Now I understand the advantages of building a recipe from scratch. You control everything that goes into your food and the resulting flavors. That being said, those of us still on the early path to culinary mastery may sometimes utilize pre-made ingredients as a starting point. This is not a shortcut, though there are some pros to this option.
As much as I love cooking, I don't want to spend all day in the kitchen. I've used a few box mixes recently to help get things moving. I am pretty particular about the box mixes I use, definitely looking for as much quality as I can get (and still afford gas).
Tonight, I made potato soup... a nice filling Sunday dinner. Since I haven't started making my own potato soup from scratch (as often as I want to re-create the Zuppa Toscana from Olive Garden), I start with a pack of Tastefully Simple's Perfectly Potato Cheddar soup mix. This is a great base to build on. Usually I'll add browned up italian-seasoned ground turkey. This does lighten things up a bit. However, tonight I used sage sausage and a bunch of kale. The sage added a great savory component, and the kale added a texture that I seriously think was missing now that I've tried it.
Later this week, once my 9x13 casserole dish is available again, I'll be using yet another Tastefully Simple mix to make Ooey Gooey Almond Bars. Since I really don't need all of those calories at home, my coworkers will be more than willing to help me finish it off.
I have no problems using "good" box mixes to help build a meal, but I ultimately would like to get to the point of building some of these dishes completely from scratch. Until then, I'll keep experimenting with add-ins. No matter how good a box mix is on its own, I will try to make it my own in some way. If I lose my creativity and inspiration in the kitchen by being "boring", I can only imagine how unhappy I would become... and my friends don't like me when I'm unhappy.
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