Price: $1
Serving size: 9.5 oz
Calories: 398
Fat: 38%
Sodium: 9%

Nicole says: Banquet’s Salisbury Steak Meal is an absolute classic. I grew up on microwavable Salisbury steak; this may be a prerequisite for liking this meal. This meal includes a more-than-sufficient amount of tasty but slightly gelatinous gravy with your meat and sides of buttery corn and mashed potatoes. The corn often ends up a bit dry, but the great taste of artificial butter makes up for that. The mashed potatoes might look a bit icky when you remove them from the microwave, but once you stir them, you see they have a nice, natural texture and flavor (plus more artificial butter.) The serving size could be a bit larger-if I were truly trying to satisfy my appetite, two would barely suffice. But at $1 per entree, this meal is more satisfying than ramen any day, and more reliably tasty than the trendier new micro-meals like “Beef Merlot.” Yum. Yum, yum, yum. I think I’m going to eat some pizza now.

Abi says: I really have no idea how Nicole manages to eat this meal. Granted, I come from a family that eats tripe, but Salisbury Steak? It is a fancy way of saying ‘Hamburger with Gravy’ instead of facing reality. Actually, the gravy reminds me of agar. Yes, the medium used for growing bacteria in a lab setting.