Price: $5.79
Serving: 1/5 of pizza (150g)
Calories: 360 per serving
Fat: 26%, 17g
Cholesterol: 12%, 35mg
Sodium: 35%, 840mg
Protein: 17g
Carbohydrates: 11%, 34g
Fiber: 12%, 3g
Sugar: 6g
Weight Watchers Points: 8 per serving
Weight Watchers Points: 40 per pizza

DiGiorno says: Pizzeria-style crust topped with a thick, rich Italian recipe sauce, hearty chunks of flavorful Italian Sausage, abundant Pepperoni, mushrooms, and julienne strips of red onion, green and red peppers.

Becky says: Our house is very pro-pizza. We’re also very picky about what is lucky enough to grace our TV trays. While Papa Murphy’s holds the top spot for the cheap goods, we do still have a little room in our hearts for the neglected stepchild stuck in the freezer case. That spot just got a little tighter, as this is the first offering by DiGiorno that I actually enjoyed!!!

First and foremost, my biggest pet peeve about frozen pizza is that half of the cheese bakes off of the dang thing while it’s in the oven, and for that very reason, I had invested in one of those holey-bottomed pizza pans. While not 100% effective in containing spillage, it was better than nothing…I could TRY to salvage the rejected toppings. With this pizza, though; I decided to throw caution to the wind and try the ol’ ‘place pizza directly on rack’ trick again…for sake of writing this review, of course! While it was baking, I kept sniffing…waiting…knowing that that telltale scent of burning cheese was soon heading my way. But nothing happened! When the timer finally went off, and I opened the oven, I was truly impressed by what I saw – all of the toppings stayed intact! It’s a miracle!

Okay, so the label says 5 servings. That may work if you’re under the age of 7. I hate how manufacturers use nutritional labeling to their advantage, to make their product look better than it actually is. In all honesty, this was the perfect size pizza for 2 adults, and that changes things. In the end this just ticks me off, and I mentally scold myself for not going to the gym that morning.

In all honesty, though – this pizza was GOOD. The crust was cooked perfectly, and wasn’t too thick or too thin (it was just a tad bit thinner than a typical hand-tossed pizza). There was a nicely flavored tomato sauce, and it was evenly distributed. The sausage was juicy (although the pieces were a tad bit on the big side), and the pepperoni was thick-sliced and not overly greasy. There were plenty of mushrooms, onion, and green pepper; however, I was disappointed by the pitiful soggy little morsels of red pepper…but 1 out of 6 ain’t bad! The cheese had melted evenly, had a good texture, and stayed on the pizza – that’s enough to make me happy!

Overall, I was impressed by this – and will buy it again if the need arises, and I’m not at a store that offers my favorite frozen pizza (Culinary Circle - the Albertsons brand) Supreme with Roasted Vegetables). Thanks DiGiorno, for helping me to believe in frozen pizza once again!

In September, Kraft was added to the Dow-Jones Industrial Average to take up the slack wrought by AIG. In December we’ve learned that a) we’ve been in a recession for a year, and b) Macaroni and Cheese sales are up nearly 20% over last December.

Want to know about the best and worst Mac & Cheese? Heat Eat Review has a section dedicated solely to Macaroni & Cheese Reviews. Personally, my favorite frozen one is Trader Joe’s Macaroni and Cheese. My favorite boxed variety is the Kraft Easy Mac Cup - Triple Cheese. And it MUST be triple cheese. Single cheese or any other flavor is just asking for trouble.

Can’t get through the day without a new review? Check out Imbibable and Snackity Snack on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Today on Imbibable: Adina Natural Highs Hazelnut Hook Up
Today on Snackity Snack: SonomaCrisps Gala Apple with Cinnamon

Price: $3.49
Serving: 1 quiche, 6oz
Servings per package: 1
Calories: 430 per quiche
 Calories from Fat: 220
Fat: 38%, 25g
 Saturated Fat: 71%, 14g
 Trans Fat: 0.5g
Cholesterol: 44%, 135mg
Sodium: 31%, 730mg
Protein: 18g
Carbohydrates: 11%, 34g
Fiber: 6%, 1g
Sugar: 5g
Weight Watchers Points: 10 Points

Nancy says: Did you know there are over 750 cheeses officially recognized by the French government? When I’m there I always visit the local cheese shops, or fromageries where I”m able to take a taste tour of France simply by sampling the distinctive regional cheeses. It’s in these fromageries that I discovered the rich flavor combinations perfect for my Three Cheese Quiche. Preparing it as simple as un, deux, trios. Bon Appetit.

