer is often your best friend.

Never been much of a Lean Cuisine fan, but one I used to REALLY like was their Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. . And of course, they had to stop making that one.. lol. I believe Trader Joe's used to make a frozen version as well, but it wasn't nearly as good.

Stouffer's Mac & Beef. My less than sophisticated palate balks at the sherry in Stouffer's Turkey Tetrazzini. Safeway Select Chicken Poblano frozen entree is remarkably good.

^^^ Isn’t Mac and Beef the same thing as Hamburger Helper?

Yeah, pretty much. Actually might be closer to Chef Boyardee Beefaroni.

I'm a frozen food shipper, a frozen food believer, if you will, and I have several favorites:

TGIFriday's spinach dip is suspiciously good

Sea Cuisine salmon, kind of pricey but all their salmon flavors have been great

Tyson southern style breaded chicken, heavy breading but a lot of meat in the pieces and better than nuggets

Stouffer's Welsh rarebit, which I haven't seen in years

Fast Fixin' brand chicken fried chicken, less breaded than you'd expect but still trashy fried goodness

[quote] I use my freezer for breads (I only make toast so keeping it in the freezer means I don't have to go to the store as often), left overs, (I order pizzas from my favorite pizza joint. I freeze most of it to eat later. Heats back up nicely in my convection oven), when I make food in my crock pot like chili I will freeze it in individual portions and have it for the next few months, etc. You learn through poverty that the freezer is often your best friend.

Eww, why would you want to eat the same thing twice?

I surely hope you are joking, r224. Because if not, I would guess you've never struggled with money.

Mom didn't cook, so we grew up on these. Funny thing is 40 years later they're a guilty pleasure!

R218 shopping and cooking for one person is hard! I hate wasting food so I end up freezing a lot. Do you have any tips or tricks to freeze sliced bread? I will eat maybe four pieces of bread in a week and then the bread goes bad.

I just had a piece of frozen pizza that had been in my freezer for like four months the other day. If you’re careful with how you reheat frozen things it still will taste pretty good!

Claim Jumper Cherry Pie

I kind of miss Banquet "boil in bag" meals, just for old times sake. My mom refused to allow a microwave in our house until the early 90's because she was convinced we would all get radiation poisoning from it. These did cook more evenly than a microwave.

I also kind of miss when TV dinners came in foil trays and you had to bake them instead of microwave them. Last I was aware of, Stouffers does still make some of their frozen meals in foil trays, but they're really large sheet pan style sizes - things like their stuffed peppers, that obviously wouldn't fit in a microwave. I've seen them at their factory outlet store, but never in any of the grocery stores near me. Not sure who they sell these to, perhaps for cafeterias?

I never buy frozen french fries. I always remembered them being kind of blah. On a whim last week I bought a package of these. OMG! SO GOOD!

[quote]Do you have any tips or tricks to freeze sliced bread?

Yes, R227. Seal the bag with a twist tie and put it in the freezer. That's all you have to do. You'll still be able to separate the slices, and they thaw very quickly at room temperature. Or just put a couple of frozen slices in a toaster, if you were planning on making toast.

Thank you R231!

peas

Anything from amy's brand including their enchiladas, mexican food. Stouffer's mac and cheese

R81, You know what's weird in that picture? The man's purported hand holding the fork belongs to someone else!

[quote]The man's purported hand holding the fork belongs to someone else!

To a hand model, of course, who was probably thinking, "For this I went to Juilliard?"

I like the Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches. I usually eat one for supper though since I am not a breakfast eater.

I love the Bob Evans sausage breakfast burritos. Can't find them anywhere local any more. I did one of those store finder things and it said they had it at Walmart, I don't shop there but went there just to look for them and they did not have them. Boo.

Stouffers mac and cheese, swedish meatballs, french bread pizza and Marie Callender pot pies.

About once a year I buy a box of frozen Banquet fried chicken. It hits the spot!

I used to love stouffer’s French bread pizza back in the ‘80s, but tried it recently & it’s not the same. Pepperidge farm turnovers, yum. And pillsbury toaster strudel, my fave.

Matlaws stuffed clams

I don't know that these are my favorite, but they are yummy.

And don't forget the Michael Angelo's Shrimp Scampi!

