Cooking in the Time of Corona

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Because I'm a caregiver for my mom and dependent on someone else driving me, I started stocking up on staples in early February.

I made my own list of things including food my mom loves (she's Southern, so grits, sweet potatoes, and cornmeal), canned goods, rice, dried beans (I'm from New England; we soak the beans on Friday night, cook them on Saturday, and have them with hot dogs and brown bread), pasta, frozen vegetables (and greens), and flour etc. for baking (I stress bake; sue me).

I found this list of Epicurious pantry recipes and meal plans via Liz Gorinsky on Twitter. Epicurious says:
Experts recommend having a two-week supply of non-perishable food on hand in case of emergencies. So we developed a 14-day meal plan of pantry-sourced dinners.

Simply Recipes has this article on How To Stock Your Pantry for Social Distancing with lots of recipes.

I've been collecting recipes and ingredients for a while now and am sorting through which to cook again.

So here are some that I've made and stashed the ingredients in pantry and freezer to make again.

If others want to post recipes that are comfort food and/or rely on pantry and freezer staples, I'll use this post to make an index.

Index to Recipes in This Thread

Creamy Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Spinach

Cannellini aglio e olio (Canned white beans and artichokes, sautd in olive oil and garlic, served with Parmesan and crusty bread) I meant to note that this is a variant of a very traditional (as in Medieval) Italian Winter meal; see this (also vegan) version Fagioli alluccelletto (Via Marlys in another thread)

White-Bean and Sausage Stew
Canned white beans (Great Northern or navy), garlic, olive oil, Italian sausage, chopped canned tomatoes, thyme.

No-Knead Bread Basic Recipe

Red Beans and Rice with Garlicky pork roast

Bratwurst and Cabbage Stew
This is a slow-cooker recipe (but it doesn't have to be).
You can use your preferred smoked sausage. I prefer spicy kielbasa or andouille.

Farmers Style [Lima] Beans
Any mild "white" bean is fine, and even red kidney beans work well.

Mac & Cheese With Ham
And roasted garlic.

Chicken Salad with Extras
You can used frozen chicken or turkey; poaching makes it tender. Or you can use canned chicken. This is easy to add or subtract ingredients based on taste and pantry.

Easy Beer Bread Recipe

External link to Simply Recipes Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

External link: Panda Express Orange Chicken (Copycat)
 
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Via Simply Recipes: Creamy Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Spinach

I don't want to just re-post their recipe; this is an Italian style soup with white beans (canned), mild Italian sausage (freezer!), spinach (freezer!) and pre-made tortellini (free . . . you know), with potatoes. You can mess with this in terms of ingredients and seasoning to suit your tastes and pantry.
 

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Cannellini aglio e olio via Smitten Kitchen

Canned white beans, canned artichoke hearts, grated Parmesan (freezer!), olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes to taste.
It's really good with warm crusty bread.
 

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Those sound wonderful!

We did a similar sausage-and-bean soup over the weekend. We've also been baking bread with a no-knead recipe from this book. I was deeply skeptical at first, but it really does work, although I've had better luck with some recipes than others. The simple white loaf (which can be adapted with wheat flour and oats, if you like) is really lovely and flavorful - although if you let it rise too long, it will taste a little like beer. :)

ETA: Here's a link to a popular form of this recipe. Since it turns out a lot of folks do this, I'm adding my own method:

1-1/2 c water
3+ c flour (modify this amount as necessary for consistency)
1/2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 Tbsp kosher salt

Mix water, yeast, and salt, then add 2 cups of flour and mix. Add the rest of the flour gradually, until the dough has the consistency you like.

Cover and let stand for ~2 hours.

Punch down, shape, and let rise again, either in a loaf pan or as a round loaf on a pizza paddle. Let the loaf rise for 45 minutes. (If using a cloche, put the cloche in the oven to pre-heat while the dough is rising.)

Bake at 450 F for 30-35 minutes.

Tips:

A Danish dough whisk makes hand mixing a bit easier.
You can use wheat flour instead of white, although I find a mix works best and still makes a nice nutty wheat loaf.
Some additives such as oats add some crunch without materially affecting the rise.
Set a timer so your dough doesn't develop sentience. :)
 
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Red Beans and Rice w. Garlicky pork roast
Pork Shoulder

  • About 2 lbs pork shoulder roast
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Garlic

To Prepare pork shoulder

Preheat oven to 425.

Rub the roast with olive oil. Season generously with salt and pepper, then coat with garlic.

Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 300-ish. Cook the roast until an internal thermometer reads 185 degrees. Let it rest for twenty minutes. Slice about half (for serving on the side), dice about half. For a 2-3 lb roast this will take maybe two hours.

The idea is to time it so the pork is fully rested about an hour before the beans are ready.


Red Beans


  • 1 lb red beans
  • 2 yellow onions, chopped
  • 3 celery stalks, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic -- minced
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 49 oz chicken broth (approximately one big can or 1.5 medium-size boxes)
  • 1 smoked pork hock
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 tbsp "Better Than Boullion" ham flavor


Bean Soup
The day before: Place beans in a pot, cover to a depth of about two inches with cold **salted** water and cover. Soak overnight. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot and cook the onion, celery and garlic until slightly softened.

Add the beans, bay leaves, pork hock, spices and chicken broth. The broth should cover the beans to a depth of an inch or more. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. Simmer, covered, for an hour or so.

Add the chopped ham and simmer for another hour or so, or until the beans are pretty soft. Give it a couple quick hits with the immersion blender (or maybe a potato masher) to turn about 25% of the beans into mush. Stir the mush into the rest of the soup.

Stir in the diced pork roast.

Take the lid off the pot and increase heat slightly. Simmer uncovered until the broth is reduced and the beans are on the verge of liquefying.

Serve over rice with hot sauce, sliced scallions, pork slices, and a good red wine vinegar.
 
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Ari Meermans

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You can find cabbage and sausage stew recipes just about everywhere; the recipes are forgiving in that you can use veggies that suit your tastes.

I've always loathed cooked cabbage—both the smell and the taste—for reasons.

But.

I found a recipe that I love and I put a batch on this morning.

It comes from The Southern Slow Cooker Bible and it makes about six servings. Two people can have half of it for supper and freeze half for later. (I'll mention my changes to the recipe as I go.)

Bratwurst and Cabbage Stew

1/2 head (abt. 4 cups) coarsely chopped green cabbage
1 lb. package bratwurst, cut into ½-inch slices (You can use your preferred smoked sausage. I prefer spicy kielbasa or andouille for this recipe and I use 1 ½ pounds.)
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I julienne for visual appeal.)
1 sweet onion, peeled and cut in thin wedges
1 ½ cups diced red potatoes (Yeah, no, on the diced unless you want them to cook down to nuthin' for a thicker stew base—I cut nice sized chunks of about an inch and a half by ½ inch, so my "stew" is more like a soup.)
2 (14.5 oz.) cans low-sodium chicken stock or broth
1 TBSP. spicy brown mustard
1 TBSP. cider vinegar (I prefer red wine or red wine vinegar if I don't have a bottle of wine already open.)
¼ tsp. onion or garlic salt (I use onion powder or garlic powder and add a little over ½ tsp. salt.)
¼ tsp. black pepper
1/8 tsp. celery seeds (I omit.)
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper (I omit 'cause this stew is plenty spicy enough without and I really like spicy. So.)
Shredded Swiss cheese for garnish. (I omit.)

Place the cabbage, bratwurst, red peppers, onions, and potatoes in a lightly greased large slow cooker*. In a large bowl, whisk together the stock, mustard, vinegar, onion salt, black pepper, celery seeds, and cayenne pepper. Pour over the cabbage mixture and cook on low for 7 ½ hours or on high for 3 hours. Seven hours on low is perfect with my cooker. Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of Swiss cheese before serving.

*Benefits of using a slow cooker: My house ends up smelling amazing with all the married flavors and aromas, not cooked-cabbagy.

ETA: I always make cornbread to have with this "stew".
 
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That sounds amazing! I'm an enthusiastic cabbage-consumer. I'll eat it cooked, raw, slawed, or sauerkrauted.

I've got a corned beef I'll do with cabbage, potatoes, onions and carrots in the next day or two -- that should hold me all week, but then I can just sort of add other elements (corn, peas, mushrooms, tomatoes, sausage, etc) to it, until I get tired of eating the ever-evolving soup and freeze the rest.
 
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Ari Meermans

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It really is quite good. I like raw cabbage in all its forms, too. It's the whole boiled-cabbage-thing, I think. (It's one of mah quirks, of which there are many.)
 

Ari Meermans

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Oh, and I forgot to mention this earlier: trawl through the internet for depression-era recipes. You'll find delicious and nutritious meals made from practically nuthin'.
 

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Farmer’s Style Lima Beans

I like using the really large dried lima beans, but kidney or butter beans or “white kidney beans” aka as canellini beans work well too. And if you're using canned beans, which you can, you don't need to soak them.

