Martha Stewart frozen dinners

In my area only Ralph's aka Kroger is carrying them, and fuck KROGER. I'm boycotting them.

Sorry, Martha.

Yeah, with food insecurity on the rise I don't think the timing is great for a new line of overpriced mass market frozen entrees. But I don't have anything against the Martha Stewart brand as one of my cats' favorite beds was a brown plush MS cat cave I picked up at PetSmart.

I've loved every MS item I've ever purchased, from her simple yet smart ice cube trays to her simple and easy to hold coffee mugs. Great designs. So I'd try her frozen dinners in a minute, even at that price, but they're not available in my area yet.

Our store has the Martha Stewart brand "hand pies" so I'll try a couple of them, despite the fact that they are called "hand pies."

I tried the beef and cheddar hand pie and it was fine. They're basically turnovers and the outer corners are all dough, but the center that has filling is good, definitely made with real food, just not that much of it.

I think this dough would be much better with a dessert filling instead of a savory one.

Hard pass… the meats aren’t listed as being raised without antibiotics and none of the vegetables are organic. And at these prices they should be. This line of frozen foods is nothing but Swanson Hungry Man level shit with a Martha label slapped on.

Well, I’m excited!

ConAgra

Yeah - I recently saw these at Ralphs. $8 a pop is very high for a frozen dinner. I could make a really great dinner for $16 for two people.

She's very late in the game to be introducing these now - 20 years ago would have been a better time.

I served them at my July fourth party on my terrace and no one any wiser. I'm such a superlative host that I can serve shit on a plate and they all eat it up

[quote]She's very late in the game to be introducing these now - 20 years ago would have been a better time

She was busy with insider trading.

They're not a lot of food-- only 200 calories or less for each entree.

So more appetizer sized it would seem

The "hand pies" were $4.99 for two, both small but puffed up when cooked because of the puff pastry. I've eaten frozen entrees that price or even more before so the price wasn't off putting, but honestly I'd rather spend $6.99 for an Amy's than $4.99 for these again.

Martha's products were good quality, even when they were sold at K Mart. Now...the quality has dropped, is overpriced and I stopped buying her products. It's like...just slap her name and brand on anything now.

It's not just Martha's. I noticed looking though the freezer compartment at my Publix, that prepared frozen convenience foods are generally higher than they used to be. I try to keep two or three in the freezer for when I don't feel like cooking, but instead I'm making my own stuff and freezing it. I've done a pork loin, some lamb and eggplant stew, and some chili. Even froze pancake batter and a box chocolate cake I made, then cut in slices and froze.

Last week I made my own frozen yogurt, and found some great peaches at the farmer's market so I made a compote, (butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and a bit of water, fry the sliced peaches until tender like apple sauce, but chunky. Add a tiny bit of corn starch and then let it cool, put it in a jar in the fridge. ) It's great topping for just about anything. Actually the farmer's market has been a life saver, because food prices are ridiculously high.

I just bought a Martha Stewart mattress pad from Macy's and it was great, so not everything is cheap junk. It was priced so low I wasn't expecting much so I was pleasantly surprised.

I find that a lot of frozen entrees are now the same price as the frozen premade foods like bagged pasta and chicken cordon bleu, which all used to be much pricier. If I'm going to spend $7.99 on a frozen dinner, I'll just get some frozen salmon for that price and eat healthier.

Yes...generally all around, food prices have gone up, or you pay the same price...but the contents are less or smaller in size.

My sister-in-law buys eggs and pays $7 for one dozen. She says they're organic, free of antibiotics, free range, blah, blah, blah.

Martha Stewart said she does not even own a microwave.

I will never pay the same thing to cook my own meals as to buy food in a restaurant. And $8 for a 200-calorie frozen concoction is particularly egregious.

OP here...I started this thread because Martha's entrees were all $7.99 at my Kroger on Monday morning. What a difference x3 days make...this morning (Thurs), the most expensive one was now $7.49, and several of them went down to $5.99. I've dated a guy who was a grocery store manager (don't laugh...he make six figures), and he said the products must either sell themselves, or lose the shelf space to other, better selling products. Martha & Co seem to be learning quickly to lower the price before they're booted.

Martha's name isn't as golden anymore. It's lost it's cachet.

