Don Callender (Marie’s son) died early in 2009. He’d named the brand after his mom; his Mom and Dad began selling pies and eventually opened a wholesale bakery with Don. I’m guessing that any connection between Marie and these products is tenuous…
It’s basically a zombie brand at this point, with ConAgra shoving their globalist fingers up into its hind-quarters to make it look like it’s still what it was. Same shrinkflation shit, different pile. It’s nothing more than a trademark.
Nope, not just you. I quit buying frozen (single-serve) meals long ago. The prices have gone up and the quantities have gone down. I used to love Lean Cuisine meals and one meal used to satisfy my hunger. Now in order to even feel like I've eaten something, I have to buy two of those meals and combine them. And it's still not enough food. And that's coming from someone who's not a big eater. I normally fill up pretty easily. But not anymore with the single-serve meals. They're not worth spending my money on.
@@Linda7647 it's plenty of food according to the latest government nutritional allowances. we've been eating too much and need to cut our consumption in half at twice the cost. get used to it, the world works that way now.
I first discovered Marie Callender products around 2001 when a local grocery store began "unofficially" importing the American products. I was really impressed with the taste and quality. Today, they are officially sold here in Canada, but they have declined to the point that I will not waste my money on them.
@@suppylarue220 The government is a joke. If we're supposed to eat less, they shouldn't be charging twice the money. Anyway, that's a little beside the point of the current topic. These companies are putting their hands into our pockets while cutting portions. That's no accident, nor does it have anything to do with government guidelines.
I remember when Maria dinners were better than a lot of the other frozen dinners out there. But the last time that I’ve got them I’ve been disappointed. 😔
Thanks guy and Mrs. Going shopping tomorrow after having had no transportation for over two weeks. Would have probably picked up a couple of these. Thanks for the heads up. Thanks for trying stuff so I don't waste money. Living on the meger income of SS. You have saved me a bunch over the years, thank you both.
Not sure how it's over there in the states, but isn't it easier and cheaper to cook dinner yourself? Last 2-3 years supermarket prices in The Netherlands fucking skyrocketed, sohere it can be quite expensive to cook your own food (as well as being frozen)
@@Daniek_Pols well to a point it is. However I'm disabled and there are a fair few days that to cook is really not practical or to be honest the smell of cooking is pretty hard to put up with. So a quick microwave meal is the order of the day. Quick easy to eat and dose not hang around long.
I work the frozen foods section at my retail job and i always pack out frozen dinners. for the longest Ive always wondered what these taste like glad you made this video sir thank you
I had a coworker that ate everything with a spoon, she said she didn't like the feel of the fork in her mouth. So yes that includes meats including steaks and meals like spaghetti. Wonderful lady, she had her quirks.
The roast beef from Marie Calendar back in the late ‘90’s was an absolute go to meal for me. And it worked for 2 meals. Back in the day, these were amazing meals.
A few weeks ago I tried the Meatloaf & Chicken meal, and I completely agree. The chicken part was awful, soggy, and mostly flavorless. The potatoes were exactly how you said. I think mine cost $6.50 or so. I try to stay away from Marie Callender's ever since their recipes changed few years ago. Noticeably worse in my opinion.
The sad thing is that 20 something years ago, Marie Callendar meals were one of the top frozen dinner meals you could buy. Sure, they were not the healthiest, but most comfort foods aren't. It really is sad to see how low they've sunk.
If the average person had the basic life skill of cooking from scratch, comfort food can be healthy. It's all about portion size. The labels of frozen dinners tell you what garbage is in there. The 'pure laziness' is in the consumer: stop buying garbage, PLAN your meals, and get off you a$$.
Marie has a knack for making the most unhealthy foods in the frozen food section. And her restaurants aren’t any better. Thanks for the heads up on this batch! 😱
I had the chicken pesto slime with small ravioli in a red disappointment sauce and felt I got way ripped off. 5 freaking ravioli! FIVE! and chicken shaped sponge full of water.
Marie Callender's used to be really good back in the late 90s early 2ks, the CFS had a gravy packet and was freaking delicious. Sad to see how far their quality has dropped, but I am glad I don't eat TV dinners anymore because I probably would have bought some of these.
@@mcganahanskjellyfetti7722 I used to love the spaghetti. It was the best frozen spaghetti you could buy. And they used to sell a roasted chicken leg and thigh meal with gravy. It was delicious then they discontinued it due to cost I believe. All of their really good meals were either discontinued or the recipes were reworked.
All their meals were better back then it's the only reason why watch this video. I haven't eaten one of the Marie Calendar meals in probably 20 years. But when I did I worked nights at a machine shop and they were perfect to throw on the microwave for a quick meal.
I would love to see a one-hour supercut of all the scenes in all the videos that's just him reading all the nutrition labels. I feel like that would make me ascend.
Another very entertaining video! I have noticed a general drop in quality, and in amounts of materials, in most frozen foods over the previous couple of years. Even the cheap things that I used to enjoy because of their cheapness - even those things have decreased in quality to the point that they are barely edible. The convenience of microwave meals is becoming less convenient, it is forcing me to get in the kitchen and cook!
