Well, it's certainly been awhile! Life gets busy and the blog takes a back seat...
As I've mentioned before, I'm a BzzAgent (seriously, go sign up! Lots of freebies to review!). Today I'm trying out the new Lean Cuisine Salad Additions, specifically the Southwest-style Chicken.
When I first picked it up from the frozen department at my grocery
store, I was hoping for a quick thaw and to toss the veggies/chicken
right onto my cold salad (so I could pack it for a lunch when I work my
Mom's Day Out) but a quick read of the directions said this was a
no-go. 2:30 on high in the microwave :(
Sure looks yummy on the box (although I'm a little prejudiced against the ranch dressing - ick!)
So after opening the box, here is the chicken / veggie packet. Umm yeah, I'm starting to get a little less enthused about my salad after seeing the whopping total of 3 bites of chicken. But we'll give it a go, and this packet goes into the microwave on high for 2:30.
Meanwhile, I fill up my plate with chopped hearts of romaine.
Yes, there is a generous portion of veggies (corn, black beans, red and green peppers) but again, only 3 pieces of chicken.
Toss on the tortilla strips.
Ok, now here I took a forkful, tried the chipotle ranch dressing (that has been thawing in a glass of room temp water), gagged, and tossed the rest of the dressing. I am NOT a fan of anything remotely "ranch" flavored, so this wasn't a surprise. So, BBQ sauce to the rescue :)
Now THAT looks like a good salad (well, maybe if you doubled or tripled that chicken!)
The corn and black beans were delicious, the green and red peppers were... soggy. The chicken had little flavor. The chipotle ranch dressing? Ick. (but that's just me...) Even after cooling the recommended time, the veggies were too hot to go on the salad and ended up wilting a lot of the lettuce. I prefer my lettuce crispy.
I make my own version of this salad all the time, especially in the summer when there is fresh lettuce/onions/peppers etc right out in my backyard. Perhaps that is why this pre-packaged version just didn't live up to the hype for me.
If you are going to take the time to put together your own lettuce, why not have chopped grilled chicken, peppers, black beans, and corn ready to go in your freezer (thaw by running under cold water for a few seconds) and make your salad from scratch?
