Help!! What Do I Cook?

 Every chef and home chef hits it - the culinary wall. What happens when you run out of ideas for what to cook? Ot when you haven't gone to the store to pick up supplies?Ingenuity helps.

We all have hit that wall.We look into the fridge and think "What am I going to make?" You read about those food writers and chefs who can whip up a hot tasty meal using just polenta, cheese and spices. This does work if you happen to have polenta in your pantry. What happens of you don't? What you can do is sub in rice or a small pasta like orzo or ditalini and cook in any kind of broth. After it's done, toss in some butter and top with cheese for a warm filling lunch or Sinday night supper. Keep a container of either beef, chicken or vegetable broth handy. They're great for cooking up pastas but also for whipping up a quick soup. Add veggies and even leftover chicken or beef and you have a quick minestrone. If you have bread and cheese you have a meal. You can easily grill the combo in the toaster oven or air fryer . Fry it  in butter and you have a croque monsiur without the bechamel sauce. Try to have slices of American or cheddar cheese or a good wedge of Brie or Gruyere in the fridge. These are also great on just plain Saltines too and these make for a light but satisfying lunch too. Add little squares of ham for mini sandwiches.

A loaf of French or Italian bread is a plus. Any of them can be used in a variety of different recipes. One of my new favorites is sliced Italian ro french bread cut in rounds  and slathered with layers of Melt plant based butter, Parma vegan cheese and garlic powder. The rounds are put into the air fryer for five minutes at 370 dgree Farenheit. These crisp, buttery cheesy bites were perfect with a premixed salad that I bought at Stop & Shop.It was a no brainer dinner but it was delicious and filling. I plan on making the rounds again with pasta . In the summer the loaves can be torn up and mixed with tomatoes , onions , olive oil and red wine vinegar for a panzella salad. This is just a great lunch but also a good side with barbecued chicken or beef.Take your leftovers and stuff them inside a loaf of French or Italian and you have a hero. Another multi tasker is the tomato. It can be made into hot or cold recipes. Slice them , top with bread crumbs and saute in a mix of olive oil and butter and you have tomatoes Provencale. Get the bigger tomatoes , scoop out the inside and fill with tuna salad for a refreshing mid day meal. Tomatoes are also perfect in a sandwich with toasted bread and mayonnaise.

Every hoime chef and eve chef has hit that culinary wall. what to do? Climb over it with using some basics creatively.