Lean Cuisine's Spaghetti with Meat Sauce - Deal of the Day

I can heartily recommend this latest Deal of the Day. It's nothing fancy or unusual, just spaghetti in a tomato sauce with ground beef and mushrooms. I am a fan of Lean Cuisine and they have a simply delicious one with their Spaghetti with Meat Sauce.

Click on any photo to see larger.

At eleven and a half ounces, this is a filling work lunch entree. And it's loaded. There is plenty of spaghetti and meat sauce.

There are just a few mushroom pieces, but they are thickly sliced.

I especially liked the thick and chunky tomato sauce. It has a nice hint of herbs and the tomato sauce is mildly sweet with real pieces of tomato.

The beef ground meat hits the spot as there are plenty of large pieces throughout. It's a generous serving.

Cheese is listed in the ingredients, but it's a pretty minimal flavor. And the weak link is the spaghetti. As with most frozen Italian frozen pasta dishes, microwaving leaves the noodles overcooked and slightly mushy.

I like my spaghetti al dente, with a slight chewiness. I guess Lean Cuisine is going for the middle of the road here. While a flaw, the other flavorful ingredients save the day.

Sometimes I like a simple meal with a minimum of ingredients. This one fits the bill, deliciously.

So on my cheap$kate dining scale of 1 to 9, 9 being best, I give Lean Cuisine's Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, an 8! This is a great Deal of the Day I stock up on when it shows up at my local 99c only Store.

Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta - Deal of the Day

For once the cover photo is not an exaggeration. My latest Deal of the Day is off to a great start!

See the plump shrimp, they're really inside the box. While not large shrimp, they're so much better than typical teeny bay shrimp used in frozen seafood fare. Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta by Lean Cuisine is not a perfect meal, but pretty darn close.

And I'm glad the shrimp are frozen raw. They have a great texture when fresh cooked firm. 

I got a few boxes of Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta by Lean Cuisine at my local 99c only Store. I was nervous when examining the crinkled and crumbled packages they had in the frozen deli case. But, when I was at work the next day and opened the box, the cellophane was still sealed on the black microwave bowl. So all was well with this steal of a deal.

Click on photo to read ingredient list.

The best parts of this cheap meal are the shrimp. I got 5 nice sized ones, peeled and deveined. They are raw, so you need to turn them halfway through microwaving to cook all the way through. Look for a pink color, that's means they are done.

If you like bell pepper there is plenty here, and it doesn't take much to overpower an entree. The amount in this meal skates right up to the edge for me. There are also welcome matchstick slices of carrot, and not too well done. I like some crunchy veggies in my pasta.

The pasta is peppered with fine chopped herbs, but what they are is a mystery, as there is no mention in the ingredient list. -- kinda strange.

The weakest link is the too light and watery cream sauce. It's mainly flavored with skim milk, cheese, garlic and sherry wine. Now I enjoyed the sauce, I just wish it was a little richer with cream, but that's to be expected when an entree is made by Lean Cuisine. But this is a quibble.

The angel hair pasta is fine. A bit overcooked, but I know it's difficult to microwave cooked pasta. It can easily become mushy if steamed too long, especially thin angel hair. The pasta strands were chopped - I like my noodles left long. But the pasta mixes well with all the shrimp, veggies and sauce.

So how does Shrimp & Angel Hair Pasta by Lean Cuisine rate on my cheaps$kate scale of 1-9, 9 being best? Even with a couple of small flaws, this Deal of the Day still gets a perfect 9 !

If you are lucky enough to run across this small and tasty entree, make sure to pick up a few packages. Even for low calorie fare, I can highly recommend it for taste and quality cooking.

Deal of the Day - Lean Cuisine Swedish Meatballs

It's semi-truth in advertising. They got the pasta right, and the meatballs with cream gravy, too. But where's that 'Swedish' flavoring? This dish must have been kitchen committee- tested to death, because there are no discernible seasonings except salt. I think I tasted a smidgen of Worcestershire sauce and some onion powder, but that is about it. Normally, you get minced onion and nutmeg-permeated meatballs -- I know this because I made "Ingmar Bergman Swedish Meatballs" last April and have eaten enough times in Ikea's cafeteria to be familiar with them.

This Lean Cuisine entree is still a good Deal of the Day: the serving is substantial, compared to the usual minuscule portions, and I like the substitution of pasta for typical boiled red potatoes. You do get five filling small meatballs, the pasta is tender, and the cream gravy is rich tasting. It's just a little bland for 'Swedish' meatballs -- if you are going to call it that, then try to get the flavor right.

I am a fan of Lean Cuisine because this Chef has to watch his figure, when he makes his appearances on the small computer screen. This frozen entree microwaves more evenly than normal, and there is enough gravy to coat all of the pasta. Plus, this dish is bland enough to appeal to the pickiest meatball-loving kid.


On The 99 Cent Chef's scale of 0 to 9, 9 being best, I give Lean Cuisine's Swedish Meatballs With Pasta a 5 !

I picked some up at this 99c only Store and tweeted about it Monday. I have the feeling they may linger in the frozen deli case until their expiration date.

Panini Sandwich Throwdown - Corner Bistro vs Lean Cuisine

The Chef has resisted getting frozen panini sandwiches from the cold case at 99c only Stores.

I could resist no more after working on a recent commercial shoot with an on-set chef, who wielded her portable sandwich grill to make this hearty everyday Italian dish. Now having something to compare, I picked up a frozen Stouffer's Corner Bistro Grilled Chicken Italian and a Lean Cuisine Southwest-Style Chicken Panini (again Stoffer's) from this 99c only Store.

Needless to say, microwaved frozen sandwiches do not compare. Bread and a microwave do not go together; it loses that crispy crust that you get from grilling and turns to a spongy texture.

Time for the Panini Throwdown. The most difficult part of this taste test was removing the panini from its tough plastic casing - make sure to have a pair of scissors on hand.

As for toppings, both of these frozen paninis have a good amount of cheese and chicken, however, Corner Bistro uses a tastier provolone cheese while Lean Cuisine's panini is topped with a mild, dull Monterey Jack. Both have a good amount of chicken, sauteed onion and bell pepper.

After a two and a half minute zapping, the panini comes out nice and hot with gooey melted cheese. Be careful -- the cheese holds heat a little too well.

Both brands are made with plain tasting white bread; although each is described as being sourdough or Italian, I could not tell the difference. So while Lean Cuisine has half the fat, it has half the flavor of Corner Bistro Panini.

If you look at this as a simple, quick, inexpensive lunch, both do fine; however this being a Panini Throwdown, the Cheap$kate Chef gives the victory to Stouffer's Corner Bistro Panini!