Shiitake Mushroom Chicken

I would like to clarify that I believe there is a typo on the packaging of this product.  I think it should be called Shit-Ake Chicken.

Ok, now for the review.  (Can you guess what we thought of it even before reading further??!  :) )

Looks tasty enough on the bag, no?  

I have BUYER’S REMORSE on this one.  Sigh.  It is my own fault, I should have read the bag more clearly before buying it, but I got excited!  It looked really good in the photo!!  And it looked like it would be so easy to prepare!  But if only I had taken time to read the ingredients list I would have seen that not the first ingredient, but the first TWO INGREDIENTS listed are dark meat chicken chunks.  Putting aside my preference for white meat chicken a moment, why did they list it TWICE??  And again, ignoring that if I have my choice I choose white meat chicken, why didn’t they use better QUALITY dark meat chicken in this meal? 

Dark Meat Chicken Chunks - the ingredient so "nice" they listed it twice...

OK, backing up; this is a frozen meal that comes in a bag.  It consists of dark meat chicken, more dark meat chicken, shiitake mushrooms, edamame, and green beans.  I was right about one thing with this product, it is easy to cook and make a meal out of.  But it does not make a TASTY meal, which is something we like…  I followed the instructions and cooked it in a wok and served it over jasmine rice. 

Lots of chicken...  Lots of bad quality chicken...

The two ingredients that made this product taste bad were the bad quality chicken and the very bland, poorly textured green beans.  The very best part of the dinner was the rice (cooked separately and not included in this packaged meal…).  But the best part of this PACKAGE was the edamame and the shitake mushrooms – those bits were good.  But those things can’t carry the weight of the whole meal.  I think something that would jazz it up would be GARLIC.  Give it a bit of flavor.

This does not taste like a dish you would get at a restaurant AT ALL.    Well, I take that back.  It DOES taste like something you would get at a restaurant, but the restaurant would be an all-day Chinese Buffet in Daytona Beach, Florida.  It would be in a pan that had been left out all day on the buffet line, and senior citizens who paid $4.99 for all-you-can-eat “Chinese” would be plopping it on their plate for their 4:00 PM dinner.  THAT is what it tastes like!  (And I do not mean any offense to Seniors, we are AARP members ourselves!)

Orrrr, it might also be found in a junior high school cafeteria. 

I couldn’t finish my serving.  I ended up eating more rice and heating up some Trader Joe’s edamame (which I love) to finish out my dinner.  As for the Shitake Mushroom Chicken dish, I give it a 2.0. 

David's take on Shiitake Mushroom Chicken BEFORE eating it...

Here is what David thought: “I agree, this is not as delightful as one might have liked.  In general, I do not have a problem with dark meat chicken, but this one...  The beans in this dish taste like canned green beans.  It would be much improved by the addition of green peppers, onions, maybe carrots…  For me the best part about this is the SAUCE.  So instead of getting this again I should just learn how to make a sauce like this – it is nice and savory but slightly sweet so it is a tasty sauce.  I would give this a 2.75.”

And David AFTER eating it...
Even DAVID didn't want second helpings, and David alllllways wants a second helping!

We won’t be buying this one again.  In fact, instead of putting the leftovers in a Fupperware (fake Tupperware) container we threw them out, which never happens at our house.  David will (hopefully) be figuring out how to make the sauce included with this package and we will put it with tastier stuff! 

Price – $4.99

Rating – 2.5

Day 352 - Soycutash AND Artistan Everything Bagels (TWO REVIEWS ON ONE DAY!)

Soycatash is another of Ttrockwood’s recommendations.  You see, when I go shopping with someone, I listen up to what they suggest!!!

Only, this suggestion didn’t go over quite as well as some of her others…  Not that it BOMBED, but it didn’t “wow” either.

Here we have exhibit A:  Soycutash 

Soycatash is a bagged vegetable blend that you find in the TJ’s frozen food section.  It is a mix of soy beans (edamame), red pepper, and corn.  I microwaved it. 

To me, the edamame was the strongest taste in the blend, which was a plus since I really like edamame.  What was also cool is that this edamame, unlike the other kind we eat, was already out of the shell so there was no work involved to consume it.  J 

I like that this is an alternative veggie to our “normal choices” for dinner.  It is simple to prepare.  I think it would be better to use to make a SOUP instead of just to heat and eat like we did.  I prefer the taste of just plain edamame to this blend, truth be told.

