Last night, I once again found and used a recipe that called for a can of diced tomatoes. I swear, half the recipes I fall in love with call for diced tomatoes! So I started wondering what "pantry staples" (or freezer, or fridge, you get the idea) that others rely on heavily for making their favorite meals? This is just a curious-kid question, but I'd love to see answers!
Here are some of my favorite pantry staples:
cans of diced tomatoes (of course)
Worcestershire sauce
carrots and celery (even if they're not the freshest, you can use them for flavoring chicken in crock-pots, etc.)
Lipton's onion soup mix
Progresso bread crumbs (can be used in meatloaf, for coating chicken pieces to be baked or fried)
McCormick's brown gravy mix
I'll try to think of more later. Oh, and I wanted to post the yummy-nummy recipe I made last night.
Hamburger Stew (this is very thick and hearty and filling; very nice for a chilly day)
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 cups cut & cubed potatoes
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 can diced tomatoes (the basil & oregano seasoned kind)
1 can tomato soup
3 cups beef broth
3 cups water
garlic (or garlic salt), Worcestershire sauce, salt & pepper to taste
Dice/cut onion, carrots, celery & potatoes. Saute the onion, carrots, and celery in a little bit of olive or cooking oil. Once softened, set aside. Using the same pan, brown the ground beef and drain any excess grease. Add the sauted veggies back in the ground beef, stir, and set aside. In a large soup pot, combine 3 cups beef broth and 3 cups water; add diced tomatoes and tomato soup, stir until tomato soup has dissolved a bit, then add all the other ingredients (the ground beef and veggie mixture, the potatoes, and the rice). Add your favorite seasonings, then bring to a boil. Cover and set on low; simmer for 1 hour so potatoes and rice can cook and flavors can mesh. Very good with warm dinner rolls.
I can't believe it's taken me this long to post these -- Mom's birthday was June 24th! Anyway, my sis Katie had the wonderful idea of us girls taking my mom to the LS Ayres Tearoom at the Indiana State Museum (the tearoom is a piece-by-piece recreation of the more famous tearoom that used to be at the downtown Ayres before it closed...). Since my mom loves tea and because she instilled that love of tea into all 3 of her daughters, well, it was just the perfect setting for a precious birthday party. We all had a lovely, elegant afternoon together!