And on top of that the prices have absolutely skyrocketed in that timeframe. We are paying 2-3 times+ around here for worse quality and in some cases lower quantity then we were prior to 2020.
I get those partitioned freezeable containers and make my own microwave meals now. A helluva lot less sodium and a good way to use all the frozen veggies in the freezer. My main dish and 2 veggies in the compartments. A tiny bit of butter or pepper in the veggies to melt and cook with them on reheat, and awesome sauce. That's how I do lasagna especially. I eat one piece right away and cut up the other 8 for the freezer. My meal prep mostly consists of making my own microwave dinners (hee hee). Used to do the Swansons thing, but sheesh--they've made the dinners so small that when I was in my worst binges, I'd heat up 2 of those darned things each time and eat them all. Got WAY too expensive, and of course the rush of excess sodium would just trigger more bingeing. Glad I've been leaving 'em behind.
Not in Italy, pasta is eaten as a ''primo piatto'' i.e. first course, and meat or fish accompanied by veg and maybe potatoes too, as a second course. Antipasti or appetizers are eaten before the first two main courses. Same in Spain, but the first course is often a bean stew with chorizo, pork and blood sausage.
I saw these in the store the other day and wanted to try the chicken alfredo/parm it's almost what 1 would get at olive garden but now seeing your review I'm not in a hurry to try it. I hope you do a follow up on the other meals and maybe the chicken alfredo/parm is the best of the bunch after all.... who am i kidding a bowl of cereal is the clear winner lol
Guess they tried to improve on the grits-looking soup that's supposed to be mashed potatoes in a lot of these frozen dinners. They always had this grainy feel on the tongue to me unless you drowned it in the gravy or butter and mixed it extra good, in which case it looked like old-fashioned paste.
I'm English and we dont get Marie Callender over here. Your comment about the ravioli though reminded me of a saying my dear departed mum used to say "Thats not enough to fill a hollow tooth".
i like them and thanks to you i will buy a bunch next trip to the store. i have not seen these yet but you showing them is great. i always loved Marie Callender's dinners. you say they are small so i will get four or five of each. thanks again.
20 or so years ago I often bought - and enjoyed - Marie Callender dinners, although I never cared for the tomato sauce on her lasagna and other "Italian" dinners. Somewhere along the line they replaced the real chicken with the patty crap, and everything else has gone down the tubes as well. I wouldn't waste my money on that crap again. I now buy Aldi chicken in the red bag, air fry it for 10 minutes on each side, make real mashed potatoes and a salad or vegetable, and I have an infinitely superior meal for half the cost.
I’m quite fond of Chef Boyardee raviolis myself. I know there are better out there, but I really like the sauce and texture of Chef Boyardee canned ravioli 😊
For a quick lunch my mom since I and my siblings were kids would offer up Chef Boyardee , ravioli and was a good enough lunch. Even today as an adult it still a reasonable quick lunch.
i came across your channel in my news feed. lol, you are funny and snarky, i was sitting here cracking up. i use to like Marie Callenders but stop buying tv dinners a while back. thank you for sharing and for the laughs
I honestly don't think they sell these thinking 2 people are going to eat them, but allude to the notion of people sharing them and making sides in addition just to avoid getting any possible flack for selling something like this with the intent of it being 1 person's complete meal.
I know folks who never eat their veggies who would go gaga over these if they were just a bit cheaper. Meat, meat, a cheap carb, but mostly meat. That's all they care about.
Sup Larry, I thought Marie calenders only did pies until I saw sisters deep freezer lol, she has maybe 50 meals😂, loves them, I was homeless trying to work and school to get my kids back after wife passed, some have no choice but buy frozen meals, companies rob the disadvantaged, I love your channel and what you do for us the people, now that I'm an executive chef I showed her to make better cheaper she is just lazy lol. I love her anyway. Keep up the good work, it's appreciated 👍, tyvm tc
Sorry, this just has me curious. How did you cook it as a homeless person? Did you use a microwave at work or something? Why not canned food? Sounds like you made a great comeback.
@@y_knot_tri I was homeless living in car, lots of canned goods cold lol, but 24hr gas stations get to know 3rd shift and they let me use microwave, was working as line cook going to culinary school, but boss wouldn't let us eat leftover specials, or heat food, just an appetizer a shift, rest went into garbage, cheap ass lol. I'm in different place, kids back and a home, I let employees take whatever leftover specials home. Goes in trash anyways, paying it forward 🙏
@@MichaelTheophilus906 too late lol. Ate one years ago lol, just 1, partridge farms had a good ice cream cake I remember tho👊, never was big on sweets but once in a while lol
Food styling is the great swindle. The meals are broken down by component, then each component is arranged separately, sauces are carefully spooned on top, sprinkled with fresh herbs, and that's the "serving suggestion."
One thing I do to make frozen meals somewhat better. Leave them thaw out on the counter for 90 minutes, then cut back on microwave time by about 30%. Works especially good for the Marie lasagna.
