Wish I had a nice big pantry like this one. Once upon a time I lived in an old farmhouse that had a walk-in pantry with drawers, shelves, counters and a window!
Well, many of us are now sheltering at home, and living off what we have in our pantries, refrigerators and freezers. I added more meat to the freezer this week, and some additional canned goods, so I’m doing pretty well at the moment. I have been thinking about what I have available to eat if the fresh and frozen items become scarce.
This dish caught my eye, as it’s similar to dishes I have done in years past with canned tuna or chicken, canned soup or broth and whatever pasta and veg (fresh or canned) that I have available. Maybe you have too.
Ingredients:
350g (¾ pound) uncooked macaroni (or ½ of our fresh pasta recipe
30 mL (2 Tbsp) oil
1 onion, diced
1-2 ribs celery, diced
45 mL (3 Tbsp) all-purpose flour
625 mL (2½ cups) chicken / vegetable stock or water
375 mL (1½) cups milk
2 cans (6 ounces each) tuna, turkey, salmon, etc drained and flaked
1 cup frozen peas (or canned or fresh)
250 mL (1 cup) breadcrumbs / panko / crushed potato chips / crushed crackers
Salt and pepper to taste
NOTE: He also added sliced mushrooms, although they aren’t in the ingredients list.
Method:
Preheat oven to 425ºF.
Heat oil over medium-high; add onion and celery, cook until softened.
Add flour and whisk to coat vegetables with flour. Slowly whisk in stock, then milk.
Cook, stirring constantly, until sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened.
In a pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until barely cooked; drain.
Stir in pasta, tuna, and peas; season to taste with salt and pepper.
Top with breadcrumbs or chips. Bake until crust is golden, about 20 minutes.
Noodles and pastas are often a good basis for a meal, or a side dish. A dish that my dad made when I was a kid was what he called noodles and breadcrumbs. It was simply cooked noodles combined with lots of melted butter, onions, and sauteed bread crumbs/croutons, then baked in the oven; he may have also added poultry seasoning. Grated cheese on top might be a nice addition.
Here is another recipe that would qualify. I got it from my son-in-law’s mother.
Sauerkraut mit Noodles
Ingredients
1 jar Sauerkraut (24-32 Ounce Jar) Or Fresh
2 sticks Butter (recipe as written; I use less)
1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
½ pounds Mushrooms, Sliced
½ pounds Egg Noodles, Dry
½ teaspoons Salt, Or To Taste
¼ teaspoons Pepper, Freshly Ground, Or To Taste
Preparation
Drain and rinse sauerkraut. Place in a large saucepan, and add water just to cover. Bring to a boil, and cook 20 minutes. Drain well.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a large skillet. Add onion and sliced mushrooms and saute until tender, but not brown, 10 or 15 minutes. Add sauerkraut to mixture.
Using the same pan you used for the sauerkraut, cook noodles in boiling salted water. Drain and add to sauerkraut, onion and mushroom mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
NOTE: My son-in-law’s mother often prepared this dish for potlucks or buffets. It is very good served at room temperature. Yes, I know it calls for a lot of butter, and I suppose you could reduce the quantity, but try it first as written. You could also use canned mushrooms.
Any other good suggestions for pantry meals?
Stella's Place 
Is it off topic to say I want that pantry? I have a pantry now, not large, but suitable for me. However, I the last year I have come to realize that if I were to build a house, I’d probably make the pantry much larger than the kitchen, and it would have a countertop full of outlets for small appliances like the toaster, crockpot, etc.
I’m using up some noodles soon I think. I’ll toss in whatever meat I have along with broth and vegetables.
Because I have some amount of frozen fruits, berries mostly, I have been cooking some muffins. I’ll use some now that it is warmer in smoothies and mixed with kefir. Muffins are bad enough, I don’t want to make cake with them.
I used to make a fruit salad with a little sprite in it to sweeten up the berries a little, and I put some chopped pecans in, which I also have a lot of onhand. So, I might mix berries with a little kombucha and see if I can sneak that in on my husband.
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See my comment under the picture? I have a teeny little pantry cupboard, and shelving in my basement. My freezer is stuffed. I really wish I had bought a small chest freezer. Definitely a consideration for the near future.
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We left a chest freezer at the cabin. I didn’t much like it because I had a tendency to fill it up and never empty it. My youngest son had to put their very small chest freezer in our garage when they moved. I like it. Even if you empty things out to get what is on bottom, it is not a huge amount, and is all still pretty accessible.
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I have a small under counter refrigerator, which I got when my big frig was waiting to be repaired. I love it especially for wine, beers etc, and extra eggs.