Feel free to freeze these.

Ingredients

2 cups/ one package large dried Lima beans
Water for soaking
1 teaspoon salt
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 lb. diced cooked ham pieces, or cooked bacon, or cooked sausage
1 onion, chopped
1 cup finely chopped carrot, raw
1 Tablespoons butter, or olive oil
2 cups Chicken broth
Hot sauce or barbecue sauce, if desired

1. Wash and soak the beans overnight in water.
2. Drain, rinse, and pick over the beans, discarding non-bean material, and suspicious looking beans.
3. Place the beans in a covered casserole or bean pot.
4. Stir in the salt and pepper, add the bay leaf.
5. Preheat the oven to 300 F.
6. Saute the meat, olive oil, onions, carrots until tender.
7. Add the vegetables and meat to the casserole.
8. Pour in 1 cup of chicken broth, and place the covered casserole in the oven.
9. Bake for two hours, adding additional broth as needed (the beans should not dry out).
10. Beans should be soft but not mushy.
11. Season with pepper and a bit of hot sauce or barbecue sauce to taste half an hour or so before serving.


Based on a recipe from the large, white Fannie Farmer cookbook from the 1980s.
 

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Mac and Cheese with Ham

What "makes" this exceedingly simple recipe is the baked garlic that's stirred into the cheese sauce. Baking the garlic not only makes it soft, even creamy, it mellows the garlic scent and taste, making it milder and sweeter. It goes without saying that better ingredients make better food, and in this case that means good cheese, freshly grated.

That said, I've found using canned evaporated milk rather than cream works fine, and you can get by with onions instead of shallots, though the shallots do make a difference.

It calls for ham; leave it out if you want, but add something like olives that are a little salty. I confess that in grad school I made this hard salami, and kielbossa, and those mini hard sausage things that come in gift baskets. I’ve also used landjagers.

The original recipe is from Bon Appetit, October 2003 who attributes the recipe to The Federalist in the XV Beacon Hotel in Boston. It makes a very large quantity, so make sure you have a suitable container to mix the sauce and the cooked pasta.

It freezes quite well; I like using ziplock bags which can be filled, flattened and frozen.

Ingredients:

1 head of garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large shallots, minced
2 cups whole milk
2 cups whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
8 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound ditalini or conchiglie or other "small" pasta
8 ounces quality ham, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cut top 1/4 inch off head of garlic to expose cloves. Place garlic, cut side up, on sheet of foil. Drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap garlic with foil to enclose tightly. Bake until skin is golden brown and cloves are tender, about 55 minutes. Cool (I tend to put them in the fridge). Squeeze cloves from their skin.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Whisk in milk, cream, thyme, lemon peel, and roasted garlic. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to 2 3/4 cups, about 30 minutes. Don't let the milk/cream to boil or overcook; keep stirring. Reduce heat to low. Gradually stir in cheeses.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain.
4. Toss cheese sauce, pasta, ham, and parsley in large bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
 
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Chicken Salad

The original recipe came from Simply Recipes

I make this with frozen chicken tenders that I poach; I then use the liquid as the base for stock.

I've also made it with turkey, and with canned chicken.

Basically, you poach the chicken (or open a couple - three cans), make a dressing, add various ingredients, chill, serve.

It's shockingly flexible.

Ingredients

Salad Ingredients
* 1 pound boneless, skinless (raw) chicken breasts, cut into 2 1/2-inch chunks (or 2 to 3 cups cooked chicken meat)
* 2 stalks celery, chopped
* 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
* 4 to 6 green olives, pitted and minced
* 1/4 cup chopped red onion
* 1/2 to 1 whole apple, cored and chopped
* 1/3 head iceberg head lettuce, sliced and chopped

I freely substitute, and add based on what I have.

I favor a green Granny Smith or Pippin style of apple. I often use pecans or walnuts or water chestnuts or grapes (halved) or chopped dried apricots. I like the olives; my mom doesn't which may force me to have a martini to avoid wasting olives.

I don't use the lettuce, which is for texture and presentation.

Dressing Ingredients
* 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
* 1 tablespoon plum preserves, or any sweet berry preserve (or a lesser amount of honey) I've used lemon curd which works really really well.
* 2 teaspoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
* Salt and pepper to taste


Procedure
I. Poach the chicken (skip if using already cooked chicken):

  1. Bring a pot with 2 quarts of well=salted water (c. 1 tablespoon salt) to a boil.
  2. Cut the chicken into large chunks and add it to the water.
  3. Return the water to a simmer.
  4. Turn off the heat, and cover the pot.
  5. Let the chicken sit for 15 minutes (time it) or more while you prepare everything else.

