Party in the Pantry http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/ en Copyright 2009 Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:40:52 -0800 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Cream of Chicken and Corn soup... EASY! Today we had this soup for lunch and we loved it!

To serve 3... big servings...

l can of cream of chicken condensed soup
milk... use the empty soup can to measure one can's worth
l can of creamed corn

Put it all in a crockpot and let it turn into wonderful soup.

If you wish to serve 6, double the recipe.
You can buy cream of chicken soup at WalMart for 54 cents, I think... and I found creamed corn at the Dollar Tree for 50 cents.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/cream_of_chicken_and_corn_soup.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/cream_of_chicken_and_corn_soup.html Soup, oh so good! Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:40:52 -0800 Bacon is magic! Buy bacon when it's on special and fry a couple of pieces every few days, to cut up in small pieces and use in salads and soups. Sure, we love the way it tastes, but don't forget how good it smells while it's cooking. That's the whole point... if you fry some every now and then when your family is home, they'll be SURE that the meal will taste wonderful. Even something simple will be very, very much appreciated because the bacon smelled irresistible

I made the soup that I wrote about yesterday and by evening there was just a little soup left. We added a can of ravioli to it, plus 2 cups of instant mashed potatoes and a few bacon bits. Another good meal! Seriously... it really was especially good..

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/bacon_is_magic.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/bacon_is_magic.html Favorites Sun, 22 Feb 2009 23:17:01 -0800 Vegetable Beef Tomato Soup The Dollar Tree has a big can of soup that is Vegetable Beef, for $1.00
You can find 50-cent condensed tomato soup (various brands,) in many discount stores that stock groceries.

Combine the vegetable beef soup and a can of condensed tomato soup, plus add one can of milk... and cook on low in a crockpot for awhile and you have dinner! Plenty of soup for four people. With a salad and toasted French bread, you have a very easy and inexpensive meal. :)

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/vegetable_beef_tomato_soup.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/vegetable_beef_tomato_soup.html Soup, oh so good! Sat, 21 Feb 2009 22:39:26 -0800 Overlapping Yummies! One dozen easy days Create a new dish every day and make enough so that you have two or three times more than you will eat in one day. That way you will always have rotating food and only need to make one thing new, each day.

For instance:
Day one... meatloaf for two meals
Day two... green bean casserole
Day three... mac and cheese for two meals
Day four... jello for two meals
Day five... spaghetti for two meals
Day six... three bean salad for two meals
Day seven... a big cake or double batch of cookies, plus a roasted chicken
Day eight... potato salad for two meals
Day nine... salisbury steaks for two meals
Day ten... soup... enough for two days
Day eleven... chili... for two days
Day twelve... a big green salad


That is much easier and less work than making a main dish, salad, bread, vegetable, and dessert every day. That's why so many families just give up on home cooking and go for fast food. BUT, if you make just one new thing a day and have enough left from the day before to make a good meal, you are all set and MAYBE everyone will be happy. We love leftovers at our house.

lol Not confusing, I hope.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/overlapping_yummies.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/overlapping_yummies.html Thoughts in the Kitchen Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:22:14 -0800 To shop with a grocery list... or not? Sure, we go to the supermarket with a list of things we absolutely need, but we end up buying other things, too. This isn't all bad because some of the "other things" might be terrific buys that are on special and might end up being the main dishes for your family for the next week or two. Some stores are more apt to have these surprise specials than others. If you only ever shop in one place, you might be missing out on good buys.

I was in a local supermarket yesterday where wieners were around $4.50 for one pound of ordinary wieners. I know another store where the same quality wieners are consistently around $.99 for one pound. This is just one example and represents many other products with similar price comparisons. Don't pay four times more for a product when you might look around a bit and find some better buys.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/to_shop_with_a_grocery_list_or.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/to_shop_with_a_grocery_list_or.html Thoughts in the Kitchen Thu, 19 Feb 2009 22:41:36 -0800 Makin' your house yummmmmy! When you want people to think your meal is going to be wonderful, fry some onions. Yes, fry them and either add them to what you are making, or not. Just the aroma of the onions will convince the folks that the meal is wonderful.

Lol

Actually, fry the onions and make some instant mashed potatoes and add the onions to the potatoes. That is a double plus.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/makin_your_house_yummmmmy.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/makin_your_house_yummmmmy.html Thoughts in the Kitchen Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:14:55 -0800 Saute Tofu Buy some extra firm tofu, cut it up into small cubes, and saute them in vegetable oil. When they are nearly brown, stir in a few shakes of dehydrated onion flakes. These fried cubes of tofu are really good in salads, soups, scrambled eggs... Or eaten just as they are! If you haven't tried this delicious form of protein, give it a chance.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/saute_tofu.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/saute_tofu.html Favorites Tue, 17 Feb 2009 23:26:11 -0800 Jazzy Soup with Creamed Corn Combine a can of creamed corn and 2 teaspoons of dehydrated onion to a can of condensed tomato soup, plus one can full of milk. Place these ingredients in a crockpot and cook... Enjoy it later.

