Signature Dish You "Make" (Shhhh.... It's really frozen/store bought/box mix...)

[Fenway]

My step mom is known for making the best veggie lasagna ever with her "secret" recipe. Family members specifically request that she make it for different events because it is so yummy. After years of her making it, I found out that the secret recipe was actually Stouffers Frozen Lasagna. lol.

I always make cookies from scratch. Because of this, people have come to assume anything else I bake must be from scratch too. I recently have become known for my chocolate cake recipe. It's the Dunkin Hines box mix and Dunkin Hines frosting. :p

What do you pass off as your own?

[lawyerlee]

Mine is Spinach & Artichoke Dip. I've made it from scratch, but it just didn't seem any better than the TGI Friday's frozen kind. ;) :)

[ysolde]

Mine is brownies. I bake the Fresh Direct "bake-off" brownies, which come ready to bake in the pan. Perfect every time, and the whole apartment smells like heaven!

[snowzilla]

Hehe....I don't think I can tell, in case my RL friends ever find this. My "signature dish" has lately become anything from the fancy grocery store up the street. I used to put a lot of time and effort into cooking - I really can cook, I swear - but having no time has forced me to buy fancy pre-cooked entrees from said grocery store, re-plating it and throwing away the takeout boxes. ;)

[artist]

LOL! Great thread topic!


True story:

Once my parents were visiting this woman who was a diagnosed pathological liar. To be a good host, she had a tray of Lorna Dune brand cookies, of course very clearly with the Lorna Dune stamp right on the cookies. My parents thanked her and told her the cookies were delicious. The woman seriously replied by saying, "Thanks! I baked them myself!"

:eek:

:D

[Brandles]

I would feel guilty if I took credit for something I didn't cook from scratch. I always tell people.

My signature dishes: Nutty Barley Bake, Hawaiian Cake, Kitty Litter Cake (making it next week for the school I've been subbing in for 1/2 a year!) and any kind of dip mixes (my family goes NUTS over them!).

[tenofcups]

I don't really have one, but my dad had an aunt who was known throughout the whole family as the best baker in the family -- and this was in a family of bakers. Apparently no one could hold a candle to her. Dad was devestated when he found out that her pistachio cake was actually from a mix (grandmom told him). She's long gone now and would have actually been close to 100 years old by now, so it's certain that her cakes weren't from mixes when he was growing up, but at some point she changed over and no one ever knew since she already had the reputation as being such a great baker.

[mmeblue]

I have a couple of times in the school year that I bake for my 9th graders - cookies for a Saturday study session that I offer before exams, and brownies for a field trip. I will freely admit that the cookies are from a Pillsbury roll of dough, and the brownies are from a Betty Crocker mix. The kids and their parents are all always shocked when they find out that I didn't make these things from scratch.

[BTB]

Once to thank a team I brought a big tin full of pre-made Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies - I'm too lazy to even use the dough roll, they were the kind that comes in a slab and you break the pre-scored pieces off and plunk them on a cookie sheet.

My preceptor declared, with chocolate chip smeared in the corner of his mouth, "ah, there's nothing like homemade chocolate chip cookies. These are so much better than Pillsbury's." :D

[Jen&Dan]

For a few years I would always bring chocolate chip cookies in for our carry-in lunches at work. Everyone loved them and always wanted me to make them. I never claimed that they were baked from scratch, but for some reason it was assumed that they were. One day someone asked me for the recipe and I told them they were from a Pillsbury roll.

Just saw the above reply...lol

[lml41981]

Field's Pecan Pie from the freezer section of the grocery store. Also, creme brulee cheesecake from the freezer section of Wal-Mart.

[petdoc08]

my pasta salad... It comes from the deli section at dahls *shhhh*
my white almond sour cream cake- It is a duncan hines white cake mix + cup sour cream, cup of flour, cup of sugar, 1 tsp. almond extractand two extra egg whites. It is awesome and even my neighbor (who only ever bakes from scratch) can't tell it is not a scratch cake.

