Amy’s Kitchen Country Cheddar Bowl

October 6, 2006 | Reviewer: Abi

Amy's Kitchen Country Cheddar Bowl

Price: $3.49
Serving: 1 bowl, 10.5 oz.
Calories: 400
Fat: 29%, 19g
Sodium: 29%, 690mg
Protein: 15g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 14%, 4g

Amy’s Kitchen says: Organic vegetables, baked organic tofu, and organic rotini pasta in a delectable sauce made with aged English cheddar cheese.

Abi says: I generally love the items that Amy’s Kitchen dishes out. They manage to make my mealtimes satisfying with the added bonus of organic ingredients, which make me feel pretty darn good about myself. That and they use paper bowls, which sure beats scrubbing out plastic trays for recycling purposes.

I recently had the opportunity to ask Steve Warnert, Director of Sales & Marketing for Amy’s Kitchen just what made the Country Cheddar bowls ‘Country’. While he noted that Rachel (the founder of Amy’s Kitchen and mom of Amy) would have her own story, these bowls reminded him of growing up in Minnesota, the land of casserole. He opined that “the Country Cheddar Bowl is perfectly reminiscent of classic comfort food that blends hearty vegetables, cheese and a great sauce to bring it all together.”

While I am from Oregon, which produces some darn good cheese (Tillamook) I will have to bow down to the cheesemaking expertise of the people of Vermont, Wisconsin, Appalachia, and Denmark. Why? Each of these places has a unique cheese-making history that seriously predates the tradition in Oregon. While I’m reasonably sure that Wisconsonites make terrific cheese, I cannot applaud this cheddar bowl. In fact, I’m worried that I’m doing a disservice to the frozen-meal-eating public by including the above image because my cheddar bowl experience in no way resembles the vegetable-y goodness in the picture. Too bad I forgot my camera that day.

When removing the item from the microwave oven, the president of my organization (a.k.a. The Big Boss) gave my meal a look that was none-too-friendly. When you’re trying to work your way up the corporate (or non-profit) ladder, alienating your boss with poor food choices isn’t the way to go. The only thing I could really do was look him in the eye and say ‘Well, it never hurts to try new things’, thinking that my obvious sense of adventure would impress him. Let’s hope that my bravado was enough to tear his eyes away from the trainwreck of a meal choice.

While digging around for rare brocolli florets, I couldn’t get over the feeling that this was a less-good version of macaroni and cheese. The sauce was lumpy, the vegetables non-existent, and the carbs too-well-represented. Amy’s Kitchen can boast a distinctive pantheon of vegetarian and vegan meals. This bowl fails to meet the level set by those other meals.

Amy’s Bowls previously reviewed (and much better received) by the HeatEatReview.com Staff:
Amy’s Kitchen Pesto Tortellini Bowl
Amy’s Kitchen Sheperd Pie (comes in a bowl)
Amy’s Kitchen Vegetable Pot Pie (ditto)
Amy’s Kitchen Santa Fe Enchilada Bowl
Amy’s Kitchen Teriyaki Bowl
Amy’s Kitchen Stuffed Pasta Shells Bowl
Amy’s Mexican Tamale Pie

comments

12 Responses to “Amy’s Kitchen Country Cheddar Bowl”

Colleen on October 6th, 2006

Because I have a bit of an “Amy’s” obsession too, and even won some $25 in coupons for these meals, I’m going to go ahead and list my favorites right now:
*clears throat*
Amy’s Pesto Tortellini
Any’s Chilli & Cornbread
Amy’s Palak Paneer (because I don’t care what you guys say about it)
Amy’s Mattar Tofu
Amy’s Mattar Paneer
Amy’s Roasted Veggitable Pizza
Amy’s Tofu Scramble
Amy’s Tofu Ranchero
Amy’s Pizza 3 Cheese

The ones I’ve tried and didn’t care for as much, but *usually* didn’t hate:
Amy’s Thai Stirfry
Amy’s Asian Noodle Stirfry
Amy’s Black Bean Burrito
Amy’s Cheddar Cheese Burrito
Amy’s Breakfast Burrito
Amy’s Burrito Non-Dairy
Amy’s Cheese Enchalada (maybe because I burnt it, but I bought another one and I’m going to recook it)
Amy’s Pasta Shells Bowl
Amy’s Santa Fe Enchalada Bowls
Amy’s Baked Ziti Bowl
Amy’s Shepherd’d Pie Bowl
Amy’s Country Vegitable Pot Pie Bowl
Amy’s Mexican Tamale Pie Bowl
Amy’s Pizza Mediterranian
Amy’s Pizza Cheese
Amy’s Pizza Pesto
Amy’s Vegitable Lasagna
Amy’s Apple Pie
Amy’s Cheese Pizza Pocket
Amy’s Spinache Feta in a Pocket

