What would you cook IF?

[StirBlue]

Today is a snow day for us. What we have in our food storage is it! I have seen payday menu's somewhere for the day before our food budget is replenished. Pretty soon we will be able to go out but that will happen before the food stock trucks get through to the grocery store which will be mostly sold out of perishables etc. We have just celebrated Thanksgiving and a lot of cupboard space was used during that time hence we anticipate shopping after the holiday. We have a lot of uninteresting food here and a lot of picky eaters. Maybe I will serve them a snow sculpture! I believe the picky is in the activity and guest list more so than the menu. Oh, it's a social blizzard!

What would you cook IF?

 

[licia]

One of our favorites when I don't want to shop is potato soup, cheese toast and fruit salad from whatever fruit is on hand. Nourishing and great tasting too.

 

[Alix]

I'm assuming this is for tonight so I would suggest pasta of some kind. You can do a heck of a lot with pasta and canned soup of many varieties.

 

[Constance]

Pancakes: If you're out of fresh milk, powdered will work.

SOS/a la king: Make a white sauce (evaporated milk works fine) and add whatever tidbits you have on hand. Any combination of canned meat, vegetables or hard-boiled eggs will work. Even Spam will work if you brown it first and get some the grease out. In fact, creamed Spam and hard-boiled eggs over toast with a bit of cheese sprinkled on top would be delicious. Lay some canned asparagus spears on the toast first, and it's downright gourmet.

Stone Soup: Look through your pantry...you're bound to have the makings for a soup of some kind. You can make a broth out of all kinds of things of things. If you have a scrap of bacon or an onion around, you're on your way. You can also use canned soups to for a base, then do your own thing by adding whatever you have on hand.

Pasta: If you have any kind of pasta, canned, fresh or frozen vegetables, and butter or cheese, you have a meal.

Hint: If you run out of bread, think about biscuits, rolls, tortillas, and cornbread. A slice of ham inside a big biscuit makes a darned good sandwich.

 

[Chopstix]

When I'm in no mood to cook, I give DH sardines on bread. And DH is perfectly content with this. It's comfort food for him!

 

[StirBlue]

Thank you.

I am so happy for your help. I didn't realize that I had so much food in my kitchen. We will be good for some time to come. You have uplifted my day and I am feeling very good about cooking again.

 

[Constance]

I forgot about something that's really fun. My mom was a school teacher, and when we had snow days, we always made cookies. Look through your recipes and what you have on hand...I'll bet you'll come up with something.

 

[Andy M.]

I would call out for delivery.

If you consider that cheating, I'd go to the freezer and take out some tomato sauce or pesto and do pasta as an easy way out.

If I had leftover turkey in the freezer (and i do), I'd make quesadillas or simply sandwiches.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Some tomato sauce or juice, or even a can of veggie juice such as V8, together with any kind of unseasoned dried or canned beans (not pork & beans or baked beans), an onion, some celery, and chili powder. Throw in any kind of cubed meat or ground beef. Chili, one of the ultimate comfort foods.

The other food everyone will eat is home-made pizza. Throw a quick bread dough together. Top it with whatever you like on your pizza, be it chocolate, or pepperoni, or fruit. Be creative.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[KeyLimePaige]

Probably figured it out by now, but I always try to have on hand a package of black beans and rice (Vigo brand only), onions, and garlic.

Make rice and beans as instructed.

Add if you have onions garlic and balsamic vineger:

Sautee onions in EEOO, add garlic. Add enough balsamic vinegar to coat. Carmelize onions and garlic. Add some parsley and eat as a condiment to the beans and rice.

Really filling. One package will get me and my boyfriend (which is impressive because he can eat a lot) fully and happy. Especially on a cold day.

If you have rice you can add some veggies to it and carmelize the onions as well.

Another easy thing is rice and eggs--believe it or not. Add some parsley, garlic, black pepper, and a dash of chilli powder if you have it to the rice. Fry the eggs and serve it up!

 

[StirBlue]

Thanks KeyLimeP. They are cancelling all sorts of stuff off tomorrow (Monday) like school, maybe residential postal delivery, etc. Hey you, Andy, the restaurants are not all up and going...delivery is on hold. Somebody saw the bread delivery truck in the ditch. Thanks to you guys, I've tried a lot of new things.
We had the sardine sandwiches and yes, they are comfort food. If I don't have it to try now, I'm adding to my grocery list. I may even create a new list.

 

[Claire]

Don't ask me why, but that storm hit every place around us, but not Galena. If you drove a half hour in any direction, you'd be in feet of snow. We didn't get enough to coat the grass. I'm a food hoarder. I know we could live a month off the food I just happen to keep in the house on a regular basis. The salads would suffer after a few days, but everything else would be fine.

Most canned vegetables can be drained and dressed with whatever dressing you have on hand or a simple oil & vinegar for a salad.

I always have several kinds of rice and pasta in the pantry.

Frozen veggies are my favorite fall-back. Toss a hand full into the aforementioned pasta or rice, cook it up in some stock and spices, and you have a meal.

Canned beans. Drain and toss with rice or pasta and you have a complete meal. Throw into some broth, stock, or canned tomatoes and you have a great soup. This is a great emergency staple that is very nutritious. Having weathered a few hurricanes in my life, I can tell you that a hand operated can opener and cans of beans will see you through any storm!

 

[Uncle Bob]

Sounds like a homemade soup and hot buttered cormbread event to me....

Stay warm.....

Uncle Bob

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

We got about 8 inches of snow, and some cold weather. But where I live, that's just normal. It's about 17 degrees here. Way back in about '98, we got 5 feet in a day and a night. That slowed us down for a day. But we were back to normal by the 2nd day after. Driving through blizzards where you can't see the front of your car is not unheard of up here. And as a teen, I used to be challenged, and challenge my freinds to see who could get there cars/trucks through the deepest snow without getting stuck. And icy driving conditions, that's an everyday thing from December to the end of March, and sometimes half-way through April.

I remember the first time I was away from home, stationed in the Memphis, TN. area, and we got a little freezing rain. The town was completely closed and all roads were shut down. I thought it was ludricous as those conditions were a normal occurance up where I live.

It jsut goes to show that what's normal for one person, is a major headache for another. Now put me in 95+ temps and I start boiling over my radiator, feeling nauseated, etc. I can handle cold just fine. But don't put me in a hot place. I just don't function well in heat.

I hope everything returns to normal for everyone affected by the current storm/s and am thankful that you have food to get through for a bit.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[VeraBlue]

Okay, let me get this right....you are in the midst of a snow event and you are role playing Old Mother Hubbard, yes?

I never freeze meat, chicken or fish...so the freezer would only offer assorted raviolis. I always have butter and flour and evaporated milk (you mentioned short supply of perishables). I could make a cream sauce for the ravioli.

I always have rice and some kind of canned tomato...so spanish rice would be easy enough to manage. A egg poached in the tomato broth before you added the rice would be a nice topping, giving you a bit of protein, too.

Rice balls.

Pasta fagioli.

Pancakes