Hot dish hoping to become a hot start-up

Minnetonka food start-up Mostly Made debuted its products on crowdfunding website Kickstarter.com on January 24, 2017. We were named a “Project We Love” by the Kickstarter team.

Campaign link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/212701278/mostly-made-meals-you-assemble-in-minutes

When her sister-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer, Jillian McGary did what many Minnesotans would do: she made hot dish for the family. That is, until the bulky pans would no longer fit in the freezer.

After cooking many dinners over many months, she realized it took hours to chop vegetables and brown the meat, but once that was done, the meal could be assembled in a few minutes.

So Jillian began bringing just the dinner fillings. Each one stacked nicely in the fridge and could be prepared whenever the family needed a quick meal. The result was healthy food, no chopping and a cleaner kitchen.

“I began keeping the fillings in my freezer too. It was a relief to have a plan for dinner and I realized Mostly Made could help other busy people cook healthier meals and eat more vegetables,” said founder Jillian McGary.

With two kids of her own, Jillian was seasoned at sneaking healthy ingredients into dinners. She replaced two-thirds of the meat with extra beans, mushrooms, zucchini, onions or peppers. The Enchilada and Lasagna Fillings actually contain over a pound of vegetables in each package, though you wouldn’t know it from the meaty flavor.

McGary, who had been wary of traditional frozen food, aimed to make healthy family meals using fresh ingredients. She is partnering with a Minneapolis gourmet producer to cook her line of assemble-and-heat fillings from the same recipes she created at home. The resulting meals are gluten-free, locally produced and filled with veggies.

Home cooks can assemble the classic meal or create their own recipes. The Enchilada Filling can be served over nachos, layered into a zesty casserole, used for southwest stuffed peppers or made into tortilla soup. “That’s the best part! You aren’t just unwrapping and reheating a frozen box. You get to be creative, add your own flavors and make it special,” said Jillian.