Bare Cupboard Rescue!
by Michele Young
Description: Dinner ideas using what you have on hand in your pantry.
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Have you ever looked into your pantry or cupboard and realized
you have "nothing to cook?" Either there are only a few ingredients
remaining until shopping day or maybe you have several items that don't
seem to match? What do you do now!?
Here are some recipes that don't require many ingredients to
make and your family will love them! Enjoy!
Keegan's Delight
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1 lb. ground beef
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2 small cans tomato sauce
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1 green pepper (chopped)
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1 1/2 c. cooked pasta
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Salt, pepper, and garlic powder
Brown ground beef with bell pepper and seasonings in a
skillet. Stir in pasta and tomato sauce. Serve with biscuits or any bread
of your choice.
Chicken Spaghetti
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Leftover shredded chicken
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1 can cream of chicken, cream of celery, or cream of mushroom
soup (or you can make a white sauce and add chicken boullion and a little
butter and cheese)
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Cooked spaghetti
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(optional - diced celery or bell pepper)
Warm soup and mix with chicken and vegetables. Serve over
spaghetti.
Kitchen Sink Pasta Salad
This is a recipe I invented and it's great for when you feel
like you have nothing to fix for dinner. I named it this because I
throw in everything except the kitchen sink!
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Any small pasta (I cook about 1/2 - 3/4 c. per person).
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Meat (can be a drained can of tuna, leftover shredded chicken,
diced lunch meat such as ham or salami or pepperoni)
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Cheese (any kind of cheese diced of grated such as cheddar,
Provolone, Swiss, Monterey Jack, Parmesan, mozzarella or whatever you have
on hand).
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Salad dressing - I prefer Italian or ranch or a mixture of
both. You can also use oil and vinegar. You want to add enough to
make a nice moist pasta salad otherwise when you refrigerate the
leftovers they will become very dry.
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Veggies (any combination of chopped vegetables such as tomato,
bell pepper, mushrooms, grated carrot, broccoli, etc.).
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Extras (I like to add any of the following if I have them on
hand): diced pickles of pickle slices, chopped black or green olives, bacon
bits and croutons.
Cook the pasta then rinse in cold water until it is no longer
hot. Add salad dressing. Mix in the rest of your
ingredients. Serve and enjoy!
Posole
This is a traditional Mexican recipe that is easy and
delicious. I like this recipe because just about everyone has the
ingredients on hand.
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2 quarts of water
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1 to 1 and 1/2 lbs. of cut up stew meat or any kind of lean beef
cut into small pieces
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3 whole cloves of garlic
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1/2 onion sliced
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1 c. nixtamal (this is fresh hominy and can be found in the fresh
meat section of your grocery store. It is yellow in color and
comes in a plastic bag. If your grocer does not carry this item you
can substitute a large can of hominy)
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1 c. dry pinto beans
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Salt to taste
Rinse and place chucks of meat in boiling water with
garlic. When pieces are brown, add salt. Then mix in beans and hominy
(nixtamal) and onion and cover. Cook 3 hours or until done. Add
more water as needed. Salt to taste. The rule of thumb to making
posole is usually 1 cup of nixtamal to 1 cup of beans to 1
cup of meat more or less. You can also add a little red chile
powder if you like. That is New Mexico Style!
Reprinted with permission.
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