The Scenario: You’re fresh out of bacon butter (Lard/Pig Fat) to spread on that piece of warm toast. Could Lean Cuisine’s new Pasta Romano with Bacon fill in to satisfy your baconish desires?

NOT!

I’ve been deceived by the pig. Go ahead and microwave this baby and you’ll get a whiff of bacon splendor, but then get ready to grab your eyeglasses, contact lenses, and magnifying glass all at once as you attempt to locate the bacon in this dish. I counted three puny bacon bits that are way smaller than my favorite salad topper. The puny pieces were nice and chewy, yet void of flavor. It should be illegal to pimp Pasta Romano with Bacon as a bacon dish.

The rest of the meal has nice smokey flavor, plus tomato chunks and onions, cheesy Romano, oversized al dente bow tie pasta, and visible herbs and spices. But these flavors are nothing new and can be found in a number of Lean Cuisine meals. The bacon was supposed to set the meal apart, but it failed miserably.

If this dish piques your interest go ahead and pick it up, but I suggest you grab it on sale. It’s not worth full price.

Romano & Bacon Notes

• Price Paid: $2.50 on sale ($4.29 regular price)
• Cooking Time: About 4 minutes
• Calories: 280
• Fat Calories: 60
• Total Fat: 7g
• Sodium: 650mg
• Potassium: 880mg
• Carbs: 43g
• Fiber: 4g
• Sugars: 8g
• Protein: 12g

If you find a cool coupon in the box like I did for $1 off 3 Lean Cuisines, read the fine print. My coupon can not be used towards the purchase of One Dish Favorites like Pasta Romano with Bacon. It’s another marketing screw up. “Eat our new product, but
you can’t use this coupon to buy more.” Well I wasn’t going to anyways!

Yum Up! to: Frying up breaded veal cutlets in pig fat….but only once a year at Christmastime. It’s flavor for days, baby!

Yuck Down! to: Microscopic, flavor-free bacon and stupid coupons.

View the complete Taste Test Directory and Fast Food Cheat Sheets.