Raid-the-Pantry Recipes
As we continue to eat in and use our kitchens more than ever before, we are turning to our freezers and pantries for creative ways to come up a quick lunch or dinner. It’s been a happy revelation to find that a can of tomatoes, some shredded cheese and onion flakes, can be the perfect addition to an otherwise bland buffet. Here are a few recipes – with pantry ingredients you probably already have, plus a bit of protein and carbs – for a few meals in minutes.
Beef, Chicken and Turkey Recipes
The Food Network created this collection of recipes for families who might be snowed in and can’t get to the store for supplies. Not exactly our situation, but it works! Kicking things off with a bowtie pasta dish – is a beef-stroganoff meets chicken paprikash (sans the meat). The creamy mushroom sauce is a combination of evaporated milk, flour and mustard – all likely pantry staples. You’ll find an easy minestrone here, as well as applesauce waffles – who said you can’t fix breakfast for dinner?!
If you have a bit of chicken in the fridge or freezer, and some taco seasoning, cornbread mix and tomato sauce, you’re well on your way to making this Pantry Raid Chicken Enchilada Casserole! While it came about when one of the All Recipes contributors didn’t know what to do with some frozen tenderloins, the result was so good, she and her husband couldn’t wait to finish off the leftovers!
Good Housekeeping knows almost everybody has some ground turkey or beef in the freezer. So creating this BBQ Beef Nachos recipe wasn’t too far-fetched for a pantry recipe. With onion, garlic, ground beef and tomato sauce, you’ll also need barbecue sauce, tortilla chips and cheese – plus a ripe avocado or packaged guac!
Blogger Cori who claims to enjoy life one tablespoon at a time, proves it with this post on Sweet Coralice — Creamy, Cheesy, Beef Noodle Casserole. Taking a pound of ground beef and a few staples from her pantry, she whipped up a family-friendly casserole full of creamy flavor. If you’re making a run to the grocery store, be sure to stay well-stocked with some of these ingredients for multiple meals.
Innovate to your heart’s content with this Mini Meatballs and Garlicky Tomatoes recipe. The flavor-packed bites of ground turkey or beef are a twist on the meatball parmesan craze and can be tossed with pasta or white beans or spooned over polenta.
Pantry Soup and Sandwiches
There’s always one can of pureed pumpkin left in the pantry from the winter baking and you can put THAT to use in a Curried Pumpkin and Wild Rice Soup. The paste base is created with common pantry staples – including any nuts on hand — and fried to layer in deeper flavors. And, if you don’t have wild rice you can substitute ½ cup of any dry grain you DO have. 
Add some extra crunch and a little heat to a traditional grilled cheese sandwich by layering sliced jalapenos into the bread with parmesan cheese. Chrissy Teigen put this in her bestselling cookbook Cravings: Hungry for More and uses extra sharp cheddar cheese and sourdough bread, but you can use whatever you have!
And don’t forget the pedestrian Patty Melt, a delicious mash-up between a burger and grilled cheese. You probably don’t need the recipe– but this one does call for mayo, caramelized onions and both Swiss and American cheeses.
Simple Pantry Snacks
Chances are good that you have these items in your pantry, so when kids are begging for something to snack on, you can whip up this sweet-and-salty, Corn Chip Chow, sure to become a new favorite. Using semi-sweet chocolate, peanut butter and corn chips, this recipe was inspired by a kids’ party treat and keeps well in an airtight container.
How about some Crunchy Chickpeas? Now that’s not something you taste every day, is it? The can of chickpeas combined with about 10 different spices, from basic salt and pepper to chili, garlic, and five-spice powders, combined with cumin, paprika, brown sugar, white sugar, honey and sesame seeds.
Home Chefs in Crystal Valley
If you’re a home chef, (and who isn’t these days?) there are lots spacious kitchens and pantries to welcome you to the new homes of the master-planned community of Crystal Valley. Fall in love with the one that’s perfect for you, from Richmond American Homes, Kauffman Homes, Century Communities or D.R. Horton. With four builders’ designs to choose from, you can virtually visit these homes set in natural surroundings – both ranch and two-story models — priced from the $300s.
