Quick-heat meals that actually impressed you?

[CurseTheSky]

Ok, "impressed" is relative. We all know that quick-heat meals are garbage compared to home cooking and most restaurants. But for those days when you have ten minutes to heat something up and eat it, what have you bought and actually somewhat enjoyed?

For me, it's Campbell's Chunky Soup. I grabbed some sort of beef, vegetable and noodle concoction. It's actually not that bad. It has some kind of tomato / beef broth, celery, little bits of tomato and onions, cubed carrots, rotelli-like noodles, herbs, and chunks of beef. The vegetables are one stop before mushy and relatively tasteless, the beef is your average processed dog food-like stuff and a bit tough, but the noodles and broth aren't bad. Best of all, it didn't taste ridiculously salty. Overall, it isn't half bad (no worse than soup you'd get at a fast food place), and I wouldn't mind eating one again for a quick meal.

Disclaimer - I only consider "quick-heat" meals to be something you can make with minimal ingredients, tools, and time. Ramen soup counts because all it takes is boiling some water and throwing everything together, but something that requires you to cook meat and / or vegetables, then finish off in the oven doesn't count.

 

[nageov3t]

pretty much every frozen dinner I've purchased from Trader Joe's has been decent.

not something I eat very often, though. it all has a shitton of sodium and frozen dinners in particular always seem super carb-y (probably because rice/pasta is cheap and filling if nutritionally vacant)

 

[eldorado99]

Kraft dinner. It may not be much but it tastes good and fills me up for virtually nothing.

 

[JoeKing]

I like the marie callender's pot pies

 

[sjwaste]

Really depends on where you draw the line. I've used variations on the Alton Brown chili method with a lot of success.

Most recently, 2lbs ground pork. Brown it for a little bit. One jar of Goya recaito cilantro, add and let it cook down for a bit. One can of Rotel tomatoes with habanero. One can of seasoned chili beans. Let it cook for a few minutes. Scoop out a bowl and let the rest simmer on low heat until you're done.

Variations on that would be to use your favorite kind of meat or salsa. This is 10-15 mins to dinner if you have the ingredients on hand.

If we're strictly talking frozen meals, I really like the Claim Jumper chicken pot pie. Double crust, good filling. Has one of those crisps-in-the-box microwave boxes.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I find the Campbell's Chunky soups to be completely edible. I always keep a can or two on hand to use in case of extreme laziness.

I also like many of the red box Stouffer's frozen entrees.

 

[QueBert]

Hot Pockets cooked 20% in the microwave and finished in the deep fryer own. About 10 times better than when you only cook them in the microwave. Better than in the oven too. And Mama Celeste 4 cheese zesty pizzas done in the oven are good too.

 

[Chaotic42]

Marie Calendar's lasagne is pretty good.

 

[sjwaste]

Hot Pockets cooked 20% in the microwave and finished in the deep fryer own. About 10 times better than when you only cook them in the microwave. Better than in the oven too. And Mama Celeste 4 cheese zesty pizzas done in the oven are good too.

OMG. I agree, but I am shocked that someone I don't know is posting this.

In college, we used to deep fry hot pockets in shortening. It probably took years off my life, but they were delicious.

 

[rcpratt]

I really like the Marie Callender's Home-Style Creations microwavable pasta/rice dishes for a quick lunch.

 

[BrokenVisage]

French Bread Pizza.

 

[sjwaste]

French Bread Pizza.

Stouffers?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I like the marie callender's pot pies

These are very good. We buy the big packs of them at Sam's Club.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I do like the Campbell's Chunky Soups, but only the vegetarian variety. I don't know what it is, but I just don't like the beef they add.

 

[Perknose]

Progresso > Campbell's Chunky et. al. so long and hard no amount of lube could help.

Celeste Supreme "single serving" pizzas regularly go on sale for 99cents here, are about the best simple buck you can spend -- just add cayenne and garlic, heat and serve.

There are a couple of brands of burritos which are ~ $2.50 for 8 small ones. They're not fantastic, but they're not Patio Brand Bullshit, either. Nuke a couple and throw a good hot sauce on them; they're a great snack.

In the past, Amazon has had clearance sales on Nong Shim (sic) brand ramen concoctions that are several levels of goodness above the cheap ones. By buying them on 30-45% sale plus that extra 15% (?) for signing up for regular delivery (which you can immediately cancel), and buying enough for > $25 free delivery, you got a tasty bargain going.

