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Asian Inspired chicken

6/10/2018

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This is so fast and easy and seems way more impressive than it is! The first step is using chicken thighs; they are the most delicious part of the chicken and give a lot of lee way in cooking. I usually use bone-in and skin-on so I can make stock with it, but today was about simplicity so I used boneless and skinless. From start to finish this took about an hour, but actual cooking time was only 15 minutes!
  • I have an electric pressure cooker that I made the rice in so it only took 7 minutes, but even using a pan on the stove would only take 15-20 minutes (tutorial here) and can easily be done while making the other items.
  • The marinade can be on the chicken for anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour (or probably even more). 
  • Chopping up the chicken could make this even faster!
Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken thighs
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sriracha
1/4 cup dark beer (could substitute chicken stock or more soy sauce)

1 cup rice
2 cups water
2T olive oil
1t ginger powder
2T soy sauce
1/2t salt
1/2t pepper

16 oz frozen California blend vegetables
1T olive oil
1/2T Janes Krazy Salt

Put the chicken and marinade ingredients into a plastic bag or container. When ready to cook, heat a skillet over medium high heat and put chicken in for about 5 minutes on each side. Ideally, you will use a meat thermometer (available in most stores for under $20) to know when it is done (165*). If you don't have one just check the thickest part until no pink is left. 

​Cook rice according to your preferred cooking method.

Microwave vegetables for 5 minutes and add oil and seasoning to taste.



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HER Magazine

11/27/2017

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We had an amazing article in a local magazine - THREE pages!!! It details our mission and even has some recipes! HER Magazine - The Pantry
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Time Frame of prep