Abi says: I’ve always eyed these quiches with suspicion. How could the crust come out of the microwave anything other than soggy? And wouldn’t eggs from the microwave be rubbery? And cheese, I’ve never really enjoyed eggs with cheese. But that’s more of a personal preference thing than a microwaved quiche issue. However, I picked this up because I was hungry and not a single thing from Amy’s Kitchen or Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones looked any good.

Three and a half minutes of microwave time later (okay, that time plus my scooter* ride home - so 15 minutes later), this little quiche destroyed all of those misconceptions. Yeah, you might not find a single one of the major flavorings (Cheddar, Monterey & Pepper Jack with mild green chiles) in France, but you will instantly appreciate that you may never have to wait for quiche again.

The outside crust if eerily flaky and I don’t have the box anymore so I can’t tell you if that’s because there’s a ton of butter in here or because they use oil or shortening or pixie dust. The outside edges of the flaky crust are dry, but the very center of the crust is a bit moist. It will also not slide instantly off of the paper tray, so be aware that you’ll need to use a fork to get the quiche out of its cooking compartment.

The egg-based filling is absurdly fluffy, almost to the point that I wondered whether it was fully cooked. Yes, it is cooked. It is also mildly cheesy with the tiniest tang of spice from the green chiles. We’re talking milder than mild salsa tang. This isn’t a strongly flavored quiche. It isn’t rich with bacon or ham, or crazy meat flavors. It doesn’t have the swampy flavor of broccoli. It is a placid spot in the choppy seas of frozen food sampling.

*Yes, that is the kind of scooter I use to get from my home to the train and from the train to my office in San Francisco. And you thought I was a geek because I run a frozen food review website.

Price: $5.29 (at Whole Foods)
Serving: 2oz. (that’s ¼ cup of batter, or 3 4-inch pancakes)
Calories: 112 per serving
Fat: 1%, 0.5g
Cholesterol: 3%, 10mg
Sodium: 0%, 0mg
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrates: 8%, 23g
Fiber: 8%, 2g
Sugar: 7g
Weight Watchers Points: 2 per serving

Batter Blaster says: Just Blast Batter into a Skillet or Waffle Iron and Serve. No Mess - No Cleanup!

Chaviva says: I dare you to say the name of this nifty product five times fast, really. You see, this is the wave of the future. Yes, everything will come out of a pressurized can for your ease and convenience. It will be more than heat, eat, review. It will be shake, squirt, heat, eat, review. A few extra steps, but it seriously beats battling with packaging and slitting some film for satisfaction.

This space-age technology came to my attention purely in happenstance as I was waiting for the kindly gentleman at Whole Foods to talk to Miguel in the back about whether they had any more of those cute little mini jugs of nonfat milk (turns out they didn’t). And there, near the creamer and other dairy products, placed almost awkwardly, was this can of pancakes. “No Mess - No Cleanup!” the shiny can proclaimed. After considering the price - $5.29 for pancakes in a can? - I bought them. I mean, it was a prime opportunity to experience the food of the future.

My first go-round with these can-created pancakes was a flop. The pancakes seemed to disintegrate in the skillet before my eyes, but I chocked this up to my inability to cook anything successfully, even when the directions were as simple as shaking and blasting the batter in the pan. After chucking them into the trash, I considered whether the Batter Blaster was really made for the Heat Eat Review crowd. But we’re frozen meal people, and that once was the wave of the food future. So I forged forth and my second attempt was much more successful. These pancakes? As if nana had crawled out of her grave and slaved over a hot skillet all morning.

I’ve attempted the Bisquick “just add water” pancake containers and mix, but those always come out tasting thick and chalky, leaving me feeling about 10 pounds heavier after a mere few. These flapjacks, though, managed to come out tasting incredibly light and had the perfect amount of fluff. Tasting one before having slathered it with syrup, I even tasted a bit of sweetness in the batter. The product also works with a waffle iron, and although I don’t have one, I imagine you can be just as successful going that route. And be creative - spell out your name in batter!

The only bad thing about this can o’ fun is that it costs an arm and a leg. Yes, I was shopping at Whole Foods where organic automatically means “costs two dollars more than at your regular grocer,” but that’s no excuse. The can supposedly puts out about 28 pancakes, and in two tries, I’ve made about 10 small pancakes and the can is still mighty full. After checking out a few other reviews, I see that it can be had at Cost-Co in a three-pack for a mere $9.99. Just think, each of your munchkins can have their own can!

Let’s be honest, anything from a can that can be merely shaken, squirted and cooked is worth flipping over. If you go to the product website, you can even find out the nearest location carrying this blast to the future (okay, enough with the pancake puns). But really, you’ll thank me for introducing you to this food of the future when you’re squirting your already-seasoned Angus beef out of a pressurized can to make your sweet aunt Sally’s prize-winning meatballs.