Thursday, October 8, 2015

Day 281 - Chicken Marsala with Mashed Potatoes

We recently had (and really liked, though I have not finished the review yet) Trader Joe’s Chicken Picatta.  Since that went over so well at our dinner table, we decided to grab this Chicken Marsala.  Both products are pre-cooked and ready to eat – they just need to be quickly heated.  They are found in the refrigerated (not frozen) food section.

The label on this chicken marsala says it contains 2 servings.  However, when you open it up, it is one big chicken breast/cutlet.  While that is 2 servings for US (we are rather small humans), I think for many people they would not consider it big enough for 2 people.  We just cut the chicken in half and plopped it on plates. 

Here is the package - it looks better on here than it did on our plates
I think the mashed potatoes in this dish are better than the chicken.  The breading on the chicken has a lot of what tasted to me like rosemary and the strength of that overpowered the other flavors.  The sauce was good but not what I expected as “marsala”.  To be honest, my favorite thing on my plate was the left-over spinach from going out for dim sum at a Chinese restaurant earlier in the day…

David liked this product better than me.  He thought the chicken was good, the breading nice and soft.  He liked the rosemary.  He said the sauce was, “Lovely with a lot of mushroom taste in it, and the mashed potatoes that go with it are a perfect compliment, particularly with the sauce poured over the top.”

We had a discussion about the marsala sauce.  We both expected it to be more “wine-ish” and less “chicken gravy-ish”.  When I look at photos online of chicken marsala it all looks darker than the sauce that comes with this dish.  Something just didn’t taste right…

See how the sauce is sort of tan/gray and dull looking?  No marsala excitement.
And this is "one serving" - so half a chicken breast (this was before I ate any)
All of that being said, this is a very easy, convenient meal in that you just bung it in the microwave.  But Trader Joe’s sells many other quick to prepare meals that are much tastier than this one.  I would go with a different one if I were you.  

The packaging for this chicken marsala boasts that this dish “replicates a restaurant experience at a fraction of the price”.  I would concur with the “fraction of the price” part but not the “replicates a restaurant experience” part.  This doesn’t taste like something from a restaurant, not a restaurant I would return to anyway.  The box even says, “Who needs a restaurant when dining in tastes this good?”.   Well if all Trader Joe’s food tasted “this good” (which is middle of the road and sort of boring) then I WOULD need a restaurant.

David liked it better than me, so this won’t get a horrible rating.  But it won’t be in our fridge again if I do the shopping.

Price – $6.49

Rating – 3.25

17 comments:

  1. So disgusting. This is one of the few TJ meals I threw in the trash immediately after eating.

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    1. You should have taken it back! But wait, how did you throw it away AFTER you ate it? :) I agree it was not tasty. We have not bought it again.

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  2. Are the instructions wrong on this? It says microwave for 2-3 minutes, which I knew would not be enough and it wasn't AT ALL.

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    1. I can't remember that, but it sure sounds like they are wrong!! :(

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  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. This used to be absolutely delicious. But, something changed.
    I just had it and could not eat it. The chicken is totally gross and seems really wrong when bitten into.

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    1. Sad sad sad... That's the worst - when you have tasted something before and know you like it, then you bite into it and BLECK.

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    2. My husband just said the chicken tasted like a rubber bath mat, I had to laugh because that was a perfect description! I could not even finish it. The same for their chicken Parmesan, we could not finish either entrée. A frozen TV dinner Is five times better than either of these. And no I am sure we did not over cook it in the microwave! As for the sauce, could not taste any marsala, tried to add a little myself to no avail--still bad!

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    3. "A rubber bath mat" - so descriptive!! I love how sometimes descriptions of things that we have not ever (could not ever...) EAT are perfect for FOOD!

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    4. Yeah, I used to like this meal, but the last time I had it it was disgusting. "Rubber bath mat" is a very apt description for the chicken. The sauce was completely tasteless and had the consistency of elmer's glue.

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    5. "Rubber bath mat" - ahhhh. Even though none of us has ever eaten a rubber bath mat, as soon as we read that description applied to FOOD we cringe and somehow know exactly what it must taste like.
      Same goes for ELMER'S GLUE SAUCE. Hahahaha - yucko!! Great description.

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  5. I just had this over the weekend. And 2 bites into the chicken I remember buying it before & not liking it.
    The potatoes are ok & flavor is ok, but the TEXTURE of the chicken felt way too rubbery almost like a partially boiled beet. I've never eaten chicken that felt like that in my mouth when bitten into. While most of their items are good- I'll try to remember to not buy this particular item again :(

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    1. 'The texture of the chicken... almost like a partially boiled beet". I love it! That is so descriptive, and it makes my mouth frown a bit just READING it, imagining that gross texture in my mouth.

      Sorry you had to experience it, but thanks for sharing the comment!

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  6. I had this last year and thought it was as described above - but got it again recently and baked it in the oven this time. I over-baked it, actually. It really benefited from the caramelizing of the sauce, and not-steamed prep for the chicken.
    I'd give it a try again, and bake it for like 30m.

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    1. Thanks! I will get back on the horse and try it again!

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  7. This was, by far, the WORST frozen meal I've ever tried. What the hell? Is Trader Joe's even familiar with the concept of salt? And like the other reviewers have mentioned above, chicken was so rubbery it seemed like a joke. Literally wondering if I was just punked by TJ.

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  8. This was awful. The overwhelming spice is thyme. No chicken marsala recipe I've followed calls for thyme. Just terrible.

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