My sister called my 'quick' pasta sauce a 'weeknight cheat' and it stung a bit

I was on the phone with her last Tuesday, bragging about how I got dinner done in 20 minutes. I just sauteed some garlic, dumped in a jar of store-bought marinara, and let it simmer while the pasta cooked. She laughed and said, 'That's not cooking, that's just heating stuff up. You're cheating yourself.' She wasn't being mean, but it hit different because she's right. I used to make a sauce from scratch with canned tomatoes and herbs, which only took about 10 minutes more. That extra time actually felt like I made something. Now I'm stuck thinking about all those little 'cheats' that maybe aren't saving me much. Has anyone else had a moment like that, where you realized your shortcut wasn't really worth it?

2 comments

2 Comments

smith.matthew4d ago

Wait, is it really cheating if you're just trying to eat? Sometimes a jarred sauce gets dinner on the table and that's a win. I feel like we put way too much pressure on what "real" cooking is supposed to be.

patkelly4d ago

Look, a fed family beats a fancy idea every time. I keep a couple good jars in the pantry for those nights. The trick is to doctor it up a bit... fry some garlic in the pan first, throw in extra herbs. It takes five minutes but makes it taste like your own. Nobody wins when you're too tired to even eat.