I just wasted $15 on a 'quick' sauce that took longer than making it from scratch

I bought one of those fancy jarred simmer sauces for chicken last Tuesday, thinking it would save me 20 minutes. It cost $7, and I still had to buy the chicken and veggies, so the total was about $15. The instructions said to cook it for 25 minutes, but it was way too thin, so I had to let it reduce for another 15. My simple tomato sauce from a can of crushed tomatoes, garlic, and dried herbs only takes about 20 minutes total and costs maybe $3. Has anyone else found that some 'shortcut' products actually make dinner take longer?

3 comments

3 Comments

leoward21d ago

Right? It's like @jennyramirez said, the whole life hack thing is a trap. You spend more time looking for a shortcut than just doing the normal thing.

jennyramirez1mo ago

Ugh, this feels like the whole "life hack" trend (where nothing actually saves time).

jennyflores1mo ago

Totally get what you mean, most of those hacks just add more steps. Honestly, I just stopped looking for shortcuts and focused on one thing at a time. Found that just doing the actual task without overthinking it saved me way more time. All that extra planning and setup was the real time waster for me.