Veggie Steak Strips - Deal of the Day

I would not bother following the package directions for this Deal of the Day.

Veggie Steak Strips by Morning Star Farms needs slow braising like a cheap, tough cut of beef, not the suggested 4 minutes of microwaving with a bit of water unless you want a chewy, rubbery, and tough piece of fake meat.

Now you don't need to braise this Deal of the Day in a sauce for hours - these Veggie Steak Strips tenderize in about half an hour - about the time it takes to make a pasta sauce, or a pot of quick-cooking legumes like split green peas or lentils.

frozen -- defrosted

The back of the package suggests microwaving the Veggie Steak Strips and making a Mongolian Stir Fry or a Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich. Sounds good, but only if you like chewing on strips of shoe leather or rubber bands. I tried microwaving a few strips with cooked rice. The result was not pretty. While there is a slight beef flavor, the texture was way off the mark for beef steak slices. The strips stayed solid and did not shred; they were like waterlogged popsicle sticks.

The ingredient list is short for a meat substitute, made mainly from soy. Most of the beef flavor comes from spices, and the overriding taste is powdered garlic and onion, and that's fine with me.

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I was puzzled why the makers recommend microwaving this product. I took a different path and went the slow braising path. This is the way to go for a palatable experience.

I added some Veggie Steak Strips to my pot of dried split green peas (to see my video recipe click here.) Since dried green peas cook in about an hour, I thought this may tenderize the strips. They did, and the result was successful. The Veggie Steak Strips were a decent substitution for a ham hock or ham bone - just what a vegetarian would like.

Split Green Peas with Veggie Beef Strips.

The Veggie Beef Strips became tender just like I imagined they should be, but I was worried they would break down to mush. Well, they still stayed slightly firm and even shredded like a tough piece of meat that had been braising for a couple of hours.

It seems strange that Morning Star Farms would not make their Veggie Steak Strips tender, to begin with. I guess they think steak should be over-firm? Maybe it's all about the speed of delivery via microwaves. And that's probably why the Veggie Streak Strips ended up in 99c only Stores.

Anyway, it's best to use this Deal of the Day after it has been tenderized as I suggested earlier. I would add them to slow cooking sauces for at least twenty minutes to an hour. You can also add the strips to a steaming a pot of your favorite rice dish.

So on The 99 Cent Chef's Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best,Morning Star Farms Veggie Steak Strips gets a double rating. When microwaved the Veggie Steak Strips rate a 2, but when braised until tender, the Veggie Steak Strips rate a 6. This Deal of the Day is decent when reheated properly.

Morning Star Farms should try for veggie ham slices, but next time please make sure the veggie protein is tenderized, before freezing.

Italian Sausage Lasagna - Deal of the Day Review

Mama mia, is this a tasty Italian Deal of the Day! I haven't tried frozen fare by Devour, but if it's anything like their Italian Sausage Lasagna, I'll be on the lookout for more of their frozen entrees.

This is a simple but loaded Lasagna, and it's a good amount at 12.5 ounces. While the plastic bowl is a small rectangle, this is a thick Lasagna with 3 or 4 sheets of pasta.

The ricotta and mozzarella flavors shine with each hefty forkful. The ingredients list mentions sheep's-milk romano, too.

The pasta is tender but not overcooked, like a lot of frozen Italian pasta meals. And each layer has a thick film of ricotta cheese. Plus, it would be a delish Lasagna even without Italian sausage.

The sausage is in tiny crumbles, but still very pungent with fennel seed flavor you expect in typical Italian sausage. At least you get many sausage pieces, even if they are minuscule. The meat pellet texture is rough ground. It's very tasty and goes well with the mix of cheeses and sauce.

A rich herb infused tomato sauce holds it all together. There is plenty, just the way I like it. The fine print lists red bell pepper and of course garlic. It is a well balanced, rich sauce.

And the ingredient list is a long one, but most of the ingredients are at least recognizable. And it is easy to microwave since everything is swimming in sauce.

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So on the 99 Cent Chef's Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I give this Deal of the Day, Devour Italian Sausage Lasagna an almost perfect 8!

The cheap$kate Lasagna is highly recommended and is well worth 99.99 cents from my local 99c only Store. I would even pay a buck or two more for such a tasty meal. And almost any Italian Mama would be proud to serve this Lasagna -- which is good to the last bite.

