Jazzing Up pre-packaged Food

[KatieLoeb]

I consider myself to be a fairly accomplished home cook. I love to cook, am often thinking about my next meal or food project and would love to devote more time to this passion. However, like most of us busy folk, my available time falls far short of that which allows the elaborate fantasy meals to really come to fruition. I've become a bit of a master at "jazzing up" supermarket pre-packaged, canned or frozen goods. Here are a few of my favorites:

A healthy spoon of pesto (I freeze my own in the ice cube tray and pop them out into a zip lock bag for perfect portion control) in canned minestrone or tomato based soups make it taste virtually home made. Jarred pasta sauce with a healthy blob of pesto also works as above.

A 50/50 mixture of good cheese spread and butter, spread onto a baguette cut lengthwise and broiled until bubbly and lightly browned. Cool slightly and cut into small bite sized pieces. Great for sporting event hors d'oeuvres.

A fake out Mexican Posole soup made from browned chopped onions, canned posole (rinsed and drained), browned ground turkey or beef drained, a can of cilantro/lime flavored pre-chopped tomatoes and canned chicken broth. A little bit of cumin and chipotle chile powder and it's rockin' spicy and delicious.

Quick and easy faux Cubano Black Bean soup made from canned black beans, sauteed onion and bell peppers and canned chicken or vegetable broth, appropriately spiced with cumin, salt and pepper.

Virtually "instant" quesadillas made from packaged corn tortillas, shredded cheese/cheeses (I like a combo of mozzarella and Pepper Jack), sliced fresh tomatoes and chopped pitted Calamata olives from the supermarket olive/anitpasto bar. Just cheese and bottled salsa works if there's nothing else around. Spray a small non-stick skillet with vegetable oil spray, place first tortilla down for a moment to warm it, top with fillings of your choice and the second tortilla. Turn up heat to medium and press down with spatula occasionally to get the quesadilla to stick together. Turn and brown second side and then cut into wedges with pizza cutter. Luscious and easy as hell.

What are your favorite tricks, time-saving tips? Please share!!!

[Huevos del Toro]

A fake out Mexican Posole soup made from browned chopped onions, canned posole (rinsed and drained), browned ground turkey or beef drained, a can of cilantro/lime flavored pre-chopped tomatoes and canned chicken broth.  A little bit of cumin and chipotle chile powder and it's rockin' spicy and delicious.

I love posole soup (stew). When I’m in New Mexico I buy bags and bags of dried posole. I fix it the old fashioned way; pork shoulder that I’ve cubed, requisite spices and long, low simmering. The one difference is I’ve not used chipotle chile powder, just the pure New Mexican hot stuff. That’s a change I’ll definitely make. The odd thing is, the more I eat from the pot the more seems to appear. I don’t think I’ve ever emptied a pot. It’s never ending. Could it be the altitude (9500’)? The isolation (no other human being within sight or earshot)? Ideal environment, isn’t it?!!!! I’ve never tried canned hominy so can’t compare it to the dried stuff. Man, I’m making myself hungry. I can’t go it with this 100+ degree heat, but as soon as it cools down (November?) I’ll make another pot, or two, or three! Thanks so much for the "push".

[claire797]

#1) Take Tyson frozen buffalo wings and add melted butter, Franks red hot sauce and extra cayenne. Mmmmmmm.

#2) Hormel canned turkey chili is pretty good for canned chili. It's really good if you mix in a few tablespoons of salsa, some fresh cilantro and whatever Southwest seasoning you have on hand -- in my case, Penzey's. I serve it Cincinnati style over spaghetti. Hopefully, Jaymes will not read this.

#3) 3 words -- Cake Mix Doctor! Love this book. Sure, I appreciate scratch, but CMD recipes are fun and reliable when you're in a hurry.

#4) Super-fast Hot & Sour Soup. Take 1 can of chicken broth and add 1 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1 tablespoon vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, and a few of pinches of whatever chinese spices you have lying around. Mix a few tablespoons of the soup mixture with a tablespoon of cornstarch. Heat soup mixture. Stir in cornstartch mixture. If you like egg, crack an egg and swirl in some egg white.

#5) House of Hunan makes a great stir fry sauce.

[alacarte]

Prefab boxed risotto. Add about 3/4 of the spice packet, add remaining 1/4 to the trash bin. Add frozen peas and cherry tomato halves.

