We love to go out and eat. For my family its a treat. We rarely eat out. Eating out is very costly and it doesn’t fit in with our budget. Just last weekend we took our son out to eat at Applebees. That is where he wanted to go for his birthday meal. Not including the tip the meal came to over $70.00. All we had was four entrees, two salads and four drinks. We didn’t have appetizers or desserts. That is A LOT of money!
Even though it costs a lot its nice to indulge in meals you might not otherwise be able to make at home. Whether its time, money or cooking skills, sometimes its hard to mimic the foods that you enjoy so much at your favorite restaurant. Next to pizza, Chinese foods are our next favorite eat out/take out meal. I can cook, but I have yet to master the art of cooking gourmet Chinese meals.
I know there are plenty of frozen Chinese meals I could whip up at home. Trust me, we’ve probably tried them all. Unfortunately a lot of them fail by comparison to the real meal. Either that or they taste artificial or not too appealing. Other meals you simply cannot find on the grocery shelves.
Have you ever heard of Schwans? Schwans is a food delivery service that delivers grocery items right to your door. Schwans only delivers food items.
I must warn you, if you visit their website, www.Schwans.com, be prepared to drool! They have everything from beef, chicken and sea food to desserts, snacks and appetizers.
Schwans carries a line of Asian inspired meals you can make at home. The meals were created by Chef Jet Tila, an award-winning and nationally recognized chef of Asian cuisine.
My family was lucky enough to try out a few of the Chef Jet Tila meals at home, thanks to Schwans. We received Chicken Lo Mien (my favorite thing to order from Chinese take out places!), Drunken Noodles (love the name!), Thai Chicken Coconut soup and Cantonese Steamed Cod with Ginger and Soy. I would certainly not even make the attempt to try and make these at home.
The Chef Jet Tila meals were pre-packaged using fresh, frozen ingredients. All you needed to do was follow the simple instructions and within minutes you had restaurant quality meals ready to eat.
The first thing we had to try was the Chicken Lo Mien. We LOVE Chicken Lo Mien. I’m embarrassed to say that I used to make this from one of those pre-packaged meals in a can. Many of my readers might know what I’m talking about.
We put the ingredients in a pan and followed the directions. The noodles took a lot longer to cook then the rest of the meal but it was well worth it in the end.
Mmmm!!! It tasted just as good as the kind we get from the Chinese take out across the street.
The next meal we tried was the Drunken Noodles. The name alone amused me. I have no idea why they are referred to as “drunken”. LOL!
The Drunken Noodles were as easy to prepare at the Chicken Lo Mien was. Initially I was not too keen on the noodles but after a few tries I liked them. My husband loved it from the first bite. My kids wouldn’t entertain the thought of trying it.
The meals are ideal for two people. There is not enough for a family of four in my opinon.
I was the only one who was silling to taste the Thai Chicken Cocont soup. I’m the only one in the family who likes Coconut. Sadly I was a bit disappointed in this soup. It was “OK” but I probably wouldn’t purchase it in the future. I was expecting a strong Coconut taste but the reality is that I barely tasted Coconut at all. I’m not sure what it really tasted like but it certainly was not Coconut. The soup was also very watery. Maybe the ice from being frozen added more water content to the soup. I don’t know. All I know is that it was very watery. There was also very little chicken or mushroom in the soup either. I could probably count on one hand how many pieces of BOTH chicken and mushrooms there were in the soup. I only took a few spoonfuls and tossed the rest out, sad to say. I have never had Coconut soup before so I am not sure what the “real deal” tastes like.
Lastly we tried the Cantonese Steamed Cod with Ginger and Soy. The package comes with enough to serve two people. My husband actually made a sandwich about an hour after dinner because he was still hungry. I guess it wasn’t enough for him.
Don’t get me wrong – the meal was AMAZING! I was impressed with hour fresh the Cod tasted. It was hard to believe that it was FROZEN Cod. It seemed like it was just caught and prepared right before it was placed on the plate. Kudos to Chef Jet Tila for this delicious Cod! The rice and the broccoli were good too.
The whole meal cooks in the micrwave in about 7-8 minutes depending on your microwave. We kept ours in for a minute longer then instructed.
The Cantonese Steamed Cod with Ginger and Soy even looks nice on the plate after its prepared. My apologies for not having a photo of this meal. I should have taken one!
Schwans doesn’t only sell Asian meals. They also carry other entrees like Roasted Mushroom and Parmesan Linguini with Grilled Chicken, Beef Portabella and Roasted Garlic and Chicken Flatbread Pizza.
Schwans also carries individual meats, appetizers, side dishes and so much more. You can have a weeks worth of meals delivered to your door directly from Schwans. You must check out their selection fo desserts and snacks too. OH MY! They even have smoothies.
You must try the Gourmet Twist Pretzels. They are REALLY good! They warm up in the oven or you can cook them in the microwave. We prefer the oven. We like that bit of crispiness on the outside when warmed in the oven.
The pretzels come with salt packets and cinnamon packets. My family went crazy for the cinnamon. I wish they would have included more. Thankfully the kids came up with another topping for the pretzels – NUTELLA! The only downside is that the warm pretzel melts the Nutella and it can get pretty messy (but its so worth it!). They are great without toppings too. What I like about these pretzels too is that they are not gigantic like the kind you find at ball parks or on the NYC sidewalks. They are a decent size. Not too big and not too small.
My kids are CRAZY about the Confetti ice cream! These are small, individual sized cups of Vanilla ice cream topped with rainbow colored chocolate chips. They didn’t skimp on the chips either. There are plenty of chips in the ice cream where you’ll find that there are still a few chips left, even on your last spoonful.
Ordering from Schwans might be a bit more costly then if you purchased products from the local grocery store. However you need to remember that you are paying for the convenience of having the products delivered right to your door as well as having some meals pre-made for you. If you are having an especially busy day its sure worth a little extra money for the convenience of having a fresh, delicious meal ready in minutes. Their pies, cakes and cobblers would be ideal to keep on hand for last minute holiday get together or to save yourself from having to make dessert for your next holiday meal.
For more information about Schwans or to check out their products please visit Schwans.com.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
