Trader Joe’s Rants & Raves (mostly raves, a few rants)

RAVE

TIP: For best results, bake in oven !

“Tender sheets of pasta are layered with creamy ricotta, tangy tomato sauce, and plenty of ground beef and pork seasoned with onion and garlic (the words “ultimate comfort food” would not be hyperbole here). Topped with an additional trifecta of cheeses—mozzarella, Romano, and Parmesan—the Lasagna is made fresh, then frozen and shipped to our stores, ready to report for “What’s for dinner?” duty.”

Who doesn’t love lasagna? Truly, isn’t it the ultimate comfort food? Soft sheets of long, chewy flat yellow noodles, multi layered with a rich meaty sauce and 3 kinds of cheese, topped with a cheesy bechamel that gets nice and brown… What’s not to like?

Years ago, every now and then, I actually used to make lasagna myself. It always turned out great, but it was a lot of work.

If you are not going to make it yourself, I think this Trader Joe’s frozen version might the next best thing to satisfy a craving for lasagna whenever you feel like it. I had seen online that people considered this pretty good, so we got one to taste test along with one of our neighbors for an easy meal together. Here’s my honest review.

All three of us were pleasantly surprised at just how good this actually is. This was one of those Trader Joe’s items that tasted better than we expected. Trader Joe’s FAMILY STYLE MEAT LASAGNA is good and tasty. Unless perhaps you have an Italian grandma, dare I say it, it tastes practically like it was homemade, or at least like a dish you would get out at some restaurant.

The pasta, meaty sauce and cheese all combined well and was well seasoned. The meat sauce has both ground beef and pork. The best part for me was the edges which we thought we had overbaked and looked “burnt”, however which actually was my favorite part. It got nice and chewy and browned with a nice texture, with the browned cheese, sauce and noodles. I liked the ratio of noodles to stuff and liked all the seasonings. I saw it even has a bit of fennel seed. Now that’s Italian. All in all, this is very satisfying and a good deal for the price which would not even buy you one portion out.

SIZE: The package is 2 lbs. While the box says this is “4 servings” (about 8 ounces each?) realistically that might be stretching it in the real world. You might get this to serve 4 adults. If have some side dishes and perhaps some bread with it.

When we ate it, there were three of us and we all wanted a little more so we finished the whole thing easily even with a salad and a side dish.

HOW TO COOK – I totally recommend the only way to make this is to BAKE it! Yes there are instructions for microwaving but I say “fugedabouit” as far as nuking it, It will taste best baked in the oven, period, to get that browning all over taste which is the best part. This is accomplished by baking semi-covered with the included film then putting it back for 5 minutes. Note: the film is oven safe.

HOW TO COOK Trader Joe’s frozen Lasagna – “Pre-heat oven to 375. Lift up the two opposite corners of the (oven safe) plastic film slightly so it can vent (important). Bake for just over an hour (65 mins) on a baking sheet. Carefully remove the film and put it back in the oven for about 5 minutes to brown the cheese nicely. Remove and let sit for 5 minutes.

Yes it will take about an hour plus from frozen to bake it, so plan ahead! Perhaps, if this is defrosted maybe it would cut down on baking time to 30-45 minutes?

Kids as well I think will love this. Of course.

PRODUCT OF CANADA

$7.49 (24 oz)

This is a good deal! I would buy this again.