Stouffer’s Cheese Enchiladas a Real Disappointment

Saturday was my night to cook and, since I had a lot of work around the house and outside that needed to be done, I wanted something that would be tasty but also simple to make.

In the past, Stouffer’s party-sized entrees have been a God-send to me. Normally, I’ll buy their lasagna and it will be enough to feed the entire family with plenty of leftovers and the taste is almost as good as homemade. Since I wanted to do something different, I figured I would give their cheese enchiladas a try.

I should have stuck with the lasagna.

When I buy boxed entrées, I expect three things; accurate baking instructions, a good taste and the ability to reheat the leftovers to make another meal. The cheese enchiladas gave me none of these.

The instructions on the box were easy to follow, place on a baking sheet, bend the lid and replace it, put it in the oven for an hour and 15 minutes. However, they didn’t work. With the lid on, the cheese on top the enchiladas wouldn’t melt. It wasn’t until I removed the lid (something the lasagna instructs you to do) that the meal finally got finished.

When we sat down to eat the food, I realized on my first bite I wasn’t going to enjoy it. Considering these were cheese enchiladas, you would think you would be able to taste the cheese. The only thing I could taste was the rice and beans and they weren’t that good. In fact, I think the crappy enchiladas we used to get in our high school cafeteria were actually better tasting. It’s rare when I don’t go back for seconds so, in this case, the fact I didn’t should tell you something.

Despite the fact I wasn’t impressed with the taste of the enchiladas, I did save them for lunch on Sunday (waste not, want not). When I warmed a couple of them up in the microwave, I learned that they had failed my last category as well.

I didn’t think you could possibly make the enchiladas worse but microwaving them did just that. Not only did they have the same bland taste, the rice actually started to stick together. It was not unlike eating cardboard. After trying to eat half the leftovers, I wound up throwing the rest away.

I’m sure I’ll be buying Stouffers again in the future but this will be the last time I buy their enchiladas. They just don’t offer enough quality to justify the price.