The soycutash adds pretty colors to your plate, that's for sure

David says he thinks it would be nicer with a sauce of some kind.  He says that the problem is, when you microwave it as long as the package says to, or even less (like we did), the corn gets “deflated”.  And can’t we all agree – deflated corn is sorta sad.  We served it with several other items on the plate and David said he couldn’t get a real “isolated taste” of this dish.  He gives it a 3.

Blurry photo of pricing sign, sorry.

 We only cooked a bit of the bag.  We will try again and use it to put in a recipe instead of just as a side dish.  I think it would be less boring that way. I really thought if we didn't like this product I would get to do the juvenille thing and call it SUCKatash in this review, but it doesn't suck so I can't.

Price – $2.29

Rating – 3

But  look, since there are only a few more days left in the “365” that are the scope of this project, I am going to give you a GIFT WITH PURCHASE today!!!  Yes, it is TWO FOR ONE today, folks!  Buy one, get one freeeee!  (I refuse to use the currently popular retail acronym “BOGO” cuz I hate it, so you will not be betting a “BOGO” here…)

Here’s the deal:  with so few reviews left to write, I feel guilty writing about products that the majority of readers won’t be able to get because they are LOCAL things.  But I really wanna tell you about the BAGELS we got in New York City, cuz I loved ‘em.  Plus, I want you to see the funny photo of David with them.  So I will do a bonus review today (first time ever I think) and tell you about them!

Artisan Bagels (with Everything)

THESE

The package states that these bagels are baked fresh daily, hand shaped, and kettle boiled.  Ttrockwood told us about how the regular TJ’s bagels, the ones we all find in our stores, don’t sell much in New York City.  That’s because there are these amazzzzing “Artisan” local bagels on the shelves.  So I grabbed a bag (they contain 3 large bagels).  I chose “everything” bagels because those are normally David’s favorites. 

I LOVED THEM!  I recorded my comments about them and when I listen to the recording now, my voice sounds different – huskier, sexier, it is as if I not only LOVED those bagels, but I was also IN LOVE with them. 

Ready to be devoured

Before cutting

Oh man – thank you for pointing those out to us Ttrockwood!  Thank you for steering us to the outside lane of the Chelsea store so we could pick up bread products!  They are the best store bought bagels I have eaten in my entire life.   They do not taste ‘store bought” at all.  Rather, they taste like you are in a noisy deli or café on a Sunday morning and people are talking and laughing around you.  Then the waitress brings you a fresh squeezed OJ and a bagel just like this on a plate.  Ahhhhhhhhhhh….

Atttractive, eh??  Morning bagel.  Ahhh.  Notes about this photo:  see MY new glasses?  The wine glasses on the table were NOT from breakfast - they were from dinner the night before and had been washed and cleaned but not put away yet. 

I do not typically choose “everything” bagels for myself.  They are too outta control for me.  I like my bagels ORGANIZED, thank you very much.  But the thing is: these bagels ARE organized!  They are not “over the top” everyhing like other store bought bagels are.  They are just the right amount of “bits” on them.

Now here is the weird part:  David, who I specifically bought these for, didn’t like them as much as I did!  What a loser!!!!  Here is what he said:  “These bagels have a great texture.  A nice taste.  But they are a little bit dense for my taste.  They have a LOT of bread, so you need to put something sharp on the topping rather than just bland cream cheese.  I went with olives and onion, yet I still wished I had some smoked salmon to throw on top as well.  These are probably better than other bagels at TJ’s but I do not remember the other ones.  I give these a 4.25.”

David and the infamous NYC bagels - this is one of my favorite photos of him for this project.  

So David calls these bagels DENSE??  Well, my friend, I call you dense (I call you that with love in my voice) for not giving these a 5.

If you live in NYC and you are buying the regular bagels at TJ and not THESE BAGELS, please re-examine your shopping list. 

Cheaper than a deli but just as delicious

David’s score is rejected in this review and these bagels get a 5.  J

Price – $1.99

Rating – 5 (so there!)

Day 351 - New England Clam Chowder (fresh)

So hey, if you have not noticed, it is THE HOLIDAY SEASON.  To some, this means glowing lights, beautiful candles, and oodles of gifts.  To others, it can mean stress, sadness, and loneliness.

