Food reviewer and amateur "chef" Abi Jones doesn't waste time with paring knives or mallets.

The microwave is the most used tool in her culinary belt.

Jones is the founder of Heat Eat Review, a Web site for foodies that showcases reviews of microwave meals. On this site (heateatreview.com), it's not uncommon to read about the "light spicy aftertaste" of the sauce in a Lean Cuisine meal or how the Hungry-Man Buffalo Style Chicken Strips exceeded expectations.

Although many of the site's reviewers are attracted to kitsch, Jones says for her it's about convenience.

"I was eating frozen meals at the office in D.C.," she says. "I worked at a nonprofit, so everyone had very small salaries. We'd eat frozen meals to save money. We'd wait in line at the microwave and talk about the meals we were eating. (The site) really started out so we didn't have to tell every single person in the office how a meal was."

Jones, 29, now works as an information architect at an agency in San Francisco and maintains the site in her spare time.

She's got no shortage of material. TV-dinner makers are exploring new and sometimes gourmet flavors.

In addition to Healthy Choice General Tso's Spicy Chicken, food enthusiasts can now buy chicken vindaloo from Trader Joe's or Amy's Indian Paneer Tikka. Local supermarkets and food stores around the country are expanding their frozen sections to include items like lobster bisque (found at AJ's Fine Foods), wild salmon with rosemary orange glaze, cranberry pilaf and broccoli (at Whole Foods Market) or assorted dim sum dumplings (at The 17th Street Farmers Market).

Wolfgang Puck even has his own brand of frozen foods, with a line of gourmet pizzas and dishes such as Arancini: Italian risotto balls blended with cheese and shiitake mushrooms.

"When you're thinking about frozen food, it's things that are really great leftovers," Jones says. She likes to buy frozen Indian foods from small markets in Silicon Valley, as well as frozen pizza. "Indian, Chinese food that's not fried, like broccoli and beef. Also things like lasagna or spaghetti. Fried chicken doesn't fare as well."

Tucson has a range of options for freezer connoisseurs, but if you're looking locally, you'd better like masa. Tamales are the game in this town.

Tania's Flour Tortillas, 614 N. Grande Ave., serves a pack of six frozen tamales for $7.99.

El Charro Café's wholesale foods facility, Chonita Foods, makes beef, pork, chicken and corn tamales and sells them at Bashas' and Food City under the name Dos Ranchitos by El Charro. Cocina El Charro is a line sold exclusively at Costco stores in Arizona.

If you're looking for a single-person meal, The Tucson Tamale Company offers packs of two for $4.99 in 11 traditional and experimental flavors. The restaurant, at 2545 E. Broadway, also sells frozen tamales at the Rincon Market and Maynards Market.

For sheer variety, there's no topping Roma Imports. In addition to sandwiches and uncooked pastas, the Italian grocery and deli at 627 S. Vine Ave., near South Kino Parkway, sells eggplant parmesan, spinach-and-cheese-stuffed shells, chicken marsala, frozen quiches and more. While most of these dishes are big enough for two or more people, the beef lasagna and manicotti are smaller, says owner Lilian Spieth.

Roma also sells chicken and beef turnovers fit for one. Spieth said she hopes to expand the selection of single-portion meals this summer.

"There's a trend toward eating better at home and not having to start from scratch. That's where we come in," she says. "Part of the deal is that when they come in here, they can see our kitchen and they can smell the food being made. It gives them a feeling of trust.

"We want to make sure what we eat is home-cooked, even though we haven't cooked it ourselves."