Glutino's Chicken Pad Thai

Brand: Glutino
~ Other reviews of this brand!

Product Name: Chicken Pad Thai

Location Purchased: King Sooper's

Cost: $5.19 for 7.1 oz frozen meal



Total From A to Z: 4.5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *
My only complaint about this dish was that my serving was gone before I realized anything had happened. There also could have been more chicken, but the flavors were excellent. I was shocked that this came from a freezer by way of a microwave to my plate. The noodles were just the right amount of chewy. I could eat this frequently and not get tired of it.

Z's Review: * * * *
Like Glutino's Chicken Ranchero with Brown Rice, this pad thai is not the most visually appealing meal I've ever had. It comes out of the microwave looking sort of brown and mushy. Interestingly, it's also 2.1 oz smaller than the Chicken Ranchero, even though it cost the same amount. The box says: "Traditional Thai brand dish prepared with tender strips of chicken breast meat, rice noodles, and a variety of vegetables in a mild lime infused sauce," but as for vegetable variety I saw only carrot bits. But, what it lacks in visual appearance and quantitiy I think it makes up for in taste. The chicken strips are a generous size and the noodles are pleasantly chewy. I don't know how traditional the sauce really is, but I thought it tasted good, though perhaps a little thick. All in all I thought it was a good, quick, gluten-free meal.

Glutino's Chicken Ranchero with Brown Rice

Brand: Glutino
~ Other reviews of this brand!

Product Name: Chicken Ranchero with Brown Rice

Location Purchased: King Sooper's

Cost: $5.19 for 9.2 oz frozen meal


Total From A to Z: 3.5 Stars

A's Review: * * *
This is a great thing to have if you want a quick and easy GF meal. That being said, it comes out as this reddish brown pile of food and the portions are a touch on the small side. It tasted much better than it looks and I did make it through the rest of the day after eating one of these for lunch. I would say this is slightly better than average for a frozen meal of any kind, with bonus points for being GF.

Z's Review: * * * *
The box says: "Tender strips of chicken breast meat on a bed of brown rice smothered with rich tomato sauce and topped with zucchini, kidney beans, corn, and jalapeno peppers." There may be jalapeno peppers, but this meal is only mildly spicy. If there was zucchini in there I certainly didn't see it. And I saw maybe two kernels of corn. In fact, this is not visually the most appealing meal I've ever had. But, then again, what frozen meal is super visually appealing? The good news is that it tasted good and was enough food for me to feel satisfied after eating it. The chicken is nicely flavored and the texture of the rice was good. Amy's Rice Mac & Cheese may still my favorite for a quick meal, but this is a really nice alternative.

RECIPE: A&Z's Gluten-Freed Chicken Katsu

Source: all recipes

Original Recipe: Chicken Katsu

Gluten-Freed by A: Chicken katsu is one of Z's favorite foods, so figuring out how to gluten-free this was an obvious choice. Like with freeing the crab cakes, only minor modifications were necessary. This was actually my first attempt with using crushed Rice Chex for the breading and GF all-purpose flour for the batter.

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken breast, boneless, sliced in half
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 cups Rice Chex, crushed (Gluten-Freed!!)
  
• 2 cups cooking oil, more as needed
  

Batter Mix:

• 4 tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour (Gluten-Freed!!)
• 2 tsp garlic salt
• 2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
  

Directions:

1. Mix the GF flour, the garlic salt, and both peppers together in a shallow dish. Place the eggs and crushed Rice Chex into separate dishes as well.
2. Coat the chicken breasts in the flour mix, shaking off any excess. Coat them in egg, and then press into the Rice Chex until well coated on both sides.
3. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place chicken in the hot oil until golden brown. Turn often to avoid overcooking one side.
4. Serve over steamed rice with GF hoisin sauce and/or GF soy sauce.
   

Total From A to Z: 5 Stars

A's Review: * * * * *

The recipe that I used as a basis was very well reviewed to begin with, so I had high expectations. I was not disappointed. It took some trial and error to get the golden brown color just right coming out of the oil, but when I put them down on a bed of white rice with some gluten -ree hoisin sauce, oohs and ahhs abounded. The chicken was just right, perfectly crunchy but still tender on the inside and the taste of the crust was most excellent as well.

Z's Review: * * * * *
This was amazing!! It was the first time I've ever had homemade chicken katsu and it was seriously delicious! It was just as good as resturant katsu. And I was really, really happy to still be able to eat a meal that had always been a favorite. (In other news, A is the best boyfriend ever!!) My only tiny complaint is that I thought the hoisin sauce was a little too spicy with the katsu. I would have preferred a traditional tonkatsu sauce, which is a little bit sweeter, but we were unable to find it at the store. But next time maybe we'll try making our own tonkatsu sauce with this recipe or perhaps this one. Either way, I can't wait to have this for dinner again!