Pantry Raid!! - Cook what you got!

Look out everyone, its a Pantry Raid!!  In this economy, it's important to make our dollars stretch and save where we can.  Many of us have food in the freezer and be it a half bag of french fries, a random link of sausage or the random pepper hanging around.  Each one of those alone are not enough to feed the family, but together you can make a terrific meal and stretch your grocery budget to the max!  This week we have sworn off the grocery store and instead have tackled our own pantries and fridges to see what we could concoct for you, and shocker it all came out great!  Check out your own pantries, use your imagination and see what you can create! Good Luck!



Adouille Hash
By: Andrea Madigan-Wilken

The mere idea of me "whipping up" dinner from ingredients found in MY cupboard is laughable. That isn't to say I don't appreciate the skill and creativity that this challenge presents, but rather, it has exposed my inability to maintain a stocked pantry. During my "hunt" for ingredients/ideas I was stunned at the paltry amount of food I keep on hand. Just call me Mother Hubbard! My usual routine is to shop for that nights dinner ingredients, that day, resulting in a near empty refrigerator and essentially deserted cupboards. So due to this " culinary awakening " I am making a change in the way I shop for groceries. Although I will miss all my Ralphs employees, (who I see more often then my own family), I will only go to the store once a week, not once a day! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Bag Frozen French Fries Chopped

1 Green Bell Pepper Diced

1 Small Onion Diced

2 Ribs Celery Finely Chopped

1/2 Cup Frozen or Fresh Okra Chopped

1 1/2 Tbs. Cajun Seasoning

3/4 Lb. Andouille Sausage Cut Into Bite Sized Pieces

Tabasco Sauce To Taste

4 Eggs

1 Tbs. Vegetable Oil

Directions:

• Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.
• Saute onion, peppers, celery, and Okra until tender and onions are golden.
• Add Sausage saute for 8-10 min. or until andouille is crisped slightly and heated through.
• Carefully add french fries and toss to incorporate.
• Sprinkle Cajun seasoning evenly over hash and stir.
• Continue to cook for 8-10 minutes more to cook french fries until golden.
• In a different pan, fry up the eggs.
• Serve by plating up hash and topping with a fried egg and doused with Tabasco Sauce to taste. Delicious!!

Spicy Beef and Sausage Stew
By: Vanessa Madigan

It seems as though I always have random cuts of meat in my freezer.  We buy a package of 3 steaks, but, only eat two or buy the jumbo pack of spicy sausage and get burned out half way through.  This week I dug through my fridge and found just those things.  You can make this recipe with all different cuts of beef, omit the sausage, add bacon throw in some straggling carrots from your fridge, the ingredients are up to you!  Its all about using what you've got!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs beef roast or similar, cubed (about 1in x 1 in)
1 link andouille sausage (diced)
1 medium yellow onion
1 habenero
2 jalapeno peppers
1 tbsp Tabasco Sauce
1-6oz can of tomato paste
1 packet of Lipton's beefy onion soup mix
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
Water


Directions:

• Place all ingredients in slow cooker add water to cover with about an inch extra to cover.
• Cook on high for about 3 hours or until the beef is very tender
• Serve with rice and enjoy!

Fried Baked Potatoes
By: Vanessa Madigan

This yummy twist on your average potato is easy and delicious.  The exterior is crispy and the interior is tender and delicious.  Give it a try with those pantry potatoes that are about to grow eyes and lead a spud revolt. Your family will thank you!

Ingredients:
4 small baking potatoes
oil for frying
salt (for seasoning)
chili powder (for seasoning)
paprika (for seasoning)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Rinse potatoes and prick repeatedly with a fork
• Place potatoes in oven and let bake for about an hour or until cooked
• Remove potatoes from oven and let cool for several minutes
• While the potatoes are cooling heat your oil in a large skillet or deep fryer to about 375 degrees
• Using a kitchen mallet or rolling pin smash each potato once or twice.
• Carefully drop the potatoes, one by one into the oil and fry until golden.
• Remove from oil and set on a plate to cool, season them with salt, chili powder and paprika and serve!

Chocolate Hazelnut Mayonnaise Cake
By: Vanessa Madigan

So, I don't know about you, but, I always have a random box of cake mix hanging out in my pantry. I make a lot of cupcakes with my perfectly awesome niece Riley and my fiance is quite the fan of dessert.  The problem is I don't always have the eggs and oil and the olive oil that lives in my pantry tastes nasty in cake mix. When I decided to make a cake for dessert I dug through the fridge to find a suitable egg substitute and guess what I found it...Mayonnaise! Mayo is oil and egg so all you need to do is substitute it for the oil and eggs in the mix.  The result is a tender, moist chocolate cake that will please all of the dessert fans in your house.

