For processed, frozen, microwavable, 300-calorie foods, those little boxes of Lean Cuisine are not half bad. As I have mentioned before, my freezer is often stuffed full of the things, and I have one of the LC pizzas almost every day for lunch (much tastier than a cold lunchmeat sandwich and much healthier than take-out). Our local Wegmans has had them on sale for 3 for $5 for at least three weeks straight now!
Anyway, over the past month, I have grown addicted to the newest addition to the Lean Cuisine line—paninis. Now, again, obviously a home-cooked meal or restaurant fare is going to taste better, but for meals whose prep time involves just 2 minutes and 45 seconds of nuking, they are damn tasty.
I have found four different varieties so far, and my favorites are the steak and cheddar and the southwestern chicken on sourdough.
You cook the two halves of the panini on top of that shiny paper stuff that browns them (just like the pizzas), and it does a decent job of keeping the bread dry and toasty. The silver stuff even has slots cut into it so that fake grill marks are scorched into the bread. Then you fold the two melty halves together.
It may be because of their novelty, but I do think that I actually like the paninis better than the pizzas. (Thai-Style Chicken still rules, though, esp. with a dollop of Hoboken Eddie’s Hot Sauce mixed in.)
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