I don’t normally buy these “dinner kit” type meals but because of the blog I was offered a box for free to try out. The box contained pasta, seasonings, sauce, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese. I supplied a pound of chicken, a bit of butter, and 3/4 cup milk. The box said it served 4. Normally it sells for about $4.79. (You can get a $1 off coupon here but they make you install a coupon printer file.)
I was a bit nervous when I saw how little pasta was included but then I tend to cook for leftovers and am notoriously bad at (over) estimating pasta amounts. I made up about 3/4 of a pound of carrots, cooked a slightly new way, as a side dish so we did eat that as well. The 3 of us had our fill of pasta and chicken and carrots and I have more than a serving left for a nice lunch.
The directions were clear and easy to follow. You’ll need 2 pans (3 if you do the side of carrots). It’s not a one-pot wonder, but it is quite tasty! We all really liked it. And I checked out the nutrition label and see that under 1/3 of the calories are from fat. By serving with a vegetable you’re certainly getting into the realm of decently healthy.
$1.78/serving based on 4 servings
Boneless skinless chicken breasts: $1.99
Box dinner: 4.79 (or $3.79 with coupon)
3/4 cup milk: .30 ($4.79/gallon)
2 Tbs butter: .05 ($3/lb)
We just now tried the chicken picata and it was GREAT! And I have leftovers for tomorrow, YUM!
I love the chicken marsala. I rely on the box mix as a base and then make my marsala. great.
I tried the creamy basil chicken in a box. It was quite tasty. It seemed like it was very salty, and would be much better fresh. Unfortunately I don’t know how to make basil cream sauce. I tried their Chicken Marsala in a box. I liked it. It inspired me to learn to make it from scratch. It’s actually no more complicated then using the box.
I tried the basil chicken and pasta and really liked it. In fact I did send them a compliment on the product. I liked it so much I just might serve it for one of the holiday meals. I’d hide the box however. It didnt taste like a box mix at all. I’m looking for the recipe to make this. Maybe I can make it cheaper that the price of the product.
Oh, sorry Zanne. I’ll stay away from that one! I’ve never actually had chicken marsala in a restaurant. Is it anything like this: https://cheapcooking.com/Recipes/chicken-marsala.htm ?
I just tried their Chicken Marsala. Horrible! Had a lot of aftertaste. Was thick and heavy, not at all what Chicken Marsala should be. I threw out what was left after I had the first portion. Chain restaurant food is not the greatest, but when they put it in box, it just gets worse.
Many of these packaged meals are now edging ahead of some restaurant equivalents due to health lobby pressure on manufacturers, so they are – as you say – not a bad choice when partnered with vegetables.