My Frozen Dinner Instructions

[Lucky]

My frozen dinner says how to cook it in the microwave, but in a side bar, it says that if the product is frozen I should thaw it first, before cooking. I've never had to do that with a frozen dinner before, so I thawed it somewhat and then microwaved it. As I was throwing the package way, I saw a sticker that said to enjoy the product before November 25th...two days ago. I thought frozen dinners kept forever.

But I am going to eat it- I just wanted folks to know what happened if I ended up in the hospital with food poisoning! Have you ever had to thaw a frozen dinner before microwaving it?

Never mind- after thawing it for 3 minutes in the m'wave, and then cooking it 6 minutes- thy recommend 4 1/2 to 6- I took it out and it was still frozen in the middle! I tossed it.

[TampaYankee]

Sounds to me like you wer't too hungry.

[seattlebottom]

Sounds like a Marie Callender frozen dinner.

[Guest zipperzone]

Isn't there a good restaurant within driving range?

[RA1]

I have never eaten a frozen dinner but aren't the "enjoy by" or "use by" dates the suggestion by the manufacturer that the product will have full flavor if used by that date? That does not mean the product "goes bad" 5 minutes or even 5 weeks later (depending upon the type of product)but it might lose some flavor or texture or whatever during that interval.

Best regards,

RA1

[Guest CharliePS]

Why were you eating a frozen dinner when you had all those good leftovers from Thanksgiving? We had a delicious second dinner last night from the leftovers you gave us.

[Lucky]

Why were you eating a frozen dinner when you had all those good leftovers from Thanksgiving? We had a delicious second dinner last night from the leftovers you gave us.

I ate leftovers on Friday, and Saturday's lunch. I got tired of them!

[Guest NeedSome]

Don't all of these "best used by" dates factor in two standard deviations. So they look at the average time in which the product will go bad. Say 3 months. Then they want to ensure that they are right 95 percent of the time (which means they have to take 2 standard deviations from the mean). So say the SD is 2 weeks, they will decrease the average date by a month (3 months average - two weeks - two weeks). So the so there is only a 5% chance that eating something just a couple of days after the use by date will land you in the hospital.

This is the same way they compute the effectiveness factor for birth control by the way. I think standard protocol is that you have to take it for a week for it to be effective, but that's the average time to reach effectiveness plus 2 SDs. So it's possible to be protected within just a day or two of taking it.

Math is fun!

My frozen dinner says how to cook it in the microwave, but in a side bar, it says that if the product is frozen I should thaw it first, before cooking. I've never had to do that with a frozen dinner before, so I thawed it somewhat and then microwaved it. As I was throwing the package way, I saw a sticker that said to enjoy the product before November 25th...two days ago. I thought frozen dinners kept forever.

But I am going to eat it- I just wanted folks to know what happened if I ended up in the hospital with food poisoning! Have you ever had to thaw a frozen dinner before microwaving it?

Never mind- after thawing it for 3 minutes in the m'wave, and then cooking it 6 minutes- thy recommend 4 1/2 to 6- I took it out and it was still frozen in the middle! I tossed it.

[Guest Hoover42]

From 1996 to 2009 I ate a frozen meal--either a Lean Cuisine or Healthy Choice--almost every workday for lunch.

I'd bring one to work in the morning and leave it sitting out on my desk until lunchtime when I would eat it after microwaving it for only two minutes. I never followed the cooking instructions, and I never once felt sick after eating one.

Those frozen meals are so full of salt and preservatives I doubt you'd get sick from eating one even hours after it had completely thawed and reached room temperature.

I eventually gave up on the frozen meals. Now I usually bring a salad with chicken breast for lunch. THAT I do put in the fridge until I'm ready to eat it.