Saltillo Enchilada Dinner - Deal of the Day

Bigger is not always better, and my latest Deal of the Day is proof is in the pudding. Weighing in at one pound and 3 ounces, Saltillo Enchilada Dinner is one hot mess of a gut busting Mexican-style entree.

Click on any photo to see larger.

I guess I got my money's worth for 99.99 cents (okay one dollar) from my local 99c only Store, but I ended up paying the price of a sour taste and a bit of queasiness upon finishing the defrosted meal -- and an hour later I had a belching attack.

Now, first off this meal ticked me off visually. Since I've worked in the advertising field a bit, a pet peeve of mine is when the cover art or photo is way different than the unwrapped real meal. Just compare the box above to the plate below.

The cover shows 4 individual enchiladas side-by-side, but what I got were two stacks of sauce-covered tortillas - one side had Cheese Enchiladas and the other was Beef Enchiladas. It was like eating an enchilada lasagna, which would be fine if that was what I thought I was purchasing.

The good news is the Cheese Enchiladas in Chile Con Quesos were okay, kinda like eating enchiladas covered in queso (Tex-Mex cheese) from a can - a guilty pleasure at best. The cooked corn tortillas had a little texture but the taste is typical Mexican fast food bland.

The biggest ripoff were the Beef Enchiladas. For 2 enchiladas, there might have been a tablespoon of meat, total. And who knows what kind of meat it was? They put the meat under the first layer of tortilla, then it was mostly tortilla from then on - probably 4 layers worth, with a tiny bit of enchilada sauce smeared in.

The red enchilada sauce was fiery and chile intense. That's okay with me, but may be too much for sensitive palates.

As for the sides of beans and rice, they were okay. The rice was sauced with tomato like Mexican Rice should be, and still a little firm after microwaving. The pinto beans had some texture too - not refried and mush like most cheap Mexican frozen meals.

There was an extra slot for salsa too. It was a spicy mix of chile sauce. It went well with the beans and rice. I added most of the salsa to the beef enchiladas, as they were the most dry.

The ingredients list is extra-long, even for regular frozen fare. Man, I needed a cleanse after this meal.

It's a big meal, but in this case not a good deal. So on the 99 Cent Chef's Cheap$kate Dining Scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I give  Saltillo Enchilada Dinner by El Charrito a 3.

I reviewed Cheese Enchiladas in Chile Con Queso for a buck a few years ago. Check it out by clicking here to see my Cheap$kate Dining review.

Deal of the Day - Queso Enchilada Dinner

Loaded with cheese, these 2 stuffed enchiladas, with beans and rice, from El Charrito, are well worth 99.99 cents. If you saw my last disappointing Deal of the Day review (click here),  I'm pleased to point out this micowaveable dinner has a lot going for it.

My go-to cheap Mexican frozen dinner is made by Banquet. I've had many of their beef enchiladas and tamale dinners, so I am an expert on mediocre Mexican fare. There are a few problems with Banquet's Mexican meals, though. First off, the refried beans are all mush -- I like a few legume bits to remind what you are eating. Also, the Mexican rice has too much liquid, making more of a rice porrage. And finally, the cheese and beef enchilada filling is quite bland with no ground beef texture. (Now, to be fair, I give props to Banquet for their tasty Salisbury Steak Dinner - read about it here.)

This is not a problem with El Charritos' Cheese Enchilada Dinner. The refried beans have enough whole pinto beans for texture. The Mexican Rice is slightly soggy, but much better than Banquets.

And the main ingredient, the cheese enchiladas, are sprinkled with small pieces of green and red chiles, that give off a slight tingle of chile heat after each bite. It takes real guts to make mass produced Mexican food spicy.

The only slight drawback is the cheese. While flavorful, it is not Mexican in any way -- more like cheddar flavored Cheez Wiz, made to appeal to average American tastes. But on the good side, these enchiladas are fat ones, so you get your moneys' worth.

As with many cheap, frozen, Mexican meals they are loaded with ingredients, too many to read all the way through. So, this is something you don't want to eat too often.

On a scale of 1-9, 9 being best, I give El Charritos' Queso Dinner a solid 7 ! I deducted a couple of points for way too many chemicals and average tasting cheese. But it is definitely a step up from my usual Banquet frozen Mexican dinners.

Now, I could take off a point for false advertising, but I won't -- just compare the package photo at the top of this post and the microwaved plate in photo above! There is no stringy cheese on the beans, and the enchiladas are unrecognizable (and less visually appetizing) under a layer of cheese sauce.

 Click on image and begin to read the ingredient list!