You’re hungry, you want to cook something, but you don’t feel like going to the grocery store. Hey, maybe there are enough ingredients in the fridge? Then you open the fridge, and the best word to describe what you see inside is ‘sad’.
A jar of pickles, half an onion, 3 eggs, and 1 wrinkly lemon. The cheese drawer has nothing other than 2 dusty Parmesan rinds in it. If you’re like most people, you’ll close the door and order takeout. And there’s nothing wrong with takeout, but it’s not exactly cheap, plus it’s usually not very healthy.
But cooking a whole meal doesn’t necessarily mean you need a full fridge; all you need are a few staples.
Simple Meals You Can Make From Almost Nothing
The great thing about any meal is that it can always turn into something you’ll share with other people. And if that happens, then you’ll agree that drinks are the perfect companion to a tasty meal, and who better to serve them than someone who actually knows what they’re doing?
And there are plenty of good servers because you can’t get certified just like that.
It’s easier in some states, of course; Pennsylvania RAMP seller-server training is really focused on alcohol being responsibly held in groups. When you factor in that each alcohol server in PA needs to complete seller/server training within 6 months of their hire in order to get certified.
In states like California, though, every single server has to be individually certified, so it’s even stricter.
No matter how informal the situation is, having drinks always goes great with meals. And speaking of meals, here’s what you can make.
Garlic Butter Pasta With Some Staples From the Pantry
Bring salted water to a boil and then cook the pasta.
Melt a few cubes of butter in a separate pan and add sliced garlic or powdered garlic to it. Instead of butter, you can also use olive oil, although the flavor will be a bit less rich. Once the pasta is done, dry it, but save a mug of that starchy water before you throw the rest out. People tend to get rid of that water, but that’s such a shame because the starch in it helps the sauce stick to pasta.
Toss everything together, and then add what you like. Chili flakes are delicious if you like spicy food, but grated cheese or canned tuna work great, too.
It all depends on what you have in the house.
Egg Fried Rice Without Fresh Ingredients
If you have some rice left over from the day before that’s been sitting in the fridge, that’s great. Scramble 2 or 3 eggs in a hot pan with oil, then remove them, and add rice to the same pan. Don’t stir it, just let it sit there for a minute until it’s crisp, and then toss it and repeat. After a few minutes, add soy sauce, and then return the eggs to the pan.
Next, you can play with what you have, like frozen vegetables or drained corn. It all goes in straight from the bag.
Keep the heat high and make sure that everything’s moving; you don’t want anything steaming.
Crispy Bread Omelet
Get 3 eggs and whisk them in a bowl.
Then, heat butter or oil in a nonstick pan over medium heat. Once it’s warmed up, pour the eggs in, and cook for a while. It’s done when you see that the edges have set, but the top is still wet.
You’ll want to gently press 2 slices of bread into the eggs at this point, and then flip them (carefully, though!) with a wide spatula. The bread will get toasty and crispy, and at the same time, the eggs will be fully cooked. You can add cheese to it or canned mushrooms before you flip it over once again.
Canned Tomato Shakshuka Shortcut
For this meal, you’ll need a can of crushed tomatoes.
Take a shallow pan and pour the tomatoes into it over medium heat. Add smashed garlic or garlic powder, salt, pepper, and if you have spices, you can use paprika or cumin. Simmer it until it gets thick, which should be after about 5 minutes or so.
Next, take a spoon and use it to make two ‘wells’. Crack an egg into each, then cover the whole thing and cook for 4-6 minutes.
The time depends on how runny you want the yolks to be. Serve this with bread and enjoy!
Conclusion
Hungry yet? If you are, then that’s proof that you don’t need an overstocked fridge in order to make a meal that’s both satisfying and easy to do. If you’re not creative, you now have 4 excellent recipes that pretty much everyone will love, even kids.
So, the next time you decide you want takeout because there’s ‘nothing’ in the house, take a moment and see if that’s actually true.
It usually isn’t; more often than not, you have plenty of ingredients to make a wonderful meal.
Leave a Reply