[Katy]

oooh, that white almond sour cream cake sounds yummy (and easy enough that I can make it this Sunday for the family BBQ). Is that the actual recipe? What about temps and pan?

[chefker]

Ghiradelli double chocolate chunk brownies. I never intentionally lied about having made them....but once we had a party, and someone took a bite of one and said "You are SUCH a good cook, I love these brownies!" So, I never bothered to correct this person, that they were in fact, from a mix. ;)

[Fenway]

Ghiradelli double chocolate chunk brownies. I never intentionally lied about having made them....but once we had a party, and someone took a bite of one and said "You are SUCH a good cook, I love these brownies!" So, I never bothered to correct this person, that they were in fact, from a mix. ;)

lol
This is exactly what happens to me! If you make a couple things from scratch really well, I think people just assume everything you make must be that way.

Whenever anyone asks how I make something, whether it be from a box or from scratch, I always jokingly tell them I can't tell, its a family secret!. :p

Technically I'm not lying because my mom does the same thing.;)

[Aimee]

I make a pineapple upside down cake that people always rave about. I openly admit that the cake part is from a box (the topping is made from scratch, but that's really easy). People don't seem to care, even though I tell them the cake is from a box. I feel bad when I get lauded for something that's not much work.

[petdoc08]

Katy: Here is the actual recipe:
1 box white cake mix
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cups granulated sugar
3/4 teas. salt
4 egg whites (if I'm being lazy I just add two whole eggs-makes it a little yellow but just as yummy)
1 1/3cups water
2 Tbls. vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon clear vanilla flavor
1 teaspoons almond extract
Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees

I buy a container of lemon curd and mix it into my buttercream for a lemony filling and then use plain buttercream to ice it. People go on and on about this cake.

[shopaholic]

I watch food network all the time and they just had an episode where frozen apple pie was featured. The company even encouraged removing from the foil pie tin and putting in your own glassware to pass off as your own!

I LOVE the pre-made break-off cookies from Pillsbury and Nestle. The only ones I can't pass off are the ones with the holiday designs...lol.

[lauren f s]

A little girl in our old apt. complex was selling cookies for school, the frozen ones you break off and bake yourself. I bought a box and baked them one time when my IL's were coming over. They were literally fighting over these cookies and telling me they were the best homemade cookies ever. I never said I made them from scratch, but I certainly let them believe I did ;) Now my only problem is we've moved into a house and I have no way of getting those cookies!

Also I made a cake for a famly Christmas party, from a box. Because I mentioned to my dad that I made my own cream cheese frosting he assumed the whole cake was from scratch. Now he's always asking me to make him "my chocolate cake" :p

[MidwesternGal]

I have a doctored up pistachio cake that I make. It's fabulous. The base is a yellow cake mix though. You add chocolate syrup, pistachio pudding, and bake it in a bundt pan. Pudding mixed with cool whip is the topping---it's so fab.

I worked at a bakery and one of the owners wanted my recipe!

[Dan's*Girl]

Turtle Chocolate Chunk Brownies
People at both DH and my work ask for them all the time, and one girl even paid to have me make them for her sons birthday party.
I didnt lie and say that it was from scratch but they think they are. What it really is is a turtle brownie mix and a chocolate chunk brownie mix together and topped with extra nuts and caramel. :p

Cream Cheesy Biscuits
I got this recipe from a magazine and my family begs for these at holiday time and think i make the dough and the filling from scratch.
All they are is crescent rolls filled with cream cheese mixed with parmesean. Yum!

[Shapsgrl]

I make spinach/artichoke bread bowls for parties

I use a couple of TGIF artichoke dip packages (heated)

hollow out a sourdough round - brush edges with garlic butter and toast in oven. put dip in bowl, cover in cheese & bake again until cheese is melted. Always a hit.

I am honest about the dip if people ask, but they seldom do ;)

[Secret_Squirrel]

Strawberry Lemon Tart:

One box of Krusteaz Lemon Bar mix spread out in a 8" round tart dish. Bake according to package instructions. Slice fresh strawberries in an egg-slicer and layer all pretty-like on top. Looks gourmet and is a breeze!

