below, i’m sharing just a snippet of my favorite recipes that either rely heavily on pantry staples or are made up entirely of those staples. with each of these, assuming you’ve at least got the basic components, it doesn’t matter so much if you’re unable to find this or that extra ingredient. no garlic? cumin? red pepper flakes? no problem. here, there’s a tomato soup made almost exclusively out of, well, tomatoes. there’s a three-ingredient peanut butter cookie that tastes exactly like a normal, many-more-ingredient peanut butter cookie (really!). there are popovers, which can be whipped together with four ingredients…and that’s counting salt. and yes, there’s a challenge on here, too: challah! which i’ll probably wax poetic about in another post. but if you’re able to get your hands on yeast, that really is a pretty low-maintenance option as well.
i’ll keep adding to this as the days and weeks go on. in the meantime, i’m sending you all my love and support and virtual hugs during this time. we’ll make it through.
for now, let’s eat:
popovers!
you’ll need eggs, milk, flour, salt. get the recipe. (or opt for this rather luxe version and add parmesan, sage, and butter. mmm.)
roasted tomato soup.
you’ll need tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and chicken broth. get the recipe.
pancakes.
you’ll need flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, milk, egg, butter, vanilla. get the recipe.
vegetarian chili.
you’ll need olive oil, canned tomatoes, red beans or pinto beans, and frozen corn. get the recipe.
peanut butter banana baked oatmeal cups.
you’ll need a banana, peanut butter, maple syrup or honey, milk, vanilla, rolled oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate chips. get the recipe.
one-pot golden curry lentil soup.
you’ll need onion, garlic, carrots, vegetable or chicken broth, uncooked lentils. get the recipe.
challah.
you’ll need flour, yeast, salt, eggs, olive oil or avocado oil, honey. get the recipe.
pasta pomdoro.
you’ll need olive oil, salt, pepper, canned tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, marinara sauce, pasta, frozen spinach. (but you can substitute these and other listed ingredients with whatever you’ve got.) get the recipe.
3-ingredient peanut butter cookies.
you’ll need peanut butter, sugar, and an egg. get the recipe or upgrade it with a few extra additions.
baked ziti.
you’ll need marinara sauce, ziti, frozen spinach, mozzarella cheese (to start). get the recipe.
you’ll need olive oil, a few spices, crushed tomatoes or marinara sauce, eggs, and fresh or frozen spinach. get the recipe.