These packaged products haven't worked out well for most other "celebrity" chefs -- Ina Garten, Pioneer Woman, et. al. Ina had some boxed mixes which were very overpriced. Pioneer Woman had some frozen appetizers and sides that they advertised heavily, but seem to have failed. I think she still has shelf-stable things like pasta sauce and BBQ sauce. Even Martha herself had some packaged products under her brand back when JCPenney was doing its huge reorganization and tried to steal away some of her cachet from Macy's.

OP, I don't doubt your information, but I have also heard that certain big brands pay for shelf space locations and displays in stores.

I'm glad Martha lowered the price, but honestly I won't go to Kroger with Elaine Chou just named to their board of directors. Tell Mitch to eat Martha's....meals.

r23 That fits in with my experience ... I found Pioneer Woman frozen foods at the 99 Cents Only stores.

See you at Grocery Outlet, Martha!

For that price, most people would rather pay a bit more and eat out or have food delivered. Frozen shit should not cost more than $5.

R2- Me too. I still use my Martha Stewart Flannel blanket in purple that I bought at Kmart at least Ten years ago.

Instead of Marsha Marsha Marsha, it’s

MARTHA MARTHA MARTHA

Patti LaBelle's frozen meals are also $7-9. Her Chicken and Biscuits is very good, the Mac n Cheese good and the Brisket Pot Roast is BAD.

My go to frozen is Michael Angelo, good ingredients and short ingredients list. The Chicken Piccata Meal Starter is excellent served over your own pasta. Eggplant Parm very good, actually everything I've tried has been good.

[quote]Martha's name isn't as golden anymore. It's lost its cachet.

Martha should have stayed true to her snobby, striver, perfectionist ways. With the dose of humor that made her fun.

But as soon as she started trying to be more "accessible"...the Snoop Dogg stuff and ingratiating her self with audiences, she started to lose it.

Her baking videos are still great though.

Prices have gone up on everything R16, especially this last week or two. What I use to pay $3.99 is now $4.39. That sticks out to me because it is something I buy regularly. I know the distilled white vinegar I buy the price increase was almost 60 cents.

Lies, R15. I bought a MS comforter at Kmart about 25 years ago. Within 3 months all the decorative stitching was coming apart. LIES.

I only buy frozen food items when they are on sale, which is mostly pizza. I buy a couple of them and, if I'm hungry, and binge-watching some show. I just add some onions, garlic, corn, some spices and a bit of olive oil and put it in the pre-heated oven.

I don't do coupons or those loyalty cards though. But most supermarkets have those weekly flyers with good sales.

Is the sodium in the giving eaters a stroke or heart attack range or are they too tiny to even have a lot of sodium?

Yes, I saw them too OP. I thought that was incredibly tacky along with her recent association with Snoop Dogg. Regardless, I declined to partake in tackiness.

Snoop CRIMINAL 🐕

I don't get the prepared food market or services like Freshly & the like. Having said that, I realize that I like to cook when many others don't. I don't buy the not having time to cook excuse for not making your own meals. There's time for everything other bullshit thing under sun in people's lives these days that making a decent meal for yourself seems like a basic requirement for a peaceful mind & body.

I have a few friends who microwave everything they eat. Yuck! I also have a few friends who swear by the Freshly services a few times a week. When I remind them that they're nothing but money wasting ventures--not to mention all the wasteful packaging they come with--their reasons for justifying their regular dedication to these services just make them sound even more frivolous & irrational. Food that is processed & that is shipped to you in a box will ever be as good for you or the environment as food you assemble yourself.

As far as Martha quality...I still have durable, well-bodied sauce & sautee pans from her K-Mart line that are at least 25-30 years old & are still as good as any of my All Clad or professional cookware. Still, I'll pass on her frozen chicken curry.

Yes...her baking videos are classic Martha...like back in the 90s.

I still have her cloth shower curtain liner from the K Mart line. I think it's 25 years old...lol. I just wash it occasionally...it's held up, not falling apart. Back then, her stuff was good.

R28, I'll buy them when they're at Grocery Outlet for $2.99 each and not before. When I pick up one of these frozen entrees and it feels like it weighs nothing, I put it back. Real food doesn't weigh the same as a handful of feathers. I know they put the ounces on the box, but I trust my own senses!

