10 Food-Editor-Approved Store-Bought Meal Shortcuts

While we're not exactly prescribing a semi-homemade lifestyle, a la Sandra Lee, sometimes a little dinner headstart, in the form of canned beans, a jar of really-good tomato sauce, or some roasted beets is the difference between a home-cooked meal and Chinese take-out. These pantry, freezer, and fridge staples are items we actually keep on hand and use on busy nights, when a completely-from-scratch meal is just not going to happen.