This is a thread for people who aren’t afraid to admit they eat packaged, processed food
I was checking out at Big Lots the other day, having found a great deal on a cheese dip I like (the new Pace Onion & Chipotle flavor is amazing, you guys!). Since I was buying five jars (seriously, amazing), the checkout lady asked if I was planning to make a special recipe, like a cheesy chicken pasta. My mind was blown! It had never even occurred to me to use the sauce as anything other than a way to make tortilla chips yummier and more fattening.
This is not the first time I’ve had my mind blown when it comes to new uses for packaged foods. When I was growing up, anything that came in a box or a can was either an ingredient or a meal. Canned green beans were an ingredient - you used them to make green bean casserole. Canned baked beans (Bush’s only, please) were a meal - you heated them up and ate them. When my husband and I were first dating, I watched him take a can of Bush’s Baked Beans, drain off most of the sauce, and add a bunch of spices and other stuff. It was a completely different food! I am really not kidding when I say that it literally never occurred to me that you were allowed to do that.
Since then, I’ve become much better about “breaking the rules” and making my own tweaks to packaged foods: I add peas and carrots to my Hamburger Helper (made with Morningstar Crumblers since I’m a vegetarian), or omit the meat entirely and use finely chopped zucchini and mushrooms. I add tofu and veggies to my ramen noodles. But as the experience at Big Lots taught me, I’ve got a long way to go still. So I come to the Dope to ask: what kinds of yummy twists, tweaks, or additions have you come up with for making your packaged meals better?
I’ve found that a few drops of a good, zingy hot sauce will improve many things. I used to keep a bottle in my desk to drip into things like cup noodles and canned soups.
My preferred poison is Spontaneous Combustion, a fairly hot but not insane, and, most importantly, strongly flavored habanero blend.
I’ve also found that canned soups, if I make a batch for a quick dinner, are much improved if you saute some finely chopped onion and garlic in the pan before adding the soup and bringing it to temp.
I used to use tortilla chips as a spoon for those Bush’s baked beans. Mmm
I remember the year I discovered pot pie over rice. Cheap & easy!
And Pillsbury (or similar brand used to make corn bread sticks that came rolled up in a can. We used to make a bottom crust out of the dough, top with a can of chilli and a can of veg-all and bake.
There’s cookbooks full of packaged food recipes. I’m sure they’re online now.
Invented an easy dessert recently: Take boxed banana bread mix and make the batter. Divide it into two pie pans. Bake 'em. (You have to guess at the time and keep checking them, as the time on the box is for a loaf pan.)
Make up a batch of vanilla pudding. (I much prefer Cook and Serve to Instant, but Instant is far easier.) Chop up a couple of bananas.
Take a banana bread disk and place it in the bottom of a large glass bowl or casserole. Sprinkle in some banana chunks, then spoon on half of the pudding. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients.
I call it Easy Banana Trifle (though I almost named it Redneck Banana Cream Pie, until I decided not to bother putting Cool Whip on top).
You can do the same thing with any quickbread mix and pudding combination that sounds good to you.
Ooh, this sounds like a good idea, and reminds me of another idea I had recently. Campbell’s has new soups under the Campbell’s Go brand. I’m not a huge fan of soup by itself, but I sautéed some portobello mushrooms and peas in a garlic oil, then added the Creamy Red Pepper with Smoked Gouda soup to the pan and served it over quinoa. It was delicious!
I soften top ramen noodles (in hot water) and then stir fry them with leftover meat, shrimp, or veggies. I don’t use the seasoning packet though – a few drops of sesame oil or soy sauce is better.
I love boxed stuffing (Stove Top) as a quick side dish, and it can be improved with sauteed onions, mushrooms, whatever. And as long as I’ve admitted liking Stove Top, I also like chicken gravy from a jar, on the stuffing. My blood pressure is fine, no issue with all that sodium.
Mix; 1 Box of Angel Food cake and 1 can of crushed pineapple. Bake
No eggs or oil and it’s moist and delicious.
Easy Chicken Enchiladas
In a casserole, layer flour tortillas with cans of Cream of Chicken, Canned Chicken, and Green Chillies. Top with cheese and enchilada sauce and bake until hot. It’s a meal you can pull out of your pantry that will feed a large group quickly.
I find canned soup is much improved when you sear chicken in the bottom of a large pot, sweat down carrots, onions, and celery in the same pot, add black pepper and chicken stock, throw the canned soup away, and stir in egg noodles. It’s magic!
When I stopped drinking milk I stopped having milk around to make boxed mac & cheese with. Turns out you can make it with just butter and a bit of water. Or even just water (and the cheese packet) if you’re really desperate.
Or if you’re livin’ the big life you can add a tablespoon or two of butter to the hot noodles to coat them, then like 2-3 oz of cream cheese, the cheese packet, salt, pepper, dry mustard, a dash of Tobasco and grated parmesan.
I willingly confess to an enduring love for Elio’s frozen pizza (yes, I live in Brooklyn; I like it as food, not particularly as pizza), but I usually add extra cheese, and sometimes something like chicken if I have it handy.
The Uncle Ben’s Long Grain and Wild Rice (the one you cook for 30 minutes, not the instant one) used to have this recipe on the box but it’s gone: After the rice is done, stir in one jar of sliced mushrooms and heat through, then stir in around 2/3 cup of sour cream. Delicious!
Take one box of Tony Chachere’s Creole dirty rice dinner mix
Brown a pound of hamburger with onion and minced garlic
The mix already comes with about a half cup of white rice, but I parboil an additional 1/2 cup of brown rice (makes it “healthier” doncha know)
Add the seasoning/rice packet and parboiled rice to the skillet with the hamburger
Add about 2 cups of cool water and 1/2 cup dry red wine
Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for about 20-30 minutes
Top with a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese
Serve with hot crusty buttered bread
YUM!
Any leftovers make a great base for vegetable-beef-rice soup.