Did you girls even notice that R16 says she freezes [italic]pancake batter[/italic]?

Why?!

How long does it take you to thaw your pancake batter, R16? Longer than mixing up a batch I bet!

Then you still have to cook them, which is the longest part of making pancakes!

Freeze the fucking pancakes, R16.

Martha has great housewares, crafting, and gardening advice, it I’ve always found her recipes lacking. The ones on her website are often inaccurate or just bad. I might pay a few more bucks for some of her linens, but I wouldn’t pay Jack for her food.

Are the recipes that Martha learned while in prison? All I can make is toilet wine.

I saw these at the grocery store last week. The chicken pot pie looks pretty good. I usually buy my prepared frozen foods from Trader Joe’s, and I’ve never been disappointed. I’ll buy Martha’s pie next time, and report back.

You’d save money by buying certain Healthy Choice frozen dinners. I like HC’s lower sodium, steamers and vegetarian bowl products.

[quote]There's time for everything other bullshit thing under sun in people's lives these days that making a decent meal for yourself seems like a basic requirement for a peaceful mind & body.

With respect, r40, all your "yuck" this and "bullshit" that and "frivolous & irrational" judgements [italic] about your own friends [/italic] do not make it seem like you have achieved a peaceful mind and body.

To quote Miranda Priestly: "No."

I tried the apple "hand pies" for dessert last night and again they were all dough. They were too big for dessert because the dough was so thick, and the flavor was nothing special. If I'm going to get a frozen apple dessert to bake I'll stick with Pepperidge Farm turnovers.

I don't consider myself a food snob at all, but I would rather die than eat of these premade frozen things. In 15 - 20 minutes I can whip up a plate of food most anyone would be impressed with. If you want good food prepared from scratch and fast cook some of Jamie's 15 minute meals. I've made many of his dishes and every one has turned out wonderfully.

No one has any of those ingredients on hand at a moment's notice, r52, not unless they're already cooking a lot. Just at a glance I see squash, ricotta, crab, chorizo, gnocchi, and lamb, none of which I'd have randomly on hand "just in case." The Keralan curry is THIRTY ingredients, almost half of which are completely crazy, like fenugreek seeds and poppadoms.

That recipe cannot possibly only take 15 minutes. It would take 15 minutes just to get the ingredients together. Peeling and chopping the head of cauliflower would take 10 minutes alone, plus another 15-20 minutes for the rest of the chopping of the other ingredients. It would take an hour of shopping to get everything in the first place.

People who enjoy cooking and/or think of fresh cooking as a marker of a person's worth are always VERY generous with other peoples' time.

I didn't say you had to cook every single one of his recipes. Obviously if you aren't interested in keeping a well stocked pantry and freezer you'd better stick with the premade crap.

And if you have a potato, flour, and an egg around you have the makings for gnocchi. Make enough and freeze what you don't use.

Sadly, some people just aren't cut out for self sufficiency.

I think TJ's is most reliable for frozen entrees and, even at that, I check reviews. Remember Oprah's entrees. They were gone in a milli-second, too. 'My partner orders Freshly each week, and I gave up on them eight months ago. They're just boring.

I like to keep frozen Maryland crab cakes, Chinese dumplings and Polish pierogi on hand for a quick meal. Or do an omelet.

My friend combined thawed cooked shrimp and mango salsa (Whole Paycheck) for an instant shrimp salad.

does she still have cooking or lifestyle daily shows on tv? I thought they were long gone.

[quote]I didn't say you had to cook every single one of his recipes.

I didn't say anything like that.

Generally speaking, I expect everyone on Datalounge to be an adult who can handle the bare basics of conversation, r54. If you can't engage with what someone actually says, then maybe interacting with other adults isn't for you.

R52 frozen meals are heated/cooked within 4~5 mins (1,000-1,200 W microwave oven), not 15 - 20 minutes, and there was no washing, cutting, cooking involved, no plate or bowl required either. You may not like frozen meals, but it's truly the easiest solution for quick meals, even carry out can't beat its speed and convenience.

Look pal, you're the one who pointed out that the Keralan Curry dish looked like it would take much longer than 15 minutes. There are plenty more dishes of his that aren't so involved.

Don't get pissy just because someone points out your failure to get your thoughts across properly.