Your review is spot on. I bought the same two meals and had the exact same reaction. I will say that I kinda liked the chicken pesto/ravioli, but the portion size was so small that I was looking for something else to eat. The meatloaf one, was just got trash
I don’t buy frozen meals often but I appreciate your taste testing and information so that when I do but one, I have a better chance of enjoying what I get
I'm glad you were thinking along my lines. Instead of the "duo" where one has an awkward insufficient side. It should be trio. One of each entree with a third compartment full of mashed taters. You can tell the people who make these things wouldn't dream of eating them.
I bought the ravioli in the "bowl" exactly once. All they did with this dinner was ditch the bowl, which after experimentation, I learned all the bowls are rip offs. The only ones worse now for the value are Boston Market frozen ( *choke* ) dinners.
9:20 "... some taste like a soggy mattress in a nursing home ..." I have always laughed at that line, partly because my dad was in a nursing home, and I could _definitely_ imagine what you're saying. Since my dad has passed, now it makes me sad 😞 [which is not to say you shouldn't use the term, it's just that now it gives me a different emotion]
The ravioli/pesto chicken combo makes sense, a North European or North American would eat that as a main (entree) treating the ravioli as a side. An Italian would first eat the ravioli, then eat the chicken, as two separate dishes.
And they have changed to cardboard bowls which absorbe the liquid and it's hard to get the plactic wrap off of the edges of the cardboard. Marie's used to be my go to meal.
I found these in my local Kroger in middle tn a couple months ago and I tried both meals and they weren’t bad I guess they let the quality drop since then.
I stopped eating anything Marie Callender many years ago because it is a heart attack in a box. When I read the ingredient list on the chicken pot pies, saw the amount of sodium and that it was for two, that was the end for me and Marie!
I agree, shopping for any groceries these days is an excercise in dodging clever marketing. I've pretty much given up on frozen dinners, which sucks, because I hate cooking dinner.
From the UK I haven't eaten a TV dinner, which we call ready meals over here, for 30 years now, I tried one once, I think it was pasta in a cream sauce with broccoli, and it didn't touch the sides, never again. I started cooking pasta dishes because for the same money you can eat about 3 plates.
I am a vegan with no intention of ever buying these meals, yet I thoroughly enjoyed this review! Also… I was shocked by how low the calorie count was until I saw the meal… I’d want a refund!!!
The reason why it's more Soft on the Breading is that is what happens when you Microwave a Meal over actually Oven Baking it where MC gives both a Cooking instructions in a Microwave n also Conv. Oven ways! Cause when I Oven baked mine on these meals the Meats are more crispy that way but yeah it takes longer than a regular short Microwave crap way! So that is why you get more a Mushy than Crispy is cause ya Microwaved it over Oven Baking it as yeah Cookinng in the oven might take up to 30-1hour xtra but it's worth it as I cook al mine on 350deg fro at least 30 minutes n boom nice n crispy!
WHEN cooking any meat in a microwave it is best to heat them from a thawed temp frozen tends to shock the meat into a rubbery type. Cook in microwave @ 50% power for about 3 minutes then 40% for another 3 & check it🤔
Banquet potpies used to be.88, now they're 1.18. MC PP are almost five dollars for a frozen PP; however, I wouldn't eat this. It's too expensive and I'm sure you can make your own but I guess if you're in a pinch buy this? You get what you pay for. Haven't watched your reviews in a while. Glad to be back watching you. Thanks for the content!
Marie Callender used to be a brand you could trust to be good. When ConAgra (read Banquet) bought them, they started going downhill. It started with new offerings, which I think must have been made in the Banquet factories. Now, it's like the Banquet managers have taken over, reducing Marie Callendr foods to the same "won't make most kids vomit" level of quality Banquet has always had.
From what I heard, Marie Callender's did this because consumers like the entree portion but not the sides that accompanied them. It's their fault for swapping them up all the time because I loved their herb roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Now you can't find it anywhere. So to alleviate that, they're selling the entrees and you buy whatever side you want separately. It's neither a good move or a bad move I suppose, but neutral in a sense.
It's wild that they seem to expect you to get something else to serve as your side, considering one of those meals had a full _99%_ of your daily sodium intake. Whatever side you're planning, I sure hope it doesn't have ANY salt! I wouldn't be surprised if these meals were made because they had overstock of these specific entrees at the factory and they're trying to stuff two of them in a box just to get them out into stores.
I've bought the Chicken Alfredo & Chicken Parmigiana several times at the discount store and I like it. I have one in the freezer now lol. But yeah, they are expensive, even at the discount grocery store
Eh. I thought it was strange but it's grown on me. I tried the one with ravioli but there were only 4. That was disappointing but the chicken Alfredo and chicken Parm is now my go to. So many of the other meals are so skimpy. This double meat one actually keeps me full for awhile. Not super high quality but it's a frozen dinner. Perfect for my 12 hr shift.
Nowadays, I'll look at the frozen family meals, suck it up and only make half. Otherwise, bread, lunch meats and fillings for those. Also watch for the markdown stuff.
