Time to clean out the pantry!
I’m glad you’re here! Today I don’t want to cook, its a sleepy Saturday and we are all on each others nerves. I’m feeding a picky 2 year old and 10 year old. So pasta from pantry (and freezer) it is! We’ll be doing this in real time as far as the text goes. But you’ll be reading the grammar edit with photos.
I’ve made this before as a cheesy noodle mac n’ cheese imposter and the kids really liked it. That one was a bag of mixed veggies (the same as I am using tonight) and some cheddar cheese and seasonings.
Tonight, I am working a bit harder with some onion sautéing in olive oil, garlic powder (garlic preferred but I am out), three almost too ripe tomatoes and the same military brand bag of veggies as last time. Wish me luck.
Really, I need the luck. I’m snapping photos and cooking while I type this.
STEP ONE: With what I am guessing is 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil, sauté the onions. I did this in my enamel Dutch oven as the pot I would make sauce in will be the noodle pot tonight.
STEP TWO: Add the three sad looking Roma tomatoes juice and all. I’m hoping to not add juice/liquid if I can avoid it.
STEP THREE: Plop in the little jiggly chicken stock for flavor and nutrients.
STEP FOUR: Dump in the bag of frozen veggies and let cook a bit to see what water from the frozen veggies and tomatoes and jiggly stock gives us. I’ve stirred once at 5 minutes, and I’ll give it another 5 and see what we’ve got. I am looking for something I can blend with my little immersion blender.
STEP FIVE: It needed liquid. I added about a cup of water and it’s looking good. Going to add some flavor to it with seasonings and maybe a bit of salt. The stock has salt in it so I’ll be going by smell and taste rather than measurements. Here’s what I am using. I would say I used about 1/4 teaspoon of white pepper and 1/2-1 teaspoon of everything else. I have a can of Stewed tomatoes with celery and bell pepper on stand-by for more tomato-ness (Did not end up using). It’s really whatever I have now as a friend just moved away and gifted us several canned goods. (Edit after cooking: I did add a couple dashes of nutmeg.)
STEP SIX: After about 15 minutes since I added the tomatoes, we have a low boil. I am turning the temp down to about 3 and letting it simmer until all of the veggies are cooked down enough to blend; keeping an eye on the water content so that nothing burns. And since we have a stubborn stove top, I will be starting the pasta water for the noodles. We have a ton of whole grain pasta due to the blessing of WIC and we will be using some Penne tonight.
STEP SEVEN: After adjusting the temperature a few times and landing on 4/5, give it an immersion blend (or stick in a blender) and discover that not all of the veggies were ready to be blended. It looks a bit like this now after about 30 minutes on the stove. I’m going to cook it down some more and then give it another blend and add a can of chickpeas for protein.
STEP EIGHT: After a taste test I decided it needs more salt. I gave it another blend and added the chickpeas. As I expected, the pasta water is taking ages so hopefully it will all be done at the same time. But for now, I like this weird orange meal. It could use a salad but tonight it will just be pasta and bread and butter as we had a very late lunch, and I don’t expect super hungry people at my table (Future note, they all ate surprisingly well!).
STEP NINE: To finish I just took the whole box of cooked penne and added it to the veggie marinara. And after an hour we are finally about to be done. I am going to say that this took way longer than I thought it would, but it tastes super yummy. My husband said it tastes “like it has meat in it.” He’s fighting a cold however, so I don’t trust that judgement completely. I hope you enjoyed making this dinner with me and I can’t wait to upload all of the final photos and share this with you all!
Tune in next time for whatever my pantry inspires me to make. Happy Eating!