Frozen Friday: Hormel - Compleats Chicken Breast & Gravy

Okay, not exactly frozen, but vacuum-sealed, Hormel's Compleats Chicken Breast & Gravy is basically like canned food, but in plastic so that you can stick it in the microwave for the indoorsman who shuns heating cans over a open fire.

For about $3.39, you get a 10-ounces meal that includes a piece of chicken breast, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

After a quick 90 seconds, I pulled the meal out of the microwave only to find that they sealed it really well and since it was piping hot, I worried about pulling too hard and burning myself. It took me a while to get the sealed plastic open and get a look at my lunch:

I don't have high standards as to how food should look, but the Chicken Breast & Gravy Compleats looked really unappetizing. The gravy was watery and the chicken was almost indiscernible from the potatoes.
If I were to guess, I would say they poached, or just plain boiled the chicken prior to sealing it; there was no apparent browning and it was fairly uniform in color. It came in one chunk and was slightly on the small side. Tastewise, it wasn't really seasoned and tasted pretty much like canned chicken, which is to say firm and a little on the dry side.

The potatoes were re-hydrated and tasted weird to me, like boiled potatoes, but not. It was a bit chunky rather than smooth but congealed together.

But despite the weirdness, I think the dish could have been saved if it were paired with a somewhat rich, thick chicken gravy (like the kind Heinz sells in a jar). No such luck though, the gravy tasted a bit like (very) slightly thickened chicken stock of the plainest variety.

All-in-all, a very disappointing meal, but at least I didn't go hungry. I guess these might work for emergency food supplies but I'd rather just go with a can of soup or stew in that instance.

Nutritional Info - Hormel Compleats Chicken Breast & Gravy (283g)
Calories - 200 (from Fat - 30)
Fat - 3g (Saturated Fat - 1g)
Sodium - 1100mg
Carbs - 24g (Sugar - 1g)
Protein - 19g