Don't I wish this was my pantry :)
A creative cook-y friend of mine and I were chatting recently about easy week-day dinner ideas and we groaned to each other about planning our shopping (strategy-wise) to keep a decent pantry & freezer filled with goodies while supplementing with fresh things every couple of days. *How does one get it all done & get dinner on the table?
I won't pretend to have any real life-changing answers, but I jotted down some simple ideas that have somewhat helped us stay organized and satisfied, even in a pinch. Adding them here so I can check back in case my pregnancy brain makes me forget.
Having a variety of these 'pantry ingredients' in the house helps to throw together something that’s usually healthy, colorful, and fairly quick. And, if all else fails, I’ll make us Annie’s organic mac’n cheese and toss in broccoli and grape tomatoes to blanch as the pasta’s finishing cooking. Ha. Are we 6 years old? We love mac’n cheese :)
*If you have pantry ideas, essential ingredients, or creative meal options send them my way and we'll add them here! :)
Dry pantry:
- Canned tomatoes
- Black beans
- Garbanzo beans
- Canned green chilies
- Jar roasted red peppers
- Dried lentils
- Brown rice
- Couscous
- Pasta
- Tomato paste
- Chicken stock
- Beer
- Bread crumbs
- Annie’s mac & cheese, for when all else fails
Bowl on the counter:
- Garlic
- Potatoes, white & sweet
- Red and yellow onions
- Grape tomatoes
- Grainy bread for sandwiches / paninis / sopping up soups
- Bananas - nature's power bar (freeze old ones for smoothies & baking)
Fresh Fridge:
- Carrots
- Celery
- Broccoli
- Romaine or spinach
- Bacon
- Apples
- Oranges
- Eggs
- Lean sausage
- More beer & wine :)
Frozen Goodies:
- Chicken breasts
- Ground beef
- Orange roughy, salmon or tilapia filets
- Puff pastry
- Almonds, pecans, or walnuts
- Frozen fruit for smoothies
- Frozen green beans/veggies to sauté or add to soups
- Frozen bag of sweet potato fries
- Kashi whole wheat pizza
I’m afraid once you read this you’ll think to yourself, “Really? After culinary school that’s all she can come up with?” I’m just being honest about how we really eat – we have a grocery budget and most of the time I’m too sleepy after a long day of work to cook anything very extravagant, so here are my very humble/simple tips:
We don't mind eating leftovers (and sometimes we have work or dinner plans at night), so I’ll cook 2 – 3 times during the work week, and we’ll snack on it and supplement with a fruit smoothie, and Troy takes leftovers to work for lunch (he's so good).
It sounds super basic & obvious, but I try to serve a protein, 2 veggies and a starch for dinner (unless we’re doing pasta or chili/soup, etc) and in the spring & summer, we opt for lots of one bowl salads - chopped romaine & spinach with canned beans, corn, baby pasta shapes, nuts, pulled chicken, crunchy celery, anything & everything mixed in with a simple lemon or balsamic/olive oil vin. This is a good way to use up leftovers.
I like colors and we tend to eat with our eyes, so I try to include complimentary colors in our food - reds, orange, green, yellows, purple, etc in our meals. Even if I’m just grilling some frozen chicken breasts, I’ll top them with sautéed onions/garlic/roasted red peppers and serve over cous cous and steamed spinach. *Do you have a grill pan? Such a great way to cook protein at one end, and veggies at the other, all pretty quickly.
If I’m soaking some beans, we’ll eat them with an easy chopped romaine salad (topped with sliced red onion, a little feta and lemon/olive oil vin.) and sweet potato fries. Slicing a red apple and squeezing some lime over it makes for a healthy fresh bite at the end of the meal.
On Sundays, sometimes I’ll slow-cook/simmer 4-6 chicken breasts with onion/garlic/canned tomatoes and seasoning for about an hour. Then I’ll pull them apart with forks and use the chicken meat all week long in enchiladas, on a bbq chicken pizza, with brown rice & veggies in a rice bowl, in a stuffed baked potato, you get the idea.
Some easy week-day meal ideas:
- Grilled sausage, grilled red & green bell peppers/onions over brown rice
- Spinach & feta-stuffed baked chicken breasts with pasta & marinara
- Mushroom risotto and grilled or roasted butternut squash and yellow/green squash
- Pressed panini sandwiches with spinach, ham, gouda, roasted red pepper, jar or tomato basil soup for dipping
- Grilled pork chops, polenta, romaine salad, sliced peaches
- Stuffed sweet or russet potatoes – broccoli, bbq chicken, corn, black beans, grape toms
- Baked orange roughy, sautéed asparagus/grape toms/onion/garlic, brown rice
- Breakfast for dinner – scrambled egg tacos with potato wedges, black beans and fruit
- Bowl’o beans, sharp cheddar cheese crumbles, blue corn tortilla chips & romaine salad
- Bolognese-stuffed bell peppers & orzo (orzo tossed with a little olive oil, lemon & parsley
