If you are self-quarantining because of the coronavirus pandemic, you may not have had a chance to stock up on fresh groceries. Or you may have stock-piled nonperishables and now are left trying to create healthy meals with them.
Fortunately, many of the staple foods that people typically keep in their pantries and freezers — pasta, canned tuna, canned tomatoes, canned soup, dry or canned beans and lentils, rice, sun-dried tomatoes and frozen vegetables — can go a long way toward making many delicious meals.
Here a few fun and nutritious recipes to try with these common ingredients.
Crock-Pot Red Beans and Rice
Ingredients:
- 1 lb uncooked (dry) red kidney beans
- ¾ lb (12 oz) Andouille sausage, sliced
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 celery stalks, diced
- 1 medium white onion, peeled and diced
- 1 bell pepper, cored and diced
- 2 tsp Creole seasoning
- 2 tsp hot sauce, or more/less to taste
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 7 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- Kosher salt and fresh-cracked black pepper
For serving: Cooked white or brown rice, thinly sliced green onions
Instructions:
- Rinse the kidney beans thoroughly under water.
- Add the kidney beans, sausage, garlic, celery, onion, bell pepper, Creole seasoning, hot sauce, dried thyme, bay leave and stock into a large slow cooker. Stir to combine ingredients.
- Cook on high for 6-8 hours, or until the kidney beans are soft and cooked through. Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove and discard the bay leaves.
- Serve immediately over rice. Garnish with green onions.
Source: www.gimmesomeoven.com/crock-pot-red-beans-and-rice/
Tomato Lentil Curry
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 2 15-oz cans fire-roasted crushed tomatoes (or 1 can crushed tomatoes + 1 can diced tomatoes)
- 1 15-oz can coconut milk, divided
- 1 small sweet potato, peeled and finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups or 8 oz)
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 1 cup green or brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
- Fine sea salt and fresh-cracked black pepper, to taste
- Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Add cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric and cayenne and sauté for 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the tomatoes, 2/3 cup of coconut milk, sweet potato, vegetable stock and lentils, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer.
- Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender.
- Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve warm with rice and/or naan, drizzled with the remaining coconut milk and garnished with fresh cilantro.
Source: www.gimmesomeoven.com/tomato-lentil-curry/print-recipe/70934/
Download more of our pantry-friendly, delicious recipes.
The health and wellness of our patients and our community is our primary concern at MetroHealth. Although we are trying to limit the number of in-person office visits to slow the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus), we also want to avoid any lapse in your medical care. With new telehealth solutions, we can address many of your and your family’s health care needs with a telephone or video visit. To schedule a telehealth visit with your provider, schedule online through MyChart or call your doctor’s office. For more information on telehealth, visit metrohealth.org/telehealth.
Contributor:
Angela Majerle
Clinical Dietician
