Frozen Friday: Totino's - Combination Rectangle Party Pizza

Totino's recently switched to making rectangular versions of their signature Party Pizza instead of circular ones (so you can fit more in your freezer and it uses less packaging apparently). It features a distinctive crisp crust topped with sausage and "pizza topping with pepperoni seasoning."

I bought one for $1.39 on sale.

I've reviewed the previous version before and wanted to see if the rectangular version was any different (it's not supposed to be according to the brand).

For the most part, it seemed the same to me. The sausage and pepperoni-flavored pizza topping tasted just like I remembered, with the expected meaty texture and enjoyable flavor. The cheese was had that melted but somewhat artificial quality and the sauce was an ever so light layer of tomato tang.

I used to cook these in a pan (because that's how my mom and grandmother did it when I was a kid) but I didn't have a giant or square pan handy to fit the new shape. The packaging states that the new shape is "perfect" for the toaster oven so I went that route.

While the toaster oven left the cheese on top with some charring (and a bit of drying), the crust on the bottom was only lightly crisped but still browned. It should be noted that I cooked it on a tray rather than directly on the rack, which probably hindered the crisping some.

Beyond the less-than-crispy result, the crust also seemed a little less airy, flatter and more bread-y than before.

So for the most part, Totino's Combination Rectangle Party Pizza is the same as the previous, more traditional, round pizza but the crust felt just a little different and a little worse to me. I'd still get it occasionally though.

Nutritional Info - Totino's Combination Party Pizza (rectangle)
Serving size - 1/2 pizza (152g)
Calories - 350 (from Fat - 150)
Fat - 17g (Saturated Fat - 4.5g)
Sodium - 700mg
Carbs - 37g (Sugar - 4g)
Protein - 12g