II. Make the Dressing and Dress the Salad

  1. In a large bowl mix together the mayonnaise, preserves, and lemon juice. Taste for the proper balance of sweetness and acidity, neither too sweet or too sour.
  2. Adjust the preserves or lemon juice until you have reached the balance you want.
  3. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Stir in the chopped celery, bell pepper, olives, red onion, and apple (or grapes)
  5. Dice the chicken and stir it into the dressing and vegetables.
  6. When ready to serve, fold in the sliced and chopped iceberg lettuce.
    I don't do this. Not an iceberg lettuce fan.
 

Maryn

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I'm hearing stories about grocery stores running out of bread. This is the easiest bread recipe I have, and it's pretty good. No kneading, and only two ingredients. You can do this.

EASY BEER BREAD RECIPE

Makes a bread very tender on the inside, slightly crusty on the outside. Vary by adding grated cheddar and chopped jalapenos, feta and dill, or whatever you like. If you don't know how to make bread and don't have a bread machine, this one's for you.

2 2/3 cup SELF RISING flour
12 oz. beer--perhaps Corona?

Preheat oven to 350F (175C). Prepare two 9 x 5 loaf pans by lightly coating the bottom and sides with margarine or butter.

Measure flour into a bowl. Stir in about half the beer, mix well, then stir in rest of beer--all of it, no sipping. It will be a very wet dough. Divide between the loaf pans. Bake for 50 min. or until top is golden. Remove from oven and turn onto wire rack to cool.



What, you have no self-rising flour in the house? Got you covered.

HOME-MADE SELF-RISING FLOUR

Measure 1 cup all-purpose flour. Remove 2 Tbsp. of the flour. Add 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder and 1/8 tsp. salt. Mix well. Makes 1 cup.
 

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I seem to be unable to give rep points, so... thanks, Maryn, I may try that later.
 

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Wow!!! Recipes :heart::heart::heart::
I would love to try those! Thank you for sharing :hooray:
 

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A few tips for odds and ends that add flavor without lots of $ and/or have a good shelf life.

When making beans (pink are my favorite, Dominican style), throw a hunk of calabaza into the pot, adds sweetness and thickens the "gravy" a bit.

Soups, throw in a hunk of parmesan rind. Adds texture and flavor while using something that would otherwise go to waste.

Buttermilk! For sauces on pasta (really, it's great for the base of a roux/sage sauce), pancakes, baking, lasts much longer in the fridge than regular milk, and adds depth without being as high in fat as whole milk or half and half.
 

Ari Meermans

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How have your cooking habits changed/what have you learned to make from scratch while in quarantine?

For me, it's condiments. I've made mayo and peanut butter off and on through the years; now I've added ketchup and yellow mustard to my little repertoire.
 

Chris P

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Having more time to waste on Buzzfeed, I found this video for a 550 year-old ravioli recipe. No tomato sauce because European cuisine had not yet discovered tomatoes in 1465! The whole "Edible History" series on their Tasty channel looks pretty interesting. I might give this a try, although I agree with the video's host that serving it in a chicken broth might not be the best way to go. But then again, maybe it makes it more like dumpling soup? Or try as a lasagna or noodle bake since making all of those tiny ravs looks tedious as hell?

We've been making a no-knead bread similar to the one Lizmonster posted about once a day for the last four or five days. We've tried different combos of white to whole wheat flour and there's just no amount of whole wheat flour that brings a good result, much to our heart-healthy chagrin.

We were also doing well on the healthy eating until chewy chocolate chips oatmeal walnut cookies. My logic is the soon as we use up the chocolate chips and eat all the cookies the sooner we can go back to eating healthy.
 

Ari Meermans

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That tacu tacu looks interesting and would be a nice change of pace from our beloved pinto beans and rice (I grew up on that, now the spouse really likes it, too). Thanks, Chris.

(I'ma pass on the 550-year-old ravioli, tho'; I'm not an ambitious cook . . . or at least not that ambitious.) But, I will be exploring the channel, so thank you for that, as well.
 

lizmonster

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Since we can't go out for Chinese food, I tried this recipe for orange chicken, The Kid's favorite. It was a bit messy, what with all the frying, but in the end it was a lot easier than I thought it'd be. She proclaimed it a decent substitute. :)

Going to try this one when I get up the nerve to make dough.