Favorite, Easy Recipes from On-Hand Items

Here are a few of the items that I have been keeping on-hand all the time. All of these items keep well for a very long time. From the following list, you can make several recipes, and I am including them below.

You will find that you eat out less and spend a lot less money on convenience items if you always have something around that you can just throw together for dinner. If this idea helps you out, or if you have more go-to recipe ideas, let me know in the comment section!

Ingredients:

Rotel

Chili beans

Kidney beans

Black beans x2

Chili powder

Cumin

Parsley

Basil

Apple cider vinegar (or red wine vinegar)

Frozen ground beef

Velveeta

Marinara

Pasta (any kind)

Oil

Rice

Garlic powder

Tomato sauce

Corn

Hot sauce

Vegetable broth

Salsa

Tortilla chips

Cheesecake mix

Milk

Butter

Cherry pie filling

Sugar

Recipes:

Easy Vegan Chili (or you can add ground beef)

4-Ingredient Lasagna

Spaghetti (spaghetti, marinara, ground beef)

Mexican Rice (oil, rice, salt, garlic powder, tomato sauce)

Black bean & salsa soup

Dump into a pot:

1 can corn (with water from can)

1 can black beans (with water)

16 oz. salsa

1 T. broth of choice

1 t. cumin

1 t. hot sauce

Heat on medium until warm and garnish with corn chips

I try to keep cheesecake mix on hand for unexpected company. It only takes 5 minutes to mix and an hour to chill.

If you keep a lot of veggies on hand, you can use them to throw together a salad, stir-fry, or lazy pizza (any kind of oven-baked bread or tortilla, topped with tomato sauce, cheese, ground beef, spices, and fresh veggies). You can also add them to rice, quinoa, or pasta for a quick nutritional boost.

 

Easiest Lasagna Ever

And quickest, and cheapest…it’s the best of every world! Ian had a friend over from church Sunday. At first his friend didn’t really want to come because he was looking forward to a lasagna dinner that afternoon. However, he did want to hang out with my son, so I just decided to make lasagna too!

While at ALDI, I was picking up my usual 4 ingredients: lasagna noodles, marinara, Velveeta (or something similar), and ground beef. However, they didn’t have any lasagna noodles for some reason, so I picked up a box of farfalle instead.

At home, I cooked up the noodles, and dumped them in a Pyrex baking dish, along with about 6 half-inch slices of Velveeta (that’s only half as much as I generally use), most of a jar of marinara, and about 3/4 lb. cooked ground beef. Then I baked it at 350 for 15 minutes, and it was probably the tastiest lasagna I have ever made!

I was super easy because I didn’t have to mess with layering the lasagna noodles. (And I didn’t get burned like I usually do!)

Ok, so here’s the recipe, if you want to call it that:

1 box farfalle

a 3-inch block of Velveeta, sliced into 6 pieces

1 jar of marinara

1 pound of ground beef, or thereabouts

Boil the noodles to al dente and brown the beef. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350. When the noodles and beef are done, mix everything in an oven-safe dish and cook for 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Post from the Past: Easy Recipes for a Dinner Party

Last week while I was typing, my six-year-old son asked me for an index card. Over the next couple of minutes, he lay in the floor of my office, writing away. I helped him spell most of the words, but I wasn’t paying attention to the content as a whole. By the time he asked me for an envelope and a stamp, I realized he had written an invitation to some of our friends. We mailed the letter, and as a result, I lay awake last night wracking my brain to come up with some nice, yet easy, dinner choices for tonight’s company.

Since I will be busy all day, I’ve decided to make two things that will be super easy, but they are still on my husband’s list of favorite things to eat. The main course is a four-ingredient lasagna. I used to hate making lasagna because it was so time consuming, and frankly, I can’t stand the sight of ricotta cheese! However, the ingredients I use are:

6 lasagna noodles, cooked

Half a block of Velveeta cheese (or something comparable), cut into quarter inch slices

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained

1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce

After cooking the noodles and beef, I make two layers of noodles, cheese, beef, and spaghetti sauce, in that order. I always save the majority of the ingredients for the top half, since that’s the half that everyone sees.   If you don’t mind a runny river of cheesy goodness, you can serve it immediately after baking. If you’re like me, however, you will want it to look as good as it tastes – in which case, let it cool for 45 minutes or so before serving.

