Pantry Creations

By now and in the weeks to come we've exhausted our pantry and comfort food recipes. It's time to come up with new spins and new ideas. Get your creativity on.

Beans are a pantry staple and surely we've used many recipes with them in this short time. There must be many families settling down to chili right now. It's a great crock pot fix , especially during these days of working and schooling from home. A new spin is white chili, This requires chicken, if you have it , any kind of white beans and mild green chili. Corn kernels can be added to along with mild green, red and yellow bell peppers. It can be topped with avocado and sour cream for extra flavor. Don't worry about it being time consuming to make. It can be made in a crockpot. Mix everything in the morning and let cook by and be read by the afternoon. Another bean dish is hummus. This is an easy make and recipes can be tweaked for some fun variations.Instead of making it solely with chickpeas , add some cannellini beans for a more buttery flavor and smoother texture. Many of the recipes do add tahini, but you don't have to if you can't find it. The same thing goes for olive oil. Use vegetable oil as a sub in. Garlic is always present in any hummus but if that's too strong, then think finely minced onions or onion powder.

Beans can also be used in salads along with other leftovers. Think a kidney bean and tomato salad or  a variety of different beans in a tangy vinaigrette. These both are wonderful sides for burgers and nuggets. You probably have a wide variety of canned veggies right now too.  That famed holiday dish , green bean casserole can easily be made as a main course. Luckily it can also be made in a crock pot or Instapot. It's taking a can of green beans and another pantry staple a can of chicken soup. It's cooked with any kind of milk, along with seasonings. It's usually topped with frizzled onions but you can use Funyuns if you have them.Eggs and canned veggies can also work together. Any diced or pureed tomatoes can be blended with beaten egg and garlic to create the northern Italian classic, pomadori e uovi, tomatoes and eggs. This is a wonderful lunch or dinner , especially served on large crusty slices of Italian bread. You can also use tomatoes in an impromptu shakshouka. This is poached eggs in a spicy sauce that also has peppers and onions along with onions and peppers.

Comfort dishes can be boring. Shake up the pantry with some tasty spins on classic dishes. You'll love them and so will your family.