Store-Bought Shortcuts: What's Worth It, What's Not
By Lynn Andriani
Refrigerated Pizza Dough
Worth it. If you don't have an Italian deli or pizzeria nearby that sells homemade dough, most supermarkets-as well as specialty stores like Trader Joe's and Whole Foods-carry plain and sometimes whole wheat varieties (though they may be frozen, not refrigerated, and will take several hours to thaw at room temperature). Liz Weiss, co-author of No Whine with Dinner and co-creator of MealMakeoverMoms.com, prefers brands with short ingredient lists over the mass-produced versions you'll find near the slice-and-bake cookies. One more thing: Check the expiration date, since old dough will be dryer and harder to work with. Weiss likes to defrost frozen chopped spinach, mix it with Parmesan, light cream cheese and shredded, part-skim mozzarella; spread it over the dough and bake it. You can also turn the dough into garlic cheese sticks or empanadas--or cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
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Instant Mashed Potatoes
Worth it. True, experienced chefs might turn their noses up at this cooked, mashed and dehydrated side dish in a box. Even if you'd never stop making mashed potatoes just like your mom did, there are other reasons to keep instant versions in your cupboard. If you're baking potato bread, you'll need at least a cup of mashed spuds, and insta-ones will work fine. The flakes are also an excellent meatball filler and soup thickener. And if you plan ahead and buy potatoes to mash yourself but then learn that four more people are coming to dinner, you can add the flakes to your homemade version to bulk it up.
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Prepeeled Garlic
Not worth it. Often sold in pint-size containers, the cloves may taste fine the first time you use them (and they'll certainly come in handy if you're making a dish that requires, say, an entire head of garlic). Unfortunately, though, if you use only one or two cloves and then come back a week or so later to grab more, you'll find they've deteriorated into tasteless bulbs. Peeling one or two for dinner isn't difficult: Either whack them on a cutting board with a wooden spoon or the flat part of a chef's knife, use an E-Z-Rol peeler, or try this two-bowl technique, which supposedly yields an entire peeled head of garlic in less than 10 seconds.
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Presliced Mushrooms
Worth it. It's not that pulling the stems off a cup or two of mushrooms and cutting them into 1/4-inch slices is such a chore, but if 10 minutes really matters to you (and whole mushrooms aren't significantly cheaper), go for these pre-prepped vegetables, which are perfect in omelets or on pizza. Again, though, look at the expiration date (and use your judgment too); since they're cut, they will start to wilt more quickly. Squeeze the package and feel if they're still firm.
KEEP READING: More Store-Bought Short Cuts: What's Worth It and What's Not
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