Have you used recipes on food packages?
I'm always fascinated by recipes given on food packaging. The mother of them all for me is the Ritz cracker "mock apple pie." I contemplated that one many, many times...how was it possible to make a cracker taste like pie?
Finally in college for our dorm's weekly wine and cheese party, I made the mock apple pie. People ate it, but they would have probably eaten styrofoam after all the cheap wine and *ahem* other things that they had consumed.
I recently bought a package of fair trade turbinado sugar. It has a recipe by Marcus Samuelsson for "Marcus's Coconut Cookies" which looks good. I love coconut, and I've had good luck with other recipes by Marcus Samuelsson. I know it's not tuna noodle bake with canned mushroom soup, but it ought to be pretty good!
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36 Comments:
Does the Toll House Cookie recipe count?
It's not actually a whole recipe, but when I make tamales, I follow the directions on the masa package.
I also made a chicken casserole dish from a recipe on a can of whole chilies. Other than the chilies, everything else was fresh ingredients, so it was actually pretty good.
dbcurrie at 5:08PM on 07/29/08
I once made a simple red sauce from the back of a can of Contadina tomatoes -- it didn't knock my socks off, but it was easy and nice for something a little different!
Those recipes on sugar/cornstarch packages are always so tempting yet complicated...I've also had my eye on an oatmeal bread recipe on the back of a sack of King Arthur's bread flour.
savecara at 5:11PM on 07/29/08
The classics: brownies on Bakers chocolate; Toll House cookies on bags of Nestles morsels, lemon merainge pie from box of corn starch. The companies that put recipies on their packages make sure they are thoroughly tested, so you can count on them to be good.
SavtaShayna at 5:30PM on 07/29/08
When I made spinach & artichoke stuff shells, I used the recipe on the back of the box of shells for cook time & temp, but had already used another recipe for the stuffing (which was in the freezer since the first batch I made was too much for just the two of us). That brings me to another point: ricotta/veggie/mozz. stuffing froze and thawed well, though it may have something to do with the fact that I forgot to add egg the first time around. Ooops!
Wait, am I digressing? Sure not ...
joyyy at 5:50PM on 07/29/08
I've made the recipe for pumpkin pie from the back of the Libby's pumpkin can many, many times. I've even adapted it to use 15 oz fresh pumpkin instead. It really produces the ideal traditional pumpkin pie.
butterface at 6:10PM on 07/29/08
Like dbcurrie and SavtaShayna, I've made the Toll House cookies -- but I'm also rather fond of French's green bean casserole: Growing up, my mother made it, exactly as directed by the package. Now that I cook for myself, I've dressed it up a little -- but the original still has a special place in my culinary heart. :)
Also, rice crispies treats! Can't forget those, though it's been years.
bansidhe at 6:13PM on 07/29/08
Every Thanksgiving I make whole cranberry sauce from the recipe on the back of the Ocean Spray package. It couldn't be simpler, but it's a family favorite.
KashaKnish at 6:51PM on 07/29/08
I agree with SavtaShayna...companies that put their recipes on packages & cans are pretty sure fire successful. I'll add Quaker oatmeal cookies to all of those listed above.
JEP at 6:53PM on 07/29/08
Nilla Vanilla Wafer recipe for Banana Pudding
ocarol at 7:03PM on 07/29/08
ditto the Tollhouse cookies, Choc Oat cookies, brownies, rice crispy treats, and Quaker oatmeal cookies...hmmm, notice a trend?
Also the Key Lime Pie recipe on the Nellie&Joe's bottle, but I make my own crust (recipe from the back of the graham cracker box..Just kidding...LOL).
I once found a recipe for a raspberry vinaigrette on a pack of fresh baby spinach and it is still in my repertoire.
wookie at 7:10PM on 07/29/08
Don't forget the icebox cake on the Nabisco chocolate wafers box!
emmab at 7:25PM on 07/29/08
Antoine's Semolina Flour bags have a number of recipes for Pasta....and all of them turn out perfectly every time. I have tried a lot of variations on the basic recipe for pasta fresca, and the one printed on the bag is as good or better than any other out there.