Ingredients:
1 box of your favorite chocolate cake mix
Mayonnaise
1 cup Nutella or Chocolate Hazelnut spread
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

Directions:

• Follow instructions on the back of your cake mix box, substituting an equal amount of mayonnaise for the oil, omit the eggs completely. 
• Bake the cake and let cool completely
• Using a toothpick poke holes all over the cake, lots and lots of holes! Your yummy "frosting" is going to soak through these holes.
• Place the Nutella in a sauce pan with the milk and butter.  Allow them to heat slowly over low heat, stirring to ensure the chocolate does not burn. If the Nutella starts to get too thick add a little more milk to thin out.  You will want is to resemble a glaze so that it will cover the cake and seep into the holes you poked.
• When Nutella spread is complete drizzle over your cake
• Top with chopped hazelnuts.  We like to put ours in the fridge before serving, but, its up to you!

A Pinch of Pepper and a Dash Assault - Salt and Pepper!

Salt and Pepper, seasonings don't get any more simple than that.  They are looked upon as ordinary and quite frankly, lame.  This week we will be highlighting the exceptionalism of Salt and Pepper, that's right, plain old Salt and Pepper. The two single most important spices in every home.



Chicken and Mushrooms in a Black Pepper Cream Sauce
Developed, Tested and Finalized by: Vanessa Madigan

There are Pepper people and Anti-Pepper people.  I remember my Grandmother putting so much pepper on her eggs that they were virtually black when she was done. I would sit there wide eyed at the table thinking in my 7 year old brain "That is certainly the most disgusting thing I have ever seen, why would she ruin perfectly good eggs with all of that pepper!" Fortunately, as an adult I have realized the importance of seasoning and the beauty of the simplest of spices.  Black pepper is a staple in every pantry and is a mandatory ingredient in most dishes.  This week I have made a variation of a recipe that my paternal grandmother used to make.  That recipe I will share with you in time (hint, it involves blue cheese and is one of my favorites!), for this I turned that decadent cream sauce into something that showcases the amazing flavors of pepper. If you like pepper, you will love this dish!

Ingredients:
4 Garlic Cloves, crushed
8 oz. Baby Portabello Mushrooms, sliced
4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts
1 1/2 Cups Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
4 Tbsp Butter
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1/2 Cup Dry White Wine
3 Tbsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
Salt and Pepper, for seasoning the Chicken
Salt to taste

Directions:

• Using a large skillet or braiser (with a lid), brown Chicken Breasts in 3 Tbsp. Butter and 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, while Chicken is browning add the garlic.
• Once browned, remove the Chicken from the pan and set aside. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp Butter and the Portabello Mushrooms.  Saute the Mushrooms for several minutes, stirring frequently.
• Deglaze pan with the White Wine and allow to simmer for about 3 minutes.
• Add your Sour Cream and stir well to mix completely.
• Add the Freshly Ground Black Pepper and Salt to taste, again, stirring to mix thoroughly.
• Stir in the Parmesean Cheese and mix until creamy. Bring this sauce to a slow simmer.
• Return the Chicken to the pan and cover, simmering on low for about 20 minutes, remove lid after the 20 minutes and allow to simmer and thicken, stirring frequently for about 10 additional minutes.
• Serve with the cream sauce over noodles or rice and enjoy!

Salt Crusted Baked Potatoes with Feta and Greek Yogurt Stuffing

Devloped, Tested and Finalized by: Andrea Madigan-Wilken

 

 

 

Ingredients:

4 Baking Potatoes

2 Cups Sea Salt

1 Cup Olive Oil

1 Cup Greek Yogurt

3/4 Cup Feta Cheese

1 Tsp. Greek Seasoning

 

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 425'.
• Scrub and rinse potatoes and pat dry.
• In bowl put olive oil and roll potatoes until thoroughly coated.
• Put sea salt in bowl and take oil coated potatoes and roll in salt until evenly crusted with salt.
• Place potatoes on baking sheet and bake at 425' for 1 hour and 20 min.
• remove from oven and allow to cool slightly.
• Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out all halves, placing potatoes in a med bowl. Set aside skins for filling.
• Add feta, yogurt and seasoning to filling and stir until well incorporated.
• Evenly distribute filling back into potato skins and place in oven at 350' for 30-40 min. until tops have slightly browned.
• Serve immediately with a salad or alongside lamb chops for a truly Greek experience. Enjoy!