Cooking from the stash

[ORChick]

My main reason for having a well stocked pantry is so that I needn't go shopping every day, or even every week. That means that pretty much every meal I make is from the "stash". I go shopping in the pantry, and refill what has been used when I do finally go to the market.

Today is "Rosenmontag", the Monday before Ash Wednesday. We all know of Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Well, in Cologne, Germany, where my DH grew up they are equally wild for Karneval (as they call it), and Monday is their big day, with parades and such. A popular street food in Cologne, in the old days, was "Rievkoche", or potato pancakes. Not specifically Karneval food, but I make these every year on Rosenmontag for my homesick DH. All out of the pantry.

2 lbs potatoes, peeled and shredded
1 medium onion, shredded
(a couple of cloves of garlic, put through the press; not traditional)
1 egg
A large pinch or two of nutmeg
A large pinch of salt

Dry off the potato shreds in a kitchen towel, and then mix everything together in a bowl. Add flour (tradionally buckwheat, I use regular) a tablespoon at a time to thicken things up a bit - not more than 2-3 Tbles.

Heat fat in a large pan over med. high heat (Traditional was horse fat; I use lard in a cast iron pan). Don't scrimp on the fat. Put large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the pan, flattening down to about 1/2 inch. Fry until crispy and brown; flip, and cook the other side. Best fresh out of the pan, but will hold for a little bit in a warm oven.

Now, these are basically latkes, and can be served with sour cream and/or apple sauce. But just for interest's sake I'll tell you what they do in Cologne. Take a slice of that thin, dark bread often called Pumpernickel here, and spread it with butter. Put one of the Rievkoche on top, and drizzle molasses over it. It sounds really weird, but actually tastes quite nice. I usually have some apple sauce on the side as well, but molasses is the topping of choice for my DH.

This was our dinner this evening. It would be healthier to have a salad on the side, but I admit to not having made one this evening.

Happy Karneval/Mardi Gras!

 

[tamlynn]

I guess our stash is what we regularly eat, because I can't think of anything outstanding. Today I made applesauce cookies from HannaLee's recipe blog, they are good -used up a lot of rolled oats and home ground wheat, added dried cranberries. I've got a ton of home canned applesauce that is getting a little old, so trying to use that up too.

http://feedingthecrew.blogspot.com/2009/07/applesauce-or-pumpkin-cookies.html

 

[country freedom]

1 frozen bag of diced onions, celery, green peppers. Take as much as you want to use.
Bacon, (I use 3 pieces for each person), that I cut into lil bits (using scizzors).

Fry the bits of bacon, stirring frequently, until done as you'd like. Put aside onto dish.
Fry mixed onions, celery, green peppers, stirring frequently, until onions look opaquely-transparent.
Re-add the fried bacon to vegie mix to fry about 1-2 minutes longer, stirring frequently.
Drain on paper towel.
If you want, you can fry some thinly sliced potatoes in the left over bacon grease, and drain on paper towels with the above mixture.
Salt/pepper, optional.

I don't season this dish, as I don't think it needs any seasoning. We use ketchup, if potatoes are used.
I add potatoes, if we have a few left, before I buy more potatoes.

With potatoes added, I do this as a one dish main meal.
Without potatoes, I do this as a side dish, with the main meal.

My family likes this dish cooked either way.

 

[Wifezilla]

My favorite Asian cookbook tells how to make coconut milk from dehydrated coconut flakes

I have the flakes too. The only store I can get unsweetened flakes from is nowhere near my house though. When I make it over that way I buy a couple of bags. I use my french coffee press to make the coconut milk

 

[Wifezilla]

I need to test out lentil recipes. Here is one that sounds interesting...
http://www.recipezaar.com/red-lentil-soup-with-lime-and-cilantro-408491

 

[big brown horse]

STASH HASH
(aka beef stir fry)

1 lb ground meat
1 bag frozen onions
1 bag frozen bell peppers
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 can beef broth
1 T corn starch (or whatever thickener you have)
1/2 cup soy sauce

Brown ground beef. Add frozen veggies and soysauce, stir fry for a bit. Add the corn starch to the beef broth, stir until dissolved. Add the broth to your stir fry and let it come to a boil. Turn down heat and let the sauce thicken a bit.

 

[farmerlor]

I had a stash cooking day today I guess though I wasn't really thinking about it at the time. I used some of my rice stash (I think we have about 50 pounds in buckets and another bag I need to get into buckets) and mixed it with some of my home canned cream of chicken and mushroom soup. Then I took some of some pieces of the chicken that we raised and processed out of the freezer and laid them on top and poured some more soup over. Supper. Done.
Well, not actually. I'm making bread per usual and the kids will want it fried but they can do that when they come home.

 

[ducks4you]

STASH HASH

We call this (with variations), "Slops."

 

[Wifezilla]

I grabbed some sausage out of the freezer and was going to make a quiche to use up some of the duck and quail eggs. I got halfway through and realized I was out of cream.

I ended up with this after I pulled a jar of Alfredo Sauce out of the stash...
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-...010m2d21-Recipe-Low-Carb-Breakfast-Bundt-Bake

 

[big brown horse]

Last night, I took your alfredo sauce idea and made:

Alfredo Shrimp with Asparagus

16 frozen shrimp (give or take, it was all that was left in the bag)
1 bag of frozen asparagus stir fry with other mixed veggies (summer squash, carrots, cauliflower)
1 jar of alfredo sauce
sea salt to taste

Put it all in the sheet pan (nothing was thawed) put it in a 425 degree oven until the shrimp turned pink. I stirred occasionally. It took about 20-30 min. Shrimp came out perfectly, veggies too. Everyone LOVED it.