I always buy grated cheese and I recently bought a bag of already boiled eggs. Sometimes I buy marinated meat and bagged salads. Maybe I'm lazy, but I have no shame!
Do you buy shortcuts in the kitchen?
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i buy grated cheese and i think that's about it. post kids that is. pre kids it was all shortcuts!
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We buy shredded cheese because its the same price as the block.
We buy some seasoning mixes but am trying to experiment with making our own to be healthier and cheaper (for example taco seasoning that we use all the time, I am going to make a batch in bulk).
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Grated cheese, instant mashed potatoes, bagged salad, pre-cut containers of stir-fry veggies. lol. I'm a lazy cook.
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I only buy grated mozzerella, because its a bit mushy to grate myself but any other type of cheese I grate myself. I dont buy any other shortcuts though. I use to buy bagged salads as a student but not anymore, I try to eat as fresh and healthy as I can.
Plus I think it tastes much better from scratch
Oh I also buy pillsbury crescent rolls ( premade dough) -
If I'm in a hurry or don't have anything planned for dinner that night I will get a bunch of shortcuts.
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We marinated meats on occasion, but that's all.
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Bagged salad for sure! We go through phases where we buy a whole head of lettuce/bunch of spinach, but then it sits in the fridge and goes bad because it's such a pain to wash. Also I buy baby carrots.
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Hardly, hardly ever. We buy our hard cheese (parmesan, etc.) from a little Italian grocer that grates them fresh when you buy it - I used to buy the pregrated stuff but it seems to have less flavor than freshly grated.
Sometimes we'll buy a marinated pork loin if its on sale.
The one thing I can't stand because I think its the biggest gimmick in the world are spice mixes or flavor mixes. They are so expensive if you break down what you really get; I don't know why they bug me so much but they do. I think they are such a rip-off.
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Bagged salads but that's about it. Oh and pre peeled garlic
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We purchase quite a variety of shortcuts, but mainly because it makes making/prepping dinner much quicker for those long days and you just don't want to spend more than 30 minutes in the kitchen! Shredded cheeses, instant mashed potatoes, pre-made pot pies/pizzas/lasagnas, etc.
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Nope not really. There aren't that many that I could get here, and those that I can are usually less nutritious than the original.
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@MungBean: Oooh, I forgot about garlic!
I buy bags all the time unless I am roasting whole bulbs in the oven!
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Shredded cheese, bagged salad, baby carrots, jar of preminced garlic, box flavored rice, instant mashed potatoes. I don't have the time during the week to do any cooking unless it involves shortcuts.
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Yep! Shredded cheese, bagged salad, pre peeled garlic..
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I use a few....shredded cheese, preminced garlic, pre-chopped onions/veggies/fruits. Mostly because the cost is actually cheaper than doing it myself, and we don't have to throw out as much.
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@Mrsbells: I only buy grated mozz too. Otherwise I buy blocks of all the cheese.
Sometimes I buy bagged salads too if I'm not feeling creative enough to throw one together myself.
I also buy Franks Buffalo sauce for my wings because it's SO good and I've never been able to make a buffalo sauce that actually tasted buffalo-ish.
I buy dried fruit a lot for snacks too - I've never tried drying my own fruit and would have no idea how to do it.
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I never thought of shredded cheese, garlic, and bagged salad as shortcuts, ha! i guess they are!
Otherwise, I'm not sure what else I use...sometimes i keep sauces in my pantry. But I usually do such simple meals, that shortcuts wouldn't help.
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Shredded cheese, minced garlic, chili seasoning mixes... never thought those were "shortcuts" since those all still involve a lot of cooking! But I guess they sort of are...
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It is interesting to hear what people think of as "short cuts"... I think I buy a lot of short cuts then if shredded cheese is one. Frozen veggies! Also we buy pre-cut fruit sometimes, and the other day I purchased pre-diced butternut squash. It pains me to pay more but.. It actually saved me the hassle of injuring myself trying to chop one up myself :-), and it never quite works out for me to cook with the frozen kind.
