Price: $2.50 (reg. $3.99)
Serving: 1 bowl, 9.5 oz.
Calories: 430
Fat: 29%, 19g
Cholesterol: 14%, 40mg
Sodium: 27%, 640mg
Protein: 20g
Carbs: 15%, 45g
Fiber: 11%, 3g
WW Points: 10 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: The ultimate in comfort foods -tender organic tortellini pasta and ricotta in a rich creamy pesto sauce.

Abi says: Last weekend I attended a birthday barbecue. I’d promised the birthday girl (Carolyn) a fruit salad and I intended to deliver. While shopping at my local Giant last Saturday morning I decided to venture out of the produce section and into the frozen foods. That was a huge mistake.

Begin saga

There, sitting in the freezer section were 4 Amy’s Pesto Tortellini Bowls. Four! I yanked open the door and scooped the boxes into my loving arms. Then I realized that I should really buy six items, so I threw in an Enchilada Pie and a Stuffed Shells bowl.

Why such enthusiasm? Well, when I first started to review meals for this site, Amy (friend) told me about the wonders of this bowl and informed me that the pesto was so good that she had once reserved some of it to use on another pasta dish. While this may sound disgusting to many of you, I took it as a sign of the superior quality of this meal.

Two weeks later, there was a sale on Amy’s bowls — 2 for $5.00. But there was no Pesto Tortellini to be had, so I got a raincheck. For the last two months I’ve been checking for those bowls. I’m sure the guy who stocks the frozen food thought I was crazy. I’m not crazy, but the raincheck was burning a hole in my pocket.

Which takes us back to Saturday and my warm embrace of six boxes of frozen food (George is going to freak out when he sees that our freezer is completely full). On Saturday I walked up to a checkstand, placed my items on the belt, and said a fond farewell to my raincheck. That is until the raincheck function on the cash register didn’t work and the coupon function didn’t work and I got to get all of my meals for the sale price and keep my raincheck! Yes!

Later in the day, I arrive at the barbecue, set my fruit salad on the table and proceed to stand around a bowl of fruit salad with my friends, chat and eat straight from the bowl (we had forks). I did not talk about frozen food at that time. I chatted about frozen food later when Amy got to the party and we both were ecstatic about our Pesto Tortellini purchases. We cleaned out Giant. Sorry folks in Columbia Heights.

End of Saga

If not for the 40% RDA of saturated fat provided by this meal, I would probably have these twice a week. In fact, it is several days after I had this meal and I’m wishing that I could eat one right now, even if it is only 10:30 a.m. The pesto isn’t quite as garlicky as I like and a couple of the tortellini were hard. Instructions tell you to just cut a slit and let the baby go for five minutes in the microwave (turn once if you don’t have a rotating tray). Unfortunately, this makes for uneven cooking. I am still trying to figure out a way to adequately stir this meal without disrupting the steam-bag environment. Well, I have three more pesto bowls for this experiment.

Price: $2.50 (on sale)
Serving: 1 pie, 8 oz.
Calories: 160
Fat: 6%, 4g
Cholesterol: 0%, 0mg
Sodium: 20%, 490mg
Protein: 5g
Carbs: 9%, 27g
Fiber: 20%, 5g
WW Points: 3 Points

Non-dairy/gluten free/no cholesterol

Amy’s Kitchen says: Meatless version of a long time favorite. Organic vegetables in a nourishing broth blanketed with smooth mashed potatoes.

Abi says: This afternoon, Kate asked the following question, which has nothing to do with organic pie, but very well indicates how much Kate follows sport:

“What game are we going to tomorrow, the Pistons?”

FYI, we’re going to a Nationals game tomorrow. The Nationals are a) a baseball team in Washington, DC, and b) not a basketball team in the playoffs.

Ok, so none of that has to do with the Sheperd’s Pie I bought yesterday. Safeway was having a sale of Amy’s pies and Amy (my coworker, not the company’s namesake) and I decided to pick up a few of these tasty treats. I say that having never eaten an Amy’s Pie, though Jess seems to like the Vegetable Pot Pie and Kate enjoys the Tamale Pie.