And because you did slice the strawberries, you did some of the work ;)

[phoenics]

You evil heiffers! Now I'm hungry!

[boilermaker]

I have a fabulous chili "recipe" that everyone raves about. I use the Bush brand chili starter, add in ground turkey ot beef, an onion and a can of tomato sauce. It tastes better than any homemade chili I have ever had...and apparently lots of people agree. And it takes less than 5 min to make.

I have also used many of those break apart cookies, esp the turtle or other fancier ones. People do seem to think they are from scratch.

[Katy]

I have a doctored up pistachio cake that I make. It's fabulous. The base is a yellow cake mix though. You add chocolate syrup, pistachio pudding, and bake it in a bundt pan. Pudding mixed with cool whip is the topping---it's so fab.

I worked at a bakery and one of the owners wanted my recipe!OMG! I think I want this "recipe" too please :D

Secret_Squirrel, that lemon strawberry tart sounds great!

[Sin Nombre]

II have also used many of those break apart cookies, esp the turtle or other fancier ones. People do seem to think they are from scratch.

Could you recommend a good "turtle" break apart cookie?

[shopaholic]

Could you recommend a good "turtle" break apart cookie?

Pillsbury makes some that are pretty good!! The only thing is when I make a lot of the pillsbury cookies they don't flatten out completely so you can kind of tell that they were in a hard ball.


After thinking about it I guess I could add my banana creme pie. I make it for any family gathering. It is pretty much a given that I will bring it. I really don't do anything special. I buy the pre-made pie crust, box of banana creme pie filling and slice up some bananas. Oh...and cool whip topping. Typically its the only pie that is touched even next to store bought selections.

[katmg]

My mom's brownies get raves every time. They're from a box - Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker usually. Sometimes she adds a bit of cinnamon to them.

Midwestern Gal - My mom has that recipe for pistachio cake too. Yum!

[MidwesternGal]

Katy--Here ya go!

1 pkg yellow cake mix (I like to use the kind with pudding in the mix)
1 pkg Jello pistachio instant pudding (3 oz)
4 eggs
1 c. water
1/2 c. oil
1/2 tsp. almond extract

Beat the above ingredients at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a seperate bowl. Stir in 1/4 c. chocolate syrup. Spoon batters alternately into bundt cake pan or 9x13 pan (looks more impressive in a bundt pan though!). Zig-zag spatula through batter to marble. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes (this cake burns easily in a 9x13, so be careful!). Cool at least 15 minutes before removing from pan.

Frost with 2/3 cup milk mixed with 1 container Cool Whip and 1 pkg Jello pistachio instant pudding.

katmg--Isn't it just fabulous??!! Yummy!!!

[LexyLou]

I need to work on my lying skills. I just can't lie. If someone tells me they love something I "made", I immediately announce that it's store bought. I don't know why I feel so guilty lying about it. It's just food. Maybe it's because I do cook from scratch a lot and I don't want to ruin my credibility?

[Hello Kitty]

I need to work on my lying skills. I just can't lie. If someone tells me they love something I "made", I immediately announce that it's store bought. I don't know why I feel so guilty lying about it. It's just food. Maybe it's because I do cook from scratch a lot and I don't want to ruin my credibility?

ITA with this. :) I do cook a lot, and there are times when I make an original, yummy dish, and I do want credit for that. OTOH, I have no problem outing the store-bought/semi-homemade things that I have to offer. I think another part of it is because I'm so keenly interested in cooking, I figure others are as well. So when they inquire about a dish, I take it that they're really looking for the whos and whats going on in there more than a 'thanks'.

[blueskygirl]

My Italian Creme Cake.

