Last Updated on December 6, 2022 by Ellen Christian
Semi homemade meals can be a huge time saver when I feel frazzled. As much as I love to cook from scratch, there are still times when I am short on time.
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Semi Homemade Meals
I struggle with finding something healthy and quick for lunch. Because I work at home, it can be tempting to graze from the refrigerator.
I don’t want to take time out from my work day to create a recipe from scratch but I still want something that is healthy and tastes delicious. On days like that, semi homemade meals can be a lifesaver.
This cookbook is one of my favorites.
What does semi homemade mean?
So what is a semi homemade meal? A semi homemade meal is a meal that you make that starts out with a prepared food.
You add your own fresh ingredients and extras to take it from good to amazing. When I am looking for a prepared food as a base, I try to find something that uses fresh ingredients.
You may want to try my Cream of Tomato Soup with Ravioli. It’s another of my favorite semi homemade meals.
Best Semi Homemade Recipes
Starting with fresh ingredients will make your semi homemade meal even better. It’s also important to me that the prepared foods I start with are affordable.
We have a budget to stick to for groceries and I need to be aware of what I’m spending.
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For lunch today, I started with a Michelina’s Authentico Fettucini Alfredo as my base prepared food. Michelina’s Authentico Fettucini Alfredo is a delicious fettucini pasta in a classic creamy Alfredo sauce.
This is one of my favorite semi homemade meals so far. Since we have tons of zucchini and yellow squash from the garden, I decided that the best way to make this my own would be to saute some zucchini, yellow squash and onions and add it to the Michelina’s Authentico Fettucini Alfredo.
I threw in a few chopped fresh basil leaves from the plant growing on my kitchen windowsill and in just a few simple steps, I transformed this into one of my favorite semi homemade meals.
What can I cook in 10 minutes?
There are lots of different things you can add to a prepared food to make it your own: vegetables, bacon, meat, fresh herbs, or extra cheese. Check out these recipe ideas:
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Ellen is a busy mom of a 24-year-old son and 29-year-old daughter. She owns six blogs and is addicted to social media. She believes that it doesn’t have to be difficult to lead a healthy life. She shares simple healthy living tips to show busy women how to lead fulfilling lives. If you’d like to work together, email info@confessionsofanover-workedmom.com to chat.
I’m all about semi-homemade!! I never thought to use Michelina’s as the base, though. They’re so reasonably priced where I am that I’m definitely going to try using Michelina’s for this purpose. All three dishes you show look like something you’d find in a restaurant!!
Great idea to add fresh veggies to a store bought dish!
I never would have thought of that! What a great idea!
That does look delicious! Semi homemade is so helpful for those busy evenings.
Great idea! I love semi homemade meals because they help with hectic evenings.
Perfect way to use that zucchini! I’ll bet it was delicious!
Great idea adding it to something prepared. I love semi-homemade. Sometimes it is cheaper for me (money and time) to use something prepared and make the rest!