Semi-Homemade Cooking

I generally make everything I cook out of fresh, whole ingredients, such as fresh veggies and fruits from the produce department, raw meat from the meat department, fresh eggs, milk, cheese, etc., generally avoiding processed and packaged foods in favor of raw ingredients.  But let's get real.  We all need help sometimes, including those of us who work full time, play sports, and still need to get dinner on the table every night.  So, there are a few shortcuts that I use that I don't feel too bad about, especially after reading the labels.  Ok, I'm kind of obsessed with reading the labels of the food I might eat...  Anyways, try some of these!:

Jiffy Corn Muffins... try adding chopped up nacho-style jalapenos to the mix -- yummy!

Canned Black Beans, Pinto Beans or Black-Eye Peas.... try sauteing onions, peppers, fresh thyme, garlic, salt, pepper, bay leaf and cumin in olive oil before adding the canned beans to the pan, and then let it simmer for 20-30 minutes... mmmmmmm!!!

Beef or Chicken Broth.... these are great for making soups, and can you even imagine making your own out of onions, carrots, celery, and beef or chicken bones????  That would take hours!

Frozen Pie Shells.... great for quiche or even pie!!  There's actually quite a variety of frozen pie crusts out there, including whole wheat, deep dish, organic, etc.

Reddi-Whip Whip Cream..... great on jello shots, desserts, grown up coffee drinks... mmmmmm, nuff said!

Canned Spaghetti or Marinara Sauce... you can dress these up to make the most yummiest vegetarian spaghetti sauce, meat sauce, or even spaghetti and meatballs.  Here's how:

SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT SAUCE:

There are soooo many different kinds of spaghetti sauce on the grocery store shelf, from Ragu, Del Monte, Safeway Organics, and each of the brands has at least 10 flavors!  So how are we supposed to decide????

I found these "pasta sauce" at Fresh & Easy a couple weeks ago, read the labels and this is what I found out: They are made with "Imported Italian Plum Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Pure Olive Oil, Garlic, Parsley, Basil, Salt, Onions, Crushed Red Pepper, White Pepper, Oregano".  All good stuff!!!!  But guess what!  You can make it even BETTER!!!

1 lb. of ground meat
1 or 2 Italian sausages, raw or cooked, either chopped or squeezed out of the casing
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
mushrooms, sliced
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
salt, pepper, oregano, bay leaves, granulated garlic, red chile flakes, etc.
olive oil
can or jar of "pasta sauce"

Saute the onion, bell pepper, and mushroom in olive oil, seasoning the veggies with salt, pepper, bay leaves, oregano, etc.  When the veggies are about 1/2 done, add the meat, sausages, and fresh garlic to the pan, and season the meat with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, oregano, etc.  Use a spatula to stir the meat and veggies while they are cooking.

When the meat is done, you might need to take some of the grease out of the pan.  You do this by tipping the pan slightly so the bottom of the pan has a slope to it.  Push the meat and veggies towards the "up" side.  The grease and meat broth will go to the "down side".  You can determine whether there is grease that needs to be spooned out of the pan.  The grease will be clear and will sit on top of any broth.  Spoon the grease out but not the broth -- that adds flavor.  (Grease just makes it greasy).

Now you can add the pasta sauce to your cooked meat and veggies.  Cover and let it simmer for a little while,  Taste it to see if it needs any sugar or other seasonings.  It should be perfect!  Now you can spoon it over cooked pasta.    Mmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!!