As part of the 2013 goals and resolutions, I’m working on cooking with ingredients we already have on hand in our pantry and freezer. Here’s a few of the things I’ve found this week for recipe ideas.
We always have an abundance of tortillas. For lunches this week, I’m going to cook up some bacon from the freezer and use it for Bacon-Turkey-Ranch Wraps. Once the bacon is cooked, these will be very easy.
Pasta always makes a easy and quick dinner. This is a weekly staple at our household. I also have the ingredients for lasagna, spaghetti & meatballs, or just plain old spaghetti. We have a variety of noodles but the rotini noodles are always easy for the kids to eat.
I bought this Velveeta Queso Blanco thinking I would use it for chip dip during the holidays. Since that never materialized, I’m going to try it for macaroni & cheese the way Eli likes it…except it will be with the white cheese. I’m sure we will have more than enough of this so it would also make a good topper for enchiladas or rice & beans. All of these things we have “in stock” as well.
I had a coupon to buy this Campbell’s Skillet. We have some Sirloin steaks in the freezer as part of our 1/2 cow purchase so this would be a good way to utilize the meat. The non-meat eaters can eat a meat substitute with rice that night! 
A friend was moving and gave up several huge cans of tomato juice. These are great for soups, chili, chili mac, among a few ideas. Chili is normally our Sunday afternoon food.coco
I have around 5 cans of coconut milk in the pantry. I have no clue why I bought these or why I bought so many. I think maybe coconut rice, which I could do a batch or two of! If anyone has ideas, let me know in the comments!
I’m not even sure how many cans of Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Celery we have. I rarely use them anymore so I’m not sure what to make with them at this point. I’m thinking I can make this chicken casserole one night…but what else???
This is just a few ideas with some of the things we have in the pantry! I’m posting them to remind myself what we have available! What’s in your pantry that you need to use?
Since you have some beef here is an easy crock pot recipe. Take the less tender beef parts and braise them. Then add chopped onion, garlic, celery and carrots . Add one can of cream of mushroom soup plus one can of tomatoes and cook in your crock pot until tender. Serve over rice, noodles or potatoes.
Sounds great! Can I get the recipe for your bacon turkey wraps?
Thanks
Happy eating!
Jen – It’s super easy and it’s my son’s friend’s recipe! :) Tortilla – a couple slices of turkey, bacon crumbled (I used the bacon from the pig we had processed) – they use that already cooked stuff for ease, and ranch dressing! We actually have a few bottles with just a little bit of ranch in the fridge – Annie’s Cowgirl (a little spicy), regular ranch, and peppercorn ranch. I’ve mixed it up each time with the dressing! Super easy!