When you are pressed for time and there are ravenous kids and an equally hungry husband impatiently waiting for dinner what do you do?

Here’s a little tip to quickly flavor, complement or accompany meat, chicken, fish or vegetables. Bottled sauces are versatile. They are not just for dipping but can also be used as instant marinades, as cooking sauce and as basting sauce for barbecues.

A good bottled sauce must have a distinctive glossy texture and pouring consistency with a right blend of flavors that will complement and not mask the taste of food. Having a bottle or 2 on hand anytime will be a great help, especially to homemakers that do not have much time to prepare dinner.

Here is some quick ideas for instant dinners:

1. Have a fast and easy barbecue by marinating pieces of pork or chicken in homemade or commercial barbecue sauce for about 20 minutes. Grill over a hot charcoals or simply barbecue in the oven for an instant dinner. To make the meats even more flavorful, baste them with the remaining marinade once in a while.

Accompany it with coleslaw or potato salad that you’ve prepared a day before or for even something simple like boiled corn on the cob, steamed mixed vegetables.

2. During weekends when you have more time why not prepare foods that can be kept in the freezer? Season some ground meat and form into hamburger patties. During the week, you can just fry them direct from the freezer and serve with any bottled sauce.

3. What about a quick dinner of sweet and sour pork, chicken or fish? All you need to do is to fry the pork, chicken or fish then simmer it in sweet chili or garlic chili sauce. Throw in a few strips of carrots, onions and bell pepper and you have an instant dish that the whole family will enjoy.

4. When there is very little time to spare, and you have to make do with simple fried chicken, pork or fish – perk up its flavor by serving them with any flavored sauces.

Image: by Tasslehoff Burrfoot