My grandmother makes this cake and it is awesome...truly. She gave me the recipe but every time I've attempted it, it comes out awful. So...I started buying Italian Creme Cakes from the Fresh Market grocery store. People rave over this thing and tell me it's better than my grandmother's. Ha! If they only knew. I just take it out of the plastic container, decorate with some extra cream cheese frosting, and pass it off as my own. :D

[curlyjr]

I never actually lie, but DH is so clueless about cooking that he does not seem to grasp the concept that some of the things I bake (from a mix, when he watches me do it) have nothing to do with my cooking skills. He will brag to people about my blueberry muffins or orange cake(both from a box) and how they are so amazing.

[Katy]

I don't lie about it, but...I have been known to say "thanks I made it!" with a big 'ol goofy grin on my face while putting the packaging away (not trying to hide it, just being a major goofball) :D

That said, I tell folks everything...cute purse - thanks it's fake; great shirt - thanks it was on sale for $5; great brownies - oh they're so easy, buy the cheapest mix and add half a package of milk chocolate chips; love the picture - thanks, I framed a post card; etc.

[ysolde]

When I was a kid, I used to love to bake devil's food cake from the box mixes. One Saturday, my parents had company over for dinner. An old friend walked into the kitchen, and he helped himself to a slice of "my" chocolate cake, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. After that, he always wanted me to make "my" chocolate cake whenver he was coming over. No matter how many times we told him it was just from a box, he always wanted it, and insisted it was his favorite cake in the whole world.

Years later, when he was dying from a rare form of cancer, I baked him that cake, and brought it over to the hospital for him. It was hard for him to eat, but it made him smile, my visiting him with that cake.

[ladybug777]

My Dh still thinks I "make" his favorite blueberry muffins.

In reality, they're the Duncan Hines blueberry muffins. He's been shopping w/ me when I put the box in the cart. Yet, he still believes this.

Who am I to correct him? ;)

[Katy]

Katy--Here ya go!


Frost with 2/3 cup milk mixed with 1 container Cool Whip and 1 pkg Jello pistachio instant pudding.1) why can't I just let the stupid thing SIT before trying to get the cake out?!?! :mad: *grr*

2) so even when you use a bundt pan you still frost with the cool whip frosting? You don't make a drizzle of sorts?

[MidwesternGal]

Katy--Yeah, bundt cakes are sure to fall apart if you pull them out still hot! Patience, dear catepillar!!. . . .Yeah, definitely frost with Cool Whip frosting even if in a bundt pan. I usually do little "swirly" motions with my spatula to make it look fancy. I suppose if you want to do a fudge or chocolate drizzle, you can. . . but try the c.w. frosting first--it's fab! I usually save some extra and put more on my slice after I cut one. . .:p

[shoegal]

I started making a Red Velvet Cake during high school--an assignment on following directions that comes from a box. I still make it (16 years and counting) and each year everyone raves about my homemade cake. I do cook a lot and love to challenge myself by cooking from scratch. I usually tell them what it is but they still look at me like I must me lying! I just make cupcakes for a work event and everyone assumed it was not from a box. Well, the icing was from scratch (Magnolia Bakery, yum) but the cupcakes were from a box. Time usually gets in the way of my cooking and like someone else said, I am such a foodie that I tend to tell them all of my little secrets because I am a dork like that.

Katy--I tend to tell people when the pay me a compliment on something. My latest is a beautiful black & white picture of the Chryslar Building. I found the poster in Michaels, bought a cheap silver frame, all under 20 bucks.

[junkinmytrunk]

When I was a kid, I used to love to bake devil's food cake from the box mixes. One Saturday, my parents had company over for dinner. An old friend walked into the kitchen, and he helped himself to a slice of "my" chocolate cake, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. After that, he always wanted me to make "my" chocolate cake whenver he was coming over. No matter how many times we told him it was just from a box, he always wanted it, and insisted it was his favorite cake in the whole world.

Years later, when he was dying from a rare form of cancer, I baked him that cake, and brought it over to the hospital for him. It was hard for him to eat, but it made him smile, my visiting him with that cake.


Awww geez. What a lovely story. Made me tear up. This is why food is so lovely -- what a treasure to be able to do this for a dying man.

As an aside, some of these "faux scratch" recipes sound deeelish...marking this thread for inspiration!

