With more people cooking from home this past month, readers are asking for more ideas of what to cook. A few weeks ago I gave you some ideas in Tell me what to cook: clean out the pantry cooking. This week, let’s see what we can cook while cleaning out the fridge.
The Basic Soup:
Nothing tastes better on a chilly day than soup. And the best part? It tastes even better the next day.
Making a pot of soup is a wonderful skill to master. It’s really pretty easy once you know the basics.
- Start with the basic trifecta – onion, celery, and garlic. Saute this in some sort of fat (oil, bacon fat, butter) in a large soup pot that has a lid. If you plan on cooking this all day in a slow cooker, use powdered garlic instead of fresh. I find that fresh garlic tends to get bitter when cooked that way.
- Add whatever leftovers you have in the fridge. Veggies, meat, beans, gravy, spaghetti sauce, etc.
- Still, need some bulk? Add some canned beans or lentils. Canned tomatoes or other veggies. Chop up a few potatoes or sweet potatoes You can add pasta but wait until the end to do that.
- Stir in some broth. You can make your own (I promise to do a chicken broth post as soon as I can get my hands on an organic whole chicken during this pandemic) or use canned broth. In a pinch, you can make broth from bullion cubes or concentrate but I don’t think it tastes as good. You can use chicken, beef, or veggie or a mixture.
- Add seasonings. First, just add basic salt and pepper. Think about whats in your soup before adding other spices. If you want a Mexican vibe – add cumin, paprika, oregano, and chili powder. If you’re making a chicken soup, add basil, thyme, sage, rosemary. If I’m making a beef soup, I like to add Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce – just a few tablespoons along with the other spices I decide to use.
- Put a lid on the soup pot and let it simmer on the back of the stove for a few hours. Or, let it cook all day on low in the slow cooker. If you’re in a hurry, saute your trifecta in the Insta-pot, add the other ingredients and cook for the time listed in the instruction manual.
- If you want to add pasta, add it 10-20 minutes before you want it to be finished. Make sure the broth is boiling so it will cook the pasta through without getting gummy.
Those are the basics. You can make any kind of soup you want to with what you have. Be creative!
The Versatile Tortilla
I always like to have tortillas on hand. If I can’t get to the store, I make my own. They are easy to make but do take a little bit of time. Tortillas are pretty versatile as are other griddle cooked breads like crepes and flatbreads. I guess that’s why they are a staple in so many cultures.
Quesadillas: A quesadilla is basically a grilled cheese sandwich made with tortillas. Place any collection of meat, cheese, beans, and veggies between two tortillas and cook on a greased griddle or frying pan, flipping when browned on one side. Slice the quesadilla into wedges using a pizza cutter and you’re good to go.
Burrito: Spread your combination of leftovers up in a tortilla (don’t forget cheese – it’s the glue) and heat up in the microwave. Breakfast burritos are a favorite with scrambled eggs, meat, and cheese. You can even add jalapenos.
Enchiladas: Our family’s favorite! Enchiladas have two parts. The filling and the sauce.
Filling: To leftover beef, pork, or chicken (about 2 cups) add 1 chopped and sauteed onion, 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, 1 cup of sour cream and some parsley if you’ve got it.
Sauce: The sauce is simply 2-3 cups of tomato sauce (or spaghetti sauce) with whatever seasoning you want. I add chopped bell pepper, oregano, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
Place a little bit of the sauce in a baking dish to coat it. Put about a 1/4 cup of your filling into a tortilla and roll it up. Place, seam side down into the baking dish. Continue with remaining tortillas and filling.
Cover the enchiladas with the remaining sauce and extra grated cheese (optional). Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until heated through. Serve with additional sour cream and hot sauce.
The nutritious smoothie:
I’ve talked about this smoothie I make frequently for myself, but you can make a smoothie out of many things in your fridge.
To make a green smoothie, add greens (spinach, lettuce, swiss chard) to the blender. Add cucumber, celery, or other mild veggies. If left like this, you’re not going to want to drink it – just saying. P.S. don’t add strong veggies like broccoli or cabbage.
Add fruit: bananas (even brown bananas), berries, apples, lime – any fruit (fresh, frozen, canned).
Add liquid and/or dairy: milk, almond milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, water, juice, Kombucha, ice-cream
Add extras: protein powder, vanilla, lemon, or peppermint extract, chia seeds, flax meal, nuts, peanut butter, cocoa powder. If you feel like the mixture needs sweetness, add sugar, honey, maple syrup, etc.