I remember when my mom went to K-Mart specifically to buy Martha Stewart brand curtains. She bought six panels, I think, and every single one was a different length, with about an 8" difference from the shortest to the longest. (All were marked on the package as being the same length.) She was so pissed and said Martha made a terrible business decision putting her name on K-Mart crap.

I loved Martha Stewart's "Living" from the 90s.

Seriously, she flattered me and I felt complimented by her that she implicitly just assumed I was living a life where I wanted to craft, say, a Halloween wreath made from gorgeous, orange and rust colored leaves with little witches attached.

I just made the wreath stuff up but you get what I mean.

You said it was incredibly easy to make an impressive plate of food in 15 minutes and you used Jamie Oliver's 15-minute recipes as an example.

They're not 15-minute recipes. None of them were. NONE of these so-called professional cooks actually provide 15-minute recipes, regardless of what they claim, because the time to gather ingredients, cookware and do the chopping automatically makes these more than 15 minutes. This is always true. It was even more true for that ridiculous curry recipe.

You spouted off something that you thought would make yourself look superior and you got called on it. Then you crossed your fingers and hoped insulting me would distract from the fact that you don't know what you're talking about.

I tell you what Karen @ R62, get back to us when you're off the rag. I know those menstrual cramps must be hell. You're clearly not rational now due to those menopause rages.

I saw her selling mail order kitty litter on TV yesterday, pretty pathetic if you ask me. Greedy bitch.

Just went to her website and will not pay the prices asked for a frozen TV dinner.

For elder DLers, most recall with fondness the LE MENU line of frozen meals and this is my paradigm.

Martha's offerings don't appear to be even close the LE MENU .. and you don't even get a reusable plate with Martha's $8 entrees!

R65, I love this comment...as Le Menu are a DL icon in and of itself! Based on cost inflation, how much do you think they were?

I saw them last time i went to the store. I don't know how big her frozen food line is, but there were 3 or 4 entrees stocked. None of the looked good enough to try for 8 dollars.

I've never bought Martha Stewart stuff until recently. I bought a couple of towels from Macy's. At first i didn't like them, but they get fluffier with each use. Now that i have used them a few times i like them.

Rachael Ray's 30-Minute Meals all seem to work in 30 minutes, or close to it. Whe she demos them on TV, they don't cheat on the timing. But you do have to do some prep work in advance.

R64....I know. She has a fabulous lifestyle...four homes, spends a lot on her farm in Bedford....tons of trees, landscaping, hired help, the best of everything. Yes..I admire her style and wish I could live 1/4 of that life. She has to keep raking in the money to support that. At this point, she just puts her name on anything (kitty litter??). It really is a huge sellout of her original message and niche. I find it kind of offensive, because I really enjoyed her back when she was starting out and into the 90s, early aughts. Her incarceration hurt her, I think. She did bounce back, but in a different and not so good way. It almost feels like a desperation on her part to remain relevant (her lifestyle message has been copied and elevated by now, by others) and make money....though she is beyond set for the rest of her life now.

It feels like she's lost her dignity, somewhat...

[quote]I just bought a Martha Stewart mattress pad from Macy's and it was great, so not everything is cheap junk.

How did it taste?

Freeze dried, r71.

How do these compare to Amy’s?

Amy is another one who is WAY TOO PROUD of her frozen gunk!

R66: I remember buying LeMenu frozen meals in the late '80s when I lived in the New Orleans area and shopped at my local National Food Store. I am guessing they were about $3.50-$4 at that time.

Took me 20 minutes to defrost in microwave. Apparently they are a frigid as her.

$4 in 1989 would be equivalent to $8.47 now.

Thanks for the link, r52. I’m going to make the ricotta fritters tonight.

LeMenu had 3-course meals. Martha?

You're welcome R78! I've made it, and enjoyed it very much.

[quote] I also have a few friends who swear by the Freshly services a few times a week. When I remind them that they're nothing but money wasting ventures--not to mention all the wasteful packaging they come with--....

Wow, I bet you're a real favorite with those "few friends."

I suspect they're getting fewer.

Why do Dataloungers love to tell stories wherein they're prissily clucking at someone else about their behavior?

Hint: you don't come off well in such stories.