Creamed corn is good with split pea soup, too. A real man-handler meal!

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/jazzy_soup_with_creamed_corn.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/jazzy_soup_with_creamed_corn.html Soup, oh so good! Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:08:43 -0800 Dress up burger patties and stretch them, too... Add things to ground meat to make burgers spark new life. You'll see that one pound of ground meat will make about 5 fat meat patties if you add bread crumbs, chopped onion, chopped green or red pepper, finely cut celery pieces... AND shake on some seasoning, too. Lately I've been using chili powder in soups, on meat, and even on potatoes. Seems to make the food fill me up faster. lol

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/dress_up_burger_patties_and_st.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/dress_up_burger_patties_and_st.html Extra easy meal Sun, 15 Feb 2009 22:59:35 -0800 Dry beans vs. canned beans to make CHILI Today we made a HUGE batch of chili, using dried pinto beans. It's been a long time since we used dry beans and I am surprised by how much chili you can make using:

3 cups dry pinto beans
Boil in a big dutch oven until beans are soft.
Drain the water off and place beans in a BIG crockpot.
Cook 1 1/2 pounds ground meat and add to the beans in the crockpot.
Add 2 cans (l6 oz. ea.) diced tomatoes.
2 medium onions, cut up in pieces
2 green or red bell peppers, cut into small pieces
1 T chili powder
1 teas. salt
1 can of spaghetti sauce and 1 1/2 cups water. We used the 4-cheese spaghetti sauce.

Cook in the crockpot all day and eat this chili for two or three days because you will make so MUCH... enough for a dozen people. lol

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/dry_beans_vs_canned_beans_to_m.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/dry_beans_vs_canned_beans_to_m.html Thoughts in the Kitchen Sat, 14 Feb 2009 23:48:43 -0800 Apple Dessert in the Crockpot I just learned that you can make your favorite apple dessert in the crockpot! Yes, make apple Betty or apple crisp and put the ingredients in your crockpot with the topping on the top (of course,) and let it cook on low for hours and hours and WOW, you will get your delicious apple treat. Basic apple crisp recipes call for apples, butter, and brown sugar. If all you had was those three things, plus cinnamon, you could make something really good.

True life: Sometimes we have two crockpots going at our house and have been known to have three.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/apple_dessert_in_the_crockpot.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/apple_dessert_in_the_crockpot.html Treats Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:13:42 -0800 Quick meal you'll love! Cook a big potato in the microwave oven.
when it's cooked (takes about 4 minutes for a big potato,) cut it up into pieces and put butter on it and sprinkle it with chili powder. Then spoon some hot, cooked canned chili on it.

One can of Nalley's thick chili is enough to make 6 or these potatoes. Costs about 80 cents for a can of this chili at Win-Co.

A very good dinner for a family of 6 for about $2.00.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/quick_meal_youll_love.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/quick_meal_youll_love.html Favorites Wed, 11 Feb 2009 23:25:44 -0800 Funny Muffins Save up your odd little leftover cereals, such as raisin bran... and put them into muffin batter. Sure, when you have just a little bit of cereal in a box, put it in a jar with other little bits of cereal and when you make muffins, pour in the leftover cereals... Makes really good muffins! Bran muffins are my favorites, made from bran flakes.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/funny_muffins.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/funny_muffins.html Favorites Tue, 10 Feb 2009 23:25:04 -0800 Double cooked sticky rice... really NICE! Cook a batch of rice to serve six in your microwave oven. When it's done, place the rice in a crockpot and add a can of chicken broth and some dehydrated onions. Toss in some leftover meat scraps and frozen vegetables. Cook on low in the microwave and in a few hours you will have really remarkable rice! A good main dish.

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/double_cooked_sticky_rice_real.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/double_cooked_sticky_rice_real.html Favorites Sun, 08 Feb 2009 22:40:34 -0800 A Microwave Cookie A 'lil girl was visiting me yesterday and she begged to "cook in the kitchen." I sighed and said we could make a cookie. She was delighted to stir up a small amount of self rising flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, milk, and vegetable oil. Then she spooned it onto a plate on which we had put a small amount of vegetable oil...

THEN... TA DA... we put it in the microwave oven for about 40 seconds. She was very happy with her cookie that she mixed up and baked. I had a little piece of the cookie and it was really good.

lol

]]> http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/a_microwave_cookie.html http://blogcentral.thereporter.com/pantry/2009/02/a_microwave_cookie.html Treats Sat, 07 Feb 2009 23:19:18 -0800