sewingpup

ok....I am starting this thread because as our isolation continues....and we avoid the grocery stores...I think we will be coming up with some "creative recipes"...so please share them...I know I just have a small refrigerator with a little freezer so have stocked up some with dry goods and canned goods and am now thinking ….yikes...it has been a while since I had to put meals together using those kinds of goods...bringing back childhood memories...thinking now removing the huge flour and sugar bins from my little kitchen during a remodel might not have been such a bright idea after-all

tropit

Well...since the stores are running out of the regular, dried items like beans and pasta, I think we DO have to get creative. What about using nuts as a protein source? Let's see...there's spinach-walnut salad, nut loaf, almond spread for sandwiches and wraps, hazelnut chocolate chip cookies (can't forget the cookies,) As for flours, wheat flour might be disappearing off the shelves, but there are all kinds of other flours like cornmeal, rice flour, almond flour, garbanzo bean flour, etc. that might be overlooked in the stores.There's always seitan, which is made of vital wheat gluten. I'll look up some recipes and post.

Also, many of these food items can be ordered online.

~ C

tranum

Supply trucks haven’t stopped coming. I noticed toilet paper aisle is well stocked again so what you wanted might now be available. I’m going to take inventory of my chest freezer & get a list made of items that should be used. I do that now and then anyway. Soups are always a good way to use up things and extra soup freezes good. We moved 7 years ago & I decided to buy only bare necessities & cook from the freezer & cupboards so there would be less to move. It wasn’t that hard.

Tartan

Glen & Friends Cooking is a website on YouTube with some easy recipes and the last one was Bean soup making do from the cupboard. Whippoorwill Holler did her easy biscuit recipe on YouTube if you are running low on bread.

GingerK

Pasta is always comforting. And ground beef goes a lot farther in a sauce. Limp veggies can be chopped and added too. I always found that kids did not notice the 'good stuff' if it was finely chopped and incorporated in a sauce. If you have some block cream cheese (or any savory cream cheese spread that needs to be used) add a bit to the sauce near serving time and stir until melted. OMG it takes the sauce from everyday to Sunday dinner!!

This might be a tiny silver lining to the current cloud above our heads. Maybe people will start making their own meals instead of eating fast food or going out. Maybe sitting down to a family dinner will come back into vogue.

Iceblossom

There are things I keep in my pantry "just in case" that store well and have multiple uses. I've gone through some sketchy economic periods and found that life is better with dessert and if you already have jello and canned fruit on hand, maybe getting a can of whipped cream can make it fancy.

The no bake oatmeal candy/cookies... fabulous. I am definitely in the not only peanut butter but crunchy peanut butter camp.
https://www.cooks.com/recipe/3y0cb1i...e-cookies.html

The butterscotch/Chinese noodle thing, those also store well and aren't all that desirable to me, but in times of no groceries/no budget you can find them in the back of the cupboard for that unexpected company or occasion.
https://www.cooks.com/recipe/uf7j67z...e-cookies.html

Doing different things with the same stuff -- pudding is essentially a gravy! Gravy/sauces extend things well and can be served over toasted stale bread or potatos (either fresh or buds, another one of my high carb essential pantry foods). Having stock on hand (or that better than bouillon stuff is marvelous but should be kept in the fridge once opened) and I recommend having dried or canned or the shelf-stable boxed milk on hand.

The thing about having emergency foods is that you need to turn the stock over and so it needs to be stuff you actually use and you just buy in greater quantities. I have very little storage in my kitchen and so I have a stack of my Costco essentials, we buy cases of mushrooms, canned tomatoes of some sort (usually crushed), cans of chicken stock. In my last trip this past week I had to stock up on meat and included Spam and Tuna and although I'm not really a fan of the name brand peanut butter nor my hubby's nut butter I did get a two-pack of peanut butter as well.

We've been talking about it and I think this year might be the time to get a freezer. We've been looking at locally sourced animals but that will probably be next year, if we get the freezer this year. In which case, I'd be filling it up with keto friendly veggies and meat.

tropit

lentil-walnut loaf...here's one from, "oh she glows," cookbook by angela liddon. i have this book, but haven't tried this recipe. it sounds delicious!

https://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/01/ul...l-walnut-loaf/

~ c

tropit

here's a recipe that i have tried and everyone loves it. its from the, "wicked healthy," cookbook, by derek & chad sarno: https://wickedhealthyfood.com/2014/1...egan-oil-free/

really good!

~ c

tropit

if you are unable to buy eggs in the store, you can make an egg-replacement to use in baking. i make it with a tablespoon of either ground flax, or chia seeds, mixed with a couple of tablespoons of water and left to sit for a few minutes. it works great for things like quick breads, cookies, even cakes...anything that uses eggs for a binder. here's a list of other egg-replacers and other applications that you might want to consider:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition...tutes#section4

~ c

Iceblossom

As I made my "dinner for breakfast" I was thinking about breakfast for dinner, always a good way to mix up the same old things. Sandwiches made from french toast (which was made with stale/previously frozen bread), can help extend the filling between the slices when our budgets or our stores limit us to 1 only, and that egg wash counts as protein too.

My survival/food essentials used to include a lot of grains including corn meal. We don't really want to know about the insect particulates in corn meal except the standards are higher now than they used to be! But I always keep any cornmeal products sealed in its own sealed plastic bag. Anyway, I like corn meal mush, or as the fancy folks say "polenta". If you make it ahead of time and pour it into a loaf pan, then slice them the same size and shape as Spam. Fry both until you get that crisp skin and serve with syrup. Spam is ok, it's good stuff to have in the pantry because I'd rather have fresh things. You can chop up Spam and use it as a pretty good pierogi or dumpling filling or a good hash with some potatoes.

I'm just a big fan of a bowl of some sort of hot grain... it's hard on me being low carb. The ground lupine really helps a lot and we were able to get some of that at Costco with no limit. Since we already had one package at home I just got one to have on hand.

Peanut butter is another staple for me, very nutrient intense. Yes sandwiches, or as I already mentioned the No Bake Oatmeal Cookies, but for me personally, I also have canned coconut milk on hand as a pantry item, so along with the chili paste in the fridge, I have the start of peanut sauced something... frozen green beans with peanut sauce is pretty good for when nothing is fresh.

I have various success in keeping nuts on hand -- sometimes they are too tempting and don't last until the lean times.