Pantry Power: Three Ingredient Meals
With the long lines in grocery stores these days, it’s reassuring to know you can use the power of your pantry and freezer to put together a number of five-ingredient (and less) feasts to feed a hungry family. Check out these instant pot and crock pot concoctions for a variety of easy, no-sweat (and practically no recipe needed!) meals.
Slow and Pressure Cooking
Blogger Karen Petersen at 365 Days of Slow + Pressure Cooking e-blasts recipes to her followers every day from her home in Woods Cross, UT. She started experimenting and posting more than 10 years ago, challenging herself to use her slow cooker every day for a year – breakfast, lunch and/or dinner. The result is a recipe-loaded website for slow and pressure cooker fans, featuring both methods of cooking.
She blogs recipes daily and with the current stay-at-home orders in place, Karen has been publishing two, three and five-ingredient recipes, plus a few that raid your pantry and provide substitutes for ingredients to minimize your trips to the grocery store.
Karen’s Three Ingredient Chicken and Gravy is an embarrassingly easy instant pot or slow cooker old-fashioned comfort-food dinner. If you have mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, toast or biscuits – you can use the carb of your choice to cradle the gravy, and all you need is a salad or vegetable side to round out the meal.
For a substantial five-ingredient dish, try Karen’s Smoked Sausage, Green Beans and Potatoes. Karen offers plenty of substitutes with this recipe if you don’t have the smoked variety of pre-cooked, cured sausage. Ground sausage works or any type of ground meat – brown it first – and add Karen’s combo platter of sausage seasoning to give it that savory flavor. Keep scrolling for Cheater Lasagna, Creamy Salsa Chicken, Four-Ingredient Banana Bread and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Hummus!
No Recipe Required
These three ingredient meals from Living on a Dime are so easy, you don’t really need a recipe – just the list of ingredients. To make Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork sandwiches, Ritz Chicken Sweet Pork Chops or Ribs, check out the simple and delicious ingredient lists and cooking instructions.
Plain Chicken is another site for lovers of plump, juicy fowls. Three Ingredient Brown Sugar Italian Chicken requires only the bird breasts, thighs or legs, brown sugar and Italian dressing. It takes 25 minutes to prep and bake in the oven, and goes well with the site’s Parmesan Rice Grits and Green Beans. And don’t forget the biscuits!
The Vegan Boyfriend offers these three-ingredient meals: Butternut Squash Soup, Vegan Gnocchi and Breakfast Pancakes. The guys who started Vegan Boyfriend became vegan after much soul searching about the impact of meat production on the planet. You’ll find a bevy of other recipes here from snacks and menu options for Easter and Cinco de Mayo, to vegan pizza and pasta dishes. If you’ve always wanted to “go vegan” but weren’t sure where to begin, check out the Starter Tips.
Pantry Power Plus Parmesan!
As you can imagine, the Food Network has mini to multi-ingredient meals and one that also offers substitutes is Cacio e Pepe – an Italian dish you can make with ingredients from your pantry. There are as many ways to make this dish as there are pasta-lovers in Italy, but if you have pasta, Parmesan and olive oil, you can concoct your own version!
Another option from the 40 pantry recipes offered by the Food Network are Cheddar Buttermilk Corn Cakes and Black-Eyed Pea Soup. For the soup you’ll need carrots, onions and garlic, along with the black-eyed peas and chicken stock plus a ham hock or bacon. While there’s a little chopping involved, it’s still an easy recipe that gives you a tasty alternative to takeout, and you’ll find most of the ingredients in your pantry.
Eating in at Colliers Hill
The kitchens in the master-planned community of Colliers Hill have spacious prep and eating areas, plus the power of the pantry! Check out the ideal location of our development and call for a private tour through several stunning model homes! From Colorado’s top home builders: Meritage Homes, Richmond American Homes, and Century Communities, the floor plans include ranch-style or two-story designs — priced from the high $300s.
