Lean Cuisine Santa Fe-Style Rice & Beans

Should have made a run for Taco Bell's border

After one of my long work days I was feeling too tired to drive to the 2 fast food places that were still open in my neck of the woods at 12:30 am. Instead I ended up cruising the frozen aisle at Kroger. Since the Santa-Fe Style Rice & Beans was a meatless option it caught my eye. Here's the the from the box:
A Mexican-style rice medley made with long grain white rice, black and pinto beans, whole kernel corn,hand-picked green poblano and red chiles, topped with a creamy sour cream sauce with Mexican tomatillos, and cheese.

Sounded ok to me!... well it did sound good.
Let's start with the texture. I am not sure how something can be both somewhat creamy and crunchy at the same time but some how this is. Personally I think the beans and the corn are undercooked which accounts for crunch.

Taste wise. It's not bad but it is bland. The chilies are the best part, they have no heat (by my standards anyway) but they have great flavor and they retain they're texture really well. The sour cream sauce (where I am assuming the creamy texture came from) is surprisingly rich for a low cal dish. The cheese is there- and that's really all I can say about it, beyond seeing the cheese I can't tell you that I actually tasted it one way or the other. The rice is could have been so much better had they used anything besides plain old long grain white rice.

If you like the idea of Mexican food but not the spice you may just love this. Again it's not bad but it is bland. And even with that said I have to compliment Lean Cuisine for making some tasty "diet" products, it is impressive how much the flavor has improved in the last few years.

PURCHASED FROM:
Kroger (Ralph's depending on your location)