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Posted on 04/17/2011 8:22:12 PM PDT by DemforBush
Usually, the imitation, short-cut, version just doesn’t hold a candle to the original. Consider: Spray tans. Toupees. Press-On Nails. But when it comes to food, most of us don’t have the time to make everything from scratch. So over the years I’ve scoured grocery store shelves for pre-made foods that taste as good as homemade (almost). There are not many. But when I do find a winner, I am instantly hooked. And, while it would probably be more prudent for my culinary street cred to keep my finds to myself, these products are so good, I can't help but overshare.
Do these store-bought foods give the made-from-scratch versions a run for their money? You bet your clip-in hair extensions...
(Excerpt) Read more at shopping.yahoo.com ...
I admit I'm totally on board with the premade pizza dough at Whole Foods, though. I can cook most anything, but I tend to be something of a train wreck when it comes to making yeast doughs/breads, LOL.
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Homemade Italian sauce is incredibly labor intensive to clean up after (I was married to an Italian family once. It’s worse than washing dishes in a restaurant.)
Kroger is putting them in bags now. I miss the plastic bubbletop. But $4.99 and no labor is impossible to resist.
Funny we made very good chucked pot pie using the Puff pastry. Much better than the frozen store bought .
My local grocery sells the chicken for $5.99, a good deal.
Yeah, I’m sorry to say that if they think that stuff is better than what I can make in my kitchen, they haven’t eaten in my kitchen.
Ever since the finale of My Kitchen Rules (an absolutely AMAZING AU TV show), I’m going to try my hand at making puff pastry. Until now, it’s been one of those things that we always accepted buying in. But I do enjoy a challenge. :D
If they think that jarred sauce can compete with my marinara, they’re on crack. Ditto the whipped cream and the pot pie. Pizza dough is pretty easy to make. I did learn from a NYC pizza shop owner though.
Years ago someone came out with all the recipes for Twinkies, Ho Ho’s, Ding Dongs etc. In a talk show format, the person who wrote the book distributed homemade Twinkies to the audience members who inevitably squealed “You mean THAT is what a TWINKIE is supposed to taste like??? (sans preservatives that give it a shelf life of 80 plus years”. So maybe you can’t get the Twinkies brand but technically, it’s possible to get the essence of Twinkie in your own kitchen.
Hmmm....I never realized how absurd the name Twinkies was until I had to write it three times in this post....
Not bad for a $1 broiler.
I don’t know if my Italian sauce is even remotely authentic (I’m not Italian), but it is hard to clean up. One of the ingredients is parmesan cheese, so it coats anything it touches with sticky residue. I haven’t, however, been able to top it with a store-bought sauce.
Not bad for a $1 broiler.
Luv their Hot Dead Chicken in a Box. Especially if the skin is a little burnt.
Yum!
Seriously, though, you will NEVER make whipped cream as light and airy as canned. Tastier, yes, but you cannot compete with nitrous oxide for fluffiness.
His french bread recipe only takes 45 seconds to mix in a Cuisinart. Perfect bread. So easy; follow it to the letter.
“Any Freepers out there love a good three way?”
Actually, I like a good five way with hot sauce and oyster crackers much better, although it must be purchased from Gold Star, never Sky Line! Skileeenies has lousy noodles.
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