Pantry /freezer dinners

we have all had those days.    Those beautiful days when the meal plan has gone out the window.   Thief days when no sick in the bin will satisfy the child, it’s gym day and those aren’t gym socks. Those are valentine socks, see... the have hearts! Those days when a project takes longer than expected, or the meat didn’t thaw.....those days....

Having pantry or freezer meals are a rescue,

• The obvious one is frozen pizza.   It can be cheap and it is a no brainier,   
• Frozen salmon comes in shrink wrap individual packages and is also a pull and cook.   Add rice, instant mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes and a frozen veggie or sliced  cucumbers and tomatoes and you have a dinner, 
• Chicken parm can be made from chicken patties from Foster Farms, tomato sauce and a half package of spaghetti.  Spaghetti can be cooked in TWO minutes in the insta pot...no watching the pot.   
• Tuna cassarole is a pantry item that is a good mainstay if you can’t get out if the house for some reason,   We add frozen peas, 
• Mac and cheese is a favorite,   White sauce, cheese , and again, elbows in the insta pot.   Don’t buy that Mac and cheese in a box,  most of it has SOAP in it,   TSP or its derivative is the soap or detergent that we sold at the paint store to clean the grease etc off the walls to ready it for paint,  you need to use rubber gloves with it because it eats your hands,   And,,,,you are feeding it to ....
•  Breakfast for dinner is a good alternative,  pancakes or waffles are made from shelf staples, eggs are a basic , and cheese adds protein.    
• Tacos are a go to here.   I always keep taco shells when o get them for anywhere between .50 and a dollar.    Taco meat is always in the freezer because we cook hamburger, de fat it, and freeze it in meal sized portions,   You don’t need a lot of hamburger for tacos, because you are adding cheese too to supplement,   You can also add beans to the meat to s t r e t c h it if you need to,   
• Cheeseburger macaroni is a long favorite,   NOT out of a box,   It’s actualky cheaper than the box and the ingredients are REAL.   When my daughter and I dissected a big mix to prove a point,   It had 1,57 ounces of a cheese sauce mix that had no cheese 🧀 in it..no cholesterol is a clue here, and 4.2 ounces of elbows,   And, ingredients you can’t pronounce. ( the recipe is on the blog, use he search key) if you are interested.   

We are waiting fir the tech guy to install the printer,   I finally got the computer up and running,and data changed over ....three days..long story...our error,   But the WiFi keyboard, mouse and printer are another story,   LOL.  

I am sure there are more pantry ideas, but this is a good start.    

.....tomato soup and toasted cheese or quesadillas.   We also always have tortillas in the fridge,    

Having basics in the house makes it so that you always have food,   And, she; purchased right, you can do it on four dollars a day ,