Reviewing Hormel Compleats

Due to a bone infection, I've been pretty much down and out for the last three weeks. That left my poor husband to fend for himself. He had to do his own laundry, clean up after himself, and fix his own meals. Although he is an excellent cook in his own right, the fact is that his work hours don't leave him a lot of spare time. For reasons I'm sure everyone can understand, he didn't want to spend that limited time cooking.

While my husband will eat TV dinners in a pinch, they aren't his favorite choice. Oftentimes, the meat isn't cooked when the vegetables are done or the vegetables are overcooked by the time the meat is ready. We simply haven't found a single TV dinner that cooks evenly.

When I first saw Hormel's new Compleats meals on the shelf, I have to admit that I made a snap judgment. I put them in the same category as those frozen TV dinners. I shouldn't have because they are so much better than that.

Hormel Compleats are handy dandy microwaveable meals that you don't even have to refrigerate before you cook them. They stack beautifully in the cabinet or even in a drawer (as shown in one of their currently running television commercials). The size is compact at roughly 6" by 5" by 2".

Compleats cook in just 90 seconds. I think it is the first meal I've ever put in my microwave that actually cooked in the time given on the package. This one, however, cooks exactly as stated. I suspect it has something to do with the way these meals are packaged. The protective plastic coating over the microwave dish is much thicker and appears to do a better job at holding the heat inside during the heating process.

Serving wise, each Compleats meal is the perfect size for the average individual. Depending, of course, upon the dish chosen, it generally comes with a meat and a side dish like potatoes, carrots, dumplings, etc.; making it a more balanced meal.