Quick, Easy Recipes Out Of Actual Foods You Have Available

[y2kpeaches]

I find myself at times with very little in the pantry and/or fridge for whatever reasons so I figured I wasn't alone and want to see what good meals,  side dishes, snacks and even desserts there could be out there with very little.  I have several to share myself.  I hope this helps not only me but all that can benefit from this resources!
Today in fact I created something easy and deletable:

1 1/2 cup water
2 to 3 potatoes, diced up (I also peeled mine)
1 tbsp dried onions
1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp bouillon powder,  I used chicken today
1 cup of instant rice (could use already cooked rice)

Put all ingredients but rice in pot to boil on medium-high heat until potatoes are soften.  Add rice and let heat until it boils,  about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Allow rice to soak in the liquid then cool and eat.  I also added 1 tbsp of mayo and it gave a good creamy texture but not necessary.
Let me know if you tried this and how it turned out. Also I would appreciate your ideas/adventures (recipes). Thanks for reading!

[catchow]

Great thread idea, I dont have any to share, cant think of any at this time, but will watch this thread for ideas

[sak4kat]

Well hmmmm this is a head tapper.  Last week I made a red lentil and sweet potato casserole I'd found on pinterest.  I wanted to make a turkey but couldn't find a whole turkey (GRRRR) Anyhow there are bout 3/4 of cup of lentils left, I like the idea of using broth for flavor rather than just water...just gotta watch the sodium.  Luckily I have a can or 2 of chicken broth on hand. I have some fresh green beans that need to be used up as well.  .... red lentils, broth, green beans and hmmmmmm oh last week I got free box of Uncle Bens wild rice..... This kinda isn't fair though cause I have quite a bit of stuff in my pantry now.

[southernhorizons]

I have a horrible time trying to figure out what to make with the stuff we have on hand! I'm not a very creative cook, and I'm very fussy when it comes to food, so there are a lot of things that don't sound at all edible to me. Most of the time when I'm stumped, I end up just eating toast, and maybe salad.

[plennis]

Great Thread!   I am always working on making sure that my pantry is stocked.  I put a lot of things in my freezer when I find sales or in the summer when our garden is going well.  One thing we have when we are tired or in a hurry that is quick and easy is  ground beef, onions and potatoes.  I use any kind of potato that I have in the freezer, hash browns French fries or steak fries.  Cook until potatoes are crispy, then we top with whatever we have, sometimes grated cheese or sour cream. We also use whatever ground meat we have, sometimes turkey, sausage, left over any kind of meat.  Season to taste, salt, pepper, garlic, parsley whatever you like and have.

[paints]

One of the things that helps when your pantry gets low is having a variety of spices on hand.
Almost anything tastes better if you spice it up.

[yikes77]

A bit of oil, some soy sauce and seasonings, some cut up chicken and veggies = quick stir fry!

[Bigpar31]

Wish more people put effort into home cooking instead of eating fast food.

[tantricia44]

Thanks, for the recipes!

[SherylsShado]

when pantry runs low, I usually make french toast & scrambled eggs (or grilled cheese) because I always have bread, eggs, milk & cheese on-hand.

[12amos]

One thing I normally have on hand is ground beef.  I season the ground beef with different types of spices, shape into *bleep*, put a little water in a sauce pan and cook until brown (add some beef broth if you have it, if not water will serve the same purpose as gravy when cooked with the beef *bleep*).  Cook some rice and layer hamburger *bleep* on top of the rice. I smash my hamburger *bleep* into pieces so I can have meat in each bite.  This makes for a good meal.      

[quietpal]

I've done this many times where I created something out of the foods I had available. Some of it was very good, like the biscuits I made.

[paints]

I like three bean salad.

I tried making it at home, but I didn't have the right kind of beans, so it was an adventure. 

1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans,
1 can green beans
1 small onion, sliced thin
Drain the beans and rinse in water.  (Lowers the salt content)
Put in a bowl, cover with vinegar and sugar to taste.
Cover the bowl and let sit in the refrigerator overnight to blend the flavors.

I've also added half a can of sweet peas and corn to this when I made it. 

[vickysue]

I try to keep my pantry stocked good. And also have a freezer so I rarely have to go to the grocery store except for fresh veggies and bread. If milk is on sale I buy several gallons. Take a little out of each gallon and then freeze it. Saves a lot of money. I keep chicken broth msg free on hand because then you can always quickly throw together some kind of soup. But I also will keep a canned whole chicken on hand for great chicken noodle soup, chicken and dumplings or enchiladas

[Penwoir]

When I run out of options, I revert back to a dish we still make for our family when we go camping. We call it camping rice. You start by roughly chopping a can of spam and lightly frying it until the edges start to brown, you add some beaten eggs, seasonings, and finally you add cooked rice (doesn't matter if it's newly cooked or 3 days old!). On occasion I have added frozen peas. When you have finished heating the dish it rather resembles a poor-mans egg fried rice. Very easy to make and there is never any wastage!