Pantry Raid
... no, I didn't say PANTY, it's "pantry raid" as in digging around in your cupboard, fridge and/or freezer for something that you can throw together for a quick meal.
This is how most of my meal planning takes place.
First, the protein.
I ran across a half pound of trimmings from my last purchase of chicken breasts a couple of days ago while looking for some feta. The rest was cubed for chicken skewers and when I found this small package, I thought I might do a chicken stir fry. But I didn't feel it today so I was going to grind up the chicken and seasonings in my food processor and make some oriental seasoned chicken patties and put them in buns. In fact, I even ran down to the bakery and bought 4 lovely buns to use. But when I got home, I didn't want to go to the bother of digging out my food processor and end up with only two patties.
So, remembering that I had some leftover "chicken and bok choy potsticker" filling in my freezer, I pulled it out, submerged the container in a pan full of cold water, I defrosted it without resorting to the microwave. I added seasonings from my Asian chicken meatball recipe to the food processor and combined it with the unseasoned chicken and potsticker filling. I refrigerated the patty mixture and at suppertime I scooped out 1/4 cup portions, using my handy ice cream scoop, into a bowl full of panko crumbs and then shaped the balls into 6 patties. Pan fried in a 1/8" of hot vegetable oil and the protein was done.
And now the starch.
I have been riced out with the risotto/arancini and potato-ed out with potato gnocchi and potato wedges so noodles were the way to go. I looked for lo mein noodles in my pantry but could only find half a block. But I did have 4 of THESE, 2 vegetable and 2 thai chicken flavoured.
If you're not familiar with these instant noodles, which bear no resemblance to real Japanese ramen soup although they have appropriated the name, you haven't visited your college age children in their dorms where they make a quick and cheap bowl of soup on their hot plates using packages of these noodles purchased in bulk on sale (25 cents a package, I've heard).
This is what you find inside. Dried noodles that boil up in 3 minutes. As they soften in the boiling water, you have to poke them gently with a wooden spoon or chopstick so they'll unfold to give you a sheet of noodles that will cook evenly, and a foil wrapped 'seasoning' packet.
I boiled the noodles from two packages and made Dragon Noodles. You can throw away the seasoning package inside as it's mostly chemicals without any resemblance to real food.
And the results:
Asian Chicken Patties on Ramen Dragon Noodles.
Put 4 of the patties away for another day and you have enough noodles for 2 portions. Dinner has been managed. :)
This is how most of my meal planning takes place.
First, the protein.
I ran across a half pound of trimmings from my last purchase of chicken breasts a couple of days ago while looking for some feta. The rest was cubed for chicken skewers and when I found this small package, I thought I might do a chicken stir fry. But I didn't feel it today so I was going to grind up the chicken and seasonings in my food processor and make some oriental seasoned chicken patties and put them in buns. In fact, I even ran down to the bakery and bought 4 lovely buns to use. But when I got home, I didn't want to go to the bother of digging out my food processor and end up with only two patties.
So, remembering that I had some leftover "chicken and bok choy potsticker" filling in my freezer, I pulled it out, submerged the container in a pan full of cold water, I defrosted it without resorting to the microwave. I added seasonings from my Asian chicken meatball recipe to the food processor and combined it with the unseasoned chicken and potsticker filling. I refrigerated the patty mixture and at suppertime I scooped out 1/4 cup portions, using my handy ice cream scoop, into a bowl full of panko crumbs and then shaped the balls into 6 patties. Pan fried in a 1/8" of hot vegetable oil and the protein was done.
And now the starch.
I have been riced out with the risotto/arancini and potato-ed out with potato gnocchi and potato wedges so noodles were the way to go. I looked for lo mein noodles in my pantry but could only find half a block. But I did have 4 of THESE, 2 vegetable and 2 thai chicken flavoured.
If you're not familiar with these instant noodles, which bear no resemblance to real Japanese ramen soup although they have appropriated the name, you haven't visited your college age children in their dorms where they make a quick and cheap bowl of soup on their hot plates using packages of these noodles purchased in bulk on sale (25 cents a package, I've heard).
This is what you find inside. Dried noodles that boil up in 3 minutes. As they soften in the boiling water, you have to poke them gently with a wooden spoon or chopstick so they'll unfold to give you a sheet of noodles that will cook evenly, and a foil wrapped 'seasoning' packet.
I boiled the noodles from two packages and made Dragon Noodles. You can throw away the seasoning package inside as it's mostly chemicals without any resemblance to real food.
And the results:
Asian Chicken Patties on Ramen Dragon Noodles.
Put 4 of the patties away for another day and you have enough noodles for 2 portions. Dinner has been managed. :)