Using what's in your pantry part 2..

Having a stocked freezer and pantry and be helpful and hurtful all at the same time...

For example:

Husband: Do we have anything to make for dinner?
Wife: I think we have some odds and ends, but I don't really know. (i.e. can't we just go get something? like pickles?)
Husband: Hmmm well what's in there?

THEN you make a dinner that he LOVES with crap from the freezer. He is going to get spoiled!

I had:

Chicken thighs
Homemade spaghetti sauce
Cheese ravioli
Green beans

I thawed the chicken for about an hour in some water in the sink. Once it was thawed I put salt and pepper on it and started it in the skillet in a little oil.
Once the chicken was nice and browned and almost finished, I removed it from the pan. At this point I had water almost to a boil. I threw the green beans into the skillet with the chicken jus and the oil and let them get going.
I thawed the sauce in the microwave in a bowl while all this was going on.

Once the water was boiling, I tossed the ravioli in the pot and put the chicken back in the skillet to finish cooking.

The finish product came out like this:
And dammit, it was really tasty.

Now he will expect magic meals to appear on the table with no grocery shopping all the time!

Using what's in your pantry.. Part 1

I have written about the advantages of using what's in your pantry before... but I wanted to provide another example or 2...

Last Friday, Lee and I decided we wanted some yummy steaks for dinner. Lee stopped on the way home to get the steaks and I went rummaging through the pantry to see what I could throw together on the side..
I had:
New potatoes
Red bell pepper
Onion
Garlic

HEY! Roasted veggies it is!
I turned the oven on to 425 degrees, tossed the potatoes, onions, and bell pepper chunks in a little olive oil, ran outside and snipped some rosemary, and minced the garlic and tossed it all together. Whala! 35 minutes later the veggies were soft and flavorful.

Someday I shall cook..

Lee traveled Mon, Tues, and Wed. So Monday I made Chicken Spaghetti for Donald and I. It was fantastic!

However, my stomach was not excited when I ate leftovers the next night. Dang.

Anywhoo - all i want in the whole wide world right now are these:

Fried Pickles.

Please?

Lee is also traveling this next week on Mon, Tues, and Wed - so not much cooking again. Sorry....

Dinner - the only time this week...

This week I have failed on cooking - except for Sunday.

I made lasagna for Lee's mother's birthday dinner. I would have loved to have made my mom's, but hers is a 2 day affair and I didn't have the time for that. Instead I looked to my next source for home cookin... Pioneer Woman!

I didn't get a photos during all the commotion, but it turned out pretty much like her photo...
Make this. Then eat the leftovers.
MAN.

Pioneer Woman's Lasagna..

For dessert I made brownies with a salted caramel sauce (much like these) and they were wonderful as well!

All in all, great dinner. And great left over!