Whenever a first time pasta maker asks for a recipe, they always ask "....and where do I get semolina?" I always advise.....find Antoine's, and follow the recipe on the bag....
2qrs at 7:42PM on 07/29/08
Has anyone ever read "The Back of the Box Gourmet"--it's a collection of them, some of them I hadn't heard of!
Besides the chocolate chip cookies, I've done Rice Krispie treats, S'mores, of course, and seen the Knorr spinach dip in pumpernickel loaves at many a party.
HeartofGlass at 7:53PM on 07/29/08
Ladymarmalade: I like reading the recipes, too, although I can't say I've made many of them, aside from some of the "classics" from Campbell's cans. I think it'd be kind of a fun job to come up with the product recipes.
Also, I have the same turbinado sugar! I remember being pleasantly surprised to see Marcus Samuelsson on the bag; I'd love to hear if you make the coconut cookies. I like coconut (in small doses), but never cook with it much.
marieinla at 8:10PM on 07/29/08
The chocolate cake recipe on the back of the Hershey's can is my favorite.
beth1 at 9:06PM on 07/29/08
@ocarol - that is the ONLY way to make banana pudding. that stuff is sinfully good.
ceforrester at 9:56PM on 07/29/08
@ceforrester, I have never made one that tastes better from any other recipe. My other back of the box favorite is Fantasy Fudge from the back of the Marshmallow creme jar...but they have changed it! You have to do an internet search on the original fudge recipe but it is still out there in cyberspace and it just isn't Christmas around here without a couple of pounds of it tempting me.
ocarol at 11:23PM on 07/29/08
Chex Mix from the Chex boxes! That butter-Worchestershire toasty smell takes me back to my parents' big New Years Eve party, with the whiskey sour punch and the chex mix in little bowls, and my little brother and me running around picking out the cashews. The pre-made chex mix isn't at all the same.
pourgirl at 11:55PM on 07/29/08
I love the brownie recipe on the back of the Ghirardelli's cocoa powder can. Also the pumpkin pie recipe on the Libby's pumpkin, and the pumpkin roll recipe on the inside of the label. Yum!
buffy at 12:25AM on 07/30/08
San Giorgio used to have a pasta shape called "Mafalda" - it looked like little lasagna noodles. I found a pasta salad recipe on the back of the box using Green Goddess dressing. I can't find the Mafalda in Central Ohio anymore, but substitute bowties instead and still make that pasta salad.
thewrighttaste at 12:32AM on 07/30/08
My Aunt Ruth, who was the greatest cook used to always say to me when we were cooking together "I don't know why people make such a big deal about my cooking...there are always great recipes on the back of the box."
She did doctor them up quite a bit, but every time I've tried a recipe from a box, it didn't disappoint.
My fave is the vanishing oatmeal cookies from Quaker Oats...they are always a crowd pleaser
KateRuby at 5:20AM on 07/30/08
Lately I am fascinated by the recipes on the Nabisco saltines boxes (again with the crackers!) for things like cracker lasagna.
I have a cookbook of recipes collected from food packages in Brasil that my in-laws gave me. I haven't made anything from it, but it's fun to read. Some of it looks good; some of it looks very kitschy.
@thewrighttaste: do they still make green goddess dressing? I've been making my own version with sour cream or strained yogurt, a little mayo, a little olive oil, mixed minced herbs and anchovies. I don't know if what I'm making is the "real thing" anymore, but it tastes good.
LadyMarmalade at 8:48AM on 07/30/08
Absofreakinlutely. What better recipe to try a product than one that was developed for its use? For years, both my default brownie and chocolate chunk cooky recipe came from Baker's Chocolate. (I have since discovered better chocolate but those recipes served me well for a long time.)