Fire Grilled Chicken Pobalano - Deal of the Day Review

A little bit Cuban with black beans and a little bit Mexican with mild poblano chiles, and a whole lot of flavor resides in my latest Latin-style Deal of the Day.

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I am always thrilled to see the evol. brand of frozen fare in the deli case of my local 99c only Store. Fire Grilled Chicken Poblano by evol. is a hearty and delicious brown rice bowl that is loaded with veggies and topped with white meat chicken and a dollop of cheddar cheese.

Frozen and Defrosted

There is almost too much flavor, but I'm not complaining. The veggie medley contains corn, red and green bell peppers, green poblano chiles, onion, tomato, and cilantro. All cooked just right.

The corn kernels are crunchy and the peppers are soft but not mushy, as is often the case with frozen then defrosted veggies.

The poblano chiles pieces are large enough and what little heat they carry is mild, only becoming apparent by the time you almost get to the bottom of the bowl.

The white meat chicken pieces are plentiful enough. I got one large nugget and about 3 to 5 smaller ones. With grill marks, the chicken meat was not dried out, as is often the case with white meat. This is real chicken, not a processed loaf, thank god.

And melted on top is a small amount of cheddar cheese. I would have liked a bit more cheese, but this is mostly a chicken/veggie/rice bowl. The cheddar is mild, and when mixed with other ingredients, practically disappears into the background. But that's okay.

Finally, you get your fill once forkfuls of brown rice are factored in. The brown rice is tender and done perfectly - not mushy or too toothsome. And a light amount of tomato sauce binds it all together.

evol. prides itself on hormone-free meats and natural veggie ingredients, so you know what you're getting.

Even the microwave bowls are partially made from recycled plastic. Although we are talking plastic here - maybe evol. will evolve to biodegradable paper bowls one day.

The ingredient list is short and this bowl is a lean meal. Although only 9 ounces, the ingredient mix leaves you quite satisfied, for an extra light lunch or dinner.

My latest Deal of the Day is a feel-good and feel-full meal. So how does evol.'s Fire Grilled Chicken Poblano bowl rate on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best?

Oh, I think you can guess by now...this meal rates a perfect 9 ! If you run across this Deal of the Day anytime get a few for your freezer - at almost any price.

The melange of flavors in this Fire Grilled Chicken Poblano bowl are the bomb!

Dos Amigos Tamales - Deal of the Day Review

Plump and pungent in a small package, my latest Latin-style Deal of the Day is worth a second bite.

I unearthed tamales by Dos Amigos from the frozen deli case at my local Dollar Tree. You get two for a buck. Right off the bat, not a bad deal. The tamales are wrapped in corn husks, Mexican-style.

You have to read the fine print under Ingredients on the front of the package to discover if the tamales are cheese, veggie, fruit or meat filled. The tamales I purchased are made with pork.

The cooked pork is halfway between ground and shredded, and you get a good amount. Often tamales are skimpy with the meat, not so here. The pork is steeped in zesty chili pepper spices.

The spice mix is well balanced with a slight tongue-tingling heat that slowly builds. The overall flavor is similar to enchilada sauce, what one would expect. I was not disappointed.

I microwaved these suckers like the label says. Since tamales are normally steamed, I made sure to wrap them in a damp paper towel to keep moist during defrosting.

It only took a couple of minutes for tamales to reach steaming hot.

A tamale rises or falls based on the corn husk-covered steamed masa. And masa can be too dry and crumbly, like eating sawdust, at it's worst.

The ground corn masa coating did not dry out like I expected. While not as moist as the best tamales you would get at a Mexican bakery or grocery, these retained a soft texture, but there were a few dry flaky spots. Next time I would steam these tamales, instead of microwaving. But overall not a bad texture.

The corn masa was not gritty and the flavor was mild to contrast with the intense chili spices in the pork filling. Overall a nice balance of corn and pork flavors.

The two tamales are small, just short of four inches in length, but you get two fat ones for a buck, so no complaints here.

I also like that the ingredient list is short. They seem a little on the oily side, so not a low-calorie meal. But it's a small amount overall, in a  plump package.

So, on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being perfection, I give Dos Amigos tamales a tasty 6!

I can recommend my latest Deal of the Day from the Dollar Tree. While they won't replace tamales you get from the neighborhood street vendor, they're enough to temporally satisfy an attack of tamale-fever.

