In one of the groups in which I'm a member the discussion topic a week or so ago was:
''We can't really avoid this topic. If it comes down to eating from our pantry staples, what are some of your favorite recipes using canned and dry goods?''
We keep an emergency food pantry year 'round due to several reasons, and one of them is...why not be prepared when you live in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and 'things can happen unexpectedly'
Here is a list of some staples/canned goods we normally keep in the emergency pantry and use it periodically to rotate and keep our stock 'fresh' - below I will share a few of the things we do with them.
Flour, Bisquick, yeast, sugar, salt, pepper, and other spices I use the most. Coffee. Canned milks (condensed, evaporated), powdered milk, and long shelf life boxed plain milk (not almond or rice or soy, etc). Cereals, grits, polenta, rice. Assortment of dried beans, Assorted pastas. Potato flakes are a good substitute if fresh potatoes are not available...can also be used as a thickener for soups and stews instead of using flour or cornstarch. We also like to keep an assortment of bottled juices and ginger ale. Bottle juices can be too sweet for our taste and the addition of ginger ale helps.
We keep certain canned veggies in our emergency pantry...sliced carrots, beets, kernel corn and creamed corn, spinach, an assortment of beans (black, red, navy, garbanzos, etc) and petit pois (LeSueur brand is our fave) Also diced and or whole stewed tomatoes, and tomato sauce or paste. I cannot stand the taste of canned green beans or asparagus.
To keep the stash fairly fresh, I sometimes will mix a canned veggie with fresh to make soups or stews, or depending on veggie, mix with rice. Yellow rice with kernel corn and Spanish chorizo is a favorite. - I once bought some canned potatoes and used them in a potato salad...they weren't bad.
We keep a good supply of canned chicken and tuna...I can 'create' lots of different dishes with either... from salads, to sandwich fillings, etc...Not too long ago, I had lots of fresh broccoli and was trying to find ways to use it up...opened a can of chicken meat and made Chicken Divan... turned out not bad at all. Then of course, there is the old style tuna and pasta casseroles ;-) (although it's been ages since I've made that one.
I don't like canned soups but do like boxed soups...I also usually keep quite a bit of homemade chicken or vegetable stock in my freezer.. You can easily make chicken stock with the skin and bones and bit and pieces of a store-bought rotisserie chicken, strain into bags or jars. I make vegetable stock by saving peelings, parings, ends, limp veggies, etc and then strain into bags or jars.
Beans and rice can be turned into soups...in fact, almost any leftovers can be turned into soups. I sometimes make a big pot of soup or stew by cleaning out the leftovers in the fridge. You can also turn them into a purée and use them as dips.
Leftover ham, or beef, or cooked liver can be turned into paté or sandwich spreads by grinding them with cream cheese in a food processor. Fritters or pancakes from mashed potatoes, or leftover corn...zucchini fritters are great also.
I made potato fritters with the leftover colcannon I had made for St. Patrick's dinner by adding an egg to the mix and 'frying' in one tablespoon avocado oil...You can also make croquettes out of almost anything by processing it with flour and they can be fried in oil or oven fried.
Fried rice or rice casseroles are something simple that can be made with leftover rice, a few leftover veggies or pieces of meat...
"One Stick Butter" Rice Casserole
This version of the recipe is very accommodating; you can use any type rice and any vegetables you want. You can use fresh or canned veggies and switch as you wish...
1 cup Harvest Medley Rice (combination of Basmati Brown, Wild Rice, Heirloom Red Rice & Sweet Brown Rice) - this comes already mixed.
1 shallot or small onion, chopped
2 large button mushroom
2 celery sticks, chopped
5 water chestnuts, sliced
3/4 cup butternut squash, cubed
1 envelope onion soup / dip mix
1 stick butter, cut in pieces
2 cups water
Caramelize the shallot /onion in a tiny bit of the butter. Add the rest of the veggies, the rice, the onion soup mix, butter and water. Cover and bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for another 30 minutes. I found I needed to cook the rice just a little bit longer, about 5 more minutes.
Black Bean and Corn Salsa or Dip
The secret of this one is the citrus and cumin...Fun to take to potlucks!
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans kernel corn, drained
1 large chopped red bell pepper
4 - 5 small chopped Hawaiian chile peppers
2/3 cup lime or calamondin juice
1 small bunch chopped parsley, watercress, or cilantro
1 small bunch chopped green onions, some of the green added
Garlic infused olive oil, to taste
1 - 2 teaspoons Badia Tropical Seasoning (no MSG) or to taste
2 teaspoons slightly heaped ground cumin, or to taste
Since we don;t care much for cilantro and my son cannot eat it, I use parsley or watercress, instead. You can add ripe diced avocado or tomatoes if you wish.
We serve them with little star bowl shaped corn tortillas for scooping.
Sometimes I will add canned dice tomatoes... Any leftovers can be used for lunch, wrapped in warm flour tortillas with melted cheese and served with a dollop of sour cream or Crème Fraîche
Yield: Enough for a small crowd and probably have leftovers.
Source: my new cookbook "From Soup to Nuts" page 68
An old family favorite: "Indian Corn Casserole" in the crockpot or in a Dutch Oven (if baking) - .an old campfire type recipe from when the kids were in scouts, adapted to making in the kitchen...rotating/using up some of the Emergency Closet canned goods along with grass-fed ground beef..
Indian Corn Casserole
1 can red beans (not kidney)
1 can stewed (crushed) or diced tomatoes
1 can sliced mushrooms (drained)
your favorite seasoning mix
1 box Jiffy Mix cornbread mix
Brown the ground beef and discard any extra fat.
Mix all ingredients in a casserole, crockpot or Dutch Oven... and bake at 350 F until set and golden on top.
Here is another one using canned corn and Jiffy Cornmeal Mix - Original recipe by a friend in the cookbookers group (Blaise Doubman)
Corn Pudding
1 can whole kernel corn - not drained
1 can cream corn
2 large eggs
1 box Jiffy cornmeal muffin mix
1 stick butter - melted
Salt & lots of black pepper
1 cup sour cream
Mix and stir
Pour into greased casserole
You can sprinkle a little shredded cheese on top before baking if you wish
Bake at 350 F for one hour
Impossible pies can be made with Bisquick and any leftovers as filling...just whirl some Bisquick, eggs, milk and seasonings in the blender and pour into a pie dish over whatever fillings you might have on hand.
