A Simple Hack to Enhance Tired Utah Food

Another drab day in Utah's Dixie. Numbly I grab a can of soup hoping somehow that it won't taste like a can of soup.

I don't know if Utah is over sensitive to pre-packaged meals, but it seems like a lot of us struggle with not liking that canned flavor.

The grocery store has a silver bullet for me that can bring back most foods from the graveyard. I have found that adding fresh herbs, especially onion and garlic, seems to add a needed dash of fresh to desperate meals.

I like to have fresh herbs on hand and when I can I will add them to anything from cans of soup, to a cup of noodles to dress them up a bit. Fresh is best, but often if I am grabbing some prepared food it's because I am behind on the meal plan.

Enter the silver bullet. Look for the prepared spices in the store and in minutes you can dress up that drab dish. I have been enjoying "Easy Onion" and "Easy Garlic" lately. I like them because they are not dried out and taste a little more fresh. But there are lots of options like pre-peeled garlic, frozen onion and grindable spices.

I still try to keep fresh on hand. I am not a green thumb, but I can keep some simple herbs growing like basil. Nothing makes me feel like a real chef as much as dicing an onion, pressing a garlic or most especially plucking a leaf off a growing herb and then tossing it into a simmering canned soup.