I truly like how you have identified the flavor elements of the chicken with blech pepper grave. Marie Callender's usual fare is larger sized. Miniaturizing it like this makes it nasty because they cannot comprehend that they should not use a full servings worth of salt in each part. The pasta as a side for the chicken is probably not a total mess-up. It's basically a cut-back version of a TV dinner. Thanks for taking the hit for us the people so we don't have to.
Around December or January I had the meatloaf and country fried chicken. Seem like they took some salt out. I have a pic of the ingredients and amounts from when I ate it because I got abit sick from it. It used to have 103% . But on your video it says 99%. They took out 4% salt
Budget Meals - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoJ7Bjn24q_AMSiWzCqEH962.html
What Are We Eating? - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoLBdLm2b4hn_k4SUx02-IMO.html
Appetizers - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoKwG0B67dFYFM_xNY22SE-H.html
Beef - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoI8dsGZZU_yNFEpMSJsofvP.html
Chinese Food - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoLfmOcOJRwQFLKlMuw5v3we.html
SPAM - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoJ9qZUiWA2V_eKPHMl3-IhZ.html
Sandwiches - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoKUoiPhm0E93KuQJMWk3xIm.html
Side Dishes - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoKyWxDNQhAs_-RvPaGxyr9r.html
Chicken Wings - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoK8bs-NHHcCXrdPqQmA7c2u.html
Breakfasts - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoKTmGQd7BUshFco4Y_DiCY1.html
Pot Luck Dishes - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoJyUjfUwzWJ7EbwuvzsHPTt.html
BBQ - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoIGp-84WJThxwmwKxF7lYyY.html
Grilling - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoJttkS8t0ibhwuVOX6UOQO8.html
Thanksgiving - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoJ_I-fpw061hXaiIM3LhBJ9.html
Deep Fried Food - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoKR6nt9pf6qa4KQdbK-MNSf.html
Chichen - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoI5jT2-u8Qd_73MI-n6fR40.html
Pasta - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoJWGwxkf8JaWht6CbfRZQHG.html
Cajun and Creole - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoJ-2BCKZlxYW-70HS6vJ1rM.html
Egg Rolls - ua-cam.com/play/PLYRx9e6PeSoKr4fisxCaFogAQu382m74l.html
"Broken Reality" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
10 years later and I'm still watching your videos ☺️ you produce great content
Right?
Don Callender (Marie’s son) died early in 2009. He’d named the brand after his mom; his Mom and Dad began selling pies and eventually opened a wholesale bakery with Don. I’m guessing that any connection between Marie and these products is tenuous…
I believe they had a restaurant chain as well.
They did. We ate at one every so often at a phoenix location in the ‘80’s.
Yeah as far as I can see by poking around the company doesn't have any association with the Calendar family anymore aside from the name.
It’s basically a zombie brand at this point, with ConAgra shoving their globalist fingers up into its hind-quarters to make it look like it’s still what it was. Same shrinkflation shit, different pile. It’s nothing more than a trademark.
he must of hated his mother and her cooking to make these
Is it me? Or, are these dinners getting so skimpy that they’re becoming just idiotic to buy? Thanks Larry. Again you have shown us what NOT TO BUY.
Not just you.
Nope, not just you. I quit buying frozen (single-serve) meals long ago. The prices have gone up and the quantities have gone down. I used to love Lean Cuisine meals and one meal used to satisfy my hunger. Now in order to even feel like I've eaten something, I have to buy two of those meals and combine them. And it's still not enough food. And that's coming from someone who's not a big eater. I normally fill up pretty easily. But not anymore with the single-serve meals. They're not worth spending my money on.
@@Linda7647 it's plenty of food according to the latest government nutritional allowances. we've been eating too much and need to cut our consumption in half at twice the cost. get used to it, the world works that way now.
I first discovered Marie Callender products around 2001 when a local grocery store began "unofficially" importing the American products. I was really impressed with the taste and quality.
Today, they are officially sold here in Canada, but they have declined to the point that I will not waste my money on them.
@@suppylarue220 The government is a joke. If we're supposed to eat less, they shouldn't be charging twice the money. Anyway, that's a little beside the point of the current topic. These companies are putting their hands into our pockets while cutting portions. That's no accident, nor does it have anything to do with government guidelines.
I remember when Maria dinners were better than a lot of the other frozen dinners out there. But the last time that I’ve got them I’ve been disappointed. 😔
I think that they're still one of the best available. But no where close to what they used to be.
@@charlenebiltz1363 yeah they've fallen off a bit but it's still better than a tiny Michelina meal or those disgusting Hungry Man boxes
Thanks guy and Mrs. Going shopping tomorrow after having had no transportation for over two weeks. Would have probably picked up a couple of these. Thanks for the heads up. Thanks for trying stuff so I don't waste money. Living on the meger income of SS. You have saved me a bunch over the years, thank you both.