Even with the best of Nong Shims, I still add some of my own veggies and often mix in a raw egg at the end for most body.

At Amazon also, they have clearanced out Kikkoman brand seaweed/miso/tofu soups in different combos that are like a really tasty cup of broth and came out, iirc, to about $.30 or so a (smallish) serving under the above double discount two-step.

My operating rules are:

1. If you're going to eat pre-made, it still has to taste good and MUST be hella' cheap as well.

2. Never make this your daily nourishment for any extended period. The sodium in just about ALL fast foods is off the charts, and cooking for yourself is a pleasure in and of itself. Make time for it, you'll eat better, healthier, and cheaper.

Enjoy!

 

[sjwaste]

Perk - don't lie to me, do you still shop at the last remaining Pathmark?

Agreed on Progresso.

 

[Imp]

Kraft dinner microwavables. Stopped buying them to avoid the plastic bowls (easy alternative just needs a pot), but man are they good when you're hungry.

Swanson's Hungry Man cheese grill something; cheese melted on potato wedges with chicken. Scrumptious.

 

[Perknose]

If we're strictly talking frozen meals, I really like the Claim Jumper chicken pot pie. Double crust, good filling. Has one of those crisps-in-the-box microwave boxes.

Can I get these in the Philly area, sj? You are one of the posters whose culinary knowledge I respect!

 

[lxskllr]

I made grilled cheese once, and really wanted French onion soup with it, but I didn't have any. I made some with that powered Lipton onion soup mix, and cut up fresh onion into it. It turned out pretty damned good all things considered. I was amazed it was even edible, and it turned out a bit better than edible.

 

[guyver01]

Wan Chai ferry chinese food was actually pretty decent for frozen chinese food.

 

[sjwaste]

Can I get these in the Philly area, sj? You are one of the posters whose culinary knowledge I respect!

Good question - I've found them at ONE Safeway in VA. I will look when I go visit my folks. I suspect the Shop Rite in Glassboro might have them, because they have every frozen food I've ever looked for.

Are you in the Philly burbs or NJ? The Acme in south philly on 20th and Oregon might have 'em.

 

[trmiv]

Trader Joe's has a bunch of awesome premade quick meals. I can't say I've had something from there I didn't like.

 

[Whisper]

Progresso > Campbell's Chunky et. al. so long and hard no amount of lube could help.

I like Progresso, but I like Campbell's more...it just seems less watery/more flavorful overall. Probably depends in large part on the type of soup you get, though. I do like Progresso's chicken noodle soups better, for one.

The Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers and Complete Meals are both about as good as I've had in terms of a less-crappy-for-you frozen dinners. They're definitely on the smaller side, though, so I always supplement them with some sort of protein/energy/meal replacement bar. I think most of them weigh in at around ~300 calories.

 

[lxskllr]

Celeste Supreme "single serving" pizzas regularly go on sale for 99cents here, are about the best simple buck you can spend -- just add cayenne and garlic, heat and serve.

I add garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. After it comes out of the oven, crushed reds, and Parm/Romano grated cheese. The garlic and Italian seasoning also peps up canned ravioli, and makes SpaghettiOs edible.

Edit:
as far as soups go, I like plain old red/white label Campbells. There isn't much to them, but they have the best flavor imo.

 

[Perknose]

Perk - don't lie to me, do you still shop at the last remaining Pathmark?

Agreed on Progresso.

Lolololol, they don't have them up here in Bucks County, thank god. The year before I moved up here, I lived in the aging jews slowly being replaced by black professionals moving on up high rise apartments edge of not really Chestnut Hill, Chestnut Hill, and shopped in THE MOST GHETTO Pathmark ever.

I know that sounds redundant, but it was clearly a notch BELOW the other Pathmarks -- crowded, dirty and crappy, but the only nearby supermarket, which is why and how they could get away with it, I guess.

Pathmark sucks.

Otoh, up here in still developing Bucks County, the supermarket, errrrr, market, is still wide open and we have Wegmans, Genuardi, Acme, Superfresh, Giant (<--- Pathmark level suck), ShopRite, and several allied under IGA (Independent Grocers), plus Trader Joes not that far away from me (20 minutes).

We also have several independent butchers, independent dairies with fresh, no antibiotic milk daily from the cows which are right there, and several CSA's (Community Supported Agriculture farms), plus one ton of small roadside stands in the Summer selling produce straight off that small farm/plot.

We have it good up here. Very, very good.