Guest Reviewers

The guest reviewers at HeatEatReview.com are usually one-time review volunteers.

Latest Reviews by Guest Reviewers:

Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken with Teriyaki Glaze

January 31, 2008 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Lean Cuisine Grilled Chicken with Teriyaki Glaze Price: $2.50 (on sale)
Serving: 1 entree, 10oz.
Calories: 270
Fat: 4%, 3g
Cholesterol: 11%, 40mg
Sodium: 27%, 660mg
Protein: 19g
Carbs: 13%, 42g
Fiber: 0%, 0g
Sugar: 11g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Lean Cuisine says: Grilled chicken breast with pineapple, water chestnuts, and sesame flavored rice.

Kelly says: Upon first glance at this meal I thought “Wow, a whole chicken breast! Crazy!” And now I know that I should listen to my inner voice because it is right all of the flippin’ time. A whole chicken breast is crazy. When I hear the word ‘teriyaki’ I envision dark meat chicken (thighs, to be specific), a scoop of sticky white rice, and a drizzling of sweetly spicy and salty sauce.

Maybe some vegetables too.

I don’t picture a tired, worn-out, whole breast of chicken that’s been cooked in the microwave. I don’t imagine powder-covered nibs of rice claiming to be sesame-flavored when they are in fact just tongue-coating. I don’t think of the bland crunch of water chestnuts, which must be served alongside another vegetable in order to have any meaning in a meal.

In short, when I see teriyaki, I don’t see this Lean Cuisine meal. Whose idea was it to have an enormous chunk of chicken in there? Who thought it would microwave completely without drying out the edges, leaving them tough and gnarly? Doesn’t Lean Cuisine have a stable of food scientists perfecting dishes like their wonderful Thai Style Chicken and Rice? Where were those people when someone decided to make this dish?

This meal can be turned around. All Lean Cuisine has to do is pre-chop the chicken into chunks, add 10 times the veggies, not putting the veggies in the sauce (where they turn to total mush), and forego the pineapple chunks (they are slimy and gooshy after the microwaving). Oh, and select a completely different method of rice preparation and seasoning, because this is the worst rice I’ve ever had in a frozen meal. I know, that seems like a lot of work, but I have confidence in the people of Lean Cuisine. Until that change occurs, I will stay far, far away from anything resembling this meal.

Filed Under 6 WW Points, Chicken, Lean Cuisine Reviews, Zero Stars | 1 Comment

Red Baron Singles Pepperoni French Bread Pizza

January 24, 2008 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Red Baron Singles Pepperoni French Bread Pizza Price: $2.50 (sale at Safeway)
Serving: 1 pizza, 5.4oz.
Calories: 350
Fat: 23%, 15g
Cholesterol: 10%, 30mg
Sodium: 46%, 1090mg
Protein: 15g
Carbs: 14%, 41g
Fiber: 7%, 2g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 Points

Red Baron says: Introducing delicious Red Baron singles made with the finest ingredients, quality toppings and real cheeses. They make the perfect addition to lunch or dinner, or as a wholesome snack on the go.

This review was ghost-written. George ate the pizza, then Abi asked him about it and put together the text. Then George checked it and said “I write pretty good reviews.”

George says: Grad school isn’t easy. What’s even tougher is living with someone who takes up most of the freezer with off-limits frozen food. Fortunately, Red Baron was on sale at Safeway and I picked up a couple of boxes for just $2.50 each.

One of the features that differentiates this pizza from others is the no-hassle crisping tray. I don’t have to mess around with assembling the tray or unwrapping the pizza and placing it on a poorly constructed tray. I just have to unwrap the pizza, replace the pepperonis that came off when I turned the box upside down, and throw the pizza in the microwave.

