Price: $2.00 (sale)
Serving: 1 entreé, 10 oz.
Calories: 430
Fat: 31%, 20g
Cholesterol: 23%, 70mg
Sodium: 51%, 1230mg
Protein: 26g
Carbohydrates: 12%, 37g
Fiber: 12%, 3g

Stouffer’s says: Juicy chicken breast tenderloins in barbeque sauce and cheddar potato bake with bacon

Nicole says: This looks so yummy, but how could it possibly be filling? You give me one medium (v. thick half dollar) and two medium-large (McD chicken nugget-sized) tenderloins in your fantastic barbeque sauce. And the cheesy potato bake looks AWESOME, but this tray could hold TWICE as much as you've offered.

The chicken is tender (as their moniker would suggest) and the barbeque sauce is a bit lumpy. It is on the cusp of gelatinous, but yummy with just the tiniest hint of zing. This stuff is definitely tasty enough that I lapped up a couple forkfuls after the chicken was gone because I was worried I'd will still be hungry after this meal. Eight bites of chicken is what you get when you order an appetizer and don't share. Eight bites of chicken is not an entreé.

The potato bake topping is actually crispy, and the potatoes are in a dense, creamy cheese sauce, with bacon backing up the taste. Heavenly, really. Crispy, cheesy, starchy, bacony heaven.

If you're a light eater who loves cheese and bacon, drop what you're doing and go get this meal right now. It's really delicious, both the chicken and potatoes.

But if you have a real appetite, you can wait until the next Stouffer sale. If I don't buy them all first, that is. Because this meal is delicious you will want to consume 1.5 boxes per sitting. Or have a nice dessert afterwards. So be prepared, ya hear?

Lucky me, I have some SmartFood cheddar popcorn hidden away for just this situation.

SRP: $3.99
Serving: 1 flatbread, 9 3/8 oz.
Calories: 640
Fat: 45%, 29g
Cholesterol: 21%, 65mg
Sodium: 41%, 990mg
Protein: 31g
Carbohydrates: 20%, 59g
Fiber: 11%, 3g

Stouffer’s says: Grilled chicken,bacon,spinach,and red onions with a creamy Alfredo sauce,topped with a blend of Italian Style cheeses

Nicole says: For months now, there have been rumors of Stouffer’s Flatbreads, a new addition to the Corner Bistro line. Well, guess what showed up at the front desk this week!

But what is a “Flatbread?” Well, according to Wikipedia, it’s a simple bread made from flattened dough, often unleavened. They’re basically talking about matzo, tortilla, papadum, and all their cousins. This is not matzo, tortilla, or papadum. It’s pizza. In this case, a white pizza. On spiced dough. In this case, basil and garlic. It’s a nice sized… flatbread.

The microwave instructions for the flatbread have a note: “For softer flatbread.” I’m sure this would come out crispier and more delicious from the oven, but there is still a crispness from the microwave, thanks to the use of the crisping tray, and perhaps also the use of the Stouffer’s box as a cooking platform. Crispy enough to break a plastic fork. Eat with your hands, or use a real, metal fork. Or if you’re stuck with a plastic fork, just hold back your Hulk-like strength, something which causes me difficulty. Cooking time is listed as 3 to 4.5 minutes. I tried 3, and the center was still cool. All was hot and melty at 4 minutes. The dough is a bit over 1/2 inch thick, maybe, with the bottom third crispy, the top two-thirds soft.

The cheese and toppings on here are plentiful helpings. There is enough cheese that even after some loss during cooking, it’s super-duper-cheesy, and it doesn’t taste like that lowfat nonsense. The Alfredo sauce doesn’t stand out in most bites under all this cheese, but still moistens the toppings nicely. Chicken pieces are tender, lean, and tasty. Bacon bits are yummy, though larger bacon pieces would make them seem less like a salad condiment. After all, who wants to think “Bac-o’s” while eating lunch? There’s also the hearty portion of dark green spinach swimming in the mix, yum.

This clearly is not Lean Cuisine - it has a generous caloric load, and about half your RDA of sodium and fat. It also happens to be a good-sized meal (I won’t be hungry in two hours,)especially when compared to other microwaveable pizza-type single servings, so that seems A-OK by me. It’s rare to find a frozen meal that clings to gourmand styling (”Corner Bistro”) and retains a hearty, rich portion of gourmet-type food rather than providing a few half-flavor bites for dieting divas. This could be a staple if the price is right.