Supermarkets used to have a small, open chest freezer with frozen, waffley, oval "cube steaks" with a pat of butter in the middle. The waffled surface was to tenderize a cheapo cut of beef. They were easy to pan fry for dinner. But I haven’t seen them in recent years at all. Has anyone seen these in their markets recently? If so, what state are you in?

There seems to be a cheap meat and seafood uprights in many places. They are in the corner/on the side away from the "regular" stuff.

30 year veggie

r240 I found that the Red Baron french bread pizzas taste better than Stouffers. Towards the end of cooking I add some mozzarella cheese on top to make it extra cheesy.

Pepperidge Farm used to make a croissant-crust frozen pizza. It came two to a box, similar to the various French bread type frozen pizzas you see all over the place nowadays, but with a flaky croissant-like crust. They were out of this world. Sometimes I would start out saying I was going to eat just one of them, but I always wound up eating both. (I was young back then and could get away with it.) They stopped making them, and I miss them, even though they were super high calorie, and I probably wouldn't eat them today. Plus, I think they only had pepperoni, and I don't eat beef or pork products anymore.

Trader Joe's had a ratatouille that was super delicious. Haven't seen it there in many years. They seem to have done away with their frozen teryaki chicken, which I also loved and I thought was one of their staples that would never go away.

R143 Maybe newish labelling requirements explain the disappearance of tenderized steak.

365 Gluten Free Chicken Nuggets from Whole Foods- they are really good. Also Southern chicken breast tenderloins from Tyson.

Stouffer's Cream Chipped Beef (yes, I know this is trashy but I love it) and Mac and Cheese, Turkey Tetrazzini. Used to love their Noodles Romanoff too before they discontinued it.

Morningstar Farms Grillers vegetarian patties, Chickenless Nuggets, or Spicy Chickenless wings, and Jennie-O frozen turkey patties

Trader Joe's Orange Chicken, Kung Pao Chicken and frozen quiches.

R243 do you mean Camp's frozen buttered steaks? God I miss those. I think the Camp's company which was in Culver City, CA went out of business.

So cube steaks are the victim of modern meat-processing methods that can no longer ensure that the meat is not contaminated with cow poop (E. Coli). 💩

Stouffers spaghetti is lit yo

R248, cube steaks are still widely available in my area, but they're sold fresh - not frozen. My dad buys these on occasion, but they are still tough and chewy as shit when cooked. My jaw is sore trying eat one of them.

I sometimes like a Totino's combination party pizza, I love that crispy crust but don't want to think what the meat is on it.

Found a new favorite frozen pizza! I don’t usually like frozen pizza but this one is really good. It has a cornmeal crust. It’s called Vicolo pizza and I believe it’s only sold in the western states. But you can also order them online.

As a kid I loved some of the Swanson frozen dinners like Fried Chicken, Mexican and Steak. Chicken pot pies were alright as well thanks to the broth. But that brand has faded away and I understand suffered a big decline in quality. Though I suspect even then it wasn't that great unless you had a child's taste buds.

After reading this thread I realize why Muricans are so fat. Over here where I live you can find maybe 10% of the stuff listed above in the supermarkets. I'd be fat as fuck too if I had access to all these yummy, frozen, vein-clogging delicacies.

R257 True but I think they’re OK in moderation. Maybe one or two a month. I usually cook fresh food and only use frozen convenience foods when I have no time or energy.

DiGiorno self rising crust Supreme pizza

Cantonese joong.

Just had the DiGiornos rising crust Supreme and it was good. Sometimes on the weekend I don't want to see anybody so I would rather just heat up a frozen pizza. Plus delivery has got expensive and then you have to give a decent tip. I buy the DiGiornos when they are on sale.

I have never heard of frozen buttered steaks.

Stehouwer's pigs in the blanket (having them tonight), they are excellent and you just heat them up. Also I really like Chicken Voila, I get the 3 cheese chicken kind.

Stouffers fettuccine alfredo

r230, please trust a fat whore when it comes to French fries. the linked brand are the best fries you can buy. spritz with olive oil, cook in a convection oven and, if you are me, dip in homemade cheese sauce.

I used to love the Bob Evans breakfast burritos but in the last year I can't find them anywhere. I even ventured into Walmart where I only go once a year.

I had the Stouffer’s Swedish Meatballs for dinner.

Reliably satisfying.

