In an
earlier post, I mentioned how I have a really hard time getting excited with food storage because I love to cook fresh. Except for baking and the occasional pasta, I don't cook from the pantry much. This week I thought I would try to use some of my pantry items while taking advantage of the summer bounty.
Grilled Chicken and Hummus Salad. When I waitresses at an Italian restaurant in college, I sometimes maned the salad station. Since then I have made it a little hobby to see how closely I can replicate salads I've ordered in restaurants. This one is based on a fantastic salad at Big River Grille. It is greens tossed with a champagne vinaigrette, topped with grilled chicken and a huge dollop of homemade
hummus. Sprinkled with Roma tomatoes and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Served with warm pita bread. The only thing I didn't have for this was goat cheese.
Food Storage used - Champagne vinegar, Extra virgin olive oil, canned chickpeas.
Fourth of July Salad. I like something at BBQs other than just meat and chips. Though I really like the meat and chips. Any occasion when it is okay to eat a hamburger and a hot dog in one meal is okay by me.
Baby spinach, sliced strawberries, blueberries, chow mein noddles, sliced almonds, craisins, rotisserie chicken tossed with poppy seed dressing.
Food Storage used - Chow mein noodles, almonds, craisins, dressing.
Alaskan king crab with cheddar mashed potatoes. (Crab leftover from Father's day)
Food Storage used - potato pearls. - These are great because they are so creamy, you can pipe them onto the plate. I just used a sandwich bag and snipped the end.
Couscous with grilled vegetables. Grilled zucchini and yellow squash, rotisserie chicken, scallions & fresh basil, all tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Feta and pinenuts would be great in this.
Food Storage used: lemon juice (I use fresh, but you can store it
), olive oil, Dijon Mustard, Couscous. I love couscous. Stays forever in your pantry, cooks in 5 minutes. I use it with my weekly rotisserie chicken and whatever veggies are in the fridge. In the summer we grill every weekend and I always have Shane grill extra veggies to use during the week. Great to put over noddles or rice.
Lemon Vinaigrette
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/2 cup good olive oil
1 TBS Dijon Mustard
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLr68Jc00BR2JPb8Uj9VN-kSyRCAIecs6k-AgCxgLaERHcL_XiK54pIqBt8uiZA0HEKJLKqWMuDlhBfP8nOsIP3o-95-Fgz-OHPQBiCuyq22OtTpcMGpvNhDKruzE-b5s4hL3lac4dicA/s400/salad+5.jpg)
Naptime for the kids, lunch time for me.
Fresh peaches served with Greek yogurt and drizzled with honey. Would be great with toasted pecans.
Food storage used - Honey.
So there you go. My attempt for the week. I am still trying to get pumped about food storage, but I just think it is going to be baby steps for me. Now if only someone would come show me what to do with all this wheat I just bought....
Check out Lydia enjoying some of our summer bounty
here.