Food Cheap Food Hacks

I'm trying to make my lunches more interesting.
Share any of your cheap or quick food hacks.

Today I took a microwave meal and added frozen broccoli to it before heating. Sure, it took more marginally more time to cook, but the overall effect was infinitely improved.

Share anything fun that you've done.

 

I add spices to most things that come prepared. I do this to freshen up the flavor profile to my liking.

Thus, dry spices may go into a bottled sauce and condiments may go on post cooking.

Dry spices like granulated garlic and black pepper may be put onto something pre cooked, or even post cooked.

Don't be afraid to use condiments and to mix and match to make your own. Most Filipinos will use some sort of ketchup, lee & perrins, & tabasco sauce dip. It's great for nuggets and fried chicken. Also utilized by filipinos, vinegar/soy sauce, crushed garlic.

 

I do prep work in batches and put things in zip lock bags. I like chop salads, so I dice/chop celery, onions, hot and sweet peppers, cauliflower in quantity and refrigerate or freeze in ziplocks. A great timesaver, if not moneysaver, because it saves getting all the stuff out of the fridge, and multiple times cleaning up. Soups work well that way also. Tomato paste too.

I also use wide mouth canning jars for storage instead of tupperware plastic. The big advantage is that they all use the same size lids. I have 8, 12, 16, and 32oz jars that all use the same lids (or cap and band) they work great in the dishwasher (plastics get turned downside up and fill with water) and even in the freezer if not filled too full. I haven't had one break yet.

I "doctor" store bought stuff also. Spaghetti sauce, salad dressings, mayo, comfort food specials like mac and cheese and Campbell's mushroom soup definitely benefit from a little "customization."

 

I have been working on mastering vinaigrette. It's a useful thing to know for dressings and marinades. I use different spice blends depending on the application: Greek, Italian, fines herbes, herb de Provence, etc. Penzeys sells a number of very good spice mixes that I recommend. I usually infuse the spice blend into the oil or vinegar before proceeding.

 

Last week we went to the College World Series and also the Penzeys Spices store in Omaha. My first time in a Penzeys store, although I've bought from them by mail or online for years.

The aroma when you walk in the door is just a wonderfully pleasant olfactory assault. It even surpasses the wonderful resin and wood smell of the violin shop that I take my bass to. Even better than coffee roasting.

I bought a new favorite mixture called Berbere, a North African blend, which I highly recommend.