6/22/2017

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Here is what I started with today at 6:45 (with approximate cost)
2 pounds white beans  ($2)
2 pounds of black beans  ($2)
1 pound ground beef  ($3.50)
1 can refried beans ($1)
1 cup salsa ($.50)
1 roma tomato ($.30)
1/4 onion ($.10)
2 tortillas ( $.25)
 handful of tortilla chips ($.50)
handful of kale (from garden)
1 pack frozen chicken (cooked last week from leg quarters in crock pot ) ($1)
1 white chicken chili seasoning (Jane's Krazy salt, poultry seasoning, red pepper flakes) ($.10)
1 cup of honey ($1.25)
1/4 cup of brown sugar ($.20)
1 tsp cinnamon ($.05)
3/4 cup of coconut oil ($.50)
about 10 cups of old fashioned rolled oats ($2)
~~~~~Total cost= $15.25
​
And I'm going to bed with this:
A belly full of tacos for myself and my five year old plus leftovers
1/2 pound of cooked ground beef for spaghetti or tacos
4 portions of black beans to use in meals later
2 portions of white beans to use in meals later
3 quarts of white bean chicken chili
1 gallon bag of granola 
​
Enough for ELEVEN meals later plus granola snacks for a month!
Here is the time that took. Please notice that a great deal of this time was spent just hanging out, watching TV, doing dishes, catching fireflies, etc. with just 2-5 minute tasks interspersed. You don't have to be stuck in the kitchen an entire day to get some quick prep work done. By cooking beans to this point now, you can make bean dishes take about half as long or you can cook them even longer and get the cooking time when you are ready to make a meal from them even shorter.
7:00 Rinse beans and put on stove
7:05 Start frying ground beef
7:13 Pull half of the meat out of the pan to freeze
7:14 Add refried beans and salsa to remaining beef
7:17 Pull the taco mixture off the stove to serve
7:18 Turn off boiling beans and leave on the stove, covered
7:20 Dice onion, tomatoes, kale for tacos
7:28 Eat tacos/taco salad
7:40 Put half of the meat in freezer and left over taco mix in refrigerator
7:53 Start granola by putting honey, sugar, and oil in microwave (10 minutes at 40% power, stirring several times)
8:03 Mix boiling sugar with oats, cinnamon, and salt and put in oven
8:11 Find out in majestic fashion that there was a spill in bottom of oven
8:12 Open all the doors and windows and take the granola out
8:25 Rinse and portion beans - 4 sandwich size bags (3 cups each) of black and 2 of white
8:32 Put remaining white beans back on stove turned to high with 6 cups of water
8:40 Turn boiling beans down to medium low
9:00 Add chicken (from freezer) and white chili seasoning
10:10 Use potato masher to smash about half of the beans, taste test, and turn the stove off.
10:35 Portioned the WCC in mason jars and put in freezer
​
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Venison Roast

1/17/2017

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We are so lucky to be able to work with Share the Harvest each year! This year we received roasts and ground meat.

​Missouri's Share the Harvest program helps deer hunters donate surplus venison to the needy. This program is administered by the Conservation Federation of Missouri and the Missouri Department of Conservation. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, more than 4,500 deer hunters donated more than a quarter-million pounds of venison from last season’s deer harvest. Since the program was started in 1992, Share the Harvest has provided more than 3.5 million pounds of venison.

Below is one simple recipe for using the roasts. If you need more inspiration, the internet is full of great recipes; here are some from the Department of Conservation: Recipes

2-3 T oil
1-2 t salt
1/2 - 1 t pepper
1/2 - 1 t rosemary
1/2 - 1 t granulated garlic
1 apple
1 onion

​Preheat oven to 450*.
Rub roast with oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary.
Cut apple and onion into cubes and put under roast.
Put 1 cup water into pan.
Bake 10 minutes at 450*.
Cover with foil.
Turn oven to 325*.
Bake 20 minutes per pound (ex: 3 pound roast for 1 hour).
(If you have a meat thermometer, your goal temperature is 145*)
Let rest 20 minutes before slicing and serving.


Picture
Picture
Alternate Slow Cooker/Crock Pot Method:

Rub roast with oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary.
Cut apple and onion into cubes and put under and on roast.
Put 1 cup water into slow cooker.
Cook on low for 7-9 hours *or* high for 3 hours and then low for 1 hour

Other Considerations:
  • You can dress this up by adding carrots, celery, mushrooms, or potatoes while the roast cooks.
  • Try using beef bouillon or beef stock instead of just water.
  • After removing the roast from the oven or slow cooker you can strain the juices and use them to make a sauce - just add 2 T of cornstarch that you mixed with 4 T of water into the pan juices and bring to a low boil for about 2 minutes to thicken.
  • Other herbs and flavorings to consider using are juniper, fennel, coriander, curry, blackberries, cherries, and bacon.
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Some Random Recipes

1/6/2017

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Tuna Salad
1 can tuna, drained
2T mayonnaise
1t mustard
2t sweet or dill pickle relish
1 hard boiled egg, diced, optional

Mix together
Serve one of these ways:
-with fresh vegetables to dip (carrots, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers)
-on crackers or bread
-on a bed of lettuce tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper

Bean Dip
You can use cooked pinto beans that you have mashed or pureed to your favorite consistency or canned refried beans. Just add about half as much salsa as you have beans then mix together, microwave to heat and serve with chips or tortillas. You can make this as fancy as you want by adding any of the following things, but it's delicious just as is!

avocado 
guacamole
tomatoes
onions
cheese
​black olives
sour cream

Baked Potatoes
Wash baking potatoes
Prick with fork several times
Microwave for about 5 minutes per potato or 350* oven for 1 hour


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Chicken Alfredo Pasta or Rice or Potatoes!

1/6/2017