Wherever you fall in that spectrum, it is probably safe to say that sometimes during the holidays we ALL need to TAKE A BREAK from everything.  So the other day I did just that!  It was super nice weather so I set up an “Ugly Sweater Cookie Decorating Contest” outside our house!  I had bought a kit of ugly sweater cookies at Wal-Mart (hey, I would have bought it at TJ’s if they sold them!) and I supplemented that with more gels/frostings and sprinkles, then opened up my contest!  I “advertised” on my neighborhood Facebook page and a page dedicated to people giving things to one another instead of buying them (it’s a great concept). 

There was cookie decorating!  There were 2 varities of cider!  There were candy canes!
Sadly, there were not a lot of people.  :)

Sadly, this little event didn’t attract as many people as my Pumpkin Pannetone tasting did (read about that here).  Still though, David and I got to sit outside in the sunshine, drink my favorite TJ’s cider, and make ugly sweater cookies, which was fun.  And eventually 3 other people joined us and expressed their artistic side via cookies!  I then posted the photos online and the CLEAR winner was this one:

The winning UGLY SWEATER COOKIE!  Lots of frosting, gel, and BLING.

It was made my our little neighbor Nola, who is both very smart and a talented ballerina.  I guess ugly sweater cookie decorating is a skill maybe even she didn’t realize she had until this event!

Nola's mother Karin made this one.  Quite fancy!

My entry.  One voter said if this were a real sweater
she'd wear it!

This was made by a neighbor we didn't know
named Willy.   Cute, eh?

David's ugly sweater.  He put a lot of thought into his.

So my point here is (and I do have a point…) – make sure you TAKE A BREAK this holiday season.  Don’t shop so long that you drop.  Don’t listen to carols until your ears bleed.  And for heaven’s sake, if you need to exit the room for a moment or two of deep breaths when surrounded by loud talking relatives, DO IT!  (Note:  I am not in any way implying my relatives are loud talkers here, I’m just sayin’…  J )

And if you happen upon a table on a sidewalk with a lady holding a sign asking you to decorate a cookie, by all means take a seat and decorate why don’t ya???

Now, for today’s review.  I call this product FANCY ASS CLAM CHOWDER.  I was unaware that TJ’s sold anything other than CANNED clam chowder ( reviewed way back in month one of this blog here) until a reader commented on my review.  Then another reader commented about the kind in a plastic tub.  Then another reader.  Well, apparently 3 is the magic number that gets my attention, cuz after 3 people said the refrigerated tub version was better than the old fashioned can, I had to see for myself.

Here is what the fancy ass clam chowder looks like.  

Yup, those 3 people were right.  The Fancy Ass Clam Chowder beats the Regular Ol’ Clam Chowder hands down.  If you served a blindfolded people bites of each of these 2 chowders (you would have to feed them, cuz it would get messy letting blindfolded people eat soup by themselves…) – anyway I digress – if you did a blind taste test of these 2 chowders every single person would pick Fancy Ass.

This refrigerated version costs oodles more than the canned version ($4.49 compared to $1.49).  And the canned version has the advantage of being to just to thrown in the cupboard and stored until you get a hankering for chowder.

Ok, it isn't cheap.  But it's good!

The refrigerated tub was 2 servings for us and it was chock full of potatoes and clams.  All I did was heat it in the microwave so it was easy peasy.  It was really, really, really yummy; much better than the can.

David says, “I agree that it is better.  I am not a big fan of clam chowder but I certainly prefer this to the canned stuff.  The clams are tender and the soup is soupy but still has a creaminess without that sort of farinose.” (editor’s note:  I asked him what the heck “farinose” means and he said, “Gloppiness, kind of pastiness that comes from putting in too much flour or something”.  Well excuuuuuuse me!  Guess I learned a new word today.)

Mr. Dictionary himself eating some chowder.

I served this soup with edamame, radishes, and David dipped crackers in his chowder.  All in all it was a good and extremely simple meal.  We both agree that the expensive version is worth getting over the canned one.

We both gave this a 4.25 rating, so my math work for this review was super easy.  J

Price – $4.49

Rating – 4.25

Day 315 - Tofu Edamame Nuggets

Before disclosing my opinion of these Tofu Edamame Nuggets, I asked David for his opinion.  Here is what he said:  “Nice.  Umm, not terribly tasty, but pleasantly “substantial”.  With a nice sauce they are quite, umm, delicious.”