As long as the ingredient list doesn't call for cake mix or canned Chinese vegetables, I'd definitely use a recipe printed on the package.
chiff0nade at 9:18AM on 07/30/08
The brownie recipe on the back of one of the Ghiradelli cocoa powder canisters is unbelievable - I don't remember which one it is, but I love it.
I've also used the pecan pie recipe on the back of a molasses jar when I was in a pinch - actually pretty good!
embolini9 at 9:47AM on 07/30/08
I recently saw a recipe for cookies using Chinese crispy noodles. I will pass on that one.
I remember an old boyfriend's grandma made "Chinese food" from a recipe on a can of those noodles...crispy noodles, chopped up leftover chicken or turkey, a can of cream of celery soup, and frozen "Chinese" vegetables.
LadyMarmalade at 10:25AM on 07/30/08
You're right! The baked casserole recipes usually turn out.
When I was really young; the only thing that I could bake (baking isn't my specialty) was the Kraft Peanut Butter cookies on the back of the jar! They were super easy and turned out decent.
@pourgirl - YAY CHEX MIX!
hungrychristel at 12:05PM on 07/30/08
@LadyMarmalade...
Yes, they still make Green Goddess dressing. I generally find it in small-town grocers. Some Kroger stores in Central Ohio still carry it. In my family, when we stumble upon it, we stock up.
My aunt always used it as the dressing on her monster "taco salads" for family get-togethers. Yeah, I know, it seems wrong these days, but it worked.
thewrighttaste at 2:18PM on 07/30/08
@ Lady Marmalade- Annie's Naturals makes a bottled Green Goddess dressing. Also, please ignore that little voice in the back of your head that is curious about Saltine Lasagna. Trust me on this one.
Kerosena at 3:39PM on 07/30/08
Bisquick -- I have made many of their recipes including coffee cake, pancakes, waffles, velvet crumb cake, oven fried chicken and others. I was raised on the stuff and still use it for some of the staples in our house.
lakeloverhh at 4:34PM on 07/30/08
Some years ago Quaker Oats had a recipe for oatmeal chocolate chip bars on the inside of the lid. My grandma cut it out, but I loved them so much I soon started making them myself. I brought them into the office one day when I worked at a newspaper, and the food editor couldn't stop raving about them - and she wasn't big on sweets. She couldn't believe the source of the recipe.
woodenspoon at 9:22PM on 07/30/08
when i was a kid, i used back of box recipes all the time. i made many, many batches of the chocolate chip cookies on the back of the toll house package. the bisquick box coffeecake was a staple after school snack.
more recently, the cornbread on the back of the indian head cornmeal bag.
cybercita at 10:29PM on 07/30/08
oatmeal cookies off the quaker oatmeal box. its the only recipie i use. awesome best oatmeal cookie ever. sometimes i use craisins and raisins together. mmmmm. also ronzoni fettuccini package used to have a really good (with eggs and cream) alfredo recipe.
nightmoon at 11:08PM on 07/30/08
i like the potato salad recipe on the back of the hellmans jar!
nalega at 12:00PM on 07/31/08
I like the corn bread recipe from the back of the Quaker cannister. We also like to make the Cheeseburger Pie recipe from the back of the Bisquick box (it reminds BF of deep dish pizza sorta).
The first recipe I ever made from a food label was for Noodles with Peanut Sauce from the label on a bottle of hot chile oil my mom purchased for stir-fries when I was quite young. I still make it (or at least my own variation of it) to this day.
Amandarama at 2:03PM on 07/31/08
So I made "Marcus's coconut cookies" on the package of free trade sugar. They were supereasy to make and very, very good - a slightly less chewy macaroon.
Those Bisquick package recipes were what I had in mind when I started this thread. I remember that cheeseburger pie recipe and always wondered if it was any good.
LadyMarmalade at 3:16PM on 08/06/08
I swear by the carrot cake recipe on the back of the Soft As Silk cake flour box....it has mayo as the 'secret' ingredient...the best carrot cake I've ever tasted.
mepolo at 3:22PM on 08/06/08