My main side is a four-ingredient mashed potato concoction, thanks to my sister-in-love (engaged to my brother), Mandy, for the recipe!

8-12 small potatoes (I always save the big ones for baking), cooked and mashed

Butter to taste

Milk to desired consistency

Lots of shredded cheese

After making mashed potatoes as usual and adding butter and milk, place them into a baking dish. Cover the top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts. I must admit that the first time I made this, I was trying to make regular mashed potatoes. I used too much milk, and figured that some time in the oven would dry the potatoes out a bit. Since Mandy had been bringing cheesy mashed potatoes to our house for special occasions, I thought I would give it a try! It’s now one of the easiest and yummiest side dishes in my repertoire!

A little bread here, another vegetable there, and dinner is done!

On a side note, my son has inspired me to try to bring some formality back into my friendships. How fun would it be to throw a dinner party and actually send out cordial invitations? Gone are the days when people ate at friends’ houses three or four nights a week, and entertained once or twice a week in their own homes. With all of the demands that we place on ourselves, we find it difficult to make time for visiting with our family and friends. If we would turn off the television once in a while, I wonder if we would get bored enough to remember the important people in our lives?

A challenge: call someone important to you and invite them for dinner!

Easy Recipes for a Dinner Party

Last week while I was typing, my six-year-old son asked me for an index card. Over the next couple of minutes, he lay in the floor of my office, writing away. I helped him spell most of the words, but I wasn’t paying attention to the content as a whole. By the time he asked me for an envelope and a stamp, I realized he had written an invitation to some of our friends. We mailed the letter, and as a result, I lay awake last night wracking my brain to come up with some nice, yet easy, dinner choices for tonight’s company.

Since I will be busy all day, I’ve decided to make two things that will be super easy, but they are still on my husband’s list of favorite things to eat. The main course is a four-ingredient lasagna. I used to hate making lasagna because it was so time consuming, and frankly, I can’t stand the sight of ricotta cheese! However, the ingredients I use are:

6 lasagna noodles, cooked

Half a block of Velveeta cheese (or something comparable), cut into quarter inch slices

1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained

1 can or jar of spaghetti sauce

After cooking the noodles and beef, I make two layers of noodles, cheese, beef, and spaghetti sauce, in that order. I always save the majority of the ingredients for the top half, since that’s the half that everyone sees.  🙂 If you don’t mind a runny river of cheesy goodness, you can serve it immediately after baking. If you’re like me, however, you will want it to look as good as it tastes – in which case, let it cool for 45 minutes or so before serving.

My main side is a four-ingredient mashed potato concoction. Thanks to my sister-in-law Mandy, for the recipe!

8-12 small potatoes (I always save the big ones for baking), cooked and mashed

Butter to taste

Milk to desired consistency

Lots of shredded cheese

After making mashed potatoes as usual and adding butter and milk, place them into a baking dish. Cover the top with shredded cheese and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese melts. I must admit that the first time I made this, I was trying to make regular mashed potatoes. I used too much milk, and figured that some time in the oven would dry the potatoes out a bit. Since Mandy had been bringing cheesy mashed potatoes to our house for special occasions, I thought I would give it a try! It’s now one of the easiest and yummiest side dishes in my repertoire!

A little bread here, another vegetable there, and dinner is done!

On a side note, my son has inspired me to try to bring some formality back into my friendships. How fun would it be to throw a dinner party and actually send out cordial invitations? Gone are the days when people ate at friends’ houses three or four nights a week, and entertained once or twice a week in their own homes. With all of the demands that we place on ourselves, we find it difficult to make time for visiting with our family and friends. If we would turn off the television once in a while, I wonder if we would get bored enough to remember the important people in our lives?

A challenge: call someone important to you and invite them for dinner!