You can find this Ham, Egg & Cheese Croissant Sandwich at most gas stations or convenience stores on your way to work in the morning, and it won't cost near $7. It will probably cost closer $2. Add a bag of dried fruit, and a lightly sauteed sliced potato and you have this meal.

It's a good value, at a gas station, but our expectations for culinary expertise is higher for a senior citizen prepared meal delivery service, and especially one that has Medicaid contracts. In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Morris Pelphner

While you are at the gas station, take a step to the right, and you'll be likely to find some frozen hamburgers or meatloaf sandwiches. They are made from same machine-made, processed meat as this "Old Fashioned" Meatloaf. You'll see the same potatoes in many of these meals. We thought the vegetable effort of quality and portion size was better than what we sampled in recent years, but the only thing "old" about this meatloaf could be how long it's been on the shelf. 

In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Morris Pelphner

This meal was thrown away due to water damage from excessive water in the single compartment tray. If there was any honey or bourbon flavor in the BBQ beef, it was washed away. You can't see it in the picture, but there is a pile of mushy mashed potatoes under the BBQ Beef. The amount of beef in this meal is much smaller than how it looks. Think of the meat being sprinkled on the mashed potatoes.

The cornbread was the best thing in the meal, and it was prepackaged from another supplier. A green vegetable would have helped make this a balanced meal, but given the poor quality, I don't think anyone would care, primarily the company that sells it. How embarrassing. In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Nicole DiLayne

We really and sincerely hope this is the direction the company is headed with their prepared meal delivery service. The breaded chicken cutlet is larger and meatier than most, but I salute the company for using fresh asparagus, not canned or frozen. Along with the fresh potatoes and the small biscuit, this would be a meal any elderly or senior person would appreciate tremendously.

Here is a meal that is an excellent value at $7 and you probably won't find something better in the frozen food section of your local market.

-Chef Aldo Piquanti

This meal would have received a position, thumbs up review from us had it adequately been shipped in multiple compartment trays. The Chicken Cordon Blue is good, as is the flavorful cheese inside it. The Mashed and Potatoes and Peas were also above average. However, the single compartment tray reduced this meal to a clump of mush that was difficult to separate.

Click the image for the enlarged view, and you can still see how we couldn't get some of the Mashed Potato-Pea mush detached from the bottom of the chicken. Once again, the arrogance of insisting on using a sing compartment tray ruins the meal. In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Morris Pelphner

Had the scrambled eggs been in their own compartment tray, and the potatoes in there, and the Chicken Fried Steak with its gravy in its own compartment the consumer or the person receiving this through Medicaid would have been able to enjoy a pretty decent breakfast with good flavor and generous portion size.

Instead, the gravy made everything a giant clump of unappetizing mass that literally took us 20 minutes to separate and make this plate. Plating is more like scrapping a plate into a dog's dish than an actual plate you would serve yourself or a family member. In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Nicole DiLayne

Here is the actual presentation Homestyle makes when you open your pancake breakfast meal. The only word to describe putting whipped cream and diced peaches in the same compartment as pancakes is "STUPID." Of course, the pancake will absorb all the cream and juice from the peaches when it is microwaved, making it soggy and mushy.

I stand corrected, there might be another word: "WE DON'T CARE." Almost every prepared meal delivery service that serves breakfast serves pancakes. Homestyle is the only service to get a thumbs down for a dish as simple as pancakes.In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Chef Aldo Piquanti

No Grandmother would accept responsibility for this tasteless water damaged mess. We feel sorry for the Medicaid recipient who may not have eaten for 12 hours, or more, and visually experiences this meal just like you are when they opened it. We threw ours out, but some people had to eat it or eat nothing at all.

In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

 

-Morris Pelphner

This was another water damaged meal. We did our best to strain the Fajita components from the single compartment tray. Ironically, the seal on this meal was broken during shipping, so the excessive water came from the food in the meal when we reheated it. As you can probably imagine, the water-logged Fajita's wouldn't hold any filling. For food safety reasons we threw this meal out.

In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Nicole DiLayne

This meal almost got ruined by being in a sing compartment tray. The Battered Fish was a little bit soggy, but we were able to lift it from the tray to the plate without it breaking. What a shame we have to experience this with every meal we receive.

The fish was very good, and three of them was a surprise. We probably should make a bigger deal about the same potatoes being in almost every meal, and the carrots should have been a green vegetable to be a balanced meal, but the fish was excellent. 

-Morris Pelphner

This was another meal we threw away for food safety reasons because the seals on the microwave tray was broken. There was an unidentifiable odor from the tray too. It wasn't strong, but it was there. We had the luxury of throwing this meal away which made us wonders how many people on Medicaid had to eat this or eat nothing. It also made us wonder if Medicaid has any quality control standards, or does periodic surprise inspections to make sure the food these people are counting on is okay to eat.

In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Nicole DiLayne

You can see the water damage at the bottom of the plate, and while it's not substantial, it is enough to dilute the cheese sauce to a flavorless disappointment. Once again, not putting the vegetables in its own compartment ruined this meal.

In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Chef Aldo Piquanti

Being "Yankees," we are all quite familiar with tender cuts of Yankee Pot Roast in a thick rich gravy. One would think it should be an intellectual property violation for HSD to be allowed to call this prepared meal Yankee Pot Roast because the name is the only thing similar to the real dish.

Ours didn't come with rich flavorful gravy. Instead, and as you can see in the closeup of the picture, our came with extra water that drowned out any flavor that may have been there and made both the mashed potatoes and the bread so soggy it was inedible. In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Morris Pelphner

One of the great things about living so close to Philadelphia is driving down to the Foodery and having a classic Roast Pork Sandwich for lunch and then over to Geno's or Pat's Steaks for a Philly Cheesesteak for dinner. It doesn't get much better than that. This meal couldn't get any worse. I assume they call it "Philly" because it has some chopped beef, which of course is not Ribeye. See that puddle of water at the bottom of the plate? Note: For those of you who love culinary horror movies you click on the picture and see the closeup. All that excess water from the frozen vegetables melting in a single compartment tray ruined this meal and made it inedible.  In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Nicole DiLayne

One of the great culinary meals America gave the world is the Cheeseburger and Fries. Sure, America may not have created it, but you perfected it. So much so, it's showing up on menus all through Europe, and a lot of the world. Then we have this offering. I guess I'll start by noting this meal didn't have any water damage, but if I am going to eat 18 grams of fat and 59 carbs, I won't expose my body to this gas station food. The "meat" highly processed and the bun reheated to be inedible.

In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Chef Aldo Piquanti

Growing up in my family, gravy was considered a beverage. Here, the gravy is baked right into the breading of the chicken. I am not even sure I can call it chicken breast because the patty is made from "chopped chicken," although pureed might be closed to actuality. I think it's suspicious this meal comes with margarine and there are no trans fats listed on the nutritional label. There is really nothing desirable here.

In our opinion, you can probably get two or three frozen dinners at the supermarket for the same price and much better quality then this meal.

-Nicole DiLayne

Being an employee of Homestyle Direct, I read with interest your review of our company and services. I felt it necessary to submit facts that have changed, so your information can be correct.