Keep calm and dig into your cupboard for dinner during a crisis. There’s a stash of food waiting for you; you may not even realize what you can make with what you have. It is a pretty good bet you have pasta, rice, and beans in your pantry. Next to them, you’ve stacked cans of tuna and tomatoes along with pouches of dried fruits and nuts.
Now’s the time to defrost the frozen chicken breasts and Bird’s Eye spinach you’ve been holding in reserve. Without making a trip down the produce aisle for fresh veggies, you’ve got meals and snacks covered. Fresh herbs, celery, and spinach are the lagniappe that put an exclamation point on your dinner from the pantry.
Linguine with Tuna Puttanesca
Puttanesca can be made completely with ingredients from your pantry. A garlicky tomato sauce forms the base (canned tomatoes are preferable) while the addition of capers, olives, and red pepper flakes heightens the flavor. Top off with fresh basil at the end if you have some on hand.
Make the Linguine with Tuna Puttanesca from the Food Network Kitchen.
Ingredients
Salt
12 ounces linguine
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons capers, drained
1/2 cup roughly chopped kalamata olives
One 28-ounce can of tomatoes
4 basil leaves, torn, plus more for garnish
One 5-ounce can albacore tuna packed in olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
Directions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the linguine and cook until al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until slightly toasted, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the capers and olives and fry 2 more minutes. Crush the tomatoes into the skillet with your hands and reserve the juices. Cook until the tomatoes are slightly dry, about 2 minutes. Add the reserved tomato juices, the basil, and salt to taste and cook until the sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tuna with its oil, breaking it up with a fork, and season with salt.
- Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water, and return it to the pot. Add the sauce and the reserved cooking water and toss. Season with black pepper and garnish with more basil.
Giada De Laurentiis’ White Bean and Chicken Chili
Cooking up a pot of Giada’s hearty and healthy veggie-pack chili will get you through the week. It’s a weeknight dinner winner. Use rotisserie chicken or substitute boneless skinless chicken breasts simmered in broth for 10 minutes if you don’t have ground chicken on hand. Chickpeas, pinto beans, or other white beans can be used in place of cannellini. If you don’t have Swiss chard, make use of mature spinach, mustard greens, or large bok choy. You’ll need to cook longer is you use Black Tuscan kale.
Get the Giada De Laurentiis White Bean and Chicken Chili from the Food Network Kitchen.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 pounds ground chicken
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons chili powder
3 tablespoons flour
2 (15-ounce cans) cannellini or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch (about 1 pound) Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves chopped into 1-inch pieces
11/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper for seasoning
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ground chicken, 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, fennel seeds, oregano, and chili powder. Cook, stirring frequently, until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir the flour into the chicken mixture. Add the beans, Swiss chard, corn, and chicken stock. Bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 55-60 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about half and the chili has thickened. Add the red pepper flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Ladle the chili into serving bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.
Ina Garten’s (Updated) Homemade Granola
Crunchy, chewy, and salty-sweet granola is one of the world’s most perfect snacks. Use the batch you mix up for the traditional parfait. Simply spoon granola into yogurt, add some berries of your choice and top it all off with honey. Makes for a great dessert post dinner!
Get Ina Garten’s (Updated) Homemade Granola recipe from The Barefoot Contessa.
- 4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut
- 2 cups sliced almonds
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup good honey
- 1½ cups small-diced dried apricots
- 1 cup small-diced dried figs
- 1 cup dried cherries
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. (Be sure your oven is accurate!). Toss the oats, coconut, and almonds together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil and honey in a 2-cup measuring cup. Pour the oil mixture over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a sheet pan and spread the mixture out in an even layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes with a large metal spatula, until nicely and evenly browned.
Set the granola aside to cool, stirring every 5 minutes, until it’s room temperature. Meanwhile, combine the apricots, figs, cherries, cranberries, and cashews. When the granola is cool, stir in the dried fruit mixture and serve at room temperature (see note).
Notes: If you want the roasted oat mixture to stay crisp, store it separately from the dried fruit mixture in airtight containers at room temperature and combine as needed.
If you only have raw cashews, roast them at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes, until nicely browned. (You can roast them in the same oven with the granola.)
Trisha Yearwood’s Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
Who doesn’t have a can of cream of chicken soup tucked away in the pantry? Bring it out for this broccoli rice casserole that is an easy cheesy side dish all by itself. When you add in chicken, you have a simple dinner that the whole family will enjoy.
Get Trisha Yearwood’s Chicken Broccoli Casserole recipe from The Food Network.
Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray or butter, for the baking dish
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium head broccoli, cut into small florets
2 cups cooked white rice
One 10-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
10 ounces Cheddar, grated (about 2 1/2 cups)
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray or butter.
- Place the chicken in a large pot with water to cover. Add some salt, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer and cook the chicken until tender, about 45 minutes. Drain the chicken, cover, and refrigerate until cool, or up to 24 hours. Shred.
- Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets, and boil until crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Spread the rice in an even layer in the baking dish. Make a second layer with the broccoli. In a large bowl, mix the chicken soup, the sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon juice, shredded chicken, half the Cheddar and some salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the broccoli and top with the remaining Cheddar. Bake for 40 minutes; let stand for 5 minutes before serving.