Supermarket Shortcuts- From the Refrigerated Case

Written Thursday, July 31st, 2008 by Penny Hawkins

Just like in the freezer aisle, the refrigerated section (dairy, meat etc.) of your supermarket holds some surprisingly good shortcuts. Here are some of my favorites:

Mashed Potatoes- My family loves mashed potatoes and I don’t always have the time or energy to make them. I can’t stand instant mashed potatoes, although I admit they are convenient and have a long shelf-life. My favorite shortcut was the frozen mashed potatoes from Ore-Ida because you could make as much or as little as you wanted, but the stores in my area have all stopped carrying them. My next favorite would be the refrigerated ones from Shedd’s Country Crock (in the meat department in my store for some reason). These are great and don’t need any “doctoring� although you can add some sour cream or cream cheese to make them a bit richer. I recently added some French onion dip to them and it was really good!

Pillsbury Pizza Dough - Not only does this make a fast and delicious pizza, it can also be used to make and lots of other things like garlicbread sticks, pot pies, garlic bread, etc. You’ll be surprised at what you can use it for once you put your mind to it.

Hormel or Tyson Refrigerated Entrees- Both Hormel and Tyson have fully cooked meat entrees like roast beef, beef tips, meatloaf and chicken or turkey and gravy (usually found in the meat section). Maybe they aren’t as good as homemade, but these ready-in-four-minutes entrees can serve as a creative starting place for a good meal. For instance, the pot roast or beef tips can be served over rice or noodles, the meatballs and gravy are just asking to be turned into Swedish Meatballs over noodles, and the chicken and gravy are the perfect shortcut for some of your favorite casseroles. Keep in mind that you are paying for convenience and these entrees will cost more than homemade, but if you are crunched for time, they could be worth the extra cost. Also remember to read the labels as some of these entrees are high in sodium.

Tags: dinner shortcuts

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 at 08:46 am and is filed under Grocery Shopping, Quick Meal Tips, Supermarket Shortcuts. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.