Atkins Frozen Meal Copy Cat Thread

[MsWoods]

That looks so good Metqa. And your green beans look crispy.

[metqa]

Oh, They are GREAT! I had to make myself stop snacking on them. Crispy Sweet Yummy! I might just skip broccoli altogether. I even found some yellow french beans at Trader Joes and blanched them too. I need to find an entree that complements their nice color.

My Mom Teased me about the Chuck Roast. She said, " you know, you can cut it up before you cook it." Doh! That would make portioning it much easier down the line!

[MSS726]

I have been off work for 2 months due to surgery, but have always taken my own frozen meals in the divded containers, just simply by making a little extra at dinner, and I have to say, there have been some really good ones. I tried the new Atkins and they did not impress me, and are quite costly. I think, for the cost, they could add more veggies. Also, I make merlot sauce and freeze in small bags, but it is to put on filet mignon, and not roast beef. It does take a lot of wine and takes a long time to reduce, but it is well worth it!

[judytab]

Originally Posted by MSS726

Also, I make merlot sauce and freeze in small bags, but it is to put on filet mignon, and not roast beef. It does take a lot of wine and takes a long time to reduce, but it is well worth it!

Could you share your recipe for the merlot sauce? TIA

[MSS726]

Oh, you asked a hard one since I usually don't follow a specific recipe, but I will try best I can, since I use a combination of a few recipes.

Merlot Sauce

2 tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onions or shallots
small carrot, finely chopped
stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups merlot, or can sub pino noir
2 cups low sodium beef broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 tbs. cocoa powder

Directions:
Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onion (or shallots), carrot, and celery. Saute a few minutes, then add the garlic and saute for a minute or 2 more. Add wine and broth, and stir in tomato paste. Add bay leaf and thyme, and bring to a boil. Simmer until the liquid is reduced and thickened. (The original recipe says about 40 minutes, but I am pretty sure I simmer it longer). Strain through a fine mesh strainer into a small saucepan. (As I am straining, I run a spoon through the remaining veggies and smash through the strainer in the sauce, which makes it thicker, but you want to keep it smooth). Stir in the cocoa. You basically have to judge how thick you want the sauce. I can figure out by looking at it how thick I want it. Also, use a high top pan to simmer because it tends to splatter when cooking.

[rosethorns]

Metqa You are doing such a great job!!!!!! They look so YUMMY.

You might be swaying me here. Yours look better than any frozen meal I've seen.

MSS726 ......Your Merlot recipe looks wonderful.

[judytab]

thanks for the recipe. the cocoa powder was a surprise, but I know it is used in Mexican cooking; in fact I use it in my chili. I'll have to try this - it really sounds good.

[mews]

Thank you for the recioe I like the idea to put into small bags to freeze, going to try it when I can get the wine.

[LindaSue]

Originally Posted by MSS726

I think, for the cost, they could add more veggies.

I was thinking that for the price they ought to add a lot more meat. There seem to be mostly veggies in the ones I've tried.

[metqa]

Originally Posted by LindaSue

I was thinking that for the price they ought to add a lot more meat. There seem to be mostly veggies in the ones I've tried.

This.
I doubt if there is 3.5 ounces of meat in any of them, that's considered one serving isn't , about 100g of meat? That's about what I'm putting in my home ones and they are very satisfying with that plus 50-100g of veggies, but mine have a lot more fat in the form of drippings as sauce, so that might make it more fulfilling as well.

[Angeloco]

Great ideas and recipes. Thanks so much.

[LindaSue]

When I had the one with Italian sausage in it the other day, I took all of the sausage pieces out and weighed them. I got 2 ounces. That's barely a snack, if you ask me. I did think that the meatloaf dinner had a pretty reasonable size chunk of meat. I didn't get any mushrooms in mine though.

[MSS726]

I was thinking that for the price they ought to add a lot more meat. There seem to be mostly veggies in the ones I've tried.

LindaSue, you are definitely right. I don't know why I said veggies, other than that's the least they could do, since they would be a more likely addition on their part. There isn't enough of anything in them, and they really weren't that tasty, IMO. I was only excited to see them in the store because hopefully, the low carb WOE will once again gain popularity. However, pre packaged foods are not the healthiest, but still better than unhealthy junk food.

[kittycitygirl]

Sub

[Vita oldie]

Hi,
Can you all put your ideas on to the recipes site?
It would help everyone rather than having to trawl through many posts!
If the site continues you can imagine it will be difficult for new comers to find all your brilliant ideas and suggestions.
Keep up the good work. In UK we don't have the same foods so being able to concoct your sauces will be fun.

[metqa]

Personally, I find it difficult to navigate the recipes sections. I often find my favorite recipes in context of discussions. honestly, I've found the best "recipes" from peoples tweeks of recipes and editing. You don't get that kind of confirmation of a recipes goodness just from a one time posting in a list of recipes with little context.

Plus, personally, my ideas are not actually recipes, just ideas, and don't always come out consistently. I think a recipe should be something that consistently offers results. so I won't be putting my ideas as "recipes" until I'm confident someone else could repeat it and get similar results. Any one else, feel free to post them anywhere you think they'll do good.

That said. I made a chuck roast again, but my mothers words of wisdom, " You know, you can cut it up before you cook it..." made me try it differently. So I cut it into slightly larger than bite size chunks, and seared the meat and put it into the pan.

This time though instead of adding soup or soupy water, I just sprinkled the meat with onion soup mix, but no water or soup, the only liquid was the liquid that was seeping from the meat itself. I also sprinkled cocoa powder, garlic seasoning, and Dale's seasoning, just a splash, and stirred it all up . I didn't add any sliced onion, mushroom or veggies.

I put it into the oven, with foil sealed over the edges tighly, and let it cook for about an hour and a half on 250 degrees. I just tasted a couple of pieces and it's very tender. It shrunk a bit so now they are large bite size chunks, and enough water seeped out that it ended up cooking in some juices to give the braised effect. Enough to start a gravy I'm sure.

I'm letting it cool before I mess with it. Since it's already sliced, I can quickly and easily measure out the portions for the containers. I figure I'll just go ahead and portion it out and freeze it and add the veggie to the container when I've decided what to add.

I haven't got a veggie in mind yet, but I did find a bunch of frozen veggie blends at Wally world. I thought maybe to come up with a corresponding sauce, and just pour the frozen veggie into the container, top it with the sauce and pop it right back into the freezer.