Not sure how it's over there in the states, but isn't it easier and cheaper to cook dinner yourself? Last 2-3 years supermarket prices in The Netherlands fucking skyrocketed, sohere it can be quite expensive to cook your own food (as well as being frozen)
@@Daniek_Pols depends on what you get. And physical restrictions might make cooking difficult if you’re using more than a microwave
@@Daniek_Pols well to a point it is. However I'm disabled and there are a fair few days that to cook is really not practical or to be honest the smell of cooking is pretty hard to put up with. So a quick microwave meal is the order of the day. Quick easy to eat and dose not hang around long.
@@colingibson3921 Ai, I see. The best to you mean!
I work the frozen foods section at my retail job and i always pack out frozen dinners. for the longest Ive always wondered what these taste like glad you made this video sir thank you
I had a coworker that ate everything with a spoon, she said she didn't like the feel of the fork in her mouth. So yes that includes meats including steaks and meals like spaghetti. Wonderful lady, she had her quirks.
The roast beef from Marie Calendar back in the late ‘90’s was an absolute go to meal for me. And it worked for 2 meals. Back in the day, these were amazing meals.
The irony of watching this after folding and making my self a bowl of cereal lol
Cereals good every once in a while
A few weeks ago I tried the Meatloaf & Chicken meal, and I completely agree. The chicken part was awful, soggy, and mostly flavorless. The potatoes were exactly how you said. I think mine cost $6.50 or so. I try to stay away from Marie Callender's ever since their recipes changed few years ago. Noticeably worse in my opinion.
The only good one is the turkey meal it's only 6 dollars for a family meal that's decent.
I'll pretty much only eat the big pot pies
The sad thing is that 20 something years ago, Marie Callendar meals were one of the top frozen dinner meals you could buy. Sure, they were not the healthiest, but most comfort foods aren't.
It really is sad to see how low they've sunk.
If the average person had the basic life skill of cooking from scratch, comfort food can be healthy. It's all about portion size. The labels of frozen dinners tell you what garbage is in there. The 'pure laziness' is in the consumer: stop buying garbage, PLAN your meals, and get off you a$$.
@@CarolineEccleston-q9c some people are old and disabled homie. Best not apply your circumstances to others and look down on people
They probably reduced the salt in the meatloaf one just enough so it wouldn't say over 100% of your daily allowance of sodium.
Lol probably. Either way that's a ridiculous amount of sodium!
And the crazy part is that these companies are allowed to skew the labels by 20% their actual amounts
Marie has a knack for making the most unhealthy foods in the frozen food section. And her restaurants aren’t any better. Thanks for the heads up on this batch! 😱
She has restaurants?
sounds like marie wants to kill ppl by their food lmao
The restaurant is better, and I always get the pot pie and pie combo.
There's hardly any Marie calendars restaurants around anymore. I really liked it, especially the salad bar.
Idk, Hungry Man a strong contender for most unhealthy. But yes, both are abominable.
I had the chicken pesto slime with small ravioli in a red disappointment sauce and felt I got way ripped off. 5 freaking ravioli! FIVE! and chicken shaped sponge full of water.
"Spitters are quitters!" WHAT A GREAT LINE !!
Marie Callender's used to be really good back in the late 90s early 2ks, the CFS had a gravy packet and was freaking delicious. Sad to see how far their quality has dropped, but I am glad I don't eat TV dinners anymore because I probably would have bought some of these.
Yeah and the spaghetti and meat sauce came with a slice of garlic bread and it was actually pretty decent.
Now it's shit 🤮
@@mcganahanskjellyfetti7722 I used to love the spaghetti. It was the best frozen spaghetti you could buy. And they used to sell a roasted chicken leg and thigh meal with gravy. It was delicious then they discontinued it due to cost I believe. All of their really good meals were either discontinued or the recipes were reworked.
All their meals were better back then it's the only reason why watch this video. I haven't eaten one of the Marie Calendar meals in probably 20 years.
But when I did I worked nights at a machine shop and they were perfect to throw on the microwave for a quick meal.
I would love to see a one-hour supercut of all the scenes in all the videos that's just him reading all the nutrition labels. I feel like that would make me ascend.
"Ommmmm ... Ommmmm..."
Daniel Jackson agrees
TV dinners never seem to be enough to even feed one person!
8:10 "It had a good viscosity ..."
Viscosity is such a good word, and many people do not have it in their working vocabulary.
Another very entertaining video! I have noticed a general drop in quality, and in amounts of materials, in most frozen foods over the previous couple of years. Even the cheap things that I used to enjoy because of their cheapness - even those things have decreased in quality to the point that they are barely edible. The convenience of microwave meals is becoming less convenient, it is forcing me to get in the kitchen and cook!
And on top of that the prices have absolutely skyrocketed in that timeframe. We are paying 2-3 times+ around here for worse quality and in some cases lower quantity then we were prior to 2020.
Good.
I get those partitioned freezeable containers and make my own microwave meals now. A helluva lot less sodium and a good way to use all the frozen veggies in the freezer. My main dish and 2 veggies in the compartments. A tiny bit of butter or pepper in the veggies to melt and cook with them on reheat, and awesome sauce. That's how I do lasagna especially. I eat one piece right away and cut up the other 8 for the freezer. My meal prep mostly consists of making my own microwave dinners (hee hee).