[quote]Took me 20 minutes to defrost in microwave. Apparently they are a frigid as her.

You're not supposed to "defrost" frozen dinners.

I have no interest in putting money in that phony bitch's pockets.

I never minded buying Martha’s stuff after I learned she’s a generous donor to Democratic candidates and liberal causes.

I was on the Martha Stewart Living TV show once, in I think 1999. I was a "caller" but of course it was prearranged. They called me, and when the time came during taping I was all of a sudden talking with Martha and a wood restoration expert she had with her. It was two minutes of air time but they taped SO much more. Went on forever. My mind started wandering and it was hard to stay engaged when Martha and the guy were talking and I wasn't. But it all went well and Martha couldn't have been nicer.

R62 is soooo right. I have a friend, a self-described non-cook, who decided during covid that he needed to learn to cook. He took to Food Network and YouTube videos.

I warned him so he would not become discouraged when his dinner took 3 hours and was shit, that those videos are heavily edited. Nothing you make will be as it appears or as quickly as it appears.

Also, many of the recipes you find online are terrible. Bad reviews get deleted. A fat whore has to be careful lest she eat badly prepared food, and be denied her rejoicing.

So I've been giving him ideas and simple techniques. Sometimes I just have to turn away. Oh and he's vegetarian.

And those PLATES, R79!!

Screw Martha. It's because of her that jadeite prices went sky high.

[quote]They called me, and when the time came during taping I was all of a sudden talking with Martha and a wood restoration expert she had with her.

So you have erectile dysfunction?

hello! it's "wood restoration", not "woody" or "wooden"

How much does a frozen dinner cost in USA? 8 dollars is expensive, and 4x the cost of good dinners? There are 2 dollar frozen dinners?

r4 please report back on the hand pies.

These will go the way of Oprah's recent food line. Even faster because these dishes are a bit out of the norm - Sicilian Stew? At least Oprah was flogging basic frozen pizzas.

I did like Oprah's broccoli & cheese soup though, it was actually quite flavorful. I may give these a try, perhaps purchase one to try out.

R92 The average cost of a frozen dinner in the USA is around 4 to 5 dollars. There are 2 dollars frozen meals, but they are small and made with inferior ingredients.

It's just rebranded crap from the same old frozen food factory.

R95 Thanks.

Also from OP link, all her entrees look the same brown colored gooey mess, not very appetizing, and the ingredients lack vegetables, you need colors like red peppers , green beans, yellow corns...

One frozen meal I find good is Healthy Choice Simply Steamer Beef Chimichurri, not only it lives up to the colorful presentation on the box but it tastes really fresh!

Beef rarely does well in frozen dinners unless it's ground beef in lasagna. Chicken and turkey seem okay in pot pies but get rubbery in other types of dishes. The same grocery is likely to have sushi or rotisserie chicken or prepared refrigerated entrees. I think it's a long shot that the entrees will be any good. .

I did r93, at r14 and r51! Basically I thought they both had too much crust, the puff pastry on the beef pie was too sweet and there wasn't quite enough filling, and the crust on the apple pie wasn't sweet enough and the filling was bland.

I got rid of my microwave a couple of years ago and rarely miss it.

If I'm too tired to cook-cook scrambled eggs are always available and delicious.

[quote]There are 2 dollar frozen dinners?

There are ONE dollar frozen dinners.

Now if Martha had collaborated with Snoop Dog, and offered some Cannabis Cuisine, I might be interested. The spot she did with Snoop with all the double entendres was hilarious. Maybe some Martha edibles will eventually debut. I could see her selling lots of cookies and brownies.

I say this with love and compassion. Shitty 2 dollah frozen dinners MIGHT taste better if you heated them in a conventional oven or toaster oven rather than nuking them in in their shitty flimsy plastic containers. Of course I completely understand a microwave may be the only heating appliance allowed in the SRO or shady pines retirement motel.

I doubt you can find $1 frozen meals these days, the price of food has increased a lot since last year.

Yeah as late as a couple years ago I could find $1 frozen meals (canadian!)... And they were small but not bad. I would use them as diet food because they're pre-portioned and when I cook I can't help hoovering everything. So three of those would be about 1000 calories and could eat something else.

(Plus if it tastes TOO good, I'm going to eat them when I'm not hungry)