Do you ever see those taste-test commercials on TV and think, that would be fun to do? I know I have! So, when I was contacted by Michael Angelo’s to run a lasagna taste test with my family I jumped at the chance.
We were given a gift card to go purchase three lasagnas; a Marie Calender’s Three Meat & Four Cheese Lasagna, a Michael Angelo’s Meat Lasagna, as well as a Stouffer’s Lasagna with Meat & Sauce!
The first thing I did was compare the ingredients and found that Michael Angelo’s first ingredient was tomatoes, salt and basil, where as the other two lasagna’s first ingredients were water and tomato paste. I also noticed that Michael Angelo’s had the least amount of sodium of the three and the most Vitamin A, C, and calcium.
I then went to work on the actual items we would need for the taste test. Since I didn’t want anyone to know which item was which, Little Man and I worked to create paddles and a letter system. A for Michael Angelo’s, B for Stouffer’s, and C for Marie Calender’s!
I removed each lasagna from its box to look them over. From first glance the Michael Angelo’s seemed to have the most sauce, the Stouffer’s seemed to have the most cheese, and the Marie Calendar’s seemed to have the most spices…
Each company offered very easy-to-follow directions on their boxes, so cooking was a breeze! The Stouffer’s took the longest to cook so I put that one in first, then the Marie Calender’s, and then the Michael Angelo’s took the least amount of time. All three seemed to cook up nicely in the exact amount of time written in the directions.
After the lasagna’s were finished I put them side by side to compare them to each other. Each smelled and looked just amazing.
I then put small pieces of each lasagna on each place and added an A, B, or C marker so that we could keep track!
The Michael Angelo’s and Marie Calendar’s lasagna seemed to stay together the best as he Stouffer’s seemed to be very runny.
Then the family dug in…
What we all found was:
A - Michael Angelo’s – seemed to have the most cheese – you could really taste the ricotta.
B – Stouffer’s – seemed to have the most sauce – you could barely taste any cheese or meat, just sauce. Everyone agreed that you could tell this was “store-bought!”
C – Marie Calendar’s – seemed to have the most meats – this is a three meat lasagna and you could really taste the sausage, but not so much beef
Hubby liked the Stouffer’s best – which wasn’t surprising because he sticks to what he knows and likes and he was raised on the Stouffer’s! He also tends to dislike cheese and really like “saucy” meals.
The kids and I really liked the Michael Angelo’s the best. We are ones who really like cheese and this lasagna was more cheesy than meaty, which is good for those of us who prefer our lasagna this way.
Mother-in-law liked the Stouffer’s best. She tends to not like ricotta as much, so she liked the blander taste of the Stouffer’s.
Father-in-law was the only one who liked the Marie Calendar’s lasagna. He liked the taste of the different meats.
Final Thoughts – MIL – liked the “B” Stouffer’s & I liked the “A” Michael Angelo’s
Final Thoughts – Hubby liked the “B” Stouffer’s & all three kids liked the “A” Michael Angelo’s
All in all, this was such a fun experience. From start to finish we made it a family event and really enjoyed “testing” our taste buds!
I would love to hear from YOU! Leave a comment below letting me know which Lasagna you think YOUR family would like the best!
*Disclaimer – All food was sponsored by Michael Angelo’s. All opinions are honest and our own!
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(Ha, ha, ha... I love this picture!)
This looks like so much fun. I LOVE lasagna.
Ashley S recently posted..Comment on Upcycled Home Decor Vase! by Crunchy Frugalista
this italian girl would love to try that, lol
Have Sippy Will Travel Mommy Blogger recently posted..VTech Switch and Go Dinos @vtechtoys
I love that you did a taste test. My family definitely prefers Michael Angelos!
Angela recently posted..5 Fun Halloween Crafts for Kids
that’s such a fun taste test!! How fun! It’s great to know about the different brands and what makes them so different. I’d love to try the Michael Angelo’s I’m interested to see how Ricotta would taste in lasagna.
Amber Edwards recently posted..Girls Night In, Lean Cuisine Asian Dinner & DIY Paper Lanterns #FrozenFavorites #CBias
That is super cute and so much fun to read….I love your ingenuity on this taste test. I don’t like runny lasagna at all, so I’d have to go with A or C.
julieann r recently posted..Tasty Thursday 9/27/12
Twitter: frompdxwithlove
says:
By looks I would have gone with Stouffers….but by description I would have gone with Michael Angelos! I love lasagna!!
Sofia recently posted..Turbospoke and Motocross
I’d have to go with the Michale Angelo’s as well!
Kas
Kasandria Reasoner recently posted..White Carpet Premiere Of Disney’s Frankenweenie at the El Capitan
Twitter: imperfectwomen
says:
What a creative way of doing this and involving your family! Love it. We are a Stouffer’s family. We have tried most of the different brands out there and always come back to this one. That doesn’t mean I won’t give other brands another shot. One thing I found with Stouffer’s is that you have to cook it without the foil for more than the recommended time at the end and you have to let it set for 10 mins or more. Then it will not run.
I am willing to try the Michael Angelo’s and will buy that brand the next time we are having lasagna and let you know how we liked it.
Thanks for the great review.
Pam recently posted..Because I Am A Girl Campaign – Raise Your Hand For Education!
OK that would hard for me to do they all look good!
Celeste recently posted..Kooza By Cirque Du Soleil Coming To St.Petersburg!
I’m thinking that I’d also like the Michelangelo’s based on how you described them. I’m more about the cheese and ricotta and NOT about the meat. Everyone looks so serious as they’re tasting. That made me giggle!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell recently posted..A Little Embarrassing #lifehappens
What a fun taste test you all had. Thank you for being honest and letting us know why different people in your family liked the different lasagnas the best.
Felissa (Two Little Cavaliers) recently posted..Dog with Megaesophagus Uses High Chair to Eat
Looks like fun! So wish I could have lasagna! No cheese for me!
Jenny K recently posted..Thirty-One Makes Great Diaper Bags: #babytravels Grand Prize
I buy the Safeway Select brand from Von’s. I like it much better than Stouffer’s and this week with Just for U e-coupons you can get the big party size for $6.85. That’s cheaper than trying to make it. They have several types of lasagna, I get the meat, they also have chicken enchiladas, orange chicken and others.
what an awesome family night idea this would be so very fun and who can beat lasagna
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