Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods Review

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I work out of the home full time. I have no problem or shame admitting that there are days that I can’t or don’t cook from scratch. Sometimes we have time constraints and sometimes I just don’t feel like it. That’s why you can always find some frozen meals in my freezer. We recently got the opportunity to try Michael Angelo’s Italian entrees for the first time.

About Michael Angelo’s

Austin-based Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods produces a full line of frozen foods, specializing in authentic tasting Italian entrees. The company’s made-to-order process guarantees the freshest food with outstanding homemade taste. The business began in a 600-foot pizzeria in Solano Beach, near San Diego in Southern California using family recipes learned from Michael’s mother, Sara. Today, Michael Angelo’s Gourmet Foods continues to offer superior, restaurant-quality foods in both single serve and family size portions, that can be prepared in a matter of minutes. Michael Angelo’s products are available at grocery stores and warehouse clubs nationwide.

Michael Angelo’s offers a wide variety of frozen meals. The products and sizing vary depending on where you’re shopping – grocery stores, warehouse clubs and natural food stores.

I received a couple of coupons, enabling me to pick the meals I wanted to try the most. I was shopping at BJ’s and chose to get the family sized packages of the Chicken Parmesan and the Lasagna. Other products available in the family sized portions include Baked Ziti & Meatballs, Chicken Alfredo, Chicken Picata, Chicken Marsala, Eggplant Cutlets, Eggplant Parmesan, Mini Stromboli, Pepperoni Mini Calzones, Sausage Pepper & Onions, Shrimp Picata, Shrimp Scampi and Vegetable Lasagna.

The chicken parm was different and good. There was no mistaking that fresh ingredients were used, it was obvious from the look and taste. The chicken pieces were all different sizes. There was a light coating of breading, something I appreciated having seen foods with inches of breading. The pasta was surprisingly good, it tasted fresh. The sauce is what made everything, it’s fresh and has a little zip to it. The only thing I would have liked to see in the chicken parm meal was a little more chicken. The box says the meal is for five but having only found four pieces of chicken I’d say it was only suitable for three. I tried making it in the microwave (picture below, I overdid it by 2 minutes and burnt the cheese) and the oven. I preferred the oven taste more but it wasn’t all that different than the one made in the microwave.

I love lasagna and make a pretty good one but am not always in the mood to spend a couple of hours doing so. The lasagna was without a doubt better tasting than any other frozen lasagna I’ve had.The sauce tasted like fresh tomato sauce, as opposed to the orangey red tomato sauce most frozen foods have. It had a little zip to is, the kind you taste in fresh red sauce made from scratch. There was also plenty of cheese in it.

Reading through the Michael Angelo’s pledge made me understand why the meals we tried tasted fresher than some and a little more grown up.

Michael Angelo’s takes great pride in creating delicious Italian food, made from authentic Italian recipes using only real, wholesome ingredients found in a genuine Italian kitchen. Our customers trust that the Michael Angelo’s meals they enjoy and serve to their friends and family not only taste great, but are of the highest quality. To them, we make this pledge.

To Always

• Pick only the best vine-ripened tomatoes from the premium part of the season’s crop
• Use the right, authentically crafted cheeses in each of our gourmet Italian meals
• Select premium cuts of meat and seafood and prepare them in-house
• Cook our meals from scratch every single day and ship to stores within 36 hours

To Never

• Add gums or stabilizers to our meals
• Use trim or chemical additives in our meats
• Substitute predominantly whey for real milk in our cheeses

These meals are tasty and would be a great time saver for those busy nights where you’d like to have something that tastes fresh but don’t have the time to cook. They’re also the kind of meals you can have in your freezer for those unannounced or last minute guests, so you can serve them something that tastes like it was made from scratch.

The entrees are available to purchase nationwide. There is a Michael Angelo’s store locator on the website that will help you find the location closest to you that carries the product you’re looking for. In my area products can be purchased at BJ’s, Stop & Shop, Sam’s Club, Target and Whole Foods.

You can find Michael Angelo’s on Twitter. They’re currently having a promotion where if you send them an @reply or a Twitpic describing your holiday gathering they’ll send you a buy one get one free coupon.

You can find Michael Angelo’s on Facebook too.

The product(s) featured in this review was provided free of cost to me for the sole purpose of product testing and review. This review has not been monetarily compensated and is based on the views and opinions of my family and/or self. Please note that the opinions reflected in this post have not been influenced by the sponsor in any way.