Used to do the Swansons thing, but sheesh--they've made the dinners so small that when I was in my worst binges, I'd heat up 2 of those darned things each time and eat them all. Got WAY too expensive, and of course the rush of excess sodium would just trigger more bingeing. Glad I've been leaving 'em behind.
When you said a 99c can of raviolis had more food than this entire meal, you read my mind!
except the ravio;i is now $1.39
@@louispaparella5766 Also that's unspeakably bad food.
I miss the "Throwback" Ravioli so much.
Ravioli in a can is disgusting!
The Pesto chicken and Ravioli makes more sense than the other one since you usually have pasta with Italian entree Ravioli was more of a side dish
Not in Italy, pasta is eaten as a ''primo piatto'' i.e. first course, and meat or fish accompanied by veg and maybe potatoes too, as a second course. Antipasti or appetizers are eaten before the first two main courses. Same in Spain, but the first course is often a bean stew with chorizo, pork and blood sausage.
That makes sense to me, the chicken is protein, whereas ravioli is mostly carbs. This particular pairing works for me.
I think the chicken pot pie is Marie calendars best frozen item
My favorite also. Try the apple pie,
Thank you for taking a bullet for us, the people.
Thank you both for giving us THE PEOPLE the honest truth!
I love how after all these years his video background music still hasn’t changed
Ha, like LA Beast’s background tracks, it’s like auditory comfort. :)
It's 'broken reality', by kevin macleod. He has a lot of good free music :-)
I quit eating all frozen dinners because they are nothing more than a chemical laden salt lick,excellent video btw
I saw these in the store the other day and wanted to try the chicken alfredo/parm it's almost what 1 would get at olive garden but now seeing your review I'm not in a hurry to try it. I hope you do a follow up on the other meals and maybe the chicken alfredo/parm is the best of the bunch after all.... who am i kidding a bowl of cereal is the clear winner lol
Really appreciate you trying these so I don't have to💜
What did they do? Drop the entire salt shaker 🧂 in the pot?
I love how they tried to be fancy with those "tri-cut" potatoes.
It’s more like they tried to cut the potatoes and were like “nah…”
@@pileofwit They did look pretty haphazard~
@@pileofwit Lmao!
Guess they tried to improve on the grits-looking soup that's supposed to be mashed potatoes in a lot of these frozen dinners. They always had this grainy feel on the tongue to me unless you drowned it in the gravy or butter and mixed it extra good, in which case it looked like old-fashioned paste.
I noticed these meals in the frozen food aisle the other month. Thanks for saving me money.
You def dodged a bullet 😅
@@Lciswhoibe Yep! thanks for the reply
I'm English and we dont get Marie Callender over here. Your comment about the ravioli though reminded me of a saying my dear departed mum used to say "Thats not enough to fill a hollow tooth".
It has been a long while since I watched a video of yours
With your southern USA accent with dry humour just reminds me why I love this YTchanel!
i like them and thanks to you i will buy a bunch next trip to the store. i have not seen these yet but you showing them is great. i always loved Marie Callender's dinners. you say they are small so i will get four or five of each. thanks again.
Larry, it would be nice to see more of Mrs. Wolf!
Maybe an episode where you exchange differing opinions about a dish...
Thank you for all you do! These are always the highlight of my day.
20 or so years ago I often bought - and enjoyed - Marie Callender dinners, although I never cared for the tomato sauce on her lasagna and other "Italian" dinners. Somewhere along the line they replaced the real chicken with the patty crap, and everything else has gone down the tubes as well. I wouldn't waste my money on that crap again.
I now buy Aldi chicken in the red bag, air fry it for 10 minutes on each side, make real mashed potatoes and a salad or vegetable, and I have an infinitely superior meal for half the cost.
I’m quite fond of Chef Boyardee raviolis myself. I know there are better out there, but I really like the sauce and texture of Chef Boyardee canned ravioli 😊
For a quick lunch my mom since I and my siblings were kids would offer up Chef Boyardee , ravioli and was a good enough lunch. Even today as an adult it still a reasonable quick lunch.
Me too and the original spaghetti’o
Me too
3:40 FWIW, cutting/eating with the spoon seems to be working fine.
Almost got these the other day. Glad to see you're doing what you do for us the people
i came across your channel in my news feed. lol, you are funny and snarky, i was sitting here cracking up. i use to like Marie Callenders but stop buying tv dinners a while back. thank you for sharing and for the laughs
Marie Callenders Supremacy!!!
I honestly don't think they sell these thinking 2 people are going to eat them, but allude to the notion of people sharing them and making sides in addition just to avoid getting any possible flack for selling something like this with the intent of it being 1 person's complete meal.
I know folks who never eat their veggies who would go gaga over these if they were just a bit cheaper. Meat, meat, a cheap carb, but mostly meat. That's all they care about.
tempting for a quick shared meal cooked in one shot.
