Turning several pantry items into thousands of recipes.

 

I was doing some internet searching and found this article.  There are twelve pantry items that the author buys in bulk and turns into thousands of meals.  Allegedly I do not have proof.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/foodanddrink/foodnews/12-pantry-staples-you-can-turn-into-thousands-of-meals/ar-BBapBdX

My Perfect Pantry. Is this wishful thinking?

I have discussed my pantry before.  In fact, lately I am obsessed with my pantry.  Previously I described my pantry as a disaster but I would live to revise that.  I think I was being too hard on myself so I will just say my pantry is a work in progress.  That sounds a lot better right?

Up until recently I have stocked my pantry using the following "rules":

Rule number one:  Buying items when on sale.

Rule Number two:  Buying items that look interesting that I might use.

Rule Number three: Buying items I use all the time. 

Rule Number one gets me in the most trouble.  Buying items on sale is definitely a good thing but I think I become a little too obsessive.  For example, I am at the grocery store and discover that Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce is on sale.  Well that's pretty great because it just so happens I use that exact brand of BBQ sauce.  But instead of buying a manageable amount like two, three tops I buy six.  Not only will I not use six, but it is taking precious space in my pantry.  Note to myself, DON'T DO THAT ANYMORE.  OK.

Rule Number two is just my creative twin screaming in my head buy me and take me home and make me. Did I mention I am a Gemini?  I am, in fact I am the classic Gemini.  There are definitely two of me living in my body.  One Twin is trying to be organized and the other keeps saying lighten up, be free.  So I lighten up and I buy it and don't make it. Note to myself, if I want to try something interesting than I must make it that week.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

Rule number three is buying what I use all the time.  This list is managed by my more organized, practical self. This rule works pretty well.  I seem to be able to keep items that I use all the time stocked in my pantry.  I guess it is because I add it to my list for when I go shopping.

Awhile back I asked for input from all of you about what you keep in your pantry and I noticed that there is definitely a pattern.  Most people have flour, sugar, pasta, rice, peanut butter, jam, some type of oil(evoo, canola, vegetable etc) and some type of vinegar.  Those were the staples.  The items that differed depended on the type of cooking being done in the household.  These items gave each pantry its own personality.  I am working on my pantry's personality.  I will get back to you as it develops.

My Perfect Pantry. I received this book from Blogging for Books.  When I chose this book I thought it would be more of a how to stock your pantry .  I was looking for inspiration and help. It is really  more of a cookbook that is divided into 50 categories representing the fifty items that the author feels are his essential ingredients. Even though it was not what I expected it really is a good cookbook.  The recipes are very manageable, meaning the ingredients are straight forward.  In other words most recipes in the book don't have a lot of specialty ingredients, ones you need to pick up and you probably would only use when you make that dish.  So if you are looking for something that has some good recipes centered around pantry items you most likely have on hand, this is your book. If you want more information on this book click on this link My Perfect Pantry

Not Your Egg McMuffin

 

Weekends are my days for running errands and one of them is food shopping. So this morning I got up early and did an inventory of my refrigerator.  I found a wealth of items that were begging me to use them before they went bad.  I felt my creative juices flowing and I was in the mood for a breakfast other than toast which is all I manage before I am speeding out the door to get to work.

I just bought a Texas Muffin tin.  This makes a double size muffin which was exactly what I was aiming for this morning.  I decided to make Egg Muffins.  Not Egg Mcmuffins just egg muffins.  They are basically a quiche without the crust so they are more portable.  You can eat them on the go and they aren't crumbly because there is no crust.

Here are my ingredients (keep in mind I am using what is left in my fridge)

1 medium onion finely chopped

6 Mini sweet peppers (it just so happens that I had three red, one orange, and two yellow. I think they add nice color as well as flavor) finely chopped

4 Baby bella mushrooms finely chopped

6 Eggs

1 cup half and half

2 hamburger rolls

6 ounces of grated Swiss cheese

Herbs de Provence about a tsp

2 Sprigs of fresh thyme

1 Sprig of fresh oregano

salt and pepper to taste ( I use that phrase with hesitation because it is an incredibly vague cooking term.  What that means to me is a very light sprinkling of salt.  We watch sodium in my house.  And a more generous helping of black pepper, two to three turns of the pepper mill.) 

 

I sautéed the onions first.  Once they started to turn translucent I added the peppers and mushrooms and sautéed them all for another two minutes or so. I added all the herbs to the onion mix as well as the salt and pepper.  Usually I would have put the herbs into the egg mixture but I changed my mind and added them to the onion mix. (Glad that I did I found that the herbs blended better and the final product tasted better.)

While they were sautéing I cut the hamburger rolls into small pieces.  You don't have to use hamburger rolls.  I used them because they were leftover and they looked so lonely.   In a bowl I mixed the egg and milk. 

To assemble the muffin I divided the hamburger rolls evenly between the 6 muffins.  I added cheese to each muffin and then divided the onion mixture between the six.  Lastly I ladled the egg mix evenly over the six and baked the muffins in a preheated 350 degree oven until they were cooked all the way through about thirty minutes.

My husband was my taster and his words were that the dish was well crafted and tasted delicious.  He can be my food critic anytime.  This morning there was only the two of us so I placed most of them in a container for another day and as a test I placed one in the freezer to see how well it would do.  If they freeze well I plan to make a batch on the weekend to grab on my way out the door. I won't give up my toast everyday cause I have come to love it but one or two says a week it is nice to have a change.  Hope you like the dish.



Onions, peppers, and mushrooms sautéed in extra virgin olive oil

Basic Ingredients

Herbs minus the fresh thyme and oregano

Football Means Soups In my House

Football season is my husband's favorite time of the year.  It has been that way our entire marriage and I don't resent it at all.  I guess you can refer to me as a football widow.  I have found plenty to do on my Sundays but the one thing that does bother just a little is Sunday night dinner.  Dinner in my house is a time for the family to gather around the table and eat together.  I use to make regular meals on Sunday but no more.  My solution is to make a big pot of soup and let everyone just take a bowl when they feel like eating. 

I have been experimenting with recipes for soups and as I find good ones I will share them with you.  This week I decided to be like Sandra Lee.  For those of you who don't know her she had a show on the cooking channel known as Sandra Lee; Semi Homemade. She developed many recipes that were a combination of pre-made foods and fresh ingredients.

 

Here is my recipe from this past Sunday

2 cans Campbell's Home style Creamy Chicken and Dumpling herb soup

1 can Swanson's chicken broth

1 medium potato

1 pound of broccoli

1 medium onion

1 rib of celery

I chopped all the vegetables and cooked them in the broth for about 15 minutes.  Then I added the Creamy Chicken soup and let the soup simmer for about a half hour.  It came out great and there were leftovers for lunch.