I've been noticing that there have been a good number of alternates to the classic mac n' cheese. Homemade recipes and preparers of fine pre-packaged foods have snuck meats and other things into my mac meals. I've already had a few and each one, be it Hamburger Helper, or Shells & Broccoli has added a little something to the dish (whether good or bad is part of what I'm trying to figure out on this here blg). But I've begun questioning what should make sure that I'm reviewing for the blog.
What happens when it's a mac n' cheese, but doesn't say that it is by name? I mean a mac n' cheese is a pretty simply defined meal... or so I thought. Pasta and cheese/cheese sauce is the blueprint and when that extra veggie, chicken or other item makes it in you just roll with it. In one of my recent Target trips (I seem to go there quite a bit, especially because one is across the street from work) I saw that they had a new just add water bowl and picking it up I discovered that the description on the front of the box was mac n' cheese (with bacon!), but the name was all 'fancy'.
I figured that this meal would be a good test. If it stuck true to the mac, I'd have to scour my grocer's aisles even more than I already do and if it was anything but it, then I'd wait for the comment from a reader or friend to say you totally need to try this for the blog before I worried about another one.
What happens when it's a mac n' cheese, but doesn't say that it is by name? I mean a mac n' cheese is a pretty simply defined meal... or so I thought. Pasta and cheese/cheese sauce is the blueprint and when that extra veggie, chicken or other item makes it in you just roll with it. In one of my recent Target trips (I seem to go there quite a bit, especially because one is across the street from work) I saw that they had a new just add water bowl and picking it up I discovered that the description on the front of the box was mac n' cheese (with bacon!), but the name was all 'fancy'.
I figured that this meal would be a good test. If it stuck true to the mac, I'd have to scour my grocer's aisles even more than I already do and if it was anything but it, then I'd wait for the comment from a reader or friend to say you totally need to try this for the blog before I worried about another one.
Brand:
Archer Farms Bacon Carbonara
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| Your fancy name doesn't dissuade me! I know what you really are underneath that fancy name... well at least I hope I know what you are. |
Price:
$2.39 at Target
Packaging Description:
(On Front)
Includes penne pasta. Parmesan & Romano cheese and peas
(On Back)
N/A
Includes penne pasta. Parmesan & Romano cheese and peas
(On Back)
N/A
Preparation:
*Take the paper cover off the bowl.
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| Sealed for my protection! |
*Remove the baggies of items from the bowl and set them aside. The pouches are labeled for our convenience.
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| Counterclockwise from top, bacon bits, cheese powder and noodles |
*Take the now empty bowl to the sink and fill it to the line inside the bowl with water.
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| I swear there is water in there. My office just has water that comes from a faucet with a long history of ninjas in the family. |
*Open the cheese powder pack and dump it into the water.
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| Cheese powder + peas! Yeah that's all I've got. |
*Stir it all together and make sure that there are no clumps of powder, that will just not be good later.
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| You stir me right round baby, right round. |
*Once you've stirred the water and cheese powder together, dump in the noodles and mix again.
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| Oh boy, the noodles have arrived. Now it's a party. |
*After you've stirred everything up, place the lid back onto the bowl and put it in the microwave for between 6 and 6:30. I split the difference and cooked it for 6:15.
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| In a mere 6 minutes I'll be ready for consumption! |
*After it's cooked let it sit and cool for two to three minutes. This will be hot.
*Once it has cooled down, give it a last stir and prepare it for the bacon!
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| The sauce has been reduced, peas are soft and the pasta is cooked. See, it's a mac n' cheese! Fancy name be damned. |
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| The sauce seems to have all disappeared after stirring. Archer Farm's Five Cheese Bowl also has this problem. |
*Find the remaining pouch that wasn't used during the preparation and open it up. Sprinkle it onto the pasta...
