Amazing Meals From The Pantry #11

 

This past month I was interested in making some healthy and nutritious bare bones meals to stretch what was already on hand in the pantry so I could concentrate more on the winter stockpile.  One of those meals was to prepare a recipe of baking powder biscuits and some creamed tuna to put over the biscuits to make SOS.  The BFF had never had SOS before, but he can never say that again.  Even better, he was pleasantly surprised and thought it was very good.  I added a handful of frozen peas and two chopped hard boiled eggs to extend the meal making it SOS Deluxe and it was beautiful.  I served it alongside some reheated leftover veggies from a previous meal.  A super thrifty and satisfying meal.

 

My next budget stretching meal was to slice up some mushrooms withering in the crisper drawer and sauté with some sliced onion and a clove of minced garlic in a bit of bacon fat from the jar I keep in the fridge.  I added a pint jar of home canned roast beef in broth and seasoned it with garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Once it was all cooked through I added a bit of cornstarch mixed with water to thicken and make gravy.  This was served over steamed rice with a simple salad on the side.

 

Next up was to take a pint jar of home canned chicken breast and place that in my smallest slow cooker with the remains of a block of cream cheese and about a half cup of salsa along with a spoonful of leftover corn.  I allowed that to come up to temp and simmer for a while then stirred it all together to make a delicious chicken and sauce to put over leftover reheated rice I had in the refrigerator.  Another simple salad made for a perfect side.  There was enough for two meals plus a little more.

 

The leftover chicken ended up reheated and wrapped in warm tortillas with some shredded lettuce, a bit of leftover grated cheese, half of a sliced avocado and a spoonful of salsa for a quick meal after a full day working at the senior center.  It was perfect!  In fact, it was so good I forgot to take a picture.

 

For another quick and easy meal on a busy work day I placed a couple small red potatoes and a carrot I had peeled and cut into pieces in the bottom of my smallest slow cooker and set a frozen stuffed bell pepper on top.  Set on low I headed out the door and when I came home my dinner was ready for me.  The kitchen smelled divine and my meal was delicious.

 

I took a jar of home canned marinara, a jar of home canned Italian sausage, a little bit of chopped pepperoni and some black olives I sliced up and combined that with a little bit of cooked pasta.  After placing this into a small casserole and sprinkling parmesan and a bit of cheese over the top I “baked” this in the microwave for five minutes and then served it with a nice green salad.  Leftovers were served up on another day making for another quick and easy meal.

 

Brunches or lunches consisted of reheated leftovers, simple eggs on toast or homemade freezer waffles and eggs as well as smoothies made with banana, frozen berries, spinach, homemade yogurt and some milk.  Beverages were simply coffee, tea and filtered tap water.  All of this was enough food to fill bellies with absolutely no food waste either.  Any kitchen scraps we had ended up going to the bunny and the chickens.  Win!