Tyson Skillet Creations

I was recently given the opportunity to try the new meal kit from Tyson - Tyson Skillet Creations. "Tyson Foods has teamed up with Food Network host Robin Miller to offer their brand new Skillet Creations Meal Kits, which have 45 percent less sodium than their previous frozen meal kits and less sodium than many of their key frozen meal kit competition competitors."

I sent my husband to the store to choose the variety, he came home with Grilled Chicken Tuscanny and Penne. The description indicates penne and grilled chicken with cherry tomatoes, onions, fire roasted zucchini and red bell peppers in tomato sauce.

The preparation is rather easy. I took the bag direct from the freezer, dumped the contents into a pan over medium heat, placed the lid on the pan, and let it cook for 10 minutes, stirring once. When I dumped the bag, I could see the pasta, the chicken, the peppers and onions, the zucchini and the whole cherry tomatoes. What I didn't see was sauce - but it is in there somewhere, because when I opened the pan to stir it up there was a nice tomato sauce covering the pasta.

Overall, the meal was pretty tasty. The zucchini and red peppers are fire grilled which gives them both a nice flavor. The tomato sauce is a nice simple sauce, although my husband felt it could have been more flavorful. He adjusted that by adding some Tabasco sauce.

Each serving has 320 calories, 6g of total fat, 5 g of dietary fiber and 22g of protein. To me, for a dinner entree, this seems like a reasonable amount.

As to value, the Tyson Skillet Creations were priced at $5 at my store. Not a bad price for a meal kit that includes the protein. The Skillet Creations also come in Steak Stroganoff with Noodles, Asian Style Orange Chicken, Grilled Chicken Fajitas and Grilled Steak Fajitas. One thing that I do have to say that I like about all of the meals is that they really are a complete meal - they have the protein, the vegetable and the grain - a pasta or a tortilla - as part of the meal kit. I have seen meal kits that don't include the protein and those that don't include the pasta or the tortillas, so the fact that these are complete is great.

The biggest challenge I have with the Tyson Skillet Creations is a challenge I have with other frozen meal kits - they are only 2 servings. Out of fairness, the line is positioned "as a convenient way for busy couples to prepare high-quality meals at home without high sodium levels" (MediaPost Publications). I just want to express my interest in a convenient way for busy moms to prepare high-quality meals at home without high sodium levels. It only seems fair right? We had more time when we were a busy couple than we do now that we are a busy family. Right now, I am able to stretch this 2 servings package to feed my family as long as I add a side dish or a salad, because my kids are young and don't eat as much. I have to imagine though that when my kids are older, this would not be enough to feed the family, even with a salad and side dish. A busy mom needs options like this for a quick family meal - only 10 minutes of prep time allows me more time to play with the kids before and after dinner and the complete kit means no prepping or special ingredients to buy. I think that companies could offer a 4-serving bag (preferably with a price advantage to purchasing two 2-serving bags) that would be better suited for families.

Giveaway!
In addition to trying the Tyson Skillet Creations, I also am able to extend to 2(two) of my lucky readers a chance to try the Tyson Skillet Creations for free.

To enter, leave a comment telling me which Tyson Skillet Creation you are most interested in trying.

For an additional entries:
- Blog about this giveaway. Be sure to come back and leave a link to your post in the comments.
- Follow me on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway using @ABusyMomofTwo. Leave a comment with a link to the Tweet. You can get one entry per day for tweeting.

This contest will remain open until July 30th at 7 pm. I will use a random number generator to select the winner. I will contact the winner by e-mail and they will have 36 hours to respond with their contact information or a new winner will be drawn.

Not the winner and still want to try the meals for less? You can always use this $1 coupon to purchase or use this Try Me Free rebate.

Don't forget to enter my other giveaways going on now in celebration of my one year blogging anniversary:
Honey Kix Prize Pack ends 7/27
Smooshie Kit ends 7/29