Well it has been a long time since we did an issue of Guilty Pleasures. Blame it on my time, my complete and utter lack of organization, or stress.
Anyway… here is it. Better late than never, right?
I was sent several coupons for Claim Jumper meals. My problem was that the local grocers only carry about two varieties. Claimjumper has numerous varieties of frozen meals but my grocer only carries the pot pies and the chicken broccoli alfredo.
Claimjumper is a restaurant chain that is known for their hearty portions. They have attempted to translate this into easy to fix, frozen meals that are geared toward the diner who just is overbooked and needs a quality restaurant meal at home. The question is whether or not advertising propaganda meets reality.
Yes and no. The one I liked best of the two that I tried (so far) is the chicken pot pie. The crust was flaky and crisp, not too salty and flavorful. There was no cheap shortening residue in the mouth.
It was very large. It was probably the equivalent of 3 meals for me personally and Marc was full after he ate it.
The chicken and vegetable pieces were large and it was obvious what they were. In other words these meals are made with real food, not what the manufacturer scrapes out of the vats when they make cat food.
The sauce was creamy, and flavorful. There was lots of it, so you did have rather the effect of a chunky cream soup in a pie crust.
I was very impressed at the amount of flavor and the lack of over-saltiness. I give the pot pie a 4 out of 5 for flavor and texture.
On the other hand…
I really dislike that the instructions invariably say that you can microwave it…and when you do so the quality is just not as good as when it is warmed up in the oven. This was passable microwaved it you are in a time crunch.
I also did not care for the broccoli fettucine. The pasta was a texture that bothered me, sort of gummy, and while there was large pieces of broccoli, all in all it the ingredients were overwhelmed by the sauce. On flavor and quality I have to give the fettuchine a 2.
If you use frozen dinners, Claimjumper is a step above the average frozen dinner. On a frozen dinner scale of one to five I give it a five over all. I have not had a better frozen meal.
Everyone has times when things are insanely busy. Claimjumper is a great item to have on hand for those times.
Image:maryeaudet
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