Tuesday, August 9, 2022

My Wednesday Pantry-Easy Helpers

      You know those days when the last thing you want to do is cook? Lately that's been me many nights. I went to easy helpers last night. It was part of the plan for the week so I must have known I'd be feeling lackadaisical when I thought about the week. 

     Spinach and chicken tortellini was helped with chicken already cooked and in the freezer, frozen cheese tortellini, bagged spinach, a handful of mushrooms, loads of garlic, pepper, and onion powder, a can of cream of chicken soup and 1/2 can of milk to bind it all. I cooked the frozen tortellini before combining so really, all just had to heat through. 

     For a side, whatever veg needed using up was tossed with seasoning and olive oil and roasted. It felt and tasted like effort but was so easy. I'm not sure what the tortellini costs now, but this bag that easily made five decent portions was still $2.99 when I bought it a month ago. Normally I nab fresh at Trader Joe's or Aldi, but this was pretty darn good and very convenient to have on hand. 

     No coming at me but I'm not even ashamed I used canned soup. Some nights it's good to have easy kitchen help.

22 comments:

  1. Your dinner looks delicious. Whatever makes things work some days! We always struggle when we're out on Friday/Saturdays, as those are days where we typically cook & then have planned leftovers. I ended up cooking on Monday, between meetings & kid shuffling errands, & reminded myself why I try to avoid that where possible.

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    1. With four of us again and two home for lunch, our leftovers seem to go quickly too. Once we're a house of two again, Zim sure I'll go back to leftovers for a second meal.

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  2. Good for you!
    It looks tasty, and I'm sure your family enjoyed the meal. Lots of good stuff with all the veggies and spinach.

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    1. The vegetables are everyone's favorite. The spinach was good in bother dishes and the girls and I need that extra iron.

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  3. Nothing to feel guilty about, a quick easy meal that had loads of veg and goodness, and made use of leftovers. A win all round.

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    1. I got rid of a massive zuchinni/ courgeette that was lurking. The big ones taste better when cooked with other vegetables.

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  4. I rarely use canned soup but am certainly not ashamed. It is easy and good. Tommy is impressed when I use what is in the refrigerator to make a meal. He finds stuff and hands me whatever and it works. Your meal looks and sounds delicious.

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    1. Being fed is best. I still keep a few cans around for quick binders in recipes.

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  5. I just finished a book, Kitchen Whisperers, and she called those items 'workarounds'. We all have our favorite workarounds to help us.
    Don't you just love all the fresh veggies right now? I'm up to my ears in them but I'm not complaining.

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    1. I figured the vegetables offset the limited health value of the soup. The tortellini was really good and I'm not making that from scratch.

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  6. No shame here! Sometimes you just need a helping hand to make the work easier! Been there, done that!

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    1. I think most people do/ have. For some reason, I get a feeling by comments in the past that cream of soups need to be a little secret, lol.

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  7. I do use canned soup, although I have recipes to make my own and yet don't get around to doing it. I do try to use the 25% lower sodium when I can get it. I also have found that campbells roasted garlic cream of mushroom has less sodium than regular campbells cream of mushroom. Difference of 473 mg, I think. I like the flavor of the roasted garlic also. No shame in using canned soups. When you can pull together a meal that has all the good veg etc. a little soup isn't going to be a problem when distributed in a nice big pot of goodness. Ranee (MN)

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    1. I much prefer making the bechamel sauce, but after an 11 hour work day and stuff to do at night, that extra 10 minutes felt like hours! I figure the can spread over five servings wasn't too bad either. Thanks for the reassurance.

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  8. I think whatever works is what anyone should do. Plus I think almost everyone keep cans of cream of soups and frozen whatevers to make meal preps easier. There are days when chopping, slicing, stirring, etc . . . are just not in the cards, but everyone still wants to eat.

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    1. That's why I keep a few cans. Lately I've had no interest in cooking, so I figure a can of soup and frozen pasta was still a bit healthier than ordering a pizza. I wish I didn't want to eat every day!

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  9. Canned soup is nothing to be ashamed of! I prefer my own handmade soup, but who wants to cook that when it's hot out? I always keep a couple of cans handy for when I can't be bothered.

    Your pasta looks FAB - yum! I buy that "fresh, but keep it refrigerated" pasta, portion it out and freeze it. I also roast mass amounts of veggies.

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    1. For it being frozen, it cooked up well and the filling was tasty. I was kidding a bit with the soup comment- people like real food recipes. I agree, canned soup is a big help.

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  10. No judgment here! My mom made a lot of recipes with canned soups. I suspect she was given a Campbell’s cook book when she was first married and relied on it heavily. Some of my most favorite comfort foods and subsequently my kids’ favorites as well, use soup. JoAnn

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    1. I think I remember the little pamphlet like cookbook! I'm not going to say I made the sauce/ binder from scratch if I didn't. I suspect more canned soup is used in kitchens than admitted. Judging by how quickly the shelves empty at certain times if the year, someone's using it.

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  11. I regularly make canned tomato soup and grilled cheese for my autistic child because he is an extremely picky eater and that is one meal he will eat without fail. Cindy in the South

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    1. Now that's a pure comfort food meal! He has discerning taste. He and DH would be happy campers together.

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