Pantry Raid – Page 8 – Fun Foodie Family

Spicy Veggie Soup

One pot meal, Pantry Raid, Soups, Vegetarian

Y’all. Seriously. This is so easy to make. Throw in this and that and you have a healthy delicious dinner! It is super windy and cold out, so I wanted to make some hot soup to warm me up. I have a whole pot to myself. Well, I made extra for my friend who is going veggie this month. I added some leftover grilled chicken and a dollop of sour cream in my bowl at the end to add some protein and richness. You could add beans, different veggies, heavy cream, cheese, croutons, tortilla chips, ground beef, tofu, etc. Soup has no limits!

Spicy Veggie Soup

Ingredients

1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped and minced
1 sweet pepper chopped- I had a combo of yellow, orange, red, and green leftover in the fridge
1 jalapeno, chopped I seeded mine and took out the membrane, but if you want it super spicy, leave them. Or if you wanted less spicy, you could add a chopped poblano pepper
1 container of mushrooms
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 can of tomato sauce
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of canned corn, with liquid (or frozen)
1 can of green beans, with liquid (or frozen)
fresh or dried herbs- I used oregano, marjoram, and thyme, plus a bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
red pepper flakes to taste
extra hot sauce if wanted

Directions

In a dutch oven, cook down all your veggies in a few tablespoons of veggie oil and add salt and pepper- about 10 minutes. Add your tomato paste. Stir in and cook about 5 more minutes. Add in your canned ingredients. If your veggies are frozen, add them in, but add a bit of water if needed. Stir and add in red pepper flakes and/or hot sauce. Add more salt and pepper to taste.

Chicken Sausage Stew

Chicken, One pot meal, Pantry Raid, Soups

A few more weeks of winter left. There has been a glimmering hint of spring down here…some warmer sun, birds chirping, blooming flowers… I am hoping March keeps bringing us some warmer temps and plenty of sun, but until then I am trying to find the plus side of all this cold weather. How about a big pot of stew and a couple glasses of red wine to warm your bones? This recipe is a this and that of ingredients thrown in to my dutch oven. Simple and scrumptious! I plan on taking it in to my school’s black history luncheon.

Chicken Sausage Stew

Ingredients
1 package of chicken sausage- (of course, you could use pork or turkey)
1 large can tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 can black beans rinsed drained
1 cup of rice
1 bag of frozen peas
1 onion chopped and diced (or 1 tablespoon of onion powder)
2-3 cloves of crushed and chopped garlic (or 1 tablespoon of garlic powder)
1 cup half and half
warmed Chicken stock as needed
chopped fresh or dried herbs- whatever you have on hand- I used thyme, rosemary, and oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Brown your sausage according to the package
Take it out of the pan and add in about a couple of tablespoons of butter or vegetable oil. Add your onion, garlic, and rice and saute them together for about 10 minutes on med. low heat.
Add in add your cans of tomato sauce, tomatoes, and beans. Slice up your sausage and put it in the pot. Stir every 5-10 minutes adding in your stock a little at a time until your rice is cooked through. At the end, add your frozen peas, fresh herbs, and half and half. Add more stock until your desired consistency. I like my stew thicker, so I did not add much stock.

Creamy Tomato Chicken with Garlic Rosemary Skillet Potatoes

Chicken, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pantry Raid, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains

It seems like forever since I have blogged. It actually has been about a week, and last week kinda was a blur. I cooked dinner a few nights, but nothing was really anything new or blog worthy. Tonight, I was feeling like I had a lot of random ingredients, so I decided to do a pantry raid. Here is what I found…

Proteins- Chicken breasts, chicken sausage, Black Beans, eggs

Pantry- Tomato paste- 2 cans, Diced Tomatoes- 2 cans, baked beans, chili, corn, 3 potatoes

Frozen- Variety Steamfresh Veggies, garlic bread

Fridge- cheese ravioli, alfredo sauce, half and half, fresh herbs- rosemary, thyme, and sage, white wine, 1/2 onion

So here is what I used and created…

Creamy Tomato Chicken

Ingredients

2-4 chicken breasts
3 cloves garlic crushed and chopped
1/2- 1 onion chopped
1/4 cup white wine
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1/2 pint of half and half
Chopped fresh herbs- I had rosemary, thyme, and sage.
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Make sure you get your pan screaming hot!!! After 5 minutes of heating your pan, add your oil; 1 tablespoon or so to coat the bottom of the pan. When you see steam rising from the oil, add your chicken. Cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes until it is golden brown.

Once they are brown, take them out. Turn heat down to med heat and add onion and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent and garlic is fragrant. Do not burn the garlic! Pour in about 1/4 cup of white wine… just enough to deglaze the pan. Add in 2 cans diced tomatoes and 1 can tomato sauce. I mashed up the diced tomatoes a bit, because my girls don’t like tomato chunks. Skip this step if you wish.

Then I added the half and half and the chopped herbs. I mixed together and added the chicken back in until the chicken was cooked through. A total of around 45 minutes for browning and cooking the chicken. …

I have some of the leftover creamy tomato sauce…I am thinking some good uses for leftovers this week!!!

Garlic Rosemary Skillet Potatoes

Ingredients

3 potatoes thinly sliced with a knife. You could use a mandolin, but make sure they are not too this. They need a bit of thickness to absorb all the delicious butter and cream.
1 stick of butter…yes, that is correct!
1 tablespoon or so of olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup of half and half
parmesan cheese- wild abandon
chopped rosemary

Directions

Heat your oven to 400
Heat your skillet with 1/2 a stick of butter
Add your garlic and rosemary- cook for about 5 minutes…ummmm, rosemary garlic butter =) Sprinkle in just a bit of parmesan cheese. Mix together.
Add your sliced potatoes in a pretty circular pattern. Add the rest of the butter in chunks all over the top.
Cook for 40 minutes.

Take out and sprinkle more parmesan and rosemary. Turn your oven to broil. Brown the top of your potatoes and prepare to be wowed!!!

I added a side of Steamed Fresh Green Beans and Garlic toast. Dinner was a BIG HIT!

Meal Plan 2/2/14

Pantry Raid, Weekly Meal Plans

Hope you guys have a great week! Here are my plans for family dinner…

Sun- Steak, mashed potatoes, creamed corn

Monday- Rotisserie Chicken, couscous with veggies, salad

Tuesday- Fish- whatever is fresh at the store- maybe salmon
Maybe fried cod

roasted veggies, and risotto (mushroom?)

Wed- Hot dogs, mac and cheese, and baked beans

Thursday- Date Night- Grandparents take the kiddos to dinner

Friday- Clean out the fridge night/pantry raid

Chicken with tomato and green chili sauce

Chicken, Pantry Raid

Happy Monday! Want a quick dinner that comes together in less than an hour? If so, then here is a great dish for you! I had a package of chicken thighs defrosted. I browned them in my dutch oven. Then I took them out and added 1 chopped onion and 3 cloves of smashed chopped garlic. I cooked down for about 10 minutes. Then I added diced green chilies, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 1 can of diced tomatoes, and 1 can of crushed tomatoes. If you had any kind of cans of tomatoes, they would work…diced, peeled, crushed, sauce, etc. Always keep a few kinds in your pantry as a staple. You could add any kind of veggies you have in your fridge for this; mushrooms, carrots, peppers, etc. Anything goes! I added about a cup or more of red wine and my browned chicken. I let it cook for about 30 minutes. I served on top of pasta and had a side of kale chips (oven roasted at 200 for 30-45 minutes in olive oil and a bit of salt) and creamed corn (from a package- it is not corn season!) Don’t forget your crusty bread!