[Food Review] Betty Crocker Complete Meals Chicken & Biscuits
I promised to give a review of this since I cooked it up for dinner tonight, so here it is.
Betty Crocker Complete Meals Chicken & Biscuits
First things first, the packaging. The Complete Meals brand is supposed to be just that: a complete meal in a box, that you can have ready quickly and with very little preparation or added ingredients. On this aspect, I have to award full points. Everything was in the box, from the chicken and vegetable mix (Progresso brand), to the biscuit mix (Bisquick), and the seasoning pouch. I, literally, only had to provide the bowl to mix the biscuits in, the dish to bake everything in, and the spatula to mix with. Also, half a cup of water for the biscuits and one cup of hot water for the chicken&veggies. You really can't get much easier than that. The box says prep time is only five minutes, and they're pretty much right. I just took longer because I had to find all my cookery and my mom wanted me to boil water for tea. XP
Even an idiot could prepare this, really. The only worry I had was when I poured the chicken and veggies mix into my baking dish and mixed in the seasoning packet and water; the sauce was rather thin, not exactly soupy but I had expected something a bit thicker. But the directions said the sauce would be thin, so I didn't worry overly much. Then you spoon the biscuit mix ON TOP of the chicken and veggies. There is enough biscuit batter to make nine spoonfuls on top of everything, and that's what you're supposed to do. I was worried about running out of batter before I got to the ninth biscuit, but scraping the bowl got me all nine same sized (sorta) biscuits.
Then all you have to do is chuck the whole thing into the oven for a half hour. It made the house smell very nice. ♥ I was hungry.
Now, the important part... tasting!
I rather liked how it came out of the oven. The tops of the biscuits were a nice golden brown, which meant that YAY I didn't burn or overcook it. The only sticky point is that the directions say that things are done when the middle biscuit's bottom is cooked. But that's sorta hard to tell, what with the bottom of the biscuit in the chicken and veggies and sauce and kinda... soggy and soaking up the flavors, you know? I just kinda poked at the biscuit a bit and checked and it looked done to me. ^^;;
The biscuits DID rise and expand over the top of the chicken and veggies, to make a sort of crust. I had to cut the biscuits apart from each other, but that wasn't a real problem. It was sorta like cutting into a pot pie. The biscuits, I think came out perfectly and very very... biscuity. Even though the bottoms of them were on top of the chicken, they weren't soggy all the way through. It actually made the biscuits taste better, because you could crunch through the top, but get the chicken flavor on the bottom.
The chicken and veggies came out well, too. After cooking, I didn't have to worry about things being too thin. XP Everything thickened up alot. There was a good amount of chicken through the dish which is nice, since I don't like it when people say "chicken" but don't actually give you any real pieces of chicken. And the veggies were a good mix of carrots, peas, potatoes (this surprised me), and celery. And the sauce was tasty, too.
One thing I'd recommend is don't think that you'll take the biscuits out and set them to the side, and then dish up the chicken and veggies separate. That won't work at all. XD;; I used a serving spoon to sorta... cut out the whole portion around and under a biscuit, scooped that up and put it on my plate. And while hunting down veggies is fun (I like carrots but don't like peas), it's best to eat this by just cutting straight down through the biscuit to the chicken below, and eat it all together. And everything was tender enough to eat with a fork, so no need for knives. And the sauce is thick, so don't bother with spoons.
As for serving size, I guess this could feed a small family, depending on the size. I, personally, was full after a "two biscuit" serving. But it doesn't take much to make me full; admittedly, a few hours later, I had another two biscuit serving for supper. Since there are nine biscuit servings, you could feed 3-4 people good enough, if they're willing to be fair and no one wants to fight over the last biscuit. XD
Ah! And another important factor! The microwave test!
When I decided to have my supper, I had to nuke the food since it had gotten cold by then. After a minute and a half in the microwave, the food came out hot and still tasty. And, which made me happy, the biscuits didn't get all hard. Everything cooked evenly. ^^ So yes, this meal is college-student approved.
All in all, I think this is a good meal. Easy to prepare, tasty, and filling enough. There's three in my family, and I think there will be leftovers after my dad comes home and has his dinner. But we're strange people. I don't know if I'd go out of my way to buy this, but certainly if you're busy and want good food, it's worth it. And if it's on sale, even better.
