P.F. Chang’s Home Menu Frozen Entrées

When you’ve had a rough day or just can’t get yourself to make a nice home-cooked meal, then what? You could go out to eat but that has a lot of cons. It is expensive, the portions are too large, and the quality of food has dropped. My family often gets sick after going out to eat. Then what? Frozen meals. Yes, they are likely processed but it’s less expensive than eating out and faster than cooking from scratch.

Most frozen meals are fairly generic and mostly feature pasta. For that reason, I was happy to try the new P.F. Chang’s Home Menu Frozen Entrées. Though I have not been yet myself, many I know rave about the fantastic Asian food at P.F. Chang’s China Bistro. I really like the fact that all of the entrées include vegetables so you can provide a more rounded meal for the family.

It came down to Orange Chicken or Beef with Broccoli. For this review, I chose the Orange Chicken. The package description was “Battered white meat chicken with a spicy orange sauce, carrots, water chestnuts and edamames”. The preparation was SUPER easy! Just empty the contents into a skillet, cover, then cook for about 12 minutes while stirring occasionally. I have to say that it already looked tasty in the pan. I served it with rice and pot stickers.

Looks yummy eh? The chicken and vegetables tasted fresh-not chewy at all and did not have a synthetic, plastic flavor. The sauce was rich and even the carrots were crunchy. The sauce was very sweet and I typically expect more spice when eating orange chicken. Plus, the flavor was so strong it over-powered the rest of the meal. Overall I was pleased with the ease of preparation and the quality of the frozen version of the restaurant offerings. I plan on getting more of these, in other flavors, in the future. It also created a desire in me to try the restaurant to experience what it would taste like fresh.

They have 8 flavors: Orange Chicken, Shanghai Style Beef, Sweet & Sour Chicken, General Chang’s Chicken, Ginger Chicken & Broccoli, Beef with Broccoli, Shrimp in a Garlic Sauce and Shrimp Lo Mein. I look forward to trying them all but the Beef with Broccoli is at the top of my list. Try these next time you see it at the store!