We've become addicted to the $1.25 jars of minced garlic at the Dollar Tree stores. I still cook with a fair amount of fresh garlic, but it's just so easy to scoop a teaspoon of the jar stuff too. The butter is just a stick of salted butter, (1/4 lb). Let it warm up to room temp to soften, then I toss in a heaping teaspoon of the minced garlic, maybe two tablespoons of "italian seasoning" out of the spice drawer that we probably got at Sam's or Walmart, about the same of the Kraft grated parm and sometimes a shake of kosher or sea salt. Mush it together with a fork and toss it in the fridge. I pull it out at lunch for dinner use so it will be soft for spreading.
I've eaten plenty of that Texas Toast garlic/cheese bread too. For any of the Knorr side dishes, we totally prefer the vermicelli mix over strait rice or noodles. Those are a great simple meal, just toss the bag in the pot with water and some milk, then when it's done add some cooked chicken that I chopped up into chunks and some green onions on top. And some Italian cheese or parm, just because it's CHEESE.
Beautiful wife is the master of the spaghetti sauce. No recipe, just a can of tomato paste, two of tomato sauce, garlic, onion and spices to taste and the ground hamburger. We portion it up in zip lock bags and freeze it for later as well as having it that night. That way a big batch gives us 4 dinners and is a super easy dinner by grabbing a frozen bag of sauce to thaw the night before, then just boiling the noodles and heating up the sauce.
