Good Gravy!

The first thoughts in my head when I read the instructions for Boston Market's Oven Roasted Chicken Dinner was "Good Gravy!" that is a long time to have to microwave a meal. The instructions called for a 4 minute run on high, 7 minutes on medium, and finally a 1-2 minute stand time. I will point out that the majority of people that are eating these meals have a ½ hour lunch break. I put the meal in the microwave and just hoped that it would be worth the tremendous 13 minute wait. Yes, I said 13 minutes, I am following the instructions to a T for the purposes of this review. The instructions inform me that I have to stir the potatoes after my food is done standing, not an easy feat considering the chicken is placed on said mashed potatoes. I begin to stir the potatoes and realize that they are room temperature at best… things are not looking good so far. I continue to stir the potatoes in disgust and realize that the vegetables cannot possibly be good after all of this time in the microwave… to my surprise I was wrong.

I sit down and begin to take notes on the meal at hand. My first impressions are that the gravy is rich and buttery. That sort of gravy really suits my pallet and it puts a smile on my face. I try the potatoes with the gravy and am greeted with a mouthful of what tastes to be "real" potatoes, in the traditional sense (too bad they were not very warm). The whole meal was full of surprises, the gravy was delicious and buttery, the vegetables were slightly seasoned making the flavor pop just a little bit, and the chicken was in fact real chicken breast (I sincerely didn't expect that.) I enjoyed my meal with what time that I had left in my lunch break, I almost felt rushed through it because of the arduously long wait that I had to endure for it to be done. I don't think that I will be purchasing anything that takes that long again unless I have time for an hour lunch. The negatives of the meal seemed to way out my surprises, time being the biggest factor. For that amount of time I could have went to a fast food restaurant, and that is the whole purpose of me having frozen food for lunch, to avoid having to do that. Also, I really didn't like the packaging that much, I think they could have the tray separated better. I also thought that I almost had too much food to eat. I am not a super big fan of eating a pound of food for lunch, even if it is somewhat decent. If you are a big fan of large portions of potatoes then this meal is suitable for you, for me… well, not so much.

In a word, my meal was not that delightful.

Cook time: 4 Minutes (High), 7 Minutes (Medium)
Stand Time: 1-2 Minutes

Nutrional information here

Image from the Boston Market Website