Thursday, May 05, 2005

TJ's Taste Test: Part Two Of Many: Pesto Tortellini Bowl

You know your life is getting hectic when you go grocery shopping and you tell yourself that you should stock up on a few frozen entrees just in case.

Well, work kicked my ass today. Spending the day with lunatics and people on power trips just makes you feel like you've been hit by a mack truck. So that's why I needed to go simple with dinner tonight and try one of the frozen entrees I bought from Trader Joe's a few days ago.

The Pesto Tortellini Bowl, made with Organic Pasta Virgin Olive Oil and Basil, caught my attention the other day. Sitting on the top shelf of its freezer case, it called out to me, "Eat me! Eat me!" It must have been lonely and needed a home, I thought, since there were only 2 left on the shelf. Well, in that case, it can't be that bad. Plus, I do really dig pesto. I called Isaac over to help me grab the box 'cause I couldn't reach that far back. I would soon be the proud owner of my very own box of frozen pesto tortellini!

Tonight, I nuked the thing for 5 minutes as the instructions said, almost burned myself from the steam escaping the plastic wrapper, stirred it up, and dug in. Let's just put it this way--it was OKAY. The tortellini was not bad. The pasta stayed pretty al dente (or as al dente as frozen pasta could ever be) and the parmesan, cheddar, and ricotta cheese filling tasted pretty good. The pesto sauce, however, wasn't all that. Very bland, in fact. If it wasn't for the cheese tortellini filling being salty enough, it would've been like eating a bowl of pencil erasers. Another negative: the serving size is meant more for a snack. I'm still hungry.



Would I get this item again? Um, maybe. If it calls out to me using its food trickery again the next time I'm strolling down the frozen aisle, I might feel sorry for it. I'm a sucker like that.

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