I really love those stupid ham and cheese hot pockets. only the ham and cheese ones.

^^ same

Stouffers Cheddar Potato Bake. I haven't seen it since early covid days.

Minh frozen mini egg rolls, they taste just like egg rolls from a Chinese restaurant, for a frozen food, they're quite tasty. For some reason, Costco only carries them around the Winter holidays.

Also, the frozen mini Spanakopita spinach pies, also from Costco, are delicious. DiGiorno frozen pizza was also quite good, Costco no longer carries this brand. The frozen tortellini is also quite good, but they don't always carry it.

I do most of my food shopping at Costco, I refuse to pay the much higher prices at my local supermarkets. You definitely get more for your money at Costco, you also receive cash back rewards on everything you buy there, using both their membership card and the Citi Costco card. You basically receive double cash back. If you shop there a lot, the membership card pays for itself. I shop for myself, my partner and my father. I also sometimes shop there for my elderly neighbor.

I live alone so it seems like Costco would be too large of portions for one person. My brother who has a big family loves going there.

I live alone also and do buy things from Costco. You don't have to eat the whole box at one time, esp. if it's frozen. Just take out what you need. E.g., the egg rolls that someone mentioned above. Just take out a couple and put the rest back in the freezer.

I like these Alexia crinkle-cut sweet potato fries, salt & pepper flavor.

[quote]I live alone so it seems like Costco would be too large of portions for one person. My brother who has a big family loves going there.

IIRC, the Costco membership can be split with two or three family members. If you live near your brother can you shop with him or his wife/partner there? The savings are worth it.

My local supermarket prices are getting obscene. I was there a few weeks ago to get cookies for my mom (my Costco doesn't have a great selection of cookies), 12 dozen jumbo eggs were $5.99, that's ridiculous. 24 eggs at Costco are $3.99.

My partner and I also buy the large packages of plain frozen vegetables, fresh vegetables spoil faster. Yes, I agree the packages of everything at Costco are super sized, but it you have enough room to freeze the large packages of frozen food, a membership is worth it.

It's also helps if you have a storage area for the large packages of toilet paper, paper towels and other non-perishables. My partner and I have a third bedroom which we use for storage. The Kleenex isn't on sale every month, when it's on sale, we usually purchase two 10 packs.

Stouffers Mac and cheese is amazing, but too fattening. I love the Gardein products like seven grain chicken tenders and the Mandarin crispy Chicken. It’s all good.

Costco carried Alexia potatoes, two types, my Costco no longer carries any frozen potatoes. Costco also carried Nathan's and Ore-Ida. Yet, this same Costco has two sections of junk food, all sorts of chips, crackers etc and a full aisle of candy. Go figure.

Hmm ... I had kind of given up on Costco's frozen foods. If they have the Alexia potatoes, I might have to check. I've seen the Grown In Idaho products that R268 posted, I forgot where, though. 🤨 Possibly Whole Foods.

Funnily enough, I made Alexia fries tonight...the Organic Yukon Select with sea salt. Not bad, but I found they took longer to cook to have the correct colour. I didn't spray them with olive oil, as mentioned above. I reckon that helps them brown better, without becoming overly dry. Frozen fries are tricky that way: you want crispy and golden, not dried out. Trying the oil next time.

Four favorites:

Stouffer's meatloaf and mashed potatoes

Stouffer's mac and cheese

Healthy Choice beef teriyaki

Healthy Choice sweet and sour chicken

I keep a supply in the freezer. Handy when you don't want to fix anything.

Turkey Tetrazzini?!

[quote]Hmm ... I had kind of given up on Costco's frozen foods.

My local Costco isn't super large, so it's understandable that they don't always carry certain items, but it's baffling seeing so much junk food taking up so much valuable real estate in their stores.

When they do carry something different, the eggplant parmigiana was good, but they don't always carry that, same for the small won-ton potstickers. It seems there are so many items which are either seasonal or they only carry them once or twice, see how well the item sells, then make a decision whether or not to carry the items again.

It's even more baffling when they stop carrying their own Kirkland brand, that happened last year when their own cheddar cheese was swapped for an expensive California brand of cheddar which was $6 a pound, $12 for a 2 lb brick of cheddar was ridiculous. The store got lots of complaints, they are back to selling their own Kirkland cheddar at $5.39 for 2 lbs.

