Frugal Emergency Pantry Meals
With the economy driving most people into frugal mode, cooking more at home is a high priority on everyone’s list. The benefits of cooking at home are many. In addition to saving money,cooking at home can be more healthful. One of the big challenges to not eating out, happens when I have meetings or conference calls or errands that run longer than expected. Another challenge is when I scan the refrigerator and realize that I forgot some ingredients for the recipe I wanted to make. In both of these instances, an easy default would be to head out to a restaurant or to pick up take out from somewhere.
To avoid the emergency take-out which can end up being both costly on the wallet and waistline, I try to keep some key ingredients around to put together healthy mostly pantry meals. Among ingredients that are the basis for great quick meals are: frozen fruits and vegetables, canned tuna or salmon, canned beans, pre-made brown rice that is frozen, potatoes or sweet potatoes to microwave, eggs, canned tomatoes, pasta sauce or salsa, bagged salad, and durable fruit like apples and oranges.
The following are some ideas when time or ingredients are scarce. Add a simple salad and fruit for a really quick meal:
Simple tuna sauce over pasta
Quick black bean soup
Easy migas (eggs) with canned refried beans
Salmon Potato Cakes
see more frugal ideas this week at the Festival of Frugality
[...] G shares some ingredients to keep around for Frugal Emergency Pantry Meals at Modern [...]
My favorite “must have / can always do something with” items include flour tortillas, shredded cheese, hot dogs, corn meal.
[...] Modern Gal presents Frugal emergency pantry meals. [...]
Monroe on a Budget, I like tortillas as well, although I use corn to be gluten free. I like to make different kinds of soft tacos, like black bean tacos, fish tacos, leftover chicken tacos…
I wrote two weeks worth of meals for myself made from items just in our pantry.
You can see them here: http://theprudenthomemaker.com/strictlypantry.aspx
Thanks! Always looking for ways to save!
Taylor, hope this helps. You might also be interested in the posts on Creative Uses for Leftovers. Thanks for visiting.
Great article, very applicable today! Thanks for child-friendly recipes. I’m a single mother of 3 and a part-time student, so my family doesn’t eat out unless Papa and Nana are paying! All I would add to your quick pantry go-to’s would be peanut butter, applesauce, and rolled oats. I can’t count the number of times peanut butter sandwiches or oatmeal (with fruit) have been on the dinner menu here, and applesauce is a great snack- cheap, healthy, and the kids like it.
Love your blog, keep up the great work!
Hi Rachael, I have a lot of peanut butter and rolled oats around here as well. Thanks for commenting. I will be posting more recipes and ideas for pantry meals soon.