RECALL: Banquet Pot Pies

[hopeky94]

Actually, I thought I heard this recall was because of salmonella... and doesn't that sometimes relate to not cooking stuff thoroughly?

That's always been one of my biggest pet peeves about pot pies-- getting the middle of them hot (or at least warm!) before burning or drying out the rest of it! :(

[too-old-now]

Banquet pot pies are the best - not ony because we often get them free or with overage, but because they have a BOTTOM CRUST!

However, I have been skeptical about the microwave cooking of these - microwave ovens vary, and I can easily see someone not heating them properly. Plus, I liked the oven cooked tin pans better than the microwaveable coated paper versions.

To avoid the undercooked center problem, it's important to cut a small slit in the center of the top crust. Also, I like to cover the top of the pies with parchment paper or tinfoil for the first 20-25 minutes of cooking time, then remove it for the final 15-20 minutes while the top browns lightly.

As for the recall, note that the retail price on these varies tremendously. I will bring mine back to the store that charged the most for them regular price - since that's what I'll be getting back. Several of my stores have them reg 2/$1, but some stores had them $1.79 apiece, which inflated the "savings" when they are on sale.

One more bit of advice to anyone returning these at your local store - you most likely won't need your receipt, the store will get reimbursed by the MFR for what they give you back. So, you won't need to worry about the coupons the store has already cashed in.

My dad wouldn't eat anything but Banquet because of the bottom crust and that's all any of the rest of us have ever eaten...lol. Salmonella...E. coli...they both can make you very sick.

[terrynn]

Originally Posted by hopeky94 Actually, I thought I heard this recall was because of salmonella... and doesn't that sometimes relate to not cooking stuff thoroughly? That's always been one of my biggest pet peeves about pot pies-- getting the middle of them hot (or at least warm!) before burning or drying out the rest of it! :(

Yes, the recall is because of salmonella. Conagra is saying consumers are not fully cooking the product and that some people consider the pot pies ready-to-eat.

[momof4blessings]

This really stinks! I have 144 of them in my freezer!!!!!! I homeschool my four children so when they had the coupons out for these I over-stocked my freezer with them. My children love them and they were a quick easy lunch.

[too-old-now]

Originally Posted by momof4blessings This really stinks! I have 144 of them in my freezer!!!!!! I homeschool my four children so when they had the coupons out for these I over-stocked my freezer with them. My children love them and they were a quick easy lunch.

I thought I had a lot - I returned 86 of them - that's right, I 86'd them. I had stocked up when they had coupons and a sale, and had gotten around hundred twenty, but we had brought a bunch to the food pantry, and had another pile for the other food pantry. I'm quite certain I didn't pay more than .10 each for any of these, most of them were free.

I brought them back to the store with the high prices and bad attitude - the one that doesn't honor my competitor triples. The reg price was 1.39 there, so I got back $119.54 - and I've made a lot more room in my freezer for the Ore-Ida catalina deal this week. The normally nasty lady at the service desk was actually pretty nice about it - she hadn't gotten instructions on how to handle it, but said she heard about the recall herself. She called the manager over, and while he raised an eybrow at the quantity of empty boxes I had, when I showed him the CNN article I printed, he took them back without question. I'm sure he realized I probably didn't get them all at his store, but he also knew this was a situation he'd never win. I mean, can you just imagine having TV reporters outside his store - this Stop&Shop refuses a recall of salmonella-tainted product?

I hope these come back on the market soon.