Amy’s Tortilla Casserole and Black Beans Bowl

January 30, 2008 | Reviewer: Abi

Amy’s Tortilla Casserole and Black Beans Bowl Price: $5.19
Serving: 1 bowl, 9.5oz.
Calories: 390
Fat: 28%, 18g
Cholesterol: 8%, 25mg
Sodium: 33%, 780mg
Protein: 18g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 28%, 7g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: This casserole is based on a popular Mexican dish called “Chilaquiles.” When Amy’s parents first tasted it in Oaxaca they came back and asked Amy’s chefs to find the recipe. One of the chefs (whose family had owned a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco) was already familiar with the dish and adapted it to suit Amy’s Standards . . . organic ingredients, fewer “hot” spices, and less fat. The result is delicious and might remind you of a bowl of “nachos” made with organic baked corn chips and melted cheddar and jack cheeses. Plus . . . an assortment of organic vegetables and our own homemade fresh tofu. On the side are delicately seasoned slow-cooked black beans, making this gluten free meal in a bowl thoroughly satisfying.

Abi says: My apologies for the longest frozen food origin explanation in the world. It seems that the people at Amy’s Kitchen (and hey, if y’all are reading this, can I come visit you and tour the factory? Please?) ate a version of my most favorite hangover food EVER, came back to the United States, de-Mexicanized it, added tofu, and are now selling it as tortilla casserole.

When I saw this at the grocery store I was unnaturally excited about a frozen product. I was so eager to try this that I broke my cardinal rule of frozen food and paid a full $5.19 for this bowl.

As a person of Latin American heritage and a general enjoyer of food, I understand now that I made a mistake. Now I know how Italians feel when they think of Chef Boyardee. Where are the layers of flavor usually evident in Amy’s Kitchen meals? Where is the cheese? Why does the tofu have to be so obviously tofu-looking?

This bowl is full of mushy corn tortillas, bland tomato sauce (it would seem a shame to call it salsa or mole), and a healthy side of black beans. I know that it is possible to make a completely awesome meal out of those ingredients. However, this meal is not awesome. The bowl is filling, but it is also boring. It is so boring that at one point while eating it (during an I-want-to-be-President debate) I said out loud “Wow, this is boring.” and George asked “Hillary?” and I said “Well, her too, but I was talking about this meal.” And then he looked at it in a way that said ‘Yeah, it is not as good as my microwaved mini pizza.’

When something from Amy’s Kitchen is beat by a 79¢ pizza, you know there’s a problem. This meal makes me sad because I worry that an entire generation of healthful frozen food eating Americans are going to think of tortilla casserole or chilaquiles and they’ll think of this bowl.

This isn’t how it is folks and this isn’t how it has to be. If you’re looking for something Mexicanish and in the Amy’s Kitchen line, stick with the Santa Fe Enchilada Bowl, the Cheese Enchilada Meal or the Mexican Tamale Pie (just 2 points). Any of those is a terrific alternative to this dud.

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10 Responses to “Amy’s Tortilla Casserole and Black Beans Bowl”

Maywither Dragon on January 30th, 2008

Thanks for the warning! I really like Amy’s stuff, especially the soups, I’ve been wanting these meal things but haven’t seen them on a good sale yet. So thanks for the suggestions too, since now if I see it for a good price I’ll know what to get!
MaryAnne on January 30th, 2008

Wow, $5.19 is expensive for a frozen meal and 18 grams of fat seems high for an Amy’s product. I’m always on the lookout for Amy’s sales but in St. Louis, there rarely are any.
Mike on January 30th, 2008

Abi was wrong on this one. It’s delicious, I assure everyone.
Molly on January 30th, 2008

I’m so glad you reviewed this. I was very unhappy with this meal as well. I was in talks with Amy’s marketing manager and she said that this meal is actually the top selling product in Publix markets. She ran our review by Rachel Berliner who was also surprised at how unhappy we were with the meal. Michelle (the marketing manager) told me that she thought the meal tasted fantastic in testing but that they were considering adding more salsa to the meal after reading our review. At that point, I was afraid that I had been too hard on the meal. I find that generally speaking, you and I agree on most meals and I am glad to see we agree on this one as well. This solidifies it for me. This meal gets a thumbs down.

Here is the link to my review: http://community.livejournal.com/micro_eats/45937.html

Molly-
Micro_Eats
Jeri on January 30th, 2008

I also like this one a lot. Maybe I give it extra points for the black beans. No, it’s not chilaquiles like I had in Mexico, but it’s good solid comfort food. I wouldn’t pay full price for it though. Come to it, I never buy Amy’s unless they’re on sale or I have coupons.
rob on January 30th, 2008

Amy’s costs a fortune in Publix, but then it costs a fortune in all the supermarkets around here.
Chaviva on January 30th, 2008

My G-d that looks nasty. Thanks for the “beware.”
rw on January 30th, 2008

I think this meal is great and very filling! It’s actually one of my favorites (well for frozen food that is)
Ace on January 30th, 2008

The owner from Amy’s Kitchen apparently responded to a blog post once back on my old site. Here’s what she had to say about me questioning whether Amy was actually an android:

“rachel berliner said…

Hi,
We have two chefs, Fred and his son,Fred. They do help us out when we have parties as I am not good at cooking for large groups. All the stories are true, we are not a typical corporate company. My mom writes the box copy and Amy is 19, going to Stanford. Read her blog on our web site, amys.com. Also read “about us” Glad you liked the torellini.From Rachel Berliner,owner Amy’s Kitchen”

What I learned from this is that Amy’s Kitchen is always watching us, so it’s best not to get on their bad side.
Crow on January 31st, 2008

“One of the chefs (whose family had owned a Mexican restaurant in San Francisco) was already familiar with the dish *and adapted it to suit Amy’s Standards* . . .”

Amy: Chef, tear this kitchen apart until you find those recipes! And bring me all customers, I want them ALIVE!