Bertolli Complete Skillet Meals for Two: Shrimp, Asparagus and Penne

By: Ann H | May 7, 2007

I first spotted these Bertolli Complete Skillet Meals for Two in the freezer of the grocery store a couple of months ago and was really curious to try them. I suppose the stars were aligned in Bertolli's favor this afternoon because there were a few reasons working together that contributed to my purchasing this meal. First of all, I promised a special someone that I would cook for him, but was completely haggard after an extremely long day and the last thing that I felt like doing was stress over a long and complicated meal preparation. Secondly, I was totally craving some pasta, and lots of it.

I chose the Shrimp, Asparagus and Penne version because, well, it was just calling my name. I am a fan of penne...and asparagus...and shrimp so it was a win-win option in my book. After pouring the contents of the meal bag into a large skillet, I put the lid on, set the timer for 10 minutes, and poured myself a large glass of wine. I downed that whole glass of wine during those 10 minutes; I guess my nerves were a little on edge from worrying about what I would find when I opened the lid on the skillet.

At the "ting" of the timer, I hesitantly opened the lid. Oh joyous day! The meal looked and smelled delicious. I picked out a penne noodle and bit in: Woo-Hoo! Perfectly al dente! But there was no time to take a bite of the whole thing because there was the "knock knock" at the door. Eek! Showtime! Much to my delight, as my guest entered the house he said, "Mmm, something smells delicious!" Well that made me feel a little bit better about the meal.

I divided the skillets contents between our two plates which amounted to two hearty servings. We dug in and I have to say that we both agreed that the Shrimp, Asparagus and Penne meal was pretty good. Not raving, slap ya' mamma' good, but satisfactory.

Pros: The penne came out perfectly cooked, there were just-right tender asparagus a-plenty, as well as juicy red peppers. The shrimp were alright too - not rubbery at all although I did have a few issues it.

Cons: The shrimp, although tasty, were tiny, tiny, tiny and there wasn't that many of them. I think I counted about 6 or so in my serving. Another down side was that the sauce was not flavorful enough; It tasted like watered down tomato basil soup and me being a southern gal, I like my seasonings! A final negative thing about this meal was that the pasta/goodies ratio was off kilter meaning there was a whole lot of pasta compared to the shrimp, asparagus, and peppers.

Nutritionally, the Bertolli meal for two is OK, pretty standard for a pasta dish. The calorie count isn't bad at all, only 440 calories for a large and satisfying serving. The fat grams are pretty high though, 17g with 8g being saturated. My overall feeling about the nutrition facts is that it could be a lot worse. If you were to order something similar in a restaurant I think the facts would be quite a bit higher.

Overall, I was happy with this product to solve a dinner dilemma when you are short on creative energy and time. The Bertolli Meal for Two was on sale! $5.99 to be exact, and when you break that down to 2 servings that's only 3 bucks a person. I am anxious to try out some of the other versions that contain chicken. You just can't beat having a pasta dinner ready in 10 minutes without even having to pick up a knife. I think my guest was pretty happy too, and yes, I did tell him that I didn't actually cook the meal all by myself.

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