[sumtechguy]

For this sort of thing. 'Cheat' where you dont care and and prep where you do. I have one recipe that is pretty much only canned items. I have tried doing scratch on it. That thing will just not come out the right way. But the 'right way' is it tastes the same as my mom made it. She used canned. Canned/pre-prepped has usually one thing going for it. constancy. The taste/shape/feel will be pretty much spot on every time. When going self prep though your ingredients can make a wild difference on how things come out. I have one I make from scratch and just depending on the day the cut of meat will be 'off' somehow. Looks identical to all the prev times. But still comes out different. The major downside to canned/pre-prepped is usually salt. Many are heavy in salt (which I personally like) but I know many dont. One thing I always cheat on is tomato sauces. I rarely can make it better than something out of a jar from the store.

[UncleMeat]

Another problem is what counts as cheating. Often, “cheating” techniques are actually delicious or even superior but because they are coded as low class they get rejected.

[gigaflop]

I will never not default to using canned beans in recipes. My weekly meal prep involves mostly fresh ingredients, save for the canned beans and microwaved rice.

The whole process takes about an hour already, and I just have no desire to cook the beans or rice in my tiny kitchen. And, the packages they come in are perfect size for what I need.