Maybe when they go on sale or are reduced for quick sale, I will try it.
Thank you for taking one for the team! Ugh
Sup Larry, I thought Marie calenders only did pies until I saw sisters deep freezer lol, she has maybe 50 meals😂, loves them, I was homeless trying to work and school to get my kids back after wife passed, some have no choice but buy frozen meals, companies rob the disadvantaged, I love your channel and what you do for us the people, now that I'm an executive chef I showed her to make better cheaper she is just lazy lol. I love her anyway. Keep up the good work, it's appreciated 👍, tyvm tc
Sorry, this just has me curious. How did you cook it as a homeless person? Did you use a microwave at work or something? Why not canned food?
Sounds like you made a great comeback.
@@y_knot_tri I was homeless living in car, lots of canned goods cold lol, but 24hr gas stations get to know 3rd shift and they let me use microwave, was working as line cook going to culinary school, but boss wouldn't let us eat leftover specials, or heat food, just an appetizer a shift, rest went into garbage, cheap ass lol. I'm in different place, kids back and a home, I let employees take whatever leftover specials home. Goes in trash anyways, paying it forward 🙏
God bless you glad you back on your feet
@@RelloMoney1017 tyvm. Truly blessed, paying it forward everytime can
@@MichaelTheophilus906 too late lol. Ate one years ago lol, just 1, partridge farms had a good ice cream cake I remember tho👊, never was big on sweets but once in a while lol
Jesus that sodium count😂
Hey its 10 percent less than a lethal dose!
@@F40PH-2CAT uh oh! I shouldn't have had seconds
Makes my arteries start hardening just reading that!
The second pair was better than the first, but it's the difference between being hit by a train and a semi.
Why do you use the good Lords name like a swear word?
Secretly happy you mentioned the plastisue..always love your videos buddy!
Food styling is the great swindle. The meals are broken down by component, then each component is arranged separately, sauces are carefully spooned on top, sprinkled with fresh herbs, and that's the "serving suggestion."
food stylist does not use real components most the time
Love your videos Man !! 😊
One thing I do to make frozen meals somewhat better. Leave them thaw out on the counter for 90 minutes, then cut back on microwave time by about 30%. Works especially good for the Marie lasagna.
You're right.
thanks for the tip!! I'm assuming you mean for the family size ones?
Your review is spot on. I bought the same two meals and had the exact same reaction. I will say that I kinda liked the chicken pesto/ravioli, but the portion size was so small that I was looking for something else to eat. The meatloaf one, was just got trash
I don’t buy frozen meals often but I appreciate your taste testing and information so that when I do but one, I have a better chance of enjoying what I get
I'm glad you were thinking along my lines. Instead of the "duo" where one has an awkward insufficient side. It should be trio. One of each entree with a third compartment full of mashed taters. You can tell the people who make these things wouldn't dream of eating them.
I bought the ravioli in the "bowl" exactly once. All they did with this dinner was ditch the bowl, which after experimentation, I learned all the bowls are rip offs. The only ones worse now for the value are Boston Market frozen ( *choke* ) dinners.
Thank you for your review I was considering buying the meatloaf but now I change my mind thank you
9:20 "... some taste like a soggy mattress in a nursing home ..."
I have always laughed at that line, partly because my dad was in a nursing home, and I could _definitely_ imagine what you're saying.
Since my dad has passed, now it makes me sad 😞
[which is not to say you shouldn't use the term, it's just that now it gives me a different emotion]
dang i just got the visual...and the aural
Damn i havent been recommended this channel in like a year!! Glad to find you again
The ravioli/pesto chicken combo makes sense, a North European or North American would eat that as a main (entree) treating the ravioli as a side. An Italian would first eat the ravioli, then eat the chicken, as two separate dishes.
And they have changed to cardboard bowls which absorbe the liquid and it's hard to get the plactic wrap off of the edges of the cardboard. Marie's used to be my go to meal.
I found these in my local Kroger in middle tn a couple months ago and I tried both meals and they weren’t bad I guess they let the quality drop since then.
I stopped eating anything Marie Callender many years ago because it is a heart attack in a box. When I read the ingredient list on the chicken pot pies, saw the amount of sodium and that it was for two, that was the end for me and Marie!
0:25 great video I love your UA-cam videos 🎉🎉🎉🎉
Maybe this is for people that have sides, ready to go, but want different entrées.
Good review , thanks for sharing , God bless !
I agree, shopping for any groceries these days is an excercise in dodging clever marketing. I've pretty much given up on frozen dinners, which sucks, because I hate cooking dinner.
From the UK I haven't eaten a TV dinner, which we call ready meals over here, for 30 years now, I tried one once, I think it was pasta in a cream sauce with broccoli, and it didn't touch the sides, never again. I started cooking pasta dishes because for the same money you can eat about 3 plates.
Yayyy wolfe pit is back for US the PEOPLE 🎉🎉
Man! It's been a minute since I watched this channel.I think I watched this during the 2021 pandemic stage.
Your channel has helped me survive minimum wage. Thank you!