Amy’s meals I have in my freezer I’m yet to try:
Amy’s Counrty Dinner
Amy’s Veggi Loaf

Coupons I have left:
2 (one is only for $1 off though, not a free meal)

By the way, I didn’t memorize that. I got a catalog in the mail with the coupons that lists all of Amy’s meals and as I was looking through it, I realized that I’ve had a ton of them. So there’s my two cents on Amy’s I guess. I’ve only ever had three or four of her meals twice. I bet there are some meals I didn’t even list here because they’re not in the catalog, because I just added some stuff I almost forgot (the pocket meals). I’ve had all those within the past 6-8 months or so when I started buying them.
Colleen on October 6th, 2006

Oh, and I apologize for crashing your review. That had absolutly nothing to do with the country Cheddar bowl. Sorry about that.
TG on October 6th, 2006

wow. i came here to the comments section to leave a gushing hosannah to abi for writing one of my fave abi reviews ever, what with all the personal commentary and tangents and even an amusing recreation of an encounter with her boss. i mean, this review has it all. but then i saw colleen’s comment, with her nothing-less-than-spectacular diligence on the amy’s front, and got totally distracted. so wow to that, too. (altho i must here and now express my distaste for the “some” construction. “some $25″. is it $25 in coupons or not? but i don’t blame colleen. adding “some” before a number has become very trendy lately and i can’t say that i like it one bit.)
Colleen on October 6th, 2006

I didn’t get a $25 dollar coupon. I got five coupons that say, “One FREE Amy’s meal!” and one that says “$1 off any Amy’s meal!” Last night I got $19.67 in Amy’s meals for absolutly free by using 4 coupons, plus there is no sales tax here. I now have one more coupon for a free meal (I’m going to use it to the max, by buying another meal that costs $4.29) and one coupon worth $1 off. I admit that I cheated my store out of $2.50 by buying an Amy’s Pizza with one of the coupons, even though the coupons state they are only to be used for indivisual serving meals. So I’m going to say I won about (aka: some) $25 worth of Amy’s meals.
Again Abi, I’m really really sorry for crashing your thread, maybe there was someplace else I could have written that long spiel….
timmy on December 21st, 2006

wow. i’m really surprised by this review. the Amy’s country cheddar bowl is one of my favorite meals (that and the vegan pot pie!). i’ll agree that it doesn’t look so great when it comes out of the microwave, but in my humble opinion it tastes oh so great!
m on February 21st, 2007

I am surprised by the negative review of the Country Cheddar Bowl. It is my favorite Amy’s frozen meal. It may not look great when it’s done cooking - but the cheesy crust around the edges is tasty, and the tofu has a slight crispiness that’s delicious. It’s a lot of calories for not that much food - so it can’t be an everyday lunch, but it’s a nice special treat for lunch.
Omayra on January 10th, 2008

I love Amy’s country dinner (veggie salisbury steak) and the veggie loaf. Those two meals were my first introduction to the Amy’s line and I have been stuck ever since. I also LOVE the palak paneer. Something about the cheese is not quite a true ‘paneer’ but it is delicious! I steer clear of the cheese heavy ones so I can’t comment on the cheddar bowl as I am positive that it would upset my stomach.

How did you all get $25 in Amy’s coupons? I am a broke grad student and would *love* to know where you found these.
Gisela on February 1st, 2008

I was surprised to read your review b/c this is one of my favorite meals. (By the way, just found this site and love it!).
tina on March 1st, 2008

I am surprised by this article as Country Cheddar is my favorite off Amy’s menu. I have always wondered what type of cheese she uses as it is not too strong and not too soft….just perfect. And it does not contain renin or any other animal enzymes.
bosky on March 30th, 2008

I am surprised by this review as well. I guess its just a matter of personal choice, but I absolutely love this dish. It is sooo delicious and I love the wonderful interplay of taste the different vegetables bring. Absolutely love this one!! My number one amys product.
bosky on March 30th, 2008

I am surprised by this review as well. I guess its just a matter of personal choice, but I absolutely love this dish. It is sooo delicious and I love the wonderful interplay of taste the different vegetables bring. Absolutely love this one!! My number one amys product.
Love it
Buggles on April 1st, 2008

I totally agree with the reviewer that this meal is sub-par. However, I am a mac-n-cheese snob, so that might explain part of it. I absolutely hated the tofu in this. I didn’t even know what it was at first and my first bite made me gag. Bleh!