Now, about the blurb on the box: “A long time favorite of English country folk”

Do people from the English countryside like being called that? It makes them sound like characters from Monty Python’s Search for the Holy Grail. I grew up in the country (in Oregon) and I would probably have to punch someone if they called me “American country folk”. Except I’m not a violent person, so I would probably scowl at them instead.

Amazingly, this pie does taste like something that people wearing baize and living in thatched huts would eat. It is hearty and potatoey and not really made for eating in the summer (May in DC is as hotter than July in Oregon).

Ooh, and the vegetables stay crisp but it is strange to eat garbanzo beans in a pie. So reader, please eat this pie in the winter while wearing a wooly sweater and gazing out the window at the freshly fallen snow, but don’t call people “country folk”.

P.S. The term “country folk” also reminds me of Deliverance and I’m sure that no company wants people to think about the imagery involved in that while shopping for a frozen meal.

Price: $3.48
Serving: 1 tray, 10 oz.
Calories: 320
Fat: 13%, 8g
Cholesterol: 1%, 5mg
Sodium: 32%, 780mg
Protein: 11g
Carbs: 18%, 54g
Fiber: 25%, 6g
WW Points: 6 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: Tender organic peas and Indian cheese in an authentic delicately spiced sauce. Golden carrots, onions and cumin add flavor and color to the organic basmati rice. Curried chana masala made with organic garbanzo beans and sweet tomatoes round out this delicious meal.

Jess says: There are so few constants in life, but my Safeway always has Amy’s Mattar Paneer in stock. This is a good thing. This is my “go to” meal when I know I’m looking forward to rough waves on the sea of life. I know that this meal will at least guarantee a happy lunching experience and sometimes that’s enough of an incentive to keep on keeping on. I said approximately this to Abi when I sat down to eat this meal and she replied, “that’s really sad”. I gathered from her tone that she meant sad as in pathetic.

Maybe she’s right.

But sometimes it’s Monday and some woman on the Metro during morning rush hour complained that you were standing too close to her (as if you had an alternative!) and your boss calls you into his office before you have had your first cup of coffee and its been almost thunderstorming for days and you remember at various points throughout the day that you need more money than you currently have. On days like this, I can heat up some Mattar Paneer (only 4 minutes, no stirring necessary!) which is so thoughtfully subdivided into three triangles of food groupings. I can mix the flavorful explosion of pea sauce with the basmati rice. Or throw in some garbanzo beans for a triumvirate of taste. Or I can just munch on that Indian cottage cheese ala carte so I can savor that soft cheesy savoriness. The permutations are endless (except, well, mathematically they are not) and everything is warm and delicious and slightly spicy, but not uncomfortably so. Great rice to sauce ratio! My only complaint is that the bowl is ill-equipped to hold the contents and tends to buckle under the weight of the meal. But a simple plate under the bowl will add the sound structure that you will need to fully enjoy this meal, and thusly, survive your day.

Oh, and if food blogs were to have a thesis statement, then this blog’s might be that Indian food (compared to other food types) is most adaptable to microwave preparation.

Price: $3.29
Serving: 1 pie, 7.5 oz.
Calories: 420
Fat: 29%, 19g
Cholesterol: 17%, 50mg
Sodium: 25%, 590mg
Protein: 9g
Carbs: 18%, 54g
Fiber: 17%, 4g
WW Points: 9 Points

Amy’s Kitchen says: Amy’s original pot pie with a tender flaky butter crusts contains organic carrots, peas, potatoes and tofu simmered in a creamy, well seasoned sauce.

Jess says: I did not grow up in a pot pie house. My mother never presented our entrees covered by flaky bread. I don’t think this makes me especially deprived (for the record: my mom’s meatballs are no joke and her overstuffed veggie omelets make my stomach growl even while full). Yet this item did cause me to take pause before warming up to the idea of pie crust with savory contents. But I said (out loud to the freezer case at Safeway), “What the hell?” and grabbed a pot pie.

What a joy you were, pot pie! What a pleasant surprise! Full of vegetables and perfuming the air with your warm soothing smell of baked goods. The gelatanous gravy is somewhat off-putting (sorry Amy’s Kitchen, but I doubt there is cream in there), but don’t think too much on it. The meal is tasty and somehow filling despite its meager appearance. I would buy it again in heartbeat and eat happily in my pot-pie cubicle.