I am a vegan with no intention of ever buying these meals, yet I thoroughly enjoyed this review! Also… I was shocked by how low the calorie count was until I saw the meal… I’d want a refund!!!
😂lmao😂 not enough ravioli to fill a cavity😂 I'll stick with the Chef Boyardee. Great review! I enjoyed this video see you in the next one😂
The reason why it's more Soft on the Breading is that is what happens when you Microwave a Meal over actually Oven Baking it where MC gives both a Cooking instructions in a Microwave n also Conv. Oven ways! Cause when I Oven baked mine on these meals the Meats are more crispy that way but yeah it takes longer than a regular short Microwave crap way!
So that is why you get more a Mushy than Crispy is cause ya Microwaved it over Oven Baking it as yeah Cookinng in the oven might take up to 30-1hour xtra but it's worth it as I cook al mine on 350deg fro at least 30 minutes n boom nice n crispy!
WHEN cooking any meat in a microwave it is best to heat them from a thawed temp frozen tends to shock the meat into a rubbery type. Cook in microwave @ 50% power for about 3 minutes then 40% for another 3 & check it🤔
Banquet potpies used to be.88, now they're 1.18. MC PP are almost five dollars for a frozen PP; however, I wouldn't eat this. It's too expensive and I'm sure you can make your own but I guess if you're in a pinch buy this? You get what you pay for. Haven't watched your reviews in a while. Glad to be back watching you. Thanks for the content!
Poor potatoes! Categorized as"scant " and "peasants portion". Love it!!😂
i would say the second one is more of a meal. a meat with a pasta side kinda makes sense
You should review the rest of the Marie Callender Duo meals as well so we can see if any of the others are worth paying money for.
Their Chicken Alfredo/Chicken Parmesan Duo tastes very good, and filling.
Marie Callender's Duo Meatloaf and Fried Chicken is AMAZING WTF are you talking about?
Dang Larry you're almost at a million!! You deserve it buddy
Marie Callender used to be a brand you could trust to be good. When ConAgra (read Banquet) bought them, they started going downhill. It started with new offerings, which I think must have been made in the Banquet factories. Now, it's like the Banquet managers have taken over, reducing Marie Callendr foods to the same "won't make most kids vomit" level of quality Banquet has always had.
That explains a lot. The quality level has steadily declined over recent years
Great review!
From what I heard, Marie Callender's did this because consumers like the entree portion but not the sides that accompanied them. It's their fault for swapping them up all the time because I loved their herb roasted chicken, mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli. Now you can't find it anywhere. So to alleviate that, they're selling the entrees and you buy whatever side you want separately. It's neither a good move or a bad move I suppose, but neutral in a sense.
Love your videos
While I was watching your video, I was eating baked beans, au gratin. And I did so with a spoon, as nature intended cheesy crusts to be cut! 😉
It's wild that they seem to expect you to get something else to serve as your side, considering one of those meals had a full _99%_ of your daily sodium intake. Whatever side you're planning, I sure hope it doesn't have ANY salt!
I wouldn't be surprised if these meals were made because they had overstock of these specific entrees at the factory and they're trying to stuff two of them in a box just to get them out into stores.
I've bought the Chicken Alfredo & Chicken Parmigiana several times at the discount store and I like it. I have one in the freezer now lol. But yeah, they are expensive, even at the discount grocery store
Eh. I thought it was strange but it's grown on me. I tried the one with ravioli but there were only 4. That was disappointing but the chicken Alfredo and chicken Parm is now my go to. So many of the other meals are so skimpy. This double meat one actually keeps me full for awhile. Not super high quality but it's a frozen dinner. Perfect for my 12 hr shift.
I want to try the chicken and ravioli. 😋
Nowadays, I'll look at the frozen family meals, suck it up and only make half. Otherwise, bread, lunch meats and fillings for those. Also watch for the markdown stuff.
Naw!! Thanks for the heads up,Larry!!!❤😅
I quit eating Marie Callenders since they quit putting the gravy separately . The gravy make the mashed potatoes runny that you need a straw.
In California, they don't want us to have a straw. So, that makes the meal hopeless.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED IN THESE TROUBLING DAYS
WHAT?A CRAPPY FROZEN DINNER?
@@burtbacarach5034 😅💀
It's spoon time all the time for me. You get to scoop and hold onto more food. Forks are for dorks. 😅
I truly like how you have identified the flavor elements of the chicken with blech pepper grave.
Marie Callender's usual fare is larger sized. Miniaturizing it like this makes it nasty because they cannot comprehend that they should not use a full servings worth of salt in each part.
The pasta as a side for the chicken is probably not a total mess-up. It's basically a cut-back version of a TV dinner.
Thanks for taking the hit for us the people so we don't have to.
Around December or January I had the meatloaf and country fried chicken. Seem like they took some salt out. I have a pic of the ingredients and amounts from when I ate it because I got abit sick from it. It used to have 103% . But on your video it says 99%. They took out 4% salt
Thanks for the warning!🇺🇸 😎👍☕