Semi-Homemade Cooking

I like cooking “from scratch” but there are also many times that I like to do what I call semi-homemade cooking. Basically this is where I start with something that is partially prepared or a mix or a boxed item, etc. and then build the dish from there. There have been several of these items included in the menus that I have shared. Let me give you some examples.

One example is a chicken noodle soup that I make. I have a recipe that has a very long list of seasonings. Instead of doing that, I use a packet of Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix. I follow the rest of the directions for the recipe. It makes preparation quick and easy, and the soup is delicious. 

Another example is a version of beans and rice that I make. I do cook dry beans most of the time in the slow cooker, but sometimes I need a quick meal instead. Instead of cooking the beans myself, I follow the recipe except that I use canned pinto or red kidney beans in place of the dry ones. I use all the listed seasonings, etc. but I don’t have to do the long hours of cooking in the slow cooker or on the stove. I still like to cook it ahead of time when I can so that the flavors can meld together, but it is much less prep and time involved. 

I do several other recipes this way as well. I cook a homemade pot pie that calls for making your own dough for the crust. I can do that, and it is good that way, but most of the time I use the refrigerated pie crusts, and it comes out just as good and it is much easier, quicker, and cleaner. When I make spaghetti, I start with a jarred sauce and add my own extra seasonings to it instead of cooking it from scratch. I have several recipes that use a can of cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. These are much easier than starting from scratch. I have some salad recipes where I use bagged salad as the base. I have a recipe for eggroll in a bowl that I use a bag of coleslaw mix with instead of chopping up all the vegetables. My semi-homemade gumbo has been on my menus several times. The list could probably go on and on…..

These are just some examples to give you some inspiration. The point is, you don’t have to do everything completely yourself to have delicious and nutritious meals. It’s just little things like these that can make your meal planning and prep easier and quicker but still have a home-cooked meal. There are lots of recipes out there that you can adjust this way. Just take a look at the ingredients and be creative in your thinking and planning. Your mundane tasks can become much easier when you think outside the box just a little bit.