Pantry Recipes

From the pantry

• Spaghetti noodles
• 1 lb ground beef, chicken, or venison
• Tomato sauce
• Diced tomatoes
• Canned green beans (side)

How to make it

1. Brown the meat in your biggest pot; drain.
2. Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil.
3. Snap spaghetti in half, stir it right into the sauce, and simmer 12–15 minutes, stirring so it doesn’t stick.
4. Heat the green beans on the side. Dinner’s done — one pot to wash.

From the pantry

• Chicken thighs or quarters
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 cups corn flakes, crushed in a bag

How to make it

1. Crush the corn flakes in a zip bag with your hands — kids love this job.
2. Dip each piece of chicken in beaten egg, then press into the crumbs until coated.
3. Bake at 400°F on a greased pan, 35–45 minutes, until crispy and cooked to 165°F inside.
4. Tastes like fried chicken. Nobody will believe it’s cereal.

From the pantry

• Noodles
• Half a block of government cheese, cubed
• Splash of the noodle cooking water

How to make it

1. Boil the noodles; save a mug of the cooking water before you drain.
2. Over low heat, stir the cubed cheese into the hot noodles with splashes of that water until it melts into a sauce.
3. That cheese was born to do this. Stir in canned peas or tuna to make it a full meal.

From the pantry

• 2 packs ramen
• 2 big spoonfuls peanut butter
• Canned carrots
• 1 egg per person (optional)

How to make it

1. Cook the ramen with one seasoning packet; save a little of the cooking water.
2. Stir the peanut butter into the hot noodles with a splash of the water until it turns into a silky sauce.
3. Add drained carrots. Top with a fried egg if you have them — cook until the white is fully set.
4. Sounds strange. Tastes like takeout. Trust the process.

From the pantry

• 1–2 lbs ground beef, chicken, or venison
• 1 cup plain oatmeal
• 2 eggs
• Tomato sauce (half in, half on top)

How to make it

1. Mix the meat, oatmeal, eggs, and half the tomato sauce in a bowl — hands work best.
2. Press into a loaf pan and spread the rest of the sauce on top like a glaze.
3. Bake at 375°F for about an hour, until the middle reads 160°F.
4. Oatmeal was the original meatloaf binder — grandma knew. Leftover slices make great sandwiches.

From the pantry

• 2 cans tuna, drained well
• 1 egg
• Half cup crushed corn flakes or oatmeal
• More crushed flakes for coating

How to make it

1. Mash the tuna, egg, and crumbs together and shape into patties.
2. Press each patty in more crushed corn flakes.
3. Pan-fry in a little oil, 3–4 minutes a side, until deep golden and hot through.
4. Crispy outside, tender inside — these convert tuna skeptics.

From the pantry

• 3 cups cooked rice (day-old from the fridge is best)
• 3 eggs
• Canned peas & carrots
• Canned chicken (optional)

How to make it

1. Scramble the eggs in a hot pan; set them aside.
2. Fry the rice in the same pan a few minutes until it starts to toast.
3. Stir in drained vegetables, chicken, and the eggs. Season and serve.
4. Cold leftover rice fries better than fresh — the one time procrastination pays off. Refrigerate rice within 2 hours of cooking.

From the pantry

• 2 cans chicken noodle soup
• 2 eggs, beaten in a cup

How to make it

1. Bring the soup to a real simmer — you want to see bubbles.
2. Stir the soup in a slow circle and pour the beaten egg in a thin stream.
3. Silky egg ribbons appear like magic. Simmer another minute so the egg is fully cooked.
4. A 2-can soup suddenly feels like a restaurant order.

From the pantry

• Egg noodles or any noodles
• Canned chicken (or leftover cooked thighs)
• Cream of mushroom soup
• Canned peas & carrots

How to make it

1. Boil the noodles and drain.
2. Stir in the cream of mushroom soup with a splash of the noodle water.
3. Fold in the chicken and drained peas & carrots.
4. Warm it through over low heat. Salt, pepper, done.

