Ceaser's Stuffed Shells with Cheese (in Marinara Sauce)

This isn't what I was reviewing in the post that got eaten, but... well, I'll come back to that post when it's time comes around again. For now, let's talk shells! I found Ceaser's offering in the freezer section of R Downs. I'd like to tell you more about the company, but their website seems to be under a remodeling project at the time I write this, so... no dice. Anyway, R Downs had several of their pasta offerings in the freezer, and I grabbed the shells for a little variety. Tonight, I sat down to eat them.

The shells themselves aren't that bad at all. They're stuffed with ricotta cheese, accentuated by herbs and spices. I found them a teensy bit dry and rubbery, though I am willing to chalk that up to the vagaries of microwave cooking more than anything else. Now, as for the sauce... well, the sauce reminds me of a joke that Woody Allen tells at the beginning of Annie Hall where two women are complaining about the food they're being served: "it's so bad... and in such small portions!" The marinara sauce isn't horrible; it's a bit too tomatoey and bland for my taste, but given that I found the shells dry, that sauce had an important job, and there just wasn't enough of it to go around. There were three shells in the box, but I'd say there was only enough sauce for 2, and that was using said sauce sparingly. So, a mixed bag in terms of the food.

The nutritional facts, on the other hand, kind of surprised me. For a start, a box of this stuff will run you 370 calories. This surprised me by being a bit low. The fat content, on the other hand? 18g total (27% DV), with 9g saturated fat (a whopping 47% DV). Whoa. Not sure where that's coming from-- the cheese? As for the rest of the stats, you're looking at 65mg cholesterol (22%), 660mg sodium (27%), and 37g carbs (12%). The sodium number is less of a surprise to me, but the rest? Huh. Would not have guessed.

I'll be looking to try more of Ceaser's pasta products in the future. While I was mildly disappointed with some of the aspects of these shells, I think I'd eat them again... but I should probably lay off for a couple weeks. Read on!

Gluten-Free Café Fettucini Alfredo

Another review featuring a relative newcomer to the gluten-free scene, the innovatively-titled Gluten Free Café. So far, their product offerings are limited to four frozen dinner choices, all of which showed up in the freezer at my local Whole Foods (natch) recently. I grabbed a couple of their more promising entrees for the sampling. What Gluten Free Café is lacking in variety, they make up for in, well... earnestness. All of their products are certified by the Gluten Free Certification Organization, which is nice, although I have to admit, I'd never heard of the organization before, and I'm fairly familiar with the ins and outs of gluten-free living. Regardless, I'm glad a company called Gluten Free Café can certify that their products are, in fact, gluten-free. The company also boasts that their food is infused with vitamins, minerals, and "prebiotics," whatever the hell those are. The general theme, anyway, is that their food promotes a healthy lifestyle. Hoooookay.

Anyway, the food.

I first went for the Fettuccine* Alfredo. It takes five minutes total to cook up, which certainly isn't unreasonable. And the results? Um, whoa. The sauce came out creamy (big plus), and the noodles were perfectly cooked (BIG plus). The result was a meal that was pretty damn good, and eaten quickly. I'm a guy who likes his salt, and I didn't feel like I needed to add any to my meal. The alfredo was just cheesy and creamy and... okay, I probably need to expand my vocabulary for things like this. Hmmmm.

If I had to pick one quibble on this, it's that I found the serving size just a tad bit too small. However, given that I probably don't need to stuff my gob with any more fattening Italian cuisine, this might be a plus in disguise. The nutrition breakdown is pretty good, all things considered: 400 calories (a teense high, but it's fettuccine alfredo, so... yeah), 16g Fat, 45mg Cholesterol, 390mg Sodium. I can live with that. In the future, I might attempt to pair it up with a nicely grilled chicken breast, as I can anticipate that being rather good.

Bottom line, the fettuccine alfredo gets the thumbs-up. We'll see how their Asian Noodles fare, later.


*strangely enough, the box calls it "Fettuccini," which does not pass muster with ye ol' spell check. Hmmm.
Read on!