Italian Quinoa

This Italian Quinoa is a great dish because it can be served hot or cold, vegetarian or with meat.  Best of all, it's pantry-friendly (shelf-stable), meaning the ingredients can be kept for months in your pantry, just waiting to be used.  I love pantry-friendly recipes like this because they are a great last-minute dish and they can be made even during an emergency.  The flavors in this one are fabulous.

ITALIAN QUINOA

PREP AND COOK TIME:  about 20-25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 c. quinoa
• 1  3/4 c. water
• 1/4 c. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 Tbsp. parsley
• 1/2 c. freeze-dried spinach (available here and here)
• 1/2 c. freeze-dried sausage (optional; available here -- I use this all the time!  I love not having to cook sausage!)
• 1/4 c. dried onion (I prefer red onion by Litehouse, but regular dried minced onion is fine, too.)
• 1 can petite diced Italian tomatoes, undrained
• 3/4 c. black olives, quartered
• a little Italian salad dressing to drizzle, optional

DIRECTIONS

Place quinoa, water, and lemon juice in a medium pan.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then remove briefly from heat to stir in   garlic salt, oregano, parsley, spinach, sausage (optional), and onion.  Place back on the heat, lower heat to low, and cover the pan with a lid.  Cook 15 minutes on low.  Remove from heat and place in a serving bowl.  Stir in tomatoes and olives.  Drizzle with Italian dressing, if desired.  Serve hot or cold.  

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Potato Parmesan Soup

I could eat potato soup about twelve different ways.  Actually, I think I do!   This recipe and the Pantry-Friendly Baked Potato Soup are only two of the many potato soups I love.

This potato soup has a great flavor, and I love what the parmesan brings to it.  With only 6 simple ingredients, it's really quick to put together, too.  You'll never guess where the main seasoning comes from in this soup.  You might even call it Potatoes & Gravy Soup!

POTATO PARMESAN SOUP

PREP AND COOK TIME:  about 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 3 c. instant potato flakes
• 1 c. powdered creamer
• 1 1-oz. package chicken gravy mix
• 2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
• 1/4 - 1/2 c. parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp. dried minced onion
• 8 cups boiling water

DIRECTIONS

Bring 8 cups of water to boil in a large soup pot.  As the water comes to a boil, whisk in the gravy mix and the creamer.  Whisk in potato flakes, parsley, onion, and parmesan cheese.  Bring to a boil, then let sit 5 minutes to thicken.  Serve hot.   

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Cracked Wheat Bread (breadmaker or oven)

Most bread recipes are pretty close to pantry-friendly already, and this one was no different.  (Yay!) This recipe uses cracked wheat (remember the health benefits of wheat?), and I really love the convenience of using a breadmaker!  (If you don't have a breadmaker, I'll include directions for oven-baking, too.) 

If you've cracked your own wheat for the "cracked wheat" part of this recipe, you may have a handful of uncracked wheat berries scattered throughout.  If you like breads with seeds and nuts, you'll like the crunchy bits of large, partially-cracked wheat berries in your bread.  If you don't, I suggest making sure you take out any uncracked or large pieces of wheat berries from the 1/2 c. cracked wheat this recipe calls for. 

This is a yummy bread, and I found I liked the texture with the few partially-cracked wheat berries!

CRACKED WHEAT BREAD (BREADMAKER)

PREP TIME:  5-10 minutes
COOK TIME:  about 3 hours, or whatever time is listed for your particular breadmaker for a 1-lb loaf (Note: My breadmaker only has 1.5-lb. and 2-lb. settings, so I used the 1.5-lb. one and it was just fine.)

INGREDIENTS

• 11 oz. water
• 1  1/2 tsp. salt
• 1  1/2 Tbsp. butter flavor Crisco (original recipe:  1  1/2 Tbsp. butter)
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2  1/4 c. white flour or bread flour
• 1  1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. cracked wheat
• 2  1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

DIRECTIONS

Place ingredients in a bread machine and use the 1-lb. loaf setting (or 1.5-lb. if needed).  Alternatively:  mix ingredients well, knead for 2 minutes, and place dough in a greased loaf pan.  Let rise 1 hour, then bake at 400* for 35 minutes.  

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Easy Chicken and Rice Bake

I love the simplicity of this recipe!  You mix everything together in an 8x8 pan and put it in the oven.  There's no cooking or chopping since all the ingredients are pantry-friendly so they're all ready to go.  I feel like it's the crock pot version (dump, dump, dump, cook) of pantry-friendly recipes!  

The flavor is subtle but delicious.  My kids are big kids now, but I think this would make an easy little-kid-friendly dish.  Give it a try and see what you think!

EASY CHICKEN AND RICE BAKE

PREP TIME:  10 minutes
COOK TIME:  45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1  1/4 c. water
• 3/4 c. uncooked regular long-grain rice
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 2 Tbsp. freeze-dried green onions (I *love* these things!  I never buy fresh green onions any more.)
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1  1/2 c. freeze-dried chopped chicken (I love this stuff, too!  It's pantry-friendly, yes, but I *love* not having to cook and chop chicken for recipes!  It tastes just like fresh, cooked chicken, too.  If needed, you can substitute this for a 12.5-oz. can of chicken breast chunks, but the flavor isn't the same.)

DIRECTIONS

In an 8x8 baking dish, stir together the soup and water until well-combined.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.  Stir before serving.

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Quick Herbed Corn

I think canned corn is an easy pantry staple to have on hand any time, but I wanted to dress it up a bit so that it's more than, you know, just a can of corn.  I love how this turned out.  I combined a couple of recipes and made a couple of pantry-friendly changes to create:

QUICK HERBED CORN

PREP TIME:  5 minutes
COOK TIME:  3 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 Tbsp. butter powder (I like this brand; also available here and here.  If you prefer using butter flavor Crisco as your pantry-friendly butter substitute, omit the water and oil from this recipe.)
• 1 Tbsp. water
• 2 tsp. oil
• 1 tsp. dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp. dill
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS

In a microwave-safe bowl, stir together the butter powder, water, oil, parsley, and dill.  When well-combined, stir in the drained corn.  Microwave 3 minutes or until hot.  Stir in parmesan and serve.

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