What's in my Pantry

My pantry in my kitchen can be described in one word, DISASTER! I am really starting to get into this cooking mode.  My problem is my pantry has stuff I don't really use anymore. I like to say I am evolving and experimenting with new recipes.

I think I bought much of the stuff because it was on sale.  I am a consummate bargain hunter ad that gets me in trouble all the time.  I can't just throw things out.  It goes against my nature .  That means I have been making some interesting dishes for dinner for my family.  My family has been moderately tolerant but I have had some interesting feedback. My goal is to use the old and then start with new and more usable ingredients. 

This is all well and good in theory but there are a couple of problems.  I don't like to go to the grocery store more than once a week if possible.  I find if I go more frequently I blow my food budget.  On the flip side I hate running out of ingredients when I am trying to make something especially if I make that dish somewhat frequently.  So I have been developing a new list of pantry items to stock.

Here are the things I need in my pantry no matter what type of cooking I do: 

1.  Pasta my family likes angel hair, fettuccine and bow ties
2. Peanut butter and jelly.  Unfortunately we are split between creamy and crunchy so
    I need one of each.  Fortunately everyone likes strawberry jelly.
3. We like chili so one can of beans, one can of green chilies and a can of tomatoes. 
    Sometimes I pick up the can of tomatoes with green chilies but that usually doesn't
    taste as good.
4.  Sugar and flour
5.  One yellow cake and one chocolate cake mix.  But I am thinking I can do without   
     those.
6.  Tea I love my Prince of Wales tea and when I don't want caffeine my herbal tea
7.  One bag of decaf and one regular coffee.
8.  Pancake syrup
9.  One spare ketchup and one spare mustard.  We go through a lot of these
     ingredients
10. Salad dressing.  I usually like to keep a spare bottle.
11.  Box of crackers.
12.  Cereal.

So that is my list of must haves.  As far as going forward with other items.  I guess I will have to wait to see what I end of cooking.  I would love to hear what items are essential in your pantry.  Please comment.

The next thing I need to address is my spice rack.  But that will be another day.

 

Summer "Pasta"

For all my friends trying to reduce the amount of carbs in their diet this is the perfect "pasta"  dish.  Well it is not really pasta it is squash and zucchini cut to imitate pasta but it is a great way to do it.  I am always looking at ways to add vegetables into my family's diet.  They eat string beans or string beans or string beans.  You get my drift don't you.  They are not big on vegetables.  I even had to get creative with my string bean recipes but I must say my green beans taste great!  I will share that recipe in another post.

That is why this recipe is so appealing.  Your brain kind of thinks it is eating pasta but your body is being nourished by vegetables.  Once again I found this in the Washington Post food section and have included the link.  Enjoy and let me know how you like it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/summer-squash-pasta-green-goddess-dressing/14145/ July 16,2014 Washington Post

Better Burgers

My family loves when I sauté onions and mushrooms and serve them over burgers.  In fact, since we have been trying to cut the carbs  I have been routinely serving my burgers with veggies on top.  When I saw this recipe in the Washington Post food section I had an aha moment.  Instead of serving the mushrooms over the burger, they are chopped up and mixed in to the meat and then cooked.  It certainly added a richer flavor to the burger itself.  Then I Cooked them on the grill which always makes everything taste better and I had a delicious  meal for my family. Just a note I still sautéed the onions and three in some red peppers to serve on top.  Gotta get those veggies into my family's diet.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/pb/recipes/mushroom-blended-graffiti-burgers/14182/

My My Gonna Make a Pie

Dessert does not come easy form me.  I find it the most challenging part of the meal.  When I have people over the house for a meal I angst over what to prepare.  Usually I can do the entrée and the sides but I usually buy dessert.  While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I feel I should be able to come up with something.  Once again this recipe prepared on the Rachel Ray show this past week is totally doable.

You cut up fruit, mix it with sugar and tapioca starch then put it in the middle of a pie crust.  I used Pillsbury to make it a little quicker but the pie dough from the recipe looks easy enough.  Next time I will do it from scratch.  I used peaches and blueberries but the recipe calls for any fruit.  It looks good and tastes good with vanilla ice cream.  Here is the link.  See for your self.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/18428_buddy_valastro_s_easy_fruit_pies/index.html

TV Recipe

I occasionally watch the Rachel Ray show.  I say occasionally not because I don't like her but because in my area she is on in the morning and I am not home at that time.  I also forget to set my TiVo to record. 

It just so happens I did record the show from Monday and she was preparing chicken cordon bleu.  I liked this recipe for several reasons.  Number one it is easy to prepare.  That is really important to me. There is nothing fancy about any of the ingredients and as an added bonus I grow fresh thyme in my garden.  Number two it is a grilled version of the recipe so I can throw it on the grill and not heat up the kitchen or dirty the stove.  Since it is summer I love dishes you can grill especially if I do all the prep work and all my husband has to do is cook it on the grill.  He likes doing it and we can both claim that we made dinner.  It is a win-win situation. Number three it is healthier since it is not fried and has no sauce. 

The only changes I made is that I did not use as much mustard on each chicken breast I like mustard but I didn't want it oozing out of the chicken.  I have attached the link so you can watch Rachel prepare the dish and the ingredients are listed.  Hope you like it.

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/18426_grilled_chicken_cordon_bleu_anredients and as an ed_leeks/index.html