Though I think adding fresh herbs to any prefab mix makes it better immediately.

[JFLinLA]

Anything I can make ahead in bulk and freeze. Make extra tomato sauce and freeze some for later. Make a pile of pizza dough, place in zip-loc bags inside coated with non-stick spray and into the freezer.

[Basilgirl]

I jazz up frozen pizza (I know, I know - the DiGiorno brick oven style is really...not bad) with chopped garlic, hot pepper flakes, oregano, S&P. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh basil (if I have it) after it comes out of the oven.

Beats Domino's. And Papa John's. And Pizza Hut.

[torakris]

I buy frozen pre-cooked breaded chicken patties top them with some shredded mozarella and a quick homemade tomato sauce (I would never use that jarred stuff! ) and voila instant chicken parmigiana.

It is a nostalgiac flavor for me, my mom made something similar.

I also keep frozen meatballs on hand to use in a variety of dishes in an instant (kids love meatballs with any flavor! )

The Japanese Cook-Do brand line of prepared sauces aren't half bad, I often jazz them up with some fresh ginger, garlic, fermented black beans, etc when I need a meal quick and don't feel like cooking.

[Toliver]

3 words -- Cake Mix Doctor!  Love this book.  Sure, I appreciate scratch, but CMD recipes are fun and reliable when you're in a hurry.

CMD does rock! The cakes that I've tasted made from CMD recipes were quite good. In fact, the book is a great example of this thread...adding something new to something pre-made to get something better.

In my circle of friends, I know of only two people who make cakes from scratch (one of them makes party/wedding cakes for part-time income), the rest are all "Mixers". The book has been a great quick gift to give to family members and friends who like potluck-type recipes. My mom used to bring a Jello something to potlucks/family gatherings but now is a cake whiz with CMD. Thank God.

[KatieLoeb]

#3) 3 words -- Cake Mix Doctor! Love this book. Sure, I appreciate scratch, but CMD recipes are fun and reliable when you're in a hurry.

I'm all over finding a copy of this book now. Thanks, Claire and Toliver!

[elyse]

This may be a fabulously stupid question, but a Cake Mix Doctor cake can't be made from scratch, right? You start with store bought cake mix.. and doctor it?

[claire797]

This may be a fabulously stupid question, but a Cake Mix Doctor cake can't be made from scratch, right?  You start with store bought cake mix.. and doctor it?

Yes. Most of the recipes use a combination of cake mix, whole milk, eggs, vanilla with a few twists here and there like melted white chocolate, sour cream, or fruit. Here are a few other reasons I like the book:

1) At the beginning, there is a full color photo of each cake. You can look through thumbnails and choose a cake based on the photo. Every cookbook should have this.

2) Blurbs. This is a fun book to read simply for trivia. For instance, the original CMD book (not to be confused with the chocolate CMD) has a whole page of red velvet lore.

3) There are more than just cake recipes. There are quickie cheesecake recipes, a few brownie recipes, some dump cakes and a very good chocolate orange biscotti recipe. The original CMD book also has a recipe for a cute, easy to make gingerbread house.

Again. I still like playing with scratch cakes, but CMD cakes are good too and the book is loads of fun.

[Basilgirl]

I jazz up frozen pizza (I know, I know - the DiGiorno brick oven style is really...not bad) with chopped garlic, hot pepper flakes, oregano, S&P. Drizzle with olive oil and fresh basil (if I have it) after it comes out of the oven.

Beats Domino's. And Papa John's. And Pizza Hut.

I have complete brain drain when it comes to DiGiorno vs. Freschetta. The brick-oven pizza is made by Freschetta. The brick-oven pizza is made by Freshetta. The brick-oven pizza is made by Freschetta.

And it's really good.

[sparrowgrass]

I had a BF whose freezer was full of frozen pizza, and when I would visit him I would add some grated parmesan, fresh veggies, anything to to make them taste like real pizza.

One night, he decided to "cook" and asked me how much fresh garlic he should put on the pizza. I told him a clove or two.

I sat down at the table to find that he had taken the whole head, chopped it without peeling, and sprinkled it on the pizza.

Fiber-rich.

[KateW]

Sounds like something my fiance would do.

I just came here to add that I also sometimes put linguica in our mac and cheese. I just finished making that for us tonight.