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You'd think that I would have learned my lesson after eating that
Banquet Enchilada Combo Meal back in July. You'd be wrong. There is something about bizarrely faux-Mexican frozen meals that compels me to try them. And so, my microwave recently hosted a matched set of Banquet Mexican Style meals: the Chicken Enchilada Meal and the Beef Enchilada Meal. And, while the enchiladas and tamales were not nearly as plump or attractive as those shown on the box covers, I must admit that they weren't all that bad - and certainly worth every cent of the whopping
one dollar each that I paid for them.
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The Chicken Enchilada Meal leaves out the rather nasty refried beans that I've encountered in other Banquet Mexican-Style meals, providing a double-sized portion of Banquet's standard Mexican-Style Rice instead. As usual, the rice grains are firm and cooked perfectly, sprinkled with finely chopped red and green bell pepper, and fairly swimming in a loose tomatoey sauce. Since I hate overcooked rice, I can tolerate this and it even kind of grows on you after awhile.
The chicken enchilada was almost identical to the one in the previous combo meal: A wet, mushy chicken paste with lots of thready chicken meat fibers rolled up in a thick wet corn tortilla. There is a pleasant but mild spiciness which I suspect comes from the ketchupy sauce that seems to be all over the enchilada and the serving pan.
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Meanwhile, the Beef Enchilada Meal goes the other way with the side dishes: It leaves out the mediocre but tolerable Mexican-style rice and offers up a double portion of the refried beans, which unfortunately are wildly inconsistent in quality from one meal to the next. I've had decent, firm-but-thoroughly-cooked beans, and I've had nasty, soupy "refried bean sludge." Please, ConAgra: work on the quality control on the beans. (Tip: if you ignore the heating instructions that tell you to stir the beans halfway through the microwaving, your beans will be better. Yes, I admit that I've eaten enough of these meals to have discovered that hint.)
The enchilada, as expected, was also the same as before: a thin portion of meatlike granules folded into a thick, wet corn tortilla. There was the same ketchupy-sweet "enchilada sauce" as in the Chicken Meal, providing a touch of spice and a bit of flavor.
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The big surprise in both meals, however, were the tasty tamales, especially considering their mysterious composition and rather off-putting look. There's a spicy, crumbly yet moist center part seemingly made up of corn flour, TVP, and really cheap beef surrounded by a thin film of cornmeal. I was fairly amazed by just how good they tasted! Corn, spices, beef, and even that kind of questionable sauce all lent flavor notes which combined into a delicious taste - truly the high point of these frozen meals and - regrettably - also the smallest components. Yeah, I'm a sucker for a cheap tamale.
So: Are these gourmet dining? Not by a long shot. Are they acceptable dollar lunches? Yeah, I think so. I'd buy them again.
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1 comment:
I love these things. Wish I could find them in the stores now.
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