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This is a super quick meal if you do some prep ahead of time. I have talked a lot of times about cooking a whole chicken, dividing the cooked meat into meal size bags and then using the bones and skin to make stock and this is a perfect use for that! Also, I will sometimes buy a 12 oz jar of premade alfredo sauce, then divide it into three smaller containers and freeze them to use later, like for this. Of course, you could also make this totally from scratch if you haven't done prep ahead of time. At my house, this is one of our go to meals when we are really pressed for time. I even do it with rice in the pressure cooker sometimes which makes it go from freezer to table in less than 10 minutes.

These things I pull from the freezer and thaw in the microwave:
1 quart of chicken stock
1 bag cooked, diced or shredded chicken
4 oz alfredo sauce
8 oz frozen peas, optional (these don't need to be thawed, they will warm up very quickly when they get added to the pan)

Then add:
1 pound pasta or 2 cups rice or about 4 diced potatoes
Italian herbs, seasoned salt, garlic, or salt and pepper to taste

Use the chicken stock to cook the potatpes, rice, or pasta (adding more water to it if necessary). When it is almost cooked properly add the chicken, peas, and sauce to warm through. If you are using full fat chicken stock it will likely be creamy enough with just that small amount of sauce, but you can also add a spoon of sour cream or splash of milk if desired. Topping it with some parmesan cheese would be delicious also.

Another variation would also be to substitute beans for the chicken!

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Rice and Beans Idea

10/21/2016

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I love rice and beans! When I started on my healthy and inexpensive mission, I only made red beans and rice with Mexican seasonings. That was the only way I had eaten them and it didn't occur to me to change it... until I got bored with it... That is when the magic happened! You can season rice and beans with literally anything! They accept and enhance many, many flavors! Today it is rosemary and seasoning salt with avocado.
Picture
I had some leftover rice that was made with rosemary and seasoning salt (Jane's Krazy Salt is my favorite.) I soaked a pound of red beans in cold water overnight. Then in the morning, I put them in the crock pot 3/4 full of fresh water on low. Ideally, they would be in there for 4-6 hours, but I didn't get home until 8 hours later and they were still perfect! I added a little more seasoning salt and rosemary and cubed some fresh avocado. That's it, super easy!! I think some tomato would also be a good addition, but I didn't have any on hand.
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Chicken and Dumplings

10/3/2016

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1-2 lb chicken
6 C water or chicken stock
1 ½ t Jane’s Krazy Salt
1T poultry seasoning
2 t chicken bouillon (omit if using chicken stock)
1-3 carrots, diced
1-3 stalks celery, diced
​
Dumplings:
2 C flour
1 T baking powder
1/2 T Italian seasoning
½ t salt
1/4 C olive oil
1 1/2 c milk (or water)


Cook chicken and remove bones and skin (if applicable), then dice or shred meat.
Combine all ingredients except Dumpling ingredients. Bring to a simmer.

Mix dumpling ingredients and milk (it will be sticky). Drop spoonfuls of dumplings into simmering soup. Simmer 8-10 minutes.
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Chicken Pot Pie

10/3/2016

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1-2 lb chicken
16 oz frozen mixed vegetables
2 C water
1 pot pie seasoning packet
            1 ½ t Jane’s Krazy Salt
            1T poultry seasoning
            2 T cornstarch
            1 ½ t chicken bouillon

Crust-
1 bag of biscuit mix
            2 C flour
            1 T baking powder
            ½ t salt
            ½ C shortening
1c milk (or water)
Preheat oven to 375°.
Cook chicken and remove bones and skin (if applicable), then dice or shred meat.
Combine all ingredients except Crust ingredients.
Microwave on high or cook on stove until it reaches a boil (about 10 minutes), stirring occasionally. Boil 3 minutes.
Pour into 9x13 pan.
Combine biscuit mix and milk (it will be sticky). Let sit 10 minutes and vigorously stir if it is too wet. Press out on floured surface into a roughly 9 inch square, cut into 12 pieces and place on top of chicken mixture (or spoon on top). Bake 20-25 minutes or until biscuits are golden brown.



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$100 and $200 Month Family Meal Plan Recipes

10/3/2016

4 Comments

 
Picture
I talk often about the Thrifty Meal Plans and here they are. I'm working on getting all of the recipes in one place and this is that place.

Granola
Cookies
Lentil loaf
Spaghetti


Chicken and dumplings
Chicken pot pie (9x13 pan)
Chili
Tomato and bean pasta
Chicken alfredo pasta
Potato salsa chicken
Frittata
Diced potato with chk alfredo
Baked potato with chili
Tuna Salad
Bean dip

Scrambled eggs and pancakes
Vegetable bean pasta
Chicken and veg pasta 
White bean chili (with or without chicken)
Beans and Rice

White bean curry
​Hummus
Bread
Pumpkin muffins
meal_plan_suggestions.pdf
File Size: 323 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Mission

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The mission of The Pantry is to reduce food insecurity in and empower residents of Mid-Missouri. We will achieve this by providing our guests with ingredients for complete meals along with easy to follow recommendations to help achieve self-sufficiency. It is vital to our organization that all members of our community are welcome; therefore we have no income, identification, or geographic requirements. 
This place is amazing. No exclusions. Good fresh food that is so yummy! Friendly people who want nothing more than to help you. - Lindsey
I love The Pantry because this is food that I can eat. I have Crohn's disease, so I can't eat all the processed foods other places give out. - Rebecca
This is changing the way my family eats and everyone is happier! - anonymous

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  • Home
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