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We have 2 in the back hall, one full of beer, the other overflow from the big fridge, plus wine.
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I want to get a small freezer about the same size. I have a very small house.
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I have a big bag of mixed raspberries, blueberries and blackberries in the freezer. So delicious, no matter how you use them.
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My fave is on frozen yogurt.
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I bet that would be good with spaetlze. I have a half dozen or so packages of that I overbought on. I also have sauerkraut, just need to get mushrooms.
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Spaetzle with a heavy garlic butter and mushrooms, maybe some white cheese grated on top.
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I thought about spaetzle too, and I’ll bet that is how these dishes were made originally. I’m having sauerkraut and pork for dinner tonight. Maybe I’ll roast the rest of the butternut squash that is in the frig.
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The noodles and breadcrumbs would be good with the pork too, but I have a surfeit of potatoes at the moment …
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Dinner is good. I roasted butternut squash with oil spread on the cut side and sprinkled with 5-spice powder (cut side down). I never used that spice before on squash, and it is good. Cooked sauerkraut with apple slices, apple cider vinegar and brown sugar. I forgot to add caraway seed, and almost burned it, but it’s good anyway.
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Give your hubby my sympathies…kombucha, brrrrr…..I’ll have a Long Island ice tea, that’s fermented too.
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I really me it, and I’m trying to get him on some probiotics. I believe it best to get them from foods, not pills. So far I have not found a single way to get him to take it, but he will drink kefir. This summer I plan to culture vegetables.
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Sigh. I really love it. My old iPad is going to have to be tossed on Wee’s dead cart soon.
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Tried prebiotics?
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Only the foods that they naturally occur in. Do you have recommendations?
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I would love to have that pantry. 🙂 However, it is bigger than my whole kitchen. I figure I can probably make it a whole month with what I have. After that, I will start losing weight.
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Our kitchen is our anchor, when we built we made it our entertainment center. We never regretted the pantry, especially after Katrina, that;’s what shaped our design. We had a tiny late-50s size coat closet-sized pantry with a few cupboards, adequate for day-to-day in the city but not in an out-of-the ordinary situation. The 6x12x10 one we built seemed a bit large but it’s been a blessing.
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Pantry envy here.
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I remember when we moved to FL back about 1956, my parents bought a little house with a small kitchen. The counter was just along one wall. Daddy moved the kitchen door to the other end of the wall and made a little pantry out of the hole the door left in the kitchen. We thought it was just wonderful. 🙂
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Our cupboards would probably send you over, they wrap around the kitchen from floor to 10′ high on two sides. Living for years as we did in a Hobbit kitchen we had no intentions of ending our days in one.
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When we built a house, I had a really big kitchen with lots of counterspace and big, deep cabinets. I lost the kitchen when I divorced the husband. 🙄 I really miss the kitchen.
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😂
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A REAL Hobbit would object to that description of your former kitchen. Don’t you remember that FOOD & EATING was their first and foremost love?
(At least in the BOOKS it was. I wouldn’t know about in the movies…)
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Ours was designed by a kitchent…
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Stop trying to troll me.
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The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey
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Speaking of making do with what you have, I made tuna macaroni salad today. I usually put chopped sweet pickle in mine, but I don’t have any. I substituted some sliced olives and cut up a marinated artichoke heart along with chopped onion and celery. Low on mayo, so I mixed it with sour cream (I have plenty of that). Seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. It is very different from what I usually make, but surprisingly good!
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I’m not surprised, it sounds good!
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Sometimes I mix mayo and sour cream. Having only just discovered Mexican crema I think I am going to try just using that in a few things I used to use one or both in.
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My daughter uses crema quite often, but she has Mexican stores near her home. It’s good.
I love sour cream, and it keeps well without spoiling for quite a long time.
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Hot naked spaghetti. Just add oil (olive, butter or whatever you like), smashed garlic (or garlic powder), a touch of salt and, if you desire, parmesan cheese.
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And anchovies, if you have some. Maybe some hot pepper flakes. A bit of tomato paste …
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Oatmeal and any kind of beans –with a little salsa– is easy, filling, tasty & dang healthy.. .
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Cook them together? Hot or cold?
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Cooked oatmeal can be refrigerated/stored and later heated and eaten with milk and fruit,
or with beans and salsa.
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I’ve done that with steel cut oats. Cook a batch in a slow cooker with dried fruit, then portion and have for breakfast for several days.
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I used to do that cause the steel cut oats took 45 minutes!
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And they don’t scorch that way either!
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