PC 2011 Holiday Insider's Report Reviews/Lasagna & Chocolates... Oh My!

I've been in a bit of a kitchen funk this week, so it was excellent timing for the box of goodies to arrive from President's Choice.  Along with the plethora of snacks, I also got the opportunity to select a few of the PC Dine-In Tonight meals.  There was a vote on my Facebook page and the Creamy Mascarpone, Ricotta, Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagna won out as the dish most people wanted to hear about... and I was more than happy to oblige.

As you can see, the lasagna is very creamy yet still has a small amount of a fire-roasted tomato sauce as well.  I really enjoyed the taste of the tomato sauce and wish it would have had a little bit more of it.  The flavours were all distinct and it was obvious that this was a higher quality product than most frozen dinners.  I do wish that there could have been some more texture in the lasagna, with everything but the noodles being almost puree-like (especially the squash layer, which was very scant).

This entrée is meant to serve six and could do that easily with a salad.  I really like that on the box that it gives a recommended salad and wine pairing.  With this lasagna, they suggest a salad of shaved fennel over baby arugula with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and a chilled Pinot Grigio.  I think that would taste fantastic with it.

I cooked the lasagna exactly as per the instructions on the box and it was thoroughly cooked.  Personally, I would pop it under the broiler for a minute or two at the end in the future, as I like a browner top to my lasagna.  The leftovers heat up beautifully the next day in the microwave, if you have any left.

At $14.99, I may not purchase this again unless it is on sale, but that is because I enjoy making my own lasagna.  If however, you aren't looking for hours of prep or want to have a great vegetarian option on hand, it is worth the money... mascarpone and ricotta aren't cheap and this lasagna doesn't scrimp on either.

Later on, after the little one went to bed, we opened (for real this time) the box of PC Big Box Chocolates & Toffee Collection...

I am a Quality Street fanatic (I even bought the Royal Wedding Commemorative Tin... mostly because I was excited to get the chocolates in the spring rather than wait until Christmas).  I was thinking these were going to be yet another take on them, which has never worked out for me in the past, ick.  No word of a lie, I think these are better, the flavours are totally different and the only one that is not pure toffee and chocolate is the orange fondant one, which is dipped in dark chocolate and has a fantastic unique filling.  If I could nitpick one thing, it would be the packaging, which is a cellophane bag inside of the box, it's hard to close up, so you might want to have something ready to put them in besides your mouth.  At $9.99 a box, I definitely recommend these for your Christmas snack list!

I hope to be back in the kitchen creating as soon as tomorrow, it's been a busy week here in the Mmm.. household, and I've had a much needed break from dishes!

I received free product to test to be able to provide review, but my opinions, as always, are just that...  mine.