Bad Day? Just Add Cheese!

I sure wouldn't have thought that the preparation of a frozen meal would become an issue to me, but it has.  Looking on the back of these boxes for my preparation instructions I often see directions for the microwave and the oven.  What is the best way to make it I keep asking myself.  Am I hindering the blog because I didn't make it the 'right' way?  From past experience, cooking frozen meals (doesn't matter the kind) in the oven almost always gives me a better dish than what the microwave puts out.  My problem is that though I have a toaster oven at work, it's not easy to make sure that I don't burn the meal, or that the heat is that accurate for the duration that the packaging requires for cooking.  For some reason I felt that with the Blake's meal I should give the ol' toaster oven a try. 


The Review

Brand:
Blake's Farmhouse Mac & Cheese

Why is it that all the best hearty meals come from a farm?  Mac n' cheese, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, pot pies?

Price:
$2.79 at Whole Foods

Packaging Description:
(On Front)
Made with Organic pasta with a breadcrumb topping.

(On Back)
BAD DAY? JUST ADD CHEESE.
We believe cheese can save the world. Add cheese to any bad day and it instantly becomes better. Our Farmhouse Macaroni & Cheese starts with the perfect blend of cheddar cheese and organic pasta, then we finish it off with a delicious breadcrumb topping. We’ve been using this heirloom family recipe to feed our family for four generations and it always makes a good day even better. Enjoy!

Preparation:

*Remove the tray from the box.

Last chance Steve, oven or microwave... the fate of humanity's love of mac n' cheese rests in your hands.

*When preparing a Blake's meal via microwave, you need to leave the plastic film on the tray.  For oven cooking you need to remove it.

As you can see, I'm going the oven route.  I hope I know what I'm doing.

*Preheat the oven to  and place it in and cook for

You do your thing toaster oven.

*The toaster oven began to well... toast the top a bit too much, a bit too quickly.  I removed it from the oven, recovered it with plastic wrap and then cooked it for in the microwave for three minutes.

After a few minutes, the oven began to burn the bread crumbs and there wasn't any way it would survive the cook time prescribed so I took it out.

*Remove the tray from the oven/microwave and let it sit for a few minutes.
*Commence with the nomming!

Taste:
Initially out of the toaster oven I got a whiff of burning bread.  Once I removed it from the microwave I was greeted with a cheesy smell.  The noodles were firm and cooked, while the sauce had a mild Cheddar taste (that wasn't very strong at that).  The bread crumbs had no real flavor, and were really just there for their crunchy texture.

Final Score:
I'm glad that I tried the toaster oven route.  Doing what I did actually crisped up the top nicely and it didn't lose that crunch after I microwaved the rest of the meal.  I wish that the meal had a stronger cheesy taste to it.  That lack of cheesy oomph is what did the meal in.  In the future I'm going to give another meal a shot in the toaster oven and see if I can actually cook it "oven proper".  If I can, I'll try to use the oven for the meals that are recommended they are prepared that way.  If not, i'll keep up with the microwave method that i'm sure a vast majority of everyone who eats every one of these brands and varieties that I am sampling do with each and every meal.

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size 8oz (227g)
Servings Per Container 1

Calories 370  From Fat 160
Total Fat 18g  (27% Daily Value)
Saturated Fat 5g  (27% DV)
Trans Fat 0g 
Cholesterol 50mg  (17% DV)
Sodium 480mg (20% DV)
Total Carbohydrates 45g (15% DV)
Dietary Fiber 4g (16% DV)
Sugar 0g
Protein 7g