♥
Betty Crocker Complete Meals Chicken & Biscuits
First things first, the packaging. The Complete Meals brand is supposed to be just that: a complete meal in a box, that you can have ready quickly and with very little preparation or added ingredients. On this aspect, I have to award full points. Everything was in the box, from the chicken and vegetable mix (Progresso brand), to the biscuit mix (Bisquick), and the seasoning pouch. I, literally, only had to provide the bowl to mix the biscuits in, the dish to bake everything in, and the spatula to mix with. Also, half a cup of water for the biscuits and one cup of hot water for the chicken&veggies. You really can't get much easier than that. The box says prep time is only five minutes, and they're pretty much right. I just took longer because I had to find all my cookery and my mom wanted me to boil water for tea. XP
Even an idiot could prepare this, really. The only worry I had was when I poured the chicken and veggies mix into my baking dish and mixed in the seasoning packet and water; the sauce was rather thin, not exactly soupy but I had expected something a bit thicker. But the directions said the sauce would be thin, so I didn't worry overly much. Then you spoon the biscuit mix ON TOP of the chicken and veggies. There is enough biscuit batter to make nine spoonfuls on top of everything, and that's what you're supposed to do. I was worried about running out of batter before I got to the ninth biscuit, but scraping the bowl got me all nine same sized (sorta) biscuits.
Then all you have to do is chuck the whole thing into the oven for a half hour. It made the house smell very nice. ♥ I was hungry.
Now, the important part... tasting!
I rather liked how it came out of the oven. The tops of the biscuits were a nice golden brown, which meant that YAY I didn't burn or overcook it. The only sticky point is that the directions say that things are done when the middle biscuit's bottom is cooked. But that's sorta hard to tell, what with the bottom of the biscuit in the chicken and veggies and sauce and kinda... soggy and soaking up the flavors, you know? I just kinda poked at the biscuit a bit and checked and it looked done to me. ^^;;
The biscuits DID rise and expand over the top of the chicken and veggies, to make a sort of crust. I had to cut the biscuits apart from each other, but that wasn't a real problem. It was sorta like cutting into a pot pie. The biscuits, I think came out perfectly and very very... biscuity. Even though the bottoms of them were on top of the chicken, they weren't soggy all the way through. It actually made the biscuits taste better, because you could crunch through the top, but get the chicken flavor on the bottom.
The chicken and veggies came out well, too. After cooking, I didn't have to worry about things being too thin. XP Everything thickened up alot. There was a good amount of chicken through the dish which is nice, since I don't like it when people say "chicken" but don't actually give you any real pieces of chicken. And the veggies were a good mix of carrots, peas, potatoes (this surprised me), and celery. And the sauce was tasty, too.
One thing I'd recommend is don't think that you'll take the biscuits out and set them to the side, and then dish up the chicken and veggies separate. That won't work at all. XD;; I used a serving spoon to sorta... cut out the whole portion around and under a biscuit, scooped that up and put it on my plate. And while hunting down veggies is fun (I like carrots but don't like peas), it's best to eat this by just cutting straight down through the biscuit to the chicken below, and eat it all together. And everything was tender enough to eat with a fork, so no need for knives. And the sauce is thick, so don't bother with spoons.
As for serving size, I guess this could feed a small family, depending on the size. I, personally, was full after a "two biscuit" serving. But it doesn't take much to make me full; admittedly, a few hours later, I had another two biscuit serving for supper. Since there are nine biscuit servings, you could feed 3-4 people good enough, if they're willing to be fair and no one wants to fight over the last biscuit. XD
Ah! And another important factor! The microwave test!
When I decided to have my supper, I had to nuke the food since it had gotten cold by then. After a minute and a half in the microwave, the food came out hot and still tasty. And, which made me happy, the biscuits didn't get all hard. Everything cooked evenly. ^^ So yes, this meal is college-student approved.
All in all, I think this is a good meal. Easy to prepare, tasty, and filling enough. There's three in my family, and I think there will be leftovers after my dad comes home and has his dinner. But we're strange people. I don't know if I'd go out of my way to buy this, but certainly if you're busy and want good food, it's worth it. And if it's on sale, even better.
♥