Speaking of pepperoni, the pieces on this pizza are ample, ensuring a bit of pepperoni in almost every bite. The cheese is fine, nothing special, but contributing to the making of an overall decent pizza. The sauce is pretty great, but the real highlight of this pizza is the crust. The bread isn’t watery, a hallmark of many cheap pizzas. Instead it tastes like crusty, crispy French Bread, which is very good considering that this is a French Bread Pizza.

A single French Bread pizza isn’t a big meal, but it has just as much volume (maybe more) as one of those 79¢ party pizzas. And those have much sparser cheese and nearly non-existent toppings.

I recommend picking up a box or two whenever you see them on sale. You really can’t beat the price of $1.25 each for reliable, satisfying French Bread pizza.

Filed Under 8 WW Points, Frozen Pizza Reviews, Red Baron Pizza Reviews | 9 Comments

Whole Kitchen Chicken Enchiladas

January 22, 2008 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Whole Kitchen Chicken Enchiladas Price: $2.29
Serving: 1 package, 8oz.
Calories: 310
Fat: 12%, 8g
Cholesterol: 12%, 35mg
Sodium: 25%, 610mg
Protein: 16g
Carbs: 14%, 42g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
Weight Watchers Points: 6 Points

Whole Kitchen says: Filled with natural, sustainably farmed chicken, our Whole Kitchen Chicken Enchiladas are convenient, quick to fix and perfect for a delicious, wholesome meal. Our enchiladas are handmade using authentic corn tortillas made with natuaral masa and topped with a savory, traditionally spiced sauce.

Kelly says: I am clueless when it comes to good Mexican food. I like Mi Barrio, a run down place near the freeway and I like Chipotle, a mega-super-chain once owned (90% of shares) by McDonalds. Obviously my standard is ‘Does it taste vaguely foreign?’. You might laugh, but as I woman of Eastern European descent who was raised in the Midwest, I grew up eating hot dishes (casseroles for all you coastal people), not tacos and enchiladas.

But with the ATL commuting issues and lots of paperwork at the office, I don’t ever have time to slip out for some incredible tacos al pastor. I have to plan ahead. And believe me, picking up fresh Mexican food at breakfast time doesn’t mean you’re going to have that same degree of freshness at lunch. When I saw these enchiladas at Whole Foods for just $2.29 I thought ‘Woooo! Finally a somewhat inexpensive all natural Mexican-type food that I can eat in the office. Lean Cuisine Fiesta Chicken gets old fast and a lot of stuff out there that looks good isn’t so good for me.

It turns out that these enchiladas aren’t so good for me either. They pack 310 calories into 8 ounces of crusty tortilla barely covered with bland tomato sauce. I only ever eat mild salsa (yes, even medium is too strong for me), but the mole in these enchiladas is a joke. As far as toppings go, there was a smattering of cheese, but it was more of a decoration than an actual ingredient. What a bummer.

These Whole Kitchen Chicken enchiladas do have meat, but it isn’t the memorable chunks of tender chicken I find in Trader Joe’s Salsa Verde Enchiladas. These measly, bland pieces were each about the size of a small marble. Dear Whole Foods, there’s this awesome thing called ‘marinade’. I suggest you look into it.

I wish I had something nice to say about this meal. For the price and the naturalness, I was looking forward to making this a lunchtime staple. If it magically appeared in my freezer or was free or I forgot to bring my lunch and a friend had one sitting around I would eat it again. But I don’t think I’ll pay money for another box. Back to the ~~drawing board~~ freezer section, I suppose.

Filed Under 6 WW Points, Chicken, Three Stars, Whole Foods Reviews, Whole Kitchen Reviews | 7 Comments

Product Review: Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven

January 8, 2008 | Reviewer: Guest Reviewers

Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven Regular Price: $70.00
On Sale at Amazon.com $39.79
Average Amazon Review: 4/5 stars

Presto says: Fresh or frozen, regular or rising crust, exclusive RotaBake(TM) technology assures great tasting pizza every time. Freezer to perfect in minutes with no preheating. Special control lets you make toppings as bubbly and crusts as crispy as you like.