[Sarah]

I make brownies from a mix and just add mix-ins or toppings,. Usually I sprinkle coconut on top and then a swirl of homemade caramel, and people rave. So easy.

[Katyanne]

For me food is a very emotional thing, when I was younger my Grandma always used to cook and bake. Her chocolate cake and carrot cake are still the stuff of legends. But over the last few years her health has gotten worse and she just doesn't bake anymore. Last 4th of July she made her homemade chocolate cake and a a no bake pudding pie and both were a huge success. The pie went as quickly as her cake even though everyone knew that it wasn't technically "home made" but it was still excellent and the thought that Grandma even when to the trouble for us those still were the best cake and pie ever.

Hubby's best friend as a bunch of different food allergies but loves brownies and I managed to find a box brand that he can actually eat so I always keep a few boxes on hand to make up when he's over watching a game or something. He always brags to his gf that I make the best brownies even though he knows their from a box. He said they are extra good because I make an effort to make things that he can eat.

I love baking and cooking and alot of things I make are from scratch or from recipes I get from different food network chefs. Every christmas I love baking tons of different cookies, fudges or brittles and every year I always make about 5 dozen + sugar cookies in different shapes which my family loves to decorate on Christmas Eve.. I guess I should say I bake them and GFS (Gordon Foods) makes the dough. ;) I wouldn't be able to make half the variety I do if I had to make that much dough. But what my family doesn't know won't hurt them ;)

Katie

[nettreefrog]

Our family had a tradition of always getting chopped liver -- it was made by Fan who brought it every family event through her 90s. It was fabulous, always came in her chopped liver bowl -- and was -- surprise surprise made by the deli!

[KK812]

Katy: Here is the actual recipe:
1 box white cake mix
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cups granulated sugar
3/4 teas. salt
4 egg whites (if I'm being lazy I just add two whole eggs-makes it a little yellow but just as yummy)
1 1/3cups water
2 Tbls. vegetable oil
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon clear vanilla flavor
1 teaspoons almond extract
Mix all dry ingredients by hand using a whisk in a very large mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and beat on low speed for 2 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees

I buy a container of lemon curd and mix it into my buttercream for a lemony filling and then use plain buttercream to ice it. People go on and on about this cake.


Bumping this up to say that I made this (into cupcakes) earlier for a get together tomorrow. I had a couple extra (:D) so I tried one and they were super yummy. Just now, though, I realized that I didn't add the extra sugar! Doh! The two deliberate changes I made were the frosting-mixed store bought whipped cream cheese frosting with a few tablespoons of raspberry jam (our wedding cake had an almond flavored layer with raspberry mouse so I thought it would be good!(it was :)))-and I toasted some slivered almonds and put them on top. I think that with the richer frosting I concocted the extra sugar would have been too much, but I will definitely try this again the correct way, because even the incorrect way it was good!

I can definitely see how this passes for homemade. The add-ins make the store bought cake denser (although perhaps the added sugar makes it more fluffy?), just like it would be if it were completely homemade. Thanks for the recipe! :)

[Katy]

well, since we're chock full of food prep and recipes here I think this will do best over in Cooking. BTW, that pistachio cake (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1341085&postcount=30) totally rocked!! So much so that I had to throw the leftovers away so I wouldn't eat it :o

[Fenway]

I saw 101 Things to do With Cake Mix (http://www.amazon.com/101-Things-Do-Cake-Mix/dp/1586852175) at the book store the other day. It made me think of this thread. :)

[Rosebud]

I never buy things at the store and pass them off as homemade-- but I have been known to use a cake mix instead of baking from scratch occasionally and not exactly cop to it. If people ask how I made it, I'll tell them, but if they don't I will let them think it's homemade. I do actually prefer to cook from scratch, particularly when baking... but you just don't always have time, you know?

For instance, I made this Lemon Bundt Cake (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Key-Lime-Cake-II/Detail.aspx) for a BBQ yesterday. It's mostly boxed cake mix and boxed pudding mix tossed into a bowl. Everyone loved it, and I totally did not fess up about it. :D