Asian Style Rice Bowl - Deal of the Day Review

While not anything to write (email) home about, my latest Deal of the Day, Asian Style Rice Bowl by Banquet, is just okay. Banquet frozen meals are often more miss than hit. But this thawed entree has some tasty bits.

The cooked veggie pieces are a nice size, not chopped into pulp. And chopped broccoli, red bell pepper and sliced carrot retain a bit of crunch even after microwaving - often frozen veggies are mushy and flavorless.

frozen & zapped

They tasted like fresh frozen veggies you would get from the grocery cold case.

I was especially impressed with the white rice, not something I would usually comment on. The rice is cooked perfectly. The rice grains are fluffy without being a sticky lump or a soggy mash. The grains held up well to microwaving.

I liked the "Tangy Asian Inspired BBQ Sauce", although the "Tangy" part is mild, not spicy or acidic at all. BBQ sauce is is not too sweet, as is the case in manhy BBQ frozen entrees.

The BBQ sauce has a mild smokey undertaste and a dash of Worcestershire sauce flavor.


The cooked meat is a large lump, and fairly bland, but that's okay for precooked frozen ground meat. The ingredients say a combination of pork and chicken. For being white meat pork and chicken, the meat has an unnaturally dark brown hue.

The protein part of this frozen entree is good enough. The pork and chicken structure reminds me of a McDonald's McRib sandwich patty, but with a little more texture.

The meat is really  just a delivery device for the tasty sauce, veggies and rice,

It is light lunch - just over 7 ounces. The large loaf of meat and rice provide the heft to this cheap$kate deal.

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The ingredient list is way too long, but I guess that's comes with frozen Banquet Meals in the cheap grocery section of your frozen deli case.

So on the 99 Cent Chef's Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I give this Deal of the Day, Asian Style Rice Bowl by Banquet, a 5. It was an okay frozen meal, but I'm not sure I would get it again anytime soon. I think I will stick with my guilty pleasures of Turkey or Salisbury Steak Meals.

Corned Beef Hash - Deal of the Day

I am a fan of Corned Beef Hash and my latest Deal of the Day is quite tasty, even from a can. What makes it a hash is the addition of cooked diced potatoes. There are a lot of purveyers of canned Corned Beef Hash out there, and as for this one, American Pride, it does the job fine.

The can instructions says this Hash is already cooked and ready to eat - well, I would give it a seared caramelized crust first, then serve. It's too much like a greasy and meaty potato salad texture, kinda off-putting to me, in it's raw state.  

Corned Beef is cured with sugar, salt and coriander spice, so that is a lot of flavor. You can see my recipe here, to make your own Corned Beef, or Pastrami, sometime.

I like my Corned Beef Hash with over-easy eggs for breakfast. I cook the Hash about 5 minutes until it has a crispy crust on one side, then I get the eggs going. It is best to use a non-stick pan so it's easier to turn over crispy Corned Beef Hash. But if you use a regular frying pan, be sure it's well oiled.

As with typical Corned Beef, this version is salty, but not too much to overpower everything, so you don't need to salt the eggs, too. I just add a little pepper to my eggs.

And when the eggs are done, the best part is breaking the yolk and swirling it into the hot Corned Beef Hash. Next cut out a hunk of egg white and scoop it up with a chunk of Hash. Boy is this a tasty mouthful.

I'm sure this Corned Beef Hash would combine with scrambled eggs, too.

I used about a third of this 15 ounce can for one serving. This may seem like a large amount, but once the Hash is heated, it starts to reduce in size, melting out the water and any beef fat.

right from the can

Now there are a couple of minor problems that the can cover photo doesn't show. First, it looks like there are large pieces of  corned beef  brisket. The salty and pungent corned beef taste is there in spades, but the meat texture is more ground meat than typical chunky beef. So the potato and meat mush together in flavor.

The potato part is okay though, while the cubes are on the small side, they are big enough to sometimes have a nice plain potato starch taste.

The ingredient list short, mostly corned beef, potatoes, sugar and a little more salt. You don't want to serve this every day as there is a lot of fat and sodium.

My latest Deal of the Day is a pungent way to start the day. I would give this Hash another try, too. So on my Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being beast, I give American Pride Corned Beef Hash a satisfying 6!