Progresso Recipe Starters Just Got a Little "Bolder and Saucier"

New look, robust flavors, easy solutions to make weeknight meals tastier

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Mar 20, 2014, 09:17 ET

MINNEAPOLIS, March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Now, families everywhere can prepare a home cooked dish every night of the week in 30 minutes or less with Recipe Starters cooking sauces from Progresso.

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Progresso Recipe Starters provide easy solutions to make weeknight meals tastier. (PRNewsFoto/General Mills) (PRNewsFoto/GENERAL MILLS)

Easy to use, moms only need to add a few ingredients to create a delicious dish every night of the week that the family will love. From slow cooker to skillet to baked or broiled, Progresso Recipe Starters are the complete go-to cooking sauce that take some of the prep time out of cooking to give busy moms a head start to home cooked during busy weeknights.

"Available in five flavorful varieties, Recipe Starters thick sauce provides a rich and concentrated, robust flavor," said Stefan Miller, associate marketing manager for Progresso. "Each of the flavors can be used as a starter to create a variety of tasty recipes. With an easy-to-use pouch design, all you have to do is just add your favorite protein, along with a few pantry or refrigerator items and you've got a delicious home-cooked dish the family will love."

Sauces 101
Sauces are an essential element in dishes prepared all over the world, and many can be traced back to the five "Mother" sauces. These sauces include Bechamel, Veloute, Tomato, Espagnole and Hollandaise, and form the basis of classical French cooking. Professional chefs rely on these sauces, or their derivatives, to create the signature dishes you know and love.

Inspired by these "Mother" Sauces, Progresso developed Recipe Starters using the best techniques and ingredients to create the rich and bold flavors.

Creamy Roasted Garlic: Chicken stock, roasted garlic and a touch of cream
- Recipe Ideas: Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu or Slow Cooker Garlic Beef Roast
Fire-Roasted Tomato: Medium-thick, tomato sauce, accompanied by flavors of roasted tomatoes and red bell peppers, basil and a touch of cream
- Recipe Ideas: Slow Cooker Lasagna, Mini Meat Loaves with Tomato Sauce or Quick and Easy Italian Stuffed Peppers
Creamy Parmesan Basil: Creamy, full-bodied and indulgent sauce that was inspired by alfredo and creamy pesto sauces
- Recipe Ideas: Creamy Parmesan Chicken Penne or Parmesan Basil Shrimp Pasta
Creamy Portabella Mushroom: Creamy, full-bodied and highly indulgent smooth sauce with Portabella mushrooms flavor. Body similar to medium béchamel. Dairy/mushroom is primary flavor base with herb/white wine top notes.
- Recipe Ideas: Skillet Mushroom Stroganoff or Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken & Pasta
Creamy Three Cheese: Creamy, full-bodied and highly indulgent with body similar to medium cheese sauce. Rich with a blend of yellow and white cheeses, and a savory touch of cracked pepper.
- Recipe Ideas: Cheesy Chicken Burritos or Loaded Bacon Potato Pizza

Weeknight meal solutions to get you started
Most of the easy-to-follow recipes from Recipe Starters require five or fewer ingredients, many of which moms may already have on-hand, and can be prepared in 30 minutes or less. Additionally, each pouch has a recipe favorite printed on it to give you a head start to home cooked during busy weeknights.

For an easy weeknight meal, try the Skillet Chicken Cordon Bleu. Simply brown some chicken and add creamy roasted garlic cooking sauce. Top each piece of chicken with a slice of Swiss cheese and ham and serve with cooked pasta. The family will love it.

Only have 20 minutes to prepare dinner? Just brown some cooked seasoned beef strips, stir in creamy portabella mushroom cooking sauce and sour cream and you've got Skillet Mushroom Stroganoff. Serve over noodles and it's a feast for the family.

The kids will love Slow Cooker Sloppy Jane Sliders. The twist is the ground turkey. The benefit is you can make this and then forget it until dinner time. The combination of the turkey, onion, celery and fire-roasted tomato cooking sauce with a touch of brown sugar, Worcestershire and steak grill seasoning makes this slider a homerun.

For something a little special for the family, make them Parmesan Basil Shrimp Pasta. This flavorful dish combines garlic, shallots, shrimp and creamy Parmesan basil cooking sauce served over fettuccine pasta. For an added touch, garnish with fresh basil and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Turn Friday night into Pizza night with Loaded Bacon Potato Pizza. Top a refrigerated pizza crust with seasoned grilled potatoes, creamy three cheese cooking sauce, real bacon pieces and Cheddar cheese. Sprinkle with diced tomatoes and green onions. It takes only 20 minutes to make and most likely 5 minutes to devour!

Progresso Recipe Starters pouches are available nationally in the meal solutions section in the pasta aisle and/or soup aisle. With a suggested retail price of $1.99 for a 9-ounce pouch, a typical recipe makes 4-6 servings. For recipe ideas go to www.progresso.com/Recipestarters.

About General Mills
General Mills is one of the world's leading food companies, operating in more than 100 countries around the world. Its brands include Cheerios, Fiber One, Haagen-Dazs, Nature Valley, Yoplait, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Green Giant, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, General Mills had fiscal 2013 worldwide sales of US $17.8 billion. Visit www.generalmills.com.

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SOURCE General Mills