In the last few days, I have been chipping away at that pantry! I have made good progress, too. On Monday, I made some enchiladas with some ground venison that the forest ranger brought us. That used up a can of enchilada sauce, a can of refried beans, a package of corn tortillas, and some cheese that was in the freezer. Not to mention that it was quite tasty!
Today, I decided to make a chicken stew.
I have never made a chicken stew before–I always make chicken and dumplings or chicken and rice, but I had some okra and a can of tomatoes that needed to be gone, so, here is the recipe I threw together:
1 whole chicken, cut in pieces
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
3 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1 lb frozen sliced okra
1 can chicken broth
2 potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Put the olive oil in a dutch oven. When it is heated up, add the onions, celery and garlic, and saute’ until onions are clear. Add all the rest of the ingredients, along with enough water to cover the chicken pieces by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low and let simmer for 2 hours. Add salt and pepper to taste.
I served this with some cornbread made with a Mixes From The Heartland Gluten Free Cornbread mix. The whole thing used up a can of tomatoes, a can of chicken broth, some frozen okra, and the bag of cornbread mix–5 things gone!
For dessert today, I made a gluten free cobbler ( those who are not gluten free can make this using a cup of self rising flour instead of the gluten free baking mix):
1 1/4 cups Pamelas’s Baking Mix
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/4 cups water or milk
3/4 of a stick of butter or margarine
1 32 oz can of gluten free pie filling
1 32 oz can pineapple chunks, drained
1 tsp cinnamon
Put the butter in an 8″X8″ casserole dish. Put the dish in the microwave and melt the butter. Mix together the baking mix, sugar, cinnamon, and water with a wisk. Pour into the casserole dish on top of the butter. Do not stir. Pour the pie filling and the pineapple chunks into a bowl, stir to mix well, then pour over the batter in the casserole dish. Do not stir. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes.
So, counting the dessert, I used up a total of 7 things today! That is a pretty good pantry cleaning day!
geogypsy says
Now I’m hungry. Guess you won’t have to go shopping for a while yet. Venison, yum.
Deal-ectible Mom says
Oh my goodness! It all looks delicious! Want to come over and cook? 🙂
Sallie (FullTime-Life) says
Way to go Karen! Staying right on the task wih delicious-looking results!!
Susan Shepard says
Yum-yum! With all the cooking you do, when do find time to ‘work’? LOL. And do you do all this in your gas oven or do you have a convection?
Fab Grandma says
I use my gas oven, a microwave, and crock pot. No convection oven here.
Kurt Feustel says
awesome Article! It is amazing the amount of Americans have Celiac Disease or simply a gluten sensitivity…but really don’t even know it! I didn’t find out until I was initially 15 and I seemed to be extremely sick growing ” up “, didn’t gain weight, couldn’t remember what i did the day before…ugh it had been horrible…and all by gluten! Crazy how considerably food can effect much of our lives!