This meal was provided to HeatEatReview.com by the Stouffer’s PR company. They’ve also provided us Lean Cuisine meals in the past.

SRP: $3.99
Serving: 1 flatbread, 9 3/8 oz.
Calories: 640
Fat: 30%, 23g
Cholesterol: 40%, 120mg
Sodium: 33%, 780mg
Protein: 33g
Carbohydrates: 25%, 76g
Fiber: 19%, 5g

Stouffer’s says: Shrimp and roasted garlic topped with a combination of mozzarella, Parmesan and Romano cheeses over a roasted garlic sauce.

Bale says: I really can only think of two words to describe Stouffer’s new Shrimp and Roasted Garlic Flatbread: oily and pestoeey. I’m not even sure that ‘pestoeey’ is a word, but it is the best word to describe this food.

I am not the biggest fan of eating plain cheese pizza, but this was free, so I made do. I love me some flavorful sauce on my pizza, but in this case Stouffer’s thinks that the oil makes up for the lack of sauce. FYI, Stouffer’s, oil doesn’t make up for zero sauce.

The flatbread is an okay portion at nearly 10 oz but not truly filling as a meal. I guess I would buy this again if it was on sale but as I write this I can still feel the oil permeating my taste buds, so I might change my mind about making this meal a future purchase.

The final problem with this pizza is the incongruity between the box and reality. Look at the picture on the box and you’ll see wonderfully plump shrimp. Those are nearly cocktail-size shrimp! Opening up the flatbread is a different story. The shrimp are half the size and a couple of them are chopped up. Stouffer’s shouldn’t be advertising large shrimp and substituting salad-sized shrimp instead. I give this 3 out of 5 stars but only if the oil taste in my mouth goes away soon.

This meal was provided to HeatEatReview.com by the Stouffer’s PR company. They’ve also provided us Lean Cuisine meals in the past.

SRP: $3.99
Serving: 1 flatbread, 9.5 oz.
Calories: 560
Fat: 32%, 21g
Cholesterol: 21%, 70mg
Sodium: 37%, 890mg
Protein: 28g
Carbohydrates: 21%, 64g
Fiber: 16%, 4g

Stouffer’s says: Grilled beef steak fajita strips with sweet peppers and onions in a smoked Cheddar sauce, covered in mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses

Abi says: Convincing people in my office to eat potentially disturbing microwaveable meals means that I often get the short end of the proverbial free-food stick. Lately, this has translated to me eating beef-containing items. I don’t have a good history with beefy frozen meals (see Lean Cuisine Hunan Beef with Broccoli, Lean Cuisine Hunan Stir Fry with Beef, and Hungry-Man Mexican Fiesta Meal). So why did I try Stouffer’s Steak Fajita Flatbread? Because I prefer beef to shrimp. I like eating animals, but I don’t like eating whole animals.

You’ve probably seen the Stouffer’s Commercials with a single man or woman curling up in front of the fire with a plate of flatbread. Alone. By yourself. Stouffer’s sure knows their market, because if I made this while George was around, I’d have to share. This meal is for one of those nights when you’re home alone and you don’t want to spend the money to go out or even get takeout and you certainly don’t feel like making actual food. (Boil water? Me?) Just open up the freezer, pull out a flatbread, and heat it up in the microwave. It is faster than a standard pizza and truthful in serving size (a flatbread is one large serving, many smaller pizzas list their nutritional info as two servings, liars).

My flatbread was covered with a generous portion of fajita beef strips (more than the picture on the box!), plenty of peppers, onions, cheese, and a gentle-yet-zippy chipotle sauce. I was fully prepared to dislike this odd amalgamation of quasi-Mexi-Italian cuisine, and instead ate the entire thing. Well, except for the edge crusts, because they didn’t have any cheese or sauce. I kept waiting for something bad to happen, like a flood or swarm of locusts or rain of frogs. But the frozen food Gods chose only to smite me with an uncomfortably overful stomach.

While Stouffer’s Flatbreads may be considerably more expensive than a lot of microwaveable meals ($3.99 full price), if you see them on sale, go for it. I think the company hit a gold mine with the combination of unusual, high-quality ingredients, a crisping tray, and simple preparation. And if you like frozen beef to begin with? Well, you’ll love this meal.

Stouffer’s sent this meal to HeatEatReview.com. Yes, we got it for free. Let the controversy begin!