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This is one of those desperation weeks for me. My stand-bys:
- Pasta fagiola (white beans & ditalina pasta) with a little olive oil & garlic
- Black beans & rice with smoked sausage (you can also use red beans & rice)
- Grilled cheese & tomato soup
- Cheese omelet
Last night I made rigatoni pasta with some leftover sauce and put some ricotta cheese on top. If I'm really desperate I will make ramen soup but I put a scrambled (uncooked) egg in for the protein so it tastes more like egg drop soup.
I almost always have angel hair. I mix that with butter, salt and crushed red peppers. Not only desperation food it is also comfort food. Scrambled eggs with whatever vegetables I can scrounge is a good one too.
I made biscuits and topped them with creamed canned salmon. It was actually good! But I consider that a desperation meal. What do you fix when you need to eat in, but the pantry is pretty bare? Do you have a strategy you care to share? Do you have foods you always have on hand for whatever presents itself?.
We (over)stocked our pantry and freezer with bargains in November, December and January. For the next three or four months, we are shopping only for fresh foods in attempt to empty out our food stores. Unfortunately, we are not to the "desperation" phase.
My wife plays the "Chopped" game. When she gets up at 5 am, she heads into the pantry and selections the five "secret" ingredients that I have to use to produce dinner. I have to use four of those to make lunch and dinner. Why only FOUR? That is a compromise as she would always include an item that would generally work but would not be a good fit with the others. This "game" was inspired by the TV show as well as a (non-cooking) friend who came to my house the day before he was invited to dinner and challenged me to cook a meal from five ingredients he pulled from my freezer/fridge/pantry. And I did it.
Lately we've been so busy and keeping odd hours so our pantry is pretty barren. I had some frozen pork chops so I'm making those with some sauteed artichoke hearts (canned) in some white wine and mashed potatoes. The plan was to do chops and kraut but we're out so I'm making do. We won't be making another grocery trip until saturday so this will have to do. It smells pretty darn good actually.
Sometimes though there's no meat for whatever reason. Sometimes everything is frozen and we don't have time to even do a quick defrost. In that case we are happy to eat beans and rice or if there's frozen turkey we do a black bean chili. Very occasionally I'll make a marinara with canned products and some fresh grated carrot to sweeten it instead of sugar or corn syrup like the jars use. The carrot disintegrates in cooking so really it just adds a hint of sweetness- nothing like the sweetness of Ragu or it's ilk.
Even if we are low on fresh or frozen foods we have a stand-alone spice cabinet AND a standard kitchen cabinet of spices and herbs so we can doctor up any old tinned food to taste pretty good, or at least better than OK.
Baking potatoes. Then cream some veggies or leftover meat and create your loaded baked potato. Something as simple as canned corn and cheese is tasty and filling.
Or use cheese sauce. Make it yourself from milk, flour, butter and long-keeping Velveeta cheese that you keep on hand. Top them with parsley or bacon bits to dress them up a bit.
I keep pasta and corn tortillas on hand for last minute casseroles or enchiladas (topped with salsa) made out of left-overs.
Tuna melts under the broiler. Mix tuna, a little mayo, chopped onion, pickle relish and cubed cheese. Spread on toast and broil. Or top toast with bacon and Velveeta and broil.
I keep roasted red peppers, sliced water chestnuts, slivered almonds and a variety of pickles on hand. These things will quickly elevate a hot dish to something a little more company worthy.
Chicken Divan: Frozen broccoli cuts topped with leftover frozen chicken. Sprinkle water chestnuts. Top with can of cream of mushroom soup mixed with sour cream. Layer cheese on top.
And there's always the old brunch fall back of pannekoeken. Spectacular in their presentation but cheap and simple in their prep. Fresh fruit is best but I keep a couple of different cans of pie filling handy to pour into the bottom of the cast iron skillet. Top with beaten eggs, milk and flour and pop into a hot oven for a short time. Watch it rise and like magic you have a small miracle to bring to the table.
'tatoes and eggs. Fry eggs with chopped onions and pour some beaten eggs over the top. Stir. Serve with ketchup. Who doesn't like fried potatoes and ketchup?
Frozen waffles and Jimmy Dean sausage patties when they are on sale. Top with your stash of real maple syrup and garnish plate with orange slices.
Just a word about presentation. If you have a special dish, serving spoon, a doily for the serving plate, pretty paper napkins, toothpicks with cellophane decoration on the top, even paper drink umbrellas (LOL) you can elevate a slap-dash meal at least to humorous, if not charming.
It's summer - go pick something edible to put on the plate. Pansies, nasturtiums, violets. I grow them just for this purpose.
My story about nothing to eat:
I know about that. The first year my husband was drafted into the Army we lived paycheck to paycheck and they only came once a month. Lean times.
But after we had children I always made sure there was something healthy around even if it was cheap. And when they were little I tried to be there when they got home from school to give them something good. But one day I can't remember what drew me away from home just before sixth grade son got home.
Later my mother told me he had called her, sixty miles away, to complain, "My mom is gone and there's nothing in the house to eat."
When I got home that night I made shrimp fettuccini for supper. He said, "How'd you do that?" Mom's have their secrets. When you have sixth grade boys you have to be creative about storing food, right?
Good story. I had a teenager who ate a jar of peanut butter every week.
I almost always have angel hair. I mix that with butter, salt and crushed red peppers. Not only desperation food it is also comfort food. Scrambled eggs with whatever vegetables I can scrounge is a good one too.
I really like a nice combination of rice, canned tomatoes, and canned black beans. All of those items store for a long time and are quite cheap. I cook all three together on the stove, substituting one cup of water for the rice with one can of tomatoes. I just wish my husband enjoyed it as much as I do.
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