Clearing out the pantry: 4 meal ideas

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been trying to get creative with new recipe ideas that use up the contents of our pantry (as it's not really worth lugging 20 tins of tomatoes, beans, tuna and pasta sauce across the Bass Strait).


While I could just throw out all the remaining pantry items, I really don't like waste, so I decided to have a snoop through what we had left and came up with a few recipes, which I've set out below.

I've made a note of what ingredients I already had, and what I needed to buy, as I always find it a bit frustrating when I read a recipe that says "you can make this recipe out of ingredients that you always have lying around at home", when in reality, it's pretty rare that all those ingredients are in my kitchen.

Also, as a bonus, these are all relatively healthy meals.

1. Margherita pizza with oyster mushrooms

You'll need:

- 1 large wholemeal pizza base
- 1 sachet of tomato paste
- 1-2 handfuls of tasty light cheese
- 200g of oyster mushrooms
- A sprinkling of mixed dried herbs

(Ingredients I had to buy: pizza base, mushrooms)

1. Spread the tomato paste over the pizza base, then sprinkle the cheese on top.
2. Fry the mushrooms in a little bit of oil for about 5 minutes, then add them to the pizza.
3. Sprinkle the mixed herbs on top, then place in an oven at about 200°C for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted.

2. Tuna, butter bean and tomato stew with brown rice and avocado

 
You'll need:

- 1 cup of brown rice
- 1 tin of tinned tomatoes (I used 2 tins but it was a bit too tomatoey)
- 1 sachet of tomato paste
- 1 tin of butter beans
- 2 small tins of tuna
- 1/2 an avocado
- A sprinkling of mixed dried herbs

(Ingredients I had to buy: nothing - but I did already have the avocado sitting in my fridge - this is probably the least likely thing to have lying around)

1. Put the rice in a saucepan with water and boil for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat a frypan and throw in the tinned tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, tuna and herbs, stirring together for 10 minutes.
3. Once the rice is cooked, serve it up with the stew, and add some diced avocado on top.

3. Vegetable and lentil stew with brown rice

 

You'll need:

- 1 tin of tinned tomatoes
- 1 cup of frozen broad beans
- 1 cup of frozen corn
- 1 tin of lentils
- 1 tin of chickpeas
- A sprinkling of mixed dried herbs
- 1 cup of brown rice
- A sprinkling of parmesan cheese

(Ingredients I had to buy: nothing - winner!)

1. Put the rice in a saucepan with water and boil for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat a frypan and throw in the tinned tomatoes, broad beans, corn, lentils, chickpeas and herbs, stirring for 10-15 minutes until it is all cooked.
3. Once the rice is cooked, serve it up with the stew, and add some parmesan cheese on top.

4. Baked salmon with lemon-infused quinoa and broad beans 

You'll need:

- 2 fillets of salmon (if cooking for 2 people)
- 1 lemon
- 1/2 cup of quinoa
- 1 cup of broad beans

(Ingredients I had to buy: salmon fillets, lemon)

1. Wrap each salmon fillet in a sheet of foil, placing a slice of lemon on top of each fillet, then place in an oven at 200°C for 15 minutes.
2. Put the quinoa in a saucepan with 1 cup of water and cook for 15 minutes, then once cooked, squeeze the lemon juice into it and stir through.
3.  Microwave the broad beans for 2 minutes, then once the salmon is cooked, assemble everything onto a plate.