So I had planned to make some recipes from the book 100-day Pantry: 100 Quick and Easy Gourmet Meals. Then I actually read the book. And let me say, "gourmet meals" is definitely an... exaggeration. The recipes rely heavily on cans of cream soups and jars of processed cheese. Now, I like processed cheese as much as the next girl. Microwave a jar of this orange delight and hand me a bag of tortilla chips, and I'll happily munch through an entire episode of Two and a Half Men. But as much as I enjoy the occasional snack of chemicals and preservatives, I don't want to make them part of my regular menus.
I suppose I was looking for more creative meals that used healthy pantry foods, like diced tomatoes, canned beans, canned salmon, and brown rice. And though there are certainly some recipes in this book that utilize these ingredients, none of them really appealed to me. And while I love a good ol' tuna noodle casserole with cream of mushroom soup, I can't see myself eating a variation of it (chicken noodle casserole with cream of chicken soup, tuna rice casserole with cream of celery soup, salmon noodle casserole with cream of broccoli soup, ad infinitum) on an every day basis.
I need to rotate my pantry foods, but I'll be damned if I'm going to eat cream of crap soup every week. So I've decided to ditch the book and instead make my own pantry meals, even though some may require the addition of fresh ingredients.
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5 comments:
That's been my biggest issue with those types of cook books as well. I don't know that I'll always HAVE Cream of XYZ soup. Tell me how to do this from scratch ingredients not cans thrown together! Sorry, off the soapbox.
You probably already know you can substitute for cream of XYZ soups with:
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup low-fat or fat free milk
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour; keep stirring until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil; cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed to taste.
Use in casseroles in place of condensed cream soups.
Can be varied by using vegetable broth, sauteéd chopped celery, celery seed, or sauteéd chopped mushrooms.
I eagerly await your recipes because right now my family better hope for lots of tomatoes and never get sick of spaghetti in my food storage.
After reading this I am really glad that I love stir-fry and am good at cooking it. I intend to live on it if the worst happens. I have learned enough variations that I can turn about anything into a good meal.
I'm with you, those cream sauces can get old quickly! I get most of my new recipes from the Food Network, but only if 5 ingredients or under. Anything with too many obscure ingredients I have to pass on, they just take up space in the pantry. Thanks for sharing your review.
Thanks for the review! Now I know not to spring for it! Sidenote- Thanks for the recpe Lace!
This is also one of my pet peeves, a recipe that calls for ingredients that are processed and packaged. For example, having to go buy a packet of biscuits to make something else.
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