I applied through Mom’s Ambassador to try this product and review it with my mom group. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
Blake’s started as a family farm in Concord, NH by Great Grandma Clara Blake in 1929 raising the finest free-range, all-natural turkeys and soon became a holiday standard for thousands of New England families. In 1970 Charlie Blake sold their first pot pie from the back of his ’67 Chevy van at St. John’s Church in Concord and thus Blake’s pot pies were started. Four decades later, Charlie and his wife, Sally, were distributing pot pies throughout New England and built a new production facility at the farm. Very little had changed. They were still using Clara’s recipes, cutting vegetables by hand and making gravy from scratch. Theirs was a thrifty, mom-and-pop business operating with a simple goal: Put healthy meals on the table for as many folks as possible. Today, Blake’s meals can be found nationwide and every meal is still made from scratch in small batches just like they always have been. Blake’s has grown from just pot pies to a variety of meals include an organic line of meals and gluten free as well. Blake’s is blessed with a wonderful staff and a shared vision for positively affecting the lives of their customers through their food.
The secret to a Blake’s meal has to do with the particular way they approach food—and Great Grandma Clara’s recipes, which have been handed down for generations. They are committed not only to the recipes, but to how they’re prepared: from scratch, by hand, made just the way you would in your own home. They use only the finest natural and organic ingredients in all of their meals. Blake’s hopes to encourage more family dinners by giving you a little room to relax, by letting you trust the cooking to them.
Here are some facts on Blake’s meals:
- Blake’s Turkey and Beef Pot Pies are made from scratch in small batches, and use only the finest organic and all-natural ingredients.
- Blake’s Heirloom Family Recipes are made by wonderful people, not machines, and feature hormone-free and antibiotic-free chicken, turkey, or beef, garden vegetables, potatoes and a flaky pie crust.
- Blake’s Turkey Pot Pie and Beef Pot Pie are dairy free and soy free and like all of their meals they do not contain Trans fats or artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.
- An 8oz. Blake’s Pot Pie retails for $3.99.
The Blake’s Turkey Pot Pie and Beef Pot Pie are currently available at Meijer and Publix stores. Their full line of pies and meals are available at: Target, Walmart, Whole Foods Market, Sprouts, Meijer, Publix, The Fresh Market, Kroger, Natural Grocers, Earth Fare, Fresh Thyme, Raley’s, Winco, Ralph’s, Harris Teeter, Hyvee, HEB, Jewel, Hannaford, Shaw’s Market Basket, along with many Natural Food Stores & Coops.
I couldn’t find the Turkey or Beef Pot Pies but I did find the Chicken Pot Pie. With the coupons provided I got two Chicken Pot Pie, two Shepherd’s Pie, and two Old Fashioned Mac & Cheese. I decided to do a sampling for everyone. I scooped out a bite of the three different pies onto a plate so that each mom and child could try the three different pies. Here are the results of what the group thought:
Chicken Pot Pie
The Chicken Pot Pie is made with garden vegetables and a flaky pie crust. The pot pie is made with white meat chicken raised without antibiotics, minimally processed, and no artificial ingredients. The pies are made from scratch in small batches by wonderful happy people (not machines) and feature white meat chicken, garden vegetables, potatoes, signature gravy, and a flaky pie crust.
The Chicken Pot Pie was easy to bake. All I had to do was take the plastic off the pie, place it on a cookie sheet and cooked it at 400°F for 35-45 minutes. My oven is a little quirky so I ended up baking it for 55 minutes. The crust was a nice golden brown when I took it out of the oven and bubbling over onto the cookie sheet.
The vegetables were soft and baked thoroughly. Some did get chunks of chicken while others did not. Every spoonful taken from the pie did not contain all the vegetables and a piece of chicken. I tried but could not find big chunks of chicken. Everyone loved the flaky crust and agreed it was the best part of the pot pie. The kids were 50/50 on whether they liked it or not. Some asked for more and some refused to even take a bite.
Shepherd’s Pie
The Shepherd’s Pie is made with all natural ground beef, corn, and mashed potatoes. The pie is made with beef raised without antibiotics, minimally processed, and no artificial ingredients. The pies feature moist ground beef and organic corn, and then topped with freshly made mashed potatoes.
The Shepherd’s Pie was just as easy to bake. I peeled the film off the pie and placed it on a cookie sheet, cooking it at 375° for 40 minutes. I ended up cooking the pie for about 50 minutes. The mashed potatoes looked thoroughly cooked so I took it out to cool.
I love eating shepherd’s pie so I was excited to dig into this. This would be the perfect portion for a dinner. When I got into the pie there was a thick layer of mashed potatoes, followed by a layer of corn and a very thin layer of beef. The beef was cooked through. I liked the flavor of the beef and corn but did not care for the mashed potatoes. Many of the moms were on the fence about the Shepherd’s Pie. It was an okay meal but not a first choice. The kids (mine included) picked apart the layers and ate each individually. The kids liked all three parts and the thin layer of beef was just the right amount for them.
Old Fashioned Mac & Cheese
The Old Fashioned Mac & Cheese is made with all natural pasta and a crispy breadcrumb topping. The pie is made with rBGH-free cheese. The mac and cheese starts with the perfect blend of cheddar cheese and organic pasta, then finished with a delicious breadcrumb topping.
The Mac and Cheese was simple to bake. I peeled off the film covering, placed it on a cookie sheet, and baked it at 375° for 45 to 50 minutes. I cooked the mac and cheese until the breadcrumbs started to brown, so for about 50 minutes. The cheese was bubbling over and the breadcrumbs had started to brown so I took it out of the oven.
I am a very picky person when it comes to macaroni and cheese. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it because it was more of a liquid cheese versus a stringy melted cheese. The breadcrumbs were amazing but I could not get used to the taste of the liquid cheese. The adults were okay with the mac and cheese but did not ask for another bite or seconds. The kids loved the mac and cheese like kids do. My son wanted ketchup on his but I didn’t hear any complaints from him after he got it. In fact, he said it was pretty good and he wouldn’t mind having it for lunch sometime. My daughter licked the cheese sauce off the noodles and left the noodles on her plate. The other kids ate and played with their mac and cheese.
Overall, I am not sure about the Blake’s meals. I liked some of them, but they would not be my first choice. It is a great alternative for meals when there is not the time to create a home cooked meal. I have purchased a few more to keep in the freezer for those times when I need a meal. #blakeslove #momsmeet
Disclosure: I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet program, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms Meet blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions are all my own, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.