I also found out, Costco prices are different across the US, that explains why the monthly Costco book only shows the discount amount per item, not the actual item price.

My Costco has the opposite problem with cheeses. They stopped selling President brand (French) feta cheese and replaced it with Kirkland goat cheese, which tastes awful. They stopped selling Bel Gioioso fresh mozzarella with Kirkland - awful.

The entire center portion of my local Costco has clothing and junk food. The clothing aisle is dead. The junk food areas have more action. I don't even bother. I'm not buying junk food in those quantities. I don't care if it's cheaper.

EatingWell Chicken, green beans, carrots, and fingerling potatoes.

R175 The Pepperidge Farm's turnovers are certainly better than the Whole Foods turnovers from their bakery. I do jot buy these frequently, so the WF variety have been a major disappointment. Not flaky, soggy bottoms, as well well as too much sugar on the top.

Stouffers frozen lasagne.

Trader Joe's fried rice, orange chicken, chicken tikka masala, and egg rolls.

Speaking of Trader Joe’s, their microwaveable brown rice is great.

TJ vegetarian biryani

Saffron Road - Chicken Biryani

[quote]My Costco has the opposite problem with cheeses. They stopped selling President brand (French) feta cheese and replaced it with Kirkland goat cheese, which tastes awful. They stopped selling Bel Gioioso fresh mozzarella with Kirkland - awful.

I do notice the Bel Gioioso fresh mozzarella is only sold in conjunction with the monthly coupon sales, otherwise Costco rarely carries it. Costco always has Polly-O mozzarella and ricotta. I've never seen Kirkland mozzarella at my Costco. They always carry feta, I forgot the brand. Boursin and Laughing Cow are also only sold when there's a discount in the coupon booklet.

There's always a collection of imported cheeses, but I rarely look at them, as they're too expensive. The imported cheeses are in different size packages, they're sold by the pound. I once tried the cheese from Ireland, Kerrygold Dubliner, it was awful, it reminded me of very sharp Parmesan. I like grated Parmesan, but not eating it chunk style, ugh

Costco carries Finlandia Swiss cheese, I've never seen another brand of Swiss.

Certain items this Costco regularly carries, can suddenly be gone for months, for example, they haven't carried hummus and the refrigerated salsa for the last two months. When asked 'why', the manager usually says, "Our food buyers are not getting certain items at affordable prices."

Hmm ... I like the Kerrygold Dubliner cheese a lot. It's a cross of Parmesan and cheddar.

They (Costco) used to have a nice Comté cheese. I forgot what brand it was. Stopped selling it a long time ago.

The Kirkland mozzarella is awful, IMO. Flavorless & crappy texture; also, the slices are too thin, IMO. I realize mozzarella is a mild cheese, but there's such a thing as too bland.

Stouffer's Spaghetti with Meat Sauce - way better than the Spaghetti with Meatballs entree Stouffer's Grandma's Chicken and Rice Bake Trader Joe's Butter Chicken Trader Joe's Hatch Chile Mac and Cheese

R290 - Saffron Road entrees are so good! My favorite is the Chicken Pad Thai.

Now I'm hungry for some Chicken Tetrazzini

Edwards Key Lime pie

Re Costco, they seem to stock certain items in accordance with the demographic of a neighborhood, but I live in an extremely diversified neighborhood. I do wonder why this Costco wastes so much space on junk food.

In my neighborhood there are private houses, rental apartment buildings, expensive 1-2 million dollar condos on the waterfront, three older co-op complexes and three public housing projects. The neighborhood is extreme diverse and a lot of the residents shop at Costco. Costco is always crowded, I always shop on weeknights, about an hour before they close. Weekends it's a madhouse, you'd think they were giving their stock away!

Don't really eat frozen foods other than ice cream. Love Trader Joe's Green Tea Mochi. The strawberry is good too.

I still like Banquet pot pies as a treat. All gravy and crust with one pea floating along with a piece of chicken. Carb heaven all for 66 cents. Mmm, once a month and I love it.

R211, When I was in Highschool my boyfriend's mom would get deliveries from Schwan's every couple of weeks, I thought that was the echelon of Upper middle-class extravagance!

The little Banquet apple pies aren't bad if you bake not mw them and put some sugar and cinnamon on the crust before baking.