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| See that white fuzz? Mold. That is NOT going on the meal. *Drops mic* Review over, time to go home. |
Taste:
Pulling the bowl out of the microwave I was greeted with a smell of peas and pasta. After avoiding the cooked bacon pieces, I dug into the (incomplete) meal. The noodles were cooked and firm. The sauce itself had a mild Romano taste to it. The peas were barely noticeable, not just in the sauce, but as they were eaten with the pasta.
Final Score:
Due to the er... slight mold issue that I encountered while preparing the meal, I'm forced to give it an instant failing grade. Trying to give me food poisoning is a very very very bad thing. I contacted Target's Guest Services hotline and they said all the right things, including that they were going to pull the stuff off the shelf and escalate it up the line and work with the factory that was in charge of that portion of the meal. I was given ~3x what I paid in store credit that are good for anything in the store and their sincere apologies. I understand that things happen when food is made and I'm just glad that I found it before I put it on the mac and ate it.
Getting back to the meal itself. I still wish I could figure out what happened to the sauce. Out of the microwave it was there and once you stir it a few times it seems to all but disappear. Not enough sauce and definitely not enough flavor. One thing I wasn't sure of was the bacon. No not whether or not I'd eat moldy bacon, but how it was going to be preserved. I was expecting crunchy bacon bits, not real bacon pieces. There were so few, I don't think they would have changed the course of the meal, but one never knows.
In the end this bowl, like the other was just lacking. If it didn't try to kill me, I would have issued the same mostly full bowl rating.
Nutritional Information:
Serving Size 1 Container (90g)
Servings Per Container 1
Calories 350 Calories From Fat 60
Total Fat 7g (11% Daily Value)
Saturated Fat 3.5g (18% DV)
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 35mg (12% DV)
Sodium 990mg (41% DV)
Total Carbohydrates 57g (19% DV)
Dietary Fiber 2g (8% DV)
Sugar 8g
Protein 14g
Final Score:
Due to the er... slight mold issue that I encountered while preparing the meal, I'm forced to give it an instant failing grade. Trying to give me food poisoning is a very very very bad thing. I contacted Target's Guest Services hotline and they said all the right things, including that they were going to pull the stuff off the shelf and escalate it up the line and work with the factory that was in charge of that portion of the meal. I was given ~3x what I paid in store credit that are good for anything in the store and their sincere apologies. I understand that things happen when food is made and I'm just glad that I found it before I put it on the mac and ate it.
Getting back to the meal itself. I still wish I could figure out what happened to the sauce. Out of the microwave it was there and once you stir it a few times it seems to all but disappear. Not enough sauce and definitely not enough flavor. One thing I wasn't sure of was the bacon. No not whether or not I'd eat moldy bacon, but how it was going to be preserved. I was expecting crunchy bacon bits, not real bacon pieces. There were so few, I don't think they would have changed the course of the meal, but one never knows.
In the end this bowl, like the other was just lacking. If it didn't try to kill me, I would have issued the same mostly full bowl rating.
Nutritional Information:
Serving Size 1 Container (90g)
Servings Per Container 1
Calories 350 Calories From Fat 60
Total Fat 7g (11% Daily Value)
Saturated Fat 3.5g (18% DV)
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 35mg (12% DV)
Sodium 990mg (41% DV)
Total Carbohydrates 57g (19% DV)
Dietary Fiber 2g (8% DV)
Sugar 8g
Protein 14g
LOL, I found your website when I was looking for reviews of the Archer Farms lunch bowls (I had bought a ton of them because I had never noticed them before, the flavors seemed interesting and they were cheap). After making one today and throwing most of it out and making myself a REGULAR cup o'noodles, I'm returning the rest of them!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I notice you haven't reviewed the Trader Joe's frozen mac and cheese or the Country Crock mac and cheese! Those are two of my faves! I'd be interested to see what you think!
I've not gone to Trader Joes to grab any of their varieties yet Teresa. I have had the Country Crock and I just need to post the review (it's about half done).
ReplyDeleteMy biggest beef with these Archer Farm bowls is just the complete lack of sauce. If they tweaked it and could keep it saucier I'd probably enjoy them more than I have.