From the pantry

• 1 lb ground beef, chicken, or venison
• Pinto beans, black beans, and white beans (one can each)
• Diced tomatoes
• Tomato sauce

How to make it

1. Brown the meat in a big pot; drain.
2. Add all three cans of beans (don’t rinse), diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce.
3. Simmer 20–30 minutes — longer is better.
4. Serve over rice to stretch it even further. Freezes great.

From the pantry

• Leftover three-bean chili (or a fresh half batch)
• Noodles
• A few slices of government cheese

How to make it

1. Boil the noodles; drain.
2. Stir the hot chili into the noodles.
3. Lay cheese slices on top, lid on, one minute — let it melt into every crack.
4. Two leftovers walk in, one legendary dinner walks out.

From the pantry

• Noodles
• 2 cans tuna, drained
• Cream of mushroom soup
• Canned mixed vegetables
• Crushed corn flakes on top

How to make it

1. Boil the noodles; drain.
2. Mix in the soup, tuna, and drained vegetables.
3. Spread in a dish, top with crushed corn flakes, bake at 375°F for 20 minutes.
4. That crunchy cereal top is the upgrade the old church-cookbook version was missing.

From the pantry

• Chicken quarters or thighs
• Rice
• Canned green beans
• Chicken noodle soup (broth trick)

How to make it

1. Season the chicken and bake at 400°F for 40–45 minutes, until juices run clear and it reads 165°F.
2. Cook the rice — use the broth from a can of chicken noodle soup as part of the water for extra flavor.
3. Heat the green beans. Plate rice, chicken on top, beans on the side.

From the pantry

• 2 packs ramen noodles
• Canned chicken
• Canned corn
• Canned spinach

How to make it

1. Cook the ramen with just one seasoning packet.
2. Stir in the drained chicken, corn, and spinach.
3. Simmer one more minute. Way more dinner than the packet ever planned on.

From the pantry

• Pork chops
• Applesauce
• Rice
• Canned carrots

How to make it

1. Season the chops and pan-fry 4–5 minutes a side (or bake at 400°F for 20 minutes) until 145°F inside.
2. Cook the rice; warm the carrots.
3. Serve each chop with a big spoonful of applesauce — the old-school combo exists because it works.

From the pantry

• Black beans
• Rice
• Diced tomatoes
• Canned corn

How to make it

1. Cook the rice.
2. In a pan, simmer the beans (with their liquid), diced tomatoes, and drained corn for 10 minutes.
3. Serve over the rice. Cheap, filling, and honestly delicious.

From the pantry

• Bread
• Thick slices of government cheese
• Tomato soup

How to make it

1. Butter the outside of the bread (or use a little oil in the pan).
2. Grill low and slow — that cheese melts creamier than anything from a store shelf.
3. Heat the tomato soup for dipping.
4. There is a reason people who grew up on this still talk about it.

From the pantry

• Bread, peanut butter, and jelly
• Tomato soup

How to make it

1. Make PB&J sandwiches — then butter the outsides and grill them in a pan like grilled cheese, 2 minutes a side.
2. Heat the tomato soup.
3. Dip the warm sandwich in the soup. Trust us — kids ask for this one twice.

From the pantry

• 2 cups plain oatmeal
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup applesauce
• Spoonful of jelly or a shake of cinnamon if you have it

How to make it

1. Mix everything with a half cup of water.
2. Spread in a greased pan and bake at 375°F for 25–30 minutes until set in the middle.
3. Cut into squares. Breakfast for days — eat warm or grab cold on the way out the door.

From the pantry

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3 cups corn flakes or rice puff cereal
• Spoonful of jelly (optional swirl)

How to make it

1. Warm the peanut butter in a pot on low until it loosens up.
2. Pull it off the heat and fold in the cereal until every flake is coated.
3. Press into a pan or drop spoonfuls onto a plate; chill in the fridge until they set.
4. The dessert your grandma made when payday was still a week away.

From the pantry

• 2 cans chicken noodle soup
• Canned chicken
• Rice
• Canned mixed vegetables

How to make it

1. Pour the soup into a pot with one can of water.
2. Add the drained chicken, a half-cup of rice, and the drained vegetables.
3. Simmer 15 minutes until the rice is tender — two cans of soup just became dinner for four.