Just wanted to follow up on my question about making scalloped potatoes from an "instant" box. Many people thought it was tacky, but I gave it a try. I used the walmart store brand boxes and took the suggestion of some of you that said to add more cheese, etc. It actually came out very nice and tasty. I fried some onions and added some chives and grated cheese over the top.
I'm bringing the dish tonight, and nobody will every know! It's a great time saver - especially if you're challenged in the kitchen! Any other instant foods you recommend?
I got a number of compliments on the potatoes! I almost got busted when someone asked me how to make them...I just said, "oh...potatoes, flour onion, milk cheese....the usual stuff" I also watched as people at them...they were scarfing them down...
I'm glad you didn't let the "tacky" replies deter you from doing it. Way to go! I know very few people who have the time to make all the Holiday foods from scratch, do everything else they need to do, and still be merry by the time Christmas rolls around. We all deserve shortcuts where we can find them.
I LOVE Schouffers (sp?) brand macaroni and cheese. Seriously, the stuff is like preservative-filled crack.
Also, I never bother with homemade rolls... We stick to those Hawaiian Sweet rolls. Everyone I know prefers them anyway. :)
Oh, yes, Galwaygirl.... The M. Callender's pies.... For me it's Dutch Apple. Mmm. My homemade pies never even come close.
Boxed Walmart scalloped potatoes vs. the real thing. Uh people will know.
Can't doctor them up enough to pass off as the real thing. Sorry. Just my opinion. I assume you never had real scalloped potatoes.
Lol!!
Good for you.
The food snobs can go stuff a stocking!
Merry Christmas!
I make a dip we call 'goop' with what pete used to call 'plastic cheese' (velveeta). everyone LOVES it...so I am making it today with a 'wink' toward pete!
I take velveeta, olives, jalepenos, and salad shrimp. I nuke it til smelted...and serve it up with tortilla chips. I scoop out smaller serving bowls, and serve it recently 'zapped'.
I think it offended his 'mind' because of the type cheese...but never his palette!!! (I often caught him licking the bowl...lol)
It is the holiday season - time to make what is quick and tasty so we have more time to spend with those we love.
I am sure everyone will enjoy the dish, but more importantly, they will enjoy having YOU there.
merry merry
J., I will think of you tomorrow when I make and eat green bean casserole with canned beans and canned Campbells cream of mushroom soup and packaged French's "French fried onions" on top. You are not alone....
Also, someone said that you essentially could have made fresh scalloped potatoes with all the work you did to add things, but who wants to do all that peeling and slicing?
Only difference for me would have been using a name brand instead of Wal-Mart house brand. I hope you had at least tried their brand previously. I won't get house brands for many things and scalloped potatoes is one of them -- but you are definitely adding some great stuff so it won't matter much!
Listen. I'm a total foody and I cook from scratch more often then not and I always cook from scratch for a pot-luck. But thats just me. I give a lot of grace to others because I'm just happy they made it even if they didn't have time to cook from scratch. Garnish with a pinch of a chopped green herb like parsley and then even if they can tell its from a box it will seem doctored and thats totally in the realm of doable for a busy no cook mom . I've had people come to my house for pot-luck parties and bring soup in a box. Our theme was soups and salads. I love the gal that did it, she worked and had two little ones and we had plenty of food with or without her contribution. But it still has me scratching my head. Hey, if what you made is not still in the box, and you provided your own vessel to serve it in, and you don't need to ask the host for something to cook or serve it in, it passes!
Now that said, Holliday meals come with a different set of expectations. And if by chance you are in charge of holiday potatoes and you pull scallop potatoes from a box, then there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth, because holiday potatoes are in my opinion the very best part of the meal . If you are one of several potato dishes to choose from, then you're fine.
I love cooking, and I do even try to avoid prepared/boxed foods a lot just because I like to know what is going into the food and avoid additives, etc, BUT there are a few boxed/frozen items I will almost always turn to because they taste good enough that going "homemade" is too much work:
Stouffers frozen lasagna (I find it costs nearly as much to make it from scratch anyway)
Marie Callenders frozen pie- particularly the Razzleberry pie
Frozen pie crust
Rhodes rolls- my MIL puts them in a muffin tin and brushes melted butter on them and they are fantastic. I hounded her for the recipe for years and then found out they were just from the freezer aisle
Anyone that eats the real thing will know. But I'm glad you are happy with it.
Also, people can make time to make things from scratch. I just finished making 18 cinnamon buns. I have three young kids, including a sick baby, and next on my list is making homemade soup.
I also went to the store this morning. It really doesn't take much time to make things from scratch. In fact, I started making my own bread because that was easier than going and buying it!
Instant mashed potatoes... Family favorite here!
I add extra butter, touch if sour cream and mayo. Yummy! I'm making then tomorrow to go with our prime rib along with roasted broccoli!!
Today is my birthday I am making dinner for my kids and grandkids and a cake from a box mix with canned frosting. Of course chocolate....
Dinner is steak, lobster, shrimp, potatoes, veggie and salad.
I'm glad it worked out for you. I don't mind some instant things, but scalloped potatoes were one of the things my mom made when I was a kid that I just couldn't gag down. Do you not cook normally? I think the only thing different about making scalloped potatoes fresh from what you wrote is that you actually slice up potatoes - you did all the other work by adding chives and grated cheese. But what do I know - like I said, I'm glad it worked out and I don't personally think instant is tacky.
I tried using a sugar cookie mix for roll out cookies using their mods, and it went OK, but not great.
I also use the Libby's pumpkin pie recipe. And boxed cake mixes.
There is a lot of "stuff" going on in my family and friends and I refuse to let little things ruin the holiday.
(And FWIW, if people have dietary restrictions/allergies then they should bring their own or offer to make a few things they can share and eat. My DD can't have anything with apples - so I bring food for her for parties.)
I guess I'm a food snob. When I eat the foods that come from boxes I get sick...I have some kind of sensitivity. I first get stuffed up, then all achey, then a headache and later that night the headache is so bad I throw up. I now can tell instantly when I am eating something that is not fresh. It's because our lovely food industry puts all these fake man-made ingredients in them that do the same thing as msg...like caseinate, hydrolyzed protein, maltodextrin, and about 15 other ingredients. I forget all the names. Anyway...I never say anything to people in real life bc I would come across as a whiner. Just letting you know though.
Oh man, apparently people can be real food snobs! Well done for getting it together, and making a dish for your family. I like the packet stuff, and I'd appreciate it that you had brought something along.
There's a particular kind of chocolate cake mix that is superb. It's gluten, and dairy free, and if needs be you can make it vegan. It comes out rich and moist. Can't remember the brand though!
Yesterday we waited all day for my freaking homemade scalloped potatoes to cook in the crock pot! And when they were finally finished, they weren't even that great! I joked with my mom that the boxed ones would have been way easier and probably tasted better...and she agreed! lol So sometimes you need to just stick with what you know and what you think tastes good. And if you aren't a great cook to begin with, don't start trying to be one when you take something to a party! Glad it ended up working out for you. =0)
I'm with 2kidmama because I'm highly allergic/sensitive to prepared/boxed foods. I just got sick over the weekend after eating at a friend's house. She's actually a wonderful cook, but her child's milk allergy causes her to use items in her cooking that I can't have. I had a 24 hour migraine the next day.
So for me, it has to be made from scratch or I get sick. I can't tell you how many times I've been sick because I used to try to be polite and eat whatever was offered. I don't do that any more. I realize that most people can probably eat boxed food and not have a problem. For me, I'd have to know that it was boxed before I ate it or I'd get sick. Luckily, I can almost always taste the difference so I stop eating anything suspicious.
