Holiday Meals Made Simple

Yes, indeed!

Good folks at F&E contacted me to do a taste test of their "Holiday Meals Made Simple", heat-and-eat holiday meals for 8 people in one box.

How could anyone say no to THAT?

Besides, I was just thinking about ordering a holiday meal this year (*gasp!*) because my friends from Thailand will be staying with us through Christmas. To maximize time spent with friends, I chose to make it easy on myself with someone else's cooking this year.

I requested the Beef Rib Roast dinner which came with a pint of beef gravy, and one "potato" and two vegetable sides.  My choices were potato gratin, petite carrots with honey butter, and cornbread and sausage stuffing.

Then I called up my girlfriends for our little holiday gathering.  Amanda, Lee, and Aurora had participated in the past Twitter wine tastings, and Lupe attended one of the F&E event with me.  So, they are all veteran F&E tasters and loyal customers.




When I picked up the box of goodies, I also picked up our favorite F&E bubbly Montcadi Cava Rose and an F&E pecan pie I haven't tried before.

The best thing about this whole Meal Made Simple is that everything reheats at 375.  First in was the roast as it needs an hour.  Then the stuffing and the gratin for 25 minutes.  I did the carrots in the microwave for 7 minutes.

While everything was heating up, we sipped the Cava.  We had Gnarly Head Zinfandel with the meal.

The roast was pure perfection--perfectly medium rare, juicy, tender, and flavorful.  The pan juice was perfect as a sauce we didn't really miss the gravy I left behind. (Whoops.)  That was easily our favorite part of the meal.  We have the seal of approval from Lupe, the best cook in our group, on this one.

Coming in second was the carrots.  Just sweet enough and not overly buttery and perfectly cooked. I couldn't have done better myself!

A split decision on the potato gratin.  It was super cheesy and delicious fresh out of the oven, but once cold, it felt heavy and too rich. We did a reheat test...aka sticking our second servings in the microwave.  Lee liked it still, while it lost me.  Amanda also found a few bites that were slightly undercooked.  

Another split decision, leaning toward dislike, was the cornbread and sausage stuffing. Amanda found the cornbread "spongy and not in a good way".  Lee liked that there was sausage in it.  I thought the gravy I left behind would've saved this a little bit as I found the stuffing a little dry.  Perhaps I should've reheated it in the microwave, or add a few glugs of chicken stock before putting in the oven.  Oh well, next time.

Overall: Heavenly

And yes, it really did feed 8 people. 5 hungry girls plus one token male were happily and well fed and we had plenty leftover to feed two more people easily.

Sure, you can totally made a better holiday meal than this. But for being a heat-and-eat feast from a grocery store chain and you only spend an hour sticking things into the oven, the Meal Made Easy is a total dream.

And yes, I just placed my order online for a Hickory Smoked Spiral Sliced Ham feast for Christmas Eve. It couldn't have been easier!

You have until December 18 to place your order to have it in time for Christmas. So, get on it!

P.S. Pecan pie was Earthbound. Tasty but not craveable or mind blowing.

Dinner Possible: Tofu and Butternut Squash "Stew"

I eat meatless on Tuesday. Not the strictest of lactovegetarian sense (no meat, no eggs, okay dairy), I occasionally let some by products of meat or eggs slip through. For the longest time, I kept forgetting about eggs in baked goods and dessert. And recently, I just learned to read the labels to make sure certain meatless products are actually vegetarian.

A little hitch there with F&E Burgundy Simmer Sauce. (Verdict: Nirvana) I came home to find the sauce is made out of beef broth. Oh well. Too late to turn this boat around.

And the simmer sauce is super duper delicious. Beefy and mushroomy, the sauce tastes very close to the from-scratch red wine based stew sauce. If Brandon said "wow" to this, it's a very good thing.

So, the plan for the vegetarian "stew" was out the window. But hey, it was still pretty hefty for being a meatless dish. Of course, you can substitute the tofu for any meat of your choice. I highly recommended just a little under a pound of cubed beef sirloin.

And I know, I didn't take a picture of it again. But it's such a perfect fall easy dinner dish I must share right away! I hope you forgive me.

Now, on to the recipe.

Easy Tofu and Butternut Squash "Stew" (Meatless, NOT vegetarian!)

• 1 package of Wildwood SUPER FIRM tofu in a vacuum pack, not in the container with water (or 1 lb. top sirloin if you're using meat)
• 1 TBS of butter
• 1 bag F&E pre-cut Butternut Squash -- keep it in the bag!
• 1 jar F&E Burgundy Simmer Sauce -- has beef broth!
  
• Fresh Italian parsley, chopped for garnish

1. Cut your tofu/steak into 1/2 inch cubes. Season lightly with salt and pepper.

2. Heat your skillet on medium-high heat. Add butter. Once melted, brown tofu/beef cubes on all sides.

2. Meanwhile, put the unopened bag of butternut squash in the microwave according to steamer instruction on the package. (I believe it said to cook for 3 minutes and let set for 30 seconds. I found mine undercooked, so I'd say go for 4 minutes.) Set aside.

3. Once all the tofu/beef cubes are browned, add the butternut squash and saute for a minute.

4. Pour simmer sauce into the skillet. Stir to coat. Bring to bubble then turn the heat to low. Put a lid on and let simmer for 5 minutes.

5. Sprinkle on parsley. Serve with crusty bread or on a bed of rice or noodles.