Then I told him how I FELT about them:  These are boring.  They are stupid.  They are a vegetarian excuse for chicken nuggets.    Why it has to be a “nugget” is beyond me.  Smooshed up tofu squished into the shape of a “nugget”.  I guess when you think about it, why the hell are CHICKEN NUGGETS in that shape they anyway?  They are just mushed up chicken. 

Here is what the bag looks like.  They are sold in the frozen food section.

Anyway, these things need WAY MORE edamame.  There is almost no edamame in them.  It looks like there is some carrot it them but it is tasteless.  The only thing that TASTES is the sauce that David made to dip these in.  The sauce is definitely the best part of this dish – it beats the nuggets hands down.  Really the only good things about the nuggets are that they are WARM and that they HOLD SAUCE.  If they had about four times as much edamame in them as they do, I think they would be better.  All you have to do is heat them in the oven so they are really easy to make.  But they are not worthy of being an appetizer at your dinner party, let alone your main course.

I guess if you are a vegetarian (maybe these are vegan?) – if they are, they are all YOURS, go for it!  They don’t taste BAD, they just barely TASTE.  I do not think they are worth the money or the wasted dinner.  (I do not count calories but I reckon if I did I would also say they are not worth the calories.)  If you are going to eat dinner you might as well have something that TASTES (and tastes better while you are at it).

Even this cheap I still say they are not worth the money.

After hearing my rant David said, “Fair enough.  More vegetables would be an improvement.  And a little chicken or pork would make it even better!”.  Hahahaha!  Ok, I think adding meat would sort of ruin the whole “vegetarian thing” they have going for them.  We like vegetarian food and eat quite a bit of it, but these are a fail.

I mean, honestly, these things need to come with a SAUCE.  David made sauce for ours and without that I would REALLLLLY have complained about these things! 

See the SHAPE?  Why must the world be nugget-ized???  This is actually a sad looking photo.  It looks like all we had
 to eat were these lame, dry things...  This was a late night snack and I think was accompanied by a salad.

I give them a 2.5 rating.  And after hearing my rant David was swayed and agreed that these are not worthy of a better score.  Skip these and use your money for something else at Trader Joe’s.

Price – $2.99

Rating – 2.5  

Day 252 - Salmon and Vegetable Croquettes

This product, found in the frozen food section, contains salmon, edamame, broccoli, kale, and chia seed.  I cooked them the quick way – nuked them in the microwave for 45 seconds, then pan fried them. 

They looked pretty much like the package after I cooked them - truth in advertising here.

The box says they could be, “Served as an hors d’oevre or a main course and be a super star in your own kitchen.”  I say, “If there is one thing I wanna be, it is a super star (just kidding, not really my life goal).”  The serving size is two and there are four croquettes in the package, making this a perfect size for a main course for my main squeeze and I.

These were good.  They were “salmon-y” without the taste of the salmon being overpowering.  It was nicely balanced by the other ingredients.  I couldn’t really single out any of the veggies involved – they all sort of blended together.  We served them with mashed potatoes, broccoli, and fresh corn.  It was a good meal.  We drank The Pass Sauvingon Blanc with the dinner, which will be reviewed tomorrow.

Here are the croquettes in "action", ready to be gobbled up

David says, “These were meaty enough to be a main course, but had crunch and vegetable enough to be interesting (whatever that vegetable was, maybe celery?)”.  SEE!  He could not distinguish the veggies either!  He continues, “The outside breading was nice and crunchy without seeming just be trying to provide filling.”

These work out to cost $1.37 per croquette - not bad really

We will get these again.  They do not go on my mental MUST EAT OFTEN list, but they are good and a nice change of pace for us.

Price – $5.99

Rating – 4.25

Day 16 - Edamame

Trader Joe’s sells frozen edamame in a couple of different formats and I have never quite figured out the difference.  I say, just grab a bag out of the freezer section while you are shopping and make sure you have it on hand at home.  Edamame is just SOYBEANS – so don’t be afraid to try it. 

This is one variety of edamame that Trader Joe's sells

Edamame is an EASY snack, healthy for you, and a good appetizer.  We just cook it a bit in boiling water, drain it, and grind some big salt chunks on it.  Then get a spare bowl for the used pods and sit down in front of your tv and EAT!  Edamame is an expensive little luxury when you go out to eat at fancy restaurants, but dang cheap when you buy it at Trader Joe's and just boil some up out of your freezer!

Tip – make a bit more than you expect to eat, cuz you are gonna eat it.

Price – $1.69

Rating – 4 stars