Pot

Oh you guys are terrible if you believed I meant marijuana. No, no, no, but yes, I did inhale about 23 years ago in the backseat of a car crowded with other friends and second hand smoke. Nothing happened to me. I was too drunk on alcohol. Oh yes, I was that bad. I smoked, I did drink, and I did do marijuana once and since it didn't do anything to me, I thought it was boring and never touched it again. Alcohol was the faster buzz of choice then. Goodness, it sounds like I was born in the age of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll! But no, it was the 80's.

The Pot I refer to is the name of a recipe I came up with out of my nearly empty cabinets of food, or, well, pantry fixings. It is amazing what you can come up with sometimes with just two or three items. Pot is the ingredients of a pot pie, but without the meat or the pie crust. It is basically the basic innards of a pot pie. So I called it..Pot. Yes, I know I'm laughing at the silliness myself but hey, I have to find amusement somewhere every now or then or I may as well be insane!

To make Pot: (oh my gosh it's getting worse..! Ha!)

Drippings from roasted chicken. I had two cups. Including the fat. (Oh yes I am a baaaaad girl, I did inhale and I keep fat drippings!) Plus one cup of water. I placed these in a roasting pan, stirring it up to mix it well.

I added a full box of noodles. I think it was a 16oz box of mixed noodles we had put together to save space. Spirals, also called Gemili, mixed with some Penne but I do not know which Penne! So just, grab some noodles of your choice! I get the odd shaped noodles for fun with the kids.

I let the noodles cook in the roasting pan in the over until they are soft. I do not drain them. I added a little bit of flour to the simmering liquid to make it like a gravy! Mmmm, yummy. Then I added:

2 Cups of Iron Chef brand Panko. Plug ahead: Panko are the unique Japanese bread crumbs that are the #1 choice for chefs. Panko bread crumbs give a crunchier, lighter crusting to fried and baked foods. All Iron Chef Panko is all natural, and certified kosher!! They're also yummy, but you don't have to get the Iron Chef brand. I picked that up to try and splurge. They were delicious but expensive compared to a normal bag or box of Panko from another brand. So any Panko will do, but any bread crumbs will do too! Heck, you can make your own! (Later recipe..)

2 cups of green beans (I accidentally put in peas, which is allowed too, but my husband does not like peas so green beans from now on for us.)


2 cups of carrots (Remember you can add corn too or any other veggie you like!)


That's all! I just put it on a plate and served it up! It is delicious, and the Panko/Bread Crumbs serve as a good pie crust substitute and are actually less fattening! I even think this would be very good cold and for picnics because it is not very messy as you may think it is.

The Cuboard Was Bare

It's time for me to figure out some meals! For a few days, at least, with minimal ingredients that may not work for this family. I have some picky eaters....alright, I can honestly say, I am not picky about anything I eat...and I am the only one. So who does that leave? Oh yeah. All of them!!! So here we go!

What I have:

• one can of tuna
• one can of beets
• one can of peas
• two cans of green beans
• one can of corn
• 5 packets of some muffin mixes (sweet kinds, just add water)
• 2 packets of dry milk, 1 quart each - I extend these when needed
• couple quart sized bags of banana peppers (sliced)
• several roma tomatoes
• several onions
• five potatoes
• canned peppers
• pepperoni
• small bag of noodles
• package of biscuit mix (add water type)
• travel packs of raspberry tea and peach tea
• regular tea bags
• peach tea bags
• coffee
• two chicken leg quarters, roasted
• 1/2 cup chicken broth

When I get the chance I am going to get my pantry built back up. We have been living off of it for the past few days because of everything and, yes it is a pain to see it shrink, it is a wonderful thing to have because that means we do have something to eat. I already see a couple of dinners in this and a good lunch or two. And snacks too. I think I will be alright with this grouping. Cross your fingers! Here's my ideas:

Breakfast and Snacks on Wednesday: muffins made with powered milk; and tea to drink
Dinner on Wednesday: Chicken Legs, broken down into four pieces, Green Beans, Corn, roasted peppers     and onions. Tea to drink. Milk to drink if the kids like the flavor of powdered.


Breakfast and snacks on Thursday: muffins made with the milk; and tea to drink
Dinner on Thursday: Baked potatoes with pepperoni, peppers, onions, a little of the chicken brother for liquid and flavor. Tea or coffee to drink. Raspberry tea for the kids.

Breakfast and snacks on Friday: muffins again; and tea to drink (we are going to get tired of flavored tea water!!! Or just want another flavor before the end of it all. We only have two flavors at the moment.)
Dinner on Friday: a casserole made of the noodles, the biscuit mix, the last of the broth to make a gravy, the   canned peas added, and maybe a little taste of cut onions for flavor. Sliced tomatoes for a side along with beets (beets are for me and my eldest)

Optional snack: Stuffed tomatoes with tuna salad (diced peperoni for hubby too) and onions and peppers.
Optional snack: tuna casserole for everyone; reserved noodle base for B because he does not like tuna!!!

I have a box to go through that my mom sent me. It has jellies in it, that I know of, but maybe something else is inside that I can use right now. Usually her boxes are for Reservations Only! because she sends special, yummy things! I will look in and dig about tomorrow.

Frugal Noodle

Frugal Noodle is actually a name I should use for the dish(es) that I create using Ramen Noodles. Oh gosh yes, we are a Ramen Noodle Froogle Noodle Family. My husband doesn't enjoy them that much. I know he would rather have pasta. However, pasta is a little bit more money, and when you are saving - or trying to - Ramen Noodles hit the spot as good filler. I came up with a way to make them tastier recently. I thought I had a way to make them good before this, but I was extremely wrong. Oh, the old variant of the recipe is good, but I enjoy the new one I have come up with even better!

First of all, the noodle. I do not buy any other Ramen Noodle but the Maruchan Ramen Noodle Brand. The quality of the noodle is better. Funny to say in such a cheap noodle? No. If I'm going to use them, I get the noodle that holds up better, tastes better, and has an overall better texture. Yes, I said all that over a cheap package of Ramen. Eating cheap does not mean skimping on quality. I have had every brand of Ramen Noodle you can purchase from every department store, grocery store, stop & go place, etc.. and not one brand (cheap brand!) tastes as good as the Maruchan Ramen.

Straight shot out of the honesty section: I do not use the flavor packets!!!

I know I am not alone when I say that the flavor packets that come with Ramen Noodles (any brand) are full of sodium. Even the low sodium packets are! They have flavor too, but, the sodium in those suckers could single handedly be used to keep a whole boat load of meat or fish from spoiling on a long voyage. Too. Much. For. Me, and my family.

When we can not get pasta on sale that will fit a family of five we get Ramen Noodles. It is just a simple pantry staple for when the going gets too tough, and the tough want fed. And around here, they want fed often. (...help...me....my...pantry...is...shrinking...) ahem. Moving on.

I will be putting in some recipes with Froogle Noodles in mind. Please keep an eye open for them, along with some other recipes that I fiddle with. I was so shocked at some of the yummy things we've started to create with even only having two ingredients! Watch for them!