It's a Matter of a Sunday Brunch....From Food Storage Staples!

It's Sunday once again. I love Sunday's because the pace of life slows down just a little.  We can even take naps sometimes!  Because it is so low key, I like to make our Sunday meal from our Food Storage Staples. This allows us to use what we store and also rotate our food.  It also lets us try new things when we have plenty and not wait until the chips are down. Trying new foods where some sort of crisis exists is foolhardy indeed. 

Easy Bistro Chicken

I found a recipe for Easy Bistro Chicken at myrecipes.com.  This recipe calls for a lot of fresh ingredients, which I am totally in favor of. However, I was able to make this same recipe using items from my Pantry and Food Storage.  Let's see how it went!

The recipe called for canned Italian Style Tomatoes drained and chopped.  I used canned diced tomatoes and I did not drain them.  I will show you why in a minute.  

Chopped Onions and Garlic are part of this dish. I used dehydrated forms of both.

Sliced Mushroom are an important ingredient.  I used my the Mushrooms that I dehydrated a few months ago when they were on sale.

Chopped Pepper is also called for. Again, I used my dehydrated Peppers that I dehydrated some time ago.

Diced Celery is also required for this dish, I used some that I had purchased in a #10 Can.

Remember when I made the decision not to drain my tomato as the recipe suggested?  Well, I chose not to do that as I was putting in dehydrated ingredients. These dried ingredients absorbed the extra liquid.

While the sauce was simmering, I added Italian Seasoning as the original recipe called for "Italian-style Tomatoes".  I was adding the "Italian" in this manner.

From the Freezer I added Chicken Strips.  Frozen foods are also part of my Food Storage Staples.

I let the Chicken unthaw and simmer in the tomato-based sauce.  I put on some Macaroni noodles (the recipe called for Macaroni or Cavatappi) to cook while the sauce simmered.

When we served the Bistro Chicken, I also added some grated Parmesan Cheese and sliced apples. The Apples came from our 2nd refrigerator and I have a block of Parmesan that I grate for dishes like this.  My second refrigerator is cold storage for fruits and items like Parmesan Cheese. These foods were also from my Food Storage.  

Take Home Points:

• We had a  nutritious and very scrumptious meal even though fresh ingredients were not used.
• I did not have to go shopping yesterday to be ready for today, I just used items I had on hand.
• Adapting recipes to use your Pantry and Food Storage items is usually relatively simple.  If you are using dehydrated or freeze-dried foods, allow for additional liquid.  Frozen foods require some time to thaw and be cooked appropriately.
• Having the satisfaction of making something great from items on hand.....Priceless!

Here is the recipe for Easy Bistro Chicken (with my adaptions in red)  from Myrecipes.com:

Ingredients for Easy Bistro Chicken:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided (From my Pantry)

4 (6-ounce) chicken breast halves, skinned (From my Freezer, I used strips)

4 chicken thighs (about 1 pound), skinned (From my Freezer, I used strips)

4 chicken drumsticks (about1 pound), skinned (From my Freezer, I used strips)

2 cups chopped onion (Dehydrated, From my Pantry)

4 garlic cloves, minced (Dehydrated, From my spice cabinet)

1 cup chopped celery (Dehydrated, From my Pantry)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (Dehydrated, From my Pantry)

1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (Dehydrated, From my Pantry)

1/2 cup red wine vinegar (From my Pantry)

1/4 cup sliced green olives (From my Pantry)

1/4 cup capers (did not use)

1 tablespoon sugar (From my Pantry)

Dash of ground red pepper (From my spice cabinet)

2 bay leaves (From my spice cabinet)

1 (28-ounce) can Italian-style tomatoes, undrained and chopped (Diced Tomatoes From my Food Storage with added Italian Seasoning)

8 cups hot cooked macaroni or cavatappi (Macaroni, From my Pantry)

Parsley sprigs (optional) (From my spice cabinet)

 

Preparation

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breast halves to pan; sauté 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove from pan. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining chicken pieces; sauté 2 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove chicken from pan.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in pan. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add celery; sauté 5 minutes. Add basil and next 8 ingredients (basil through tomatoes). Return chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.

Uncover and simmer 25 minutes or until chicken is tender. Discard bay leaves. Serve with pasta. Garnish with parsley sprigs, if desired.

Note: You can chop the tomatoes in the can using kitchen shears.MyRecipes is working with Let's Move!, the Partnership for a Healthier America, and USDA's MyPlate to give anyone looking for healthier options access to a trove of recipes that will help them create healthy, tasty plates. For more information about creating a healthy plate, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.

Try It Soon!