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Same as everyone else, mostly cheese and bagged salads. Sometimes I will buy pre-cut fruit salad.
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Grated cheese, sliced cheese (for burgers), bagged salads, marinated meats (carne asada from the Mexican grocer! yum), Costco rotisserie chicken, taco seasoning.
@Thehistoryofus: Let me know how your taco seasoning comes out! I'd love the recipe!
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Minced garlic for us, most everything else I don't. Shredded cheese has something added to it to keep from clumping that weird me out, though I don't remember the details now. Sometimes I'll buy precut watermelon if it looks fresh because the price seems to even out when you pitch the rind!
I try to make as many shortcuts or 2 for 1 meals as I can - love freezer meals!
@habesbabe this is the taco seasoning i love
Taco Seasoning• 1 tablespoon chili pepper
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ¼ tsp red pepper
• ¼ tsp oregano
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper -
Pre-peeled garlic, shredded cheese, frozen veggies, baby carrots (the carrots are the dogs treats though!) and sometimes if I am running short on time spice packets or premade mashed potatoes. I like to make things myself normally- but DH and I have opposite schedules so I tend to do alot of my dinner cooking in the crock pot so its ready when he gets home from work!
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i read that full sized carrots are more nutritious, so i stopped buying baby carrots.
i do buy minced garlic -- we go through obscene amounts of garlic!
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tons!! i'm lazy and if it means i'm more likely to cook at home rather than ordering out, than i figure it's still probably saving some $$ and slightly better for us. i buy, not always, but often:
bagged salad
frozen veggies i can microwave in the bag
the frozen cubes of garlic
shredded cheese
instant mashed potatoes
waffle mix
pancakes in a can (yes... in a can! they're organic =D )
taco seasoning
ready to cook meatsyea, so basically i'm lazy & get home from work at 7-730pm each night, if we want dinner, it's gotta be fast! i really should get better at preparing things ahead of time =(
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Depends how much time I have. Much more now that I have LO than I used to.
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I have a huge jar of minced garlic because we go through it like crazy. Bagged lettuce (usually an argula/spinach mix) that I add to, shredded cheese....I think that's it at the moment (and usually).
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Bagged salads, but that's it.
My MIL only uses shortcuts (even at Thanksgiving she uses Stovetop stuffing and the potato flakes for mashed potatoes) and it drives me bonkers.
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Oh, and I guess taco seasoning and chili seasoning if those count as shortcuts!
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Bagged salads, pasta sauce, and diced canned tomatoes.
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I must be super lazy cause I use so many of the ones listed lol I work full time and have more than an hour commute. I don't have time for all that fancy do it yourself every day lol
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I buy bagged salads but always add onion, bell pepper, and tomato to them. Sometimes I use jarred marinara instead of making my own. And I love the jars of minced garlic. According to some food blogs I read, this is apparently sacrilege, but I don't care!
I do grate my own cheese, though--I think it tastes better and it's usually cheaper to buy the large blocks.
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y'all are superwomen! pretty much everything I make involves almost entirely "shortcuts" - its too expensive and wasteful for us to buy fresh... it's just the two of us, and so much gets thrown away.
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Shredded mozzarella is the only cheese I buy bagged. Even though I mostly prefer homemade salad dressings I still get major cravings for Good Seasons Italian Dressing that you make with the packets. I'm sure the sodium content is so high but it's a nostalgic thing for me. I also pay like, triple for canned beans from the brands that have the bpa free can lining because it just takes soooo long to cook dried beans (unless I'm making soup cuz that takes a long time anyway.)
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Bagged salad, baby carrots, taco seasoning, rice mixes, bottled Marinades (Wegmans and Trader Joes) have good cheap ones. Salad Dressing, mashed potatoes, stove top but not for a holiday meal., shredded cheese. A lot but if I don't use shortcuts we eat out which is even more expensive.
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