Instructions
I applaud the folks over at Marie Callender's for thinking that I wasn't actually intelligent enough to be trusted to read. You see, the instructions have you cutting open the package and just kind of "laying" it on top of the rest of the TV dinner. Now the instructions do say specifically to put the package over the chicken part of the meal, which I find amusing. I mean, I'm no expert in how microwaves work (causing water particles to vibrate, generating heat, etc.), but it would seem to me that gravy is certainly not going to stop said microwaves from getting to the chicken faster or slower, so I'm not really sure why placing it above the chicken was so crucial a point.
The funny thing being that apparently this was so crucial a point, they chose to simply glue the package to the wrapping so you couldn't possible move it off the chicken. Ignoring how ignorant this is when you need to remove the package at a later point when the wrapping needs to go, causing this sort of balance between keeping the sauce package which you have cut a hole in and the wrapper from spilling all over each other; this really does show a brilliant sort of lack of faith in the customer, and I appreciate that from my frozen eats.
Taste
Alright, before I tear apart the chicken for tasting dry, let me first applaud them for creating a really good corn. I'm not really sure who over at Marie Callender's came up with the idea of giving corn flavor, but they should really be applauded. The corn had this great kind of buttery taste to it, but beyond that there were these wonderful little green flakes that added a very earthy and almost spicy blend to the mixture that made it surprisingly enjoyable.
The chicken, gravy, and potatoes were a little forgettable. The gravy had a good texture to it, and a nice sort of southern taste to it. It wasn't to spicy, but it wasn't just a tasteless grey goo either which is a refreshing thing in terms of gravy. The chicken was terribly dry and it tasted like one of those chicken biscuits you might get at McDonalds, but if it had been left out all day.
Filling?
Reasonably Filling
Filling?
Reasonably Filling
Overall
On a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the most enjoyable of TV dinners, I will happily give this dish a 3.5 out of 4. The corn really pushes this one over the edge and the generally inoffensive nature of the rest of the dinner keeps me from deducting to many points. It's not the best, but I do hope someone steals their corn recipe.
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