Tiff says: This oven is fabulous. It does take a bit of experimenting but do not worry: no amount of experimenting will make your pizza inedible.

Getting Started

Reading the instruction booklet was necessary, because there is a special way to place the pizza pan on the rotating spindle, so it rotates and cooks correctly. There are two heating elements on this oven. One above the pizza (upper), and one that is underneath the pizza pan as it is spinning (lower). There are 3 settings on the oven. Lower, Dual and Upper.The booklet also includes a pizza dough recipe, as well as a guide that tells you how long to cook pizza depending on it’s thickness and preparation. For example:

Rising Crust Frozen Pizza: 9-12 minutes on Lower, then 9-12 minutes on Dual.

Regular Frozen Pizza: 9-12 minutes on Dual.

You’ll want to experiment to find the right times for your preferred pizza doneness.

Baking Pizzas

I have used two kinds of pizza with this oven, Freschetta PizzAmore Pepperoni Duo Pizza (a non-rising variety) and Freschetta Naturally Rising Pepperoni Pizza. Each had different cooking methods.

The Freschetta PizzAmore pizza was the first pizza I cooked with the Presto Pizzazz. I did as instructed and used the dual setting only. I found this particular pizza difficult to cook because it is already cut into slices. This made placing the pizza on the pan difficult and the end result, though thoroughly cooked, was unattractive. I won’t use the PizzAmore variety again; it tasted okay, but not great. Considering this was the first time I used the oven, it is possible I didn’t cook the pizza to my taste.

The rising crust pizza was a much, much better eating experience. The first time I cooked the rising crust pizza I cooked it exactly as the instructions suggested. The end result was great: melty, hot and tasty, but not as crispy as I would like. Luckily, you can adjust the settings for the oven as you prefer. My second round with a rising crust pizza involved 14 minutes of bake time on the lower setting (2 minutes longer than the recommended time) and 12 minutes on the dual setting. I found this was the perfect setting for this pizza! I was in heaven. It was exactly as crispy as I like, and the pepperonis were cooked as crispy as I like.

Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven Baking Process

Counter Space

Since receiving the Presto Pizzazz oven as a gift, every time I go to the store I buy 2-3 frozen pizzas. I know whichever brand is on sale will turn out great. I will never again use a normal oven to cook pizza. Ovens (especially in apartments) can be shady, while this device is straight-forward and effective.

Our George Foreman Grill used to take permanent residence in the corner counter space with the only open outlet in the kitchen. The Foreman is now under the counter and the Presto now lives there. Sure, we still take old Georgie for a spin once or twice a week, but knowing that there are frozen pizzas in the freezer, and a quick snack can be made easily at any time, the Pizzazz is now our staple kitchen item.

Frozen vs. Delivery

You are probably wondering if the frozen pizzas taste as good as pizzerias. Well, yes and no. I found it especially hard to compare the two, because pizzas vary so much from place to place. If the thing that makes your pizzeria special is the sauce recipe, you can’t replicate that with this oven. I will say that I will NEVER EVER order Domino’s, Papa John’s or Pizza Hut again as long as I live and while this oven is around. There there is absolutely no reason to waste 15-20 dollars on delivery from an average place with this oven in your kitchen. Frozen pizzas on sale are 2 for 7 dollars, 3 for $10.00, etc. That is some serious cash in your pocket if you simply have this oven and some pizza on hand - and no tips required! I recommend it to people who cook frozen pizzas often. I wish I could vouch for how homemade pizza bakes - but I assume it could only taste better that store bought pizzas.

Final Thoughts

The Presto Pizzazz Pizza Oven earns 4 stars. The reason for the missing star is that one can only cook up to a 12 inch pizza (round) on this oven. This is fine for most frozen pizzas - but I am afraid to experiment with the square, brick oven style for fear I may need to use the real oven. That would be a tragedy!

Filed Under Frozen Pizza Reviews, Product Reviews | 7 Comments