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I LOVE “pantry meals”—meals that I can literally keep in my
pantry and cook without having to thaw anything or run to the store because, let's face it, even I want something besides a milkshake once in awhile. I will try
to share some of my favorite pantry meals from time to time.
Living in two places brings with it some challenges. First,
which house has amassed 20 pounds of frozen chicken while the other house has
none because you keep forgetting when you are at the store? Remember when the power
went out while you were at one house and you arrived home to find 20 pounds of
chicken had defrosted into a puddle of grossness that refroze into something
requiring a Home Depot run to remove? Oh, wait, maybe that was my house…
When I am living in one place, I also keep this meal on hand
for those nights that we do not want to cook, can’t order out, and just want
something quick and filling. This meal has become more important during social
distancing because stores are closing earlier and life is spent at home.
This brings me to pantry meals. Pantry meals are ingredients
you can keep on hand that do not require refrigeration.
First some pantry-meal tips.
Hide this Meal.
Put the ingredients for your pantry meal (or meals) into a
box or container and place it where no one will bother diving into it. The meal
I describe below calls for pasta and I do not want anyone to grab pasta off the
shelf and cook it up without my knowing about it so I can replace it. I do not
feel guilty about hiding these ingredients because they are very happy when I
can “magic up” a meal after a travel day or day when we are all tired and dinner
just seems very difficult to achieve. 😊 I am sure you have been there.
Keep it Out of the Regular Rotation.
Once you know this meal is a good one for your crew, keep it
out of the regular rotation. If you are eating this every week, it might not
seem like such a great thing when you need to use your pantry meal.
On to the Pantry Meal!
The recipe that I am sharing here is from Marilu Henner’s
book The 30 Day Total Health Makeover. (This book has a lot of great
recipes and life hacks.)
I had to make a few adaptations to it to make it a total
pantry meal, so I have posted Marilu’s recipe to maintain its integrity, and
then below it, I have explained what I do to make it a total pantry meal.
TV Guide Tuna
This recipe serves 4-6
1 pound cooked fusilli pasta
2 cans of tuna fish packed in water, lightly drained
2 tablespoons of Nayonaise*
1 10-ounce package of frozen peas, cooked and drained*
Bragg’s, optional
Mix ingredients. Lightly season with Bragg’s and serve.
Let’s Work Through the Ingredients:
The pasta and tuna do not need any refrigeration.
Frozen Peas: Frozen peas taste fresher, of course,
but canned peas will not hurt anyone, and when you need this meal, no one
really cares.
Nayonaise: Nayonaise is a vegan mayo, so it needs to
be refrigerated after opening. I like Nayonaise, but I also am enjoying Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil. Nayo and mayo have to be refrigerated once open, so I keep
a small unopened jar of mayo in the pantry for this meal. Every year, in one
house, I have to prepare for winter blizzard outages and in the other house I
have to prepare for hurricanes, so when I do these preps, I rotate out the ingredients
if I haven’t used them in six months so that they do not become outdated.
Bragg’s: Bragg Liquid Aminos. You can substitute a very light splash of soy sauce, but Bragg’s does not have to be refrigerated and has a 3- to 5-year shelf life, so I keep this on the shelf all the time (and this is the one ingredient that I don’t hide it in the pantry meal box because a little goes a long way).
Jolinda Hacket, over at The Spruce Eats, describes Bragg Liquid Aminos as “a seasoning sauce made from soybeans and purified water. All of the soybeans used to produce the Bragg product are
verified by the Non-GMO Project. Bragg Liquid Aminos
contains no chemicals, artificial coloring, or preservatives.”
Bragg’s has a 3- to 5-year shelf life and does not require refrigeration, unlike soy sauce, which typically does.
How to Fix the Pantry Version.
I don't really cook, as I mentioned, but I'm okay at fixing things to eat. So, this is how I fix the pantry version of Marilu's meal. Boil the pasta and drain it. Drain the can of peas and pour it into the pan. Add the tuna. Add the mayo. Stir. Season with Bragg’s or with soy sauce and serve. You can also let everyone season their own serving.
Do you have a favorite pantry meal?
