Pre Fab Cooking

Return of the Faux Gourmet You Know & Love

Taste & See: Real Simple always has these "recipes" that consist of pre-made food products assembled and combined in such a way that they create something new, and ostensibly, wonderful. I've never made one of those recipes. I like cooking, and I've always thought I was too proud to let Betty Crocker or Pillsbury do for me what I'm perfectly capable of doing for myself.

Then again, it is also true that I don't always want to burn my eyes with the heat of a dozen smoking chilies.

Let me explain. A few weeks ago I made the Best. Salsa. Ever. Want the recipe? Grill bell peppers, tomatillos, tomatoes and garlic, smoke some pasilla chilies, grill a half dozen other kinds (chipotle, jalepeno, anaheim, banana, ancho), give it a good coating of ground rock salt, and puree the whole mess. That simple.

It was glorious. It also caused my eyes to sting and water, my face to burn, my throat to hack, my fire alarm to have spasms. In short, there was a price to pay for the glory.

Sure it tasted incredible; it had a deep, smokey flavor that started off mild and slid into a surprising kick, not too spicy to overwhelm the layers of complexity. It was truly glorious. But then again, on a week night when I want to get my dinner together in time to watch Glee, maybe a jar of my fave supermarket salsa will do.

Generally speaking, you'd be amazed at what a little clever doctoring can do to the most banal of base ingredients: leftover cream cheese from a bagle brunch, a can of tomato paste & a bit of bacon stashed in the fridge become a delightful tomato soup; leftover coconut milk and mustard create an oddly satisfying sauce to accompany pumpkin gnocchi. And my ridiculous salsa--or its supermarket substitute--tossed over a bunch of things I tend to have on hand anyway gives me a big pan of enchiladas to last all week.

Do it Yourself: So do you want gourmet smokey salsa? Or do you want dinner? The recipes are easily adapted; make them either way to fit your needs.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole


Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs, skin & bone on
2 small onions, chopped
About 5 cloves garlic
Chicken broth:

• Gourmet: homemade. Martha Stewart's Cooking School (cookbook) has a great chapter on stocks and broths.
• Faux Gourmet: Canned will do, but Better than Bouillon is very tasty & just as easy.

1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Approximately 8 small tortillas
Salsa or enchilada sauce:

• Gourmet: 1-2 cups gourmet smokey salsa, described above.
• Faux Gourmet: 1 jar of your favorite supermarket version (smooth, not chunky)
  

Beans:

• Gourmet: 1 cup Accidental Bean Soup, omitting 1 cup yogurt & substituting 3-4 tbsp chevre or cream cheese.
• Faux Gourmet: 1 can black beans, straight up

Instructions
Simmer onions, garlic, chicken thighs and broth to cover in pan on low heat. When chicken is cooked all the way through it will be very soft, falling off bone easily. It will also be quite hot so be careful and use two forks to shred meat, removing bone and skin. Season with salt and pepper.

Build enchiladas in pan, alternating with layers of tortillas, chicken/onion/broth mixture, salsa, black beans, and cheese. Plan for about three layers and divide ingredients accordingly for each layer. Top with final layer of tortillas and cover with cheese.

Bake at 350 until cheese melts, approximately 30 minutes. (Check at 20.)

Tomato (Paste) Soup
Given that you *could* just buy canned tomato soup straight up, you may wonder why bother with making it yourself? Well, little cans of tomato paste, like the one you see in the photo below, generally cost between 69-99 cents and make approximately 3 servings. Really. Your soup will be healthier and full of things like FOOD instead of preservatives and chemicals. You can season it in dozens of interesting ways instead of getting a bland sweet and salty combination punch. And it is really, really easy...the perfect go-to food for a late night rally-snack or a rainy day when you've got nothing to eat. (Except for lots of canned tomato because you read my post, In Praise of Canned Goods, & promptly stocked up. Didn't you. You did, right?)

C'mon lazy people. This is a LAZY recipe. You can do it. And you'll have tomato soup you can be proud of.


Ingredients
Small can of tomato paste
Something creamy:

• Gourmet: About 1/4 cup chevre
• Faux Gourmet: About 1/4 cup cream cheese OR milk

Bacon, chopped, to taste
*Tip: for convenience, slice bacon height-wise rather than width; it is very easy to separate & chop into small pieces this way. I use approximately 1 "inch" of bacon slices in soup for 3 people.
Seasoning

• Gourmet: Fennel seeds, black pepper & garlic salt
  
• Faux Gourmet: Omit fennel
  

Optional additional seasoning:

• Gourmet: Apple cider vinegar & sugar
• Faux Gourmet: Omit apple cider vinegar
  

For other variations try adding chopped roasted red pepper (from a jar or can!), chili flakes, basil and oregano, cumin, paprika, curry powder, ginger...just, not all at the same time.

Instructions
Add tomato paste and 2 cans water (or if omitting cream cheese/chevre, 1 can milk) to pan and stir to combine. Stir in cream cheese/chevre. Simmer over medium heat til hot then turn heat to low.

Meanwhile, briefly fry bacon in skillet. For very decadent soup, add bacon & grease. For not so decadent soup, reserve grease and add bacon.

Season with fennel seeds and garlic salt- approximately 1 tsp each. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You may also want to add a bit of sugar and/or apple cider vinegar to sweeten it up, especially if you're used to Campbells's.

Serve with a grilled cheese sandwich: I recommend a sharp cheddar with a good, sweet mustard and prosciutto.