Assume you buy canned corn, or canned peas or frozen broccoli or whatever. Are there certain sauces that are easy to make that go well with frozen vegetables? The only ones I know of are adding cheese and adding butter. There have to be more sauces to add. Are there packets of things like garlic cheese sauce you can add to frozen vegetables or do you have to make them yourself?
Put some olive oil in a small glass bowl, add some minced garlic, and some dried basil, and a bit of ground pepper. Heat in the microwave until the garlic simmers a bit. Whisk in a couple of dashes of lemon juice, or vinegar. Pour it over your veggies.
Milk, or cream. Butter. Ground black pepper. Heat it all gently, and whip in Grated Parmesean. (Alfredo)
Melt butter. Dilute lemon juice, or vinegar in boiling hot water. Use a whisk in a good sized bowl, and add alternate spoonfuls of the vinegar and the butter into the egg yolk. When it is a nice thick consistency, add cayenne pepper, and a dash of salt. If you’re a whimp, you can use a blender. A dash of mustard added first is a nice change of pace, too.
Simmer some finely minced onion in butter, with some pepper and a dash of salt. Add a tablespoon of flour. Don’t let any of it brown, but let it all cook for a few minutes. Add a quarter cup of milk slowly, stirring constantly. Bring back to a simmer, and let it thicken. Do not boil. You can adjust the thickness by adding milk. (Hint: heat the milk first in the microwave, but not to boiling hot, just warm.)
Tris
You can add just about any type of salad dressing to them - Italian is especially good IMO.
I don’t know about packets of garlic cheese sauce, but you can cook frozen veggies, then put them in an oven-proof dish. Sprinkle them with garlic powder, then lay a few slices of 2% milk Kraft singles on them (for some reason, the “real” american cheese singles don’t melt as well as the 2% ones). Put them in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Voila, instant garlic cheese sauce.
Maybe this is Midwest Tacky, but several of Campbell’s cream-of soups and …and-cheese soups make quick easy sauces. Then there’s the time-honored couple slices of Bellbeater cheeselike substance, melted amongst your veggies.
(That’s Velveeta, of course.)
A simple white sauce is easier to make than you might think. Check in any of the “basic” cookbooks (Betty Crocker, American Woman’s, Better Homes & Gardens) for the standard measurements. After a few times, you won’t have to even look it up.
I’ll second this notion, cold canned corn with Italian dressing is great, especially in the warmer months. You can do a three bean salad with Italian and canned green beans, wax beans, and red beans. Not as good as fresh IMO, but in a pinch it’ll do.
In a similiar vein:
Drain a can of black beans and a can of corn. Mix together with some lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Mexican bean salad!
I usually add some or all of the following to jazz it up some:
- cayenne pepper
- Ancho or Chipotle powder (mail order from Penzey’s)
- Finely chopped red onions
- Red Bell pepper
- Tabasco or any other hot sauce
You get the idea…
[mod mode]I really think that this thread belongs in Cafe Society, so I’m kicking it over there.[/mod mode]
As for sauces, I highly recommend Fannie Farmer’s Cook Book. It assumes you know next to nothing about cooking, and has recipes for basic sauces. It also has recommendations for sauces for specific vegetables.
Personally, I think that frozen vegetables are the best for flavor and nutrition in most cases. Most can be lightly steamed and buttered and need nothing else. Many vegetables are also improved by a few drops of lemon juice, with or without the butter.