Coronavirus - Cooking at Home

Don't panic, people! There's food in the freezer and still a reasonably well-stocked produce department at most grocery stores. We may not be able to find toilet tissue, but we certainly won't go hungry.

Last Sunday I posted my tips and ideas for stocking your pantry and freezer for the possibility that grocery stores might not have fresh food items (meat, fish, vegetables) in the next two to three weeks. I promised to share with you some ideas for food preparation using what's already in your kitchen (if you're a cook) or for what will be in your pantry (if you're forced to cook).

Photo by Jason Briscoe on Unsplash

Top with another tortilla, turn to brown and crisp up and you have breakfast quesadillas

If you're ready, and if you're stocked for working from home and keeping yourself away from social events, this is your bonus--ideas for cooking from home.

• Use tortillas to serve up a hand-held breakfast. Fill with scrambled eggs and fresh or leftover veg. Top with a bit of cheese, finely sliced onion and bell peppers and you are on your way to an immune-boosting quesadilla via a preheated cast iron pan and a few drops of olive oil.
• While we're handling tortillas, use them to make a fast and delicious dessert. Cast iron pan, few drops of olive oil, top with fresh ricotta, cottage cheese or goat cheese. Drizzle with honey or orange marmalade and top with walnut or almond pieces. Fold over the tortilla, cut in half and share with a friend or go for a second helping.
• If you have salsa but no chips, cut a few fresh tortillas into quarters and fly in about a half-inch of vegetable oil. Presto! Tortilla chips.
• But, if you'd prefer to use the tortillas for dinner, do this: Combine a can of black beans, some chopped peppers and onion, one cup of the salsa and one cup of shredded cheddar cheese. If you have leftover steak or ground beef or chicken, cut or shred and toss that in also. Combine well and roll in the tortillas. Layer in a buttered baking dish, top with a few spoonfuls of the salsa and however much cheese you want. Bake in a 400F oven until cheese has melted and filling is heated through. Serve with sliced avocado and sour cream (if you have them).
• And, speaking of avocadoes, mix up a salmon salad and top avocado halves with another immune-boosting mix. Salmon salad-->1 (7.5 oz) can wild-caught salmon, half of a green pepper thinly sliced or chopped, one-quarter of a red onion thinly sliced, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar and 4-6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Stir. Should serve four for lunch or two for dinner.

Don't turn up your nose at green bell peppers. They have almost twice as much Vitamin C as oranges.

• How about a type of fast and easy chili? Heat two tablespoons of oil over high heat and stir in 1 lb of ground beef (I use the organic or grass-fed which is sold in most stores today. It's lean, but with good beefy flavor.) Break up the beef and continue to stir until completely browned. If you have taco seasoning in your pantry, follow their directions. If not, stir in one can of Rotel Original (tomatoes with green chiles) and one teaspoon each of ground cumin, red chili powder, dry oregano, powdered garlic and enough salt to suit your palate. You'll also need half a can (use the empty Rotel can) of water. Cook for about ten minutes. Serve this in a soup bowl topped with any combination of the following: shredded cheese, chopped red onion, diced avocadoes or guacamole, diced tomatoes, chopped green peppers and sour cream. OR used all of the above to top a baked potato. *High five*

There's a baked potato under all of that yum and nutrition.

• Cook your favorite frozen beans (I like crowder peas, black-eyed peas and field peas). I dice an onion, cook it slowly with about 6 tablespoons of olive oil and stir in three to four cups of the frozen peas. Add four cups of water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat and put the lid on. When they are almost ready, stir in about 2 cups of frozen whole okra and continue cooking until everything is tender. Serve with rice and chow-chow if you have it. I use brown basmati rice, but whatever is in your pantry will be fine.

Pantry and freezer meals can be fabulous!

• Another easy dessert using pantry and refrigerator items is a Greek yogurt parfait. Easy, if you have Greek yogurt in your fridge. Into a wine glass: big spoonful of plain greek yogurt, generous drizzle of honey and roughly chopped walnuts (chop them with a knife). Do this again and you're done. Sweet tooth is happy.