Whether you’re snowed in, feeling under the weather, or just can’t get to the grocery store, you can still make a quick and scrumptious homemade meal (or treat!) with ingredients you already have on hand. These nine recipes are all totally no-fuss and rely on things you probably already have in your home, but the best part is they’re all delicious and comforting enough to see you through the worst cabin fever.
One Pot Mediterranean Pasta
When it comes to whipping up a quick meal, one-pot pasta is a little bit of a miracle worker. It’s a process where you dump all of your ingredients – uncooked pasta included – into a pot, and let everything cook together at the same time. Since it cooks in its own sauce, the end result is always so flavorful and our Mediterranean version is no exception. Plus it relies on a few pantry goods that are easy to keep on your shelves – fettuccine, sun-dried tomatoes, canned artichokes – though the flavor tastes fresh.
Depression Era Water Pie
Because resources were so scarce during the Great Depression, people found clever tricks to make a little seem like a lot. Some of those tricks bordered on magic, like in this Water Pie, where water is the main ingredient and yet somehow you end up with a pie that’s creamy and sweet and totally indulgent. It uses just a few pantry ingredients but still manages to feel like a special treat.
One-Pot Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Rice
While this dish uses a few ingredients that you’ll find in your fridge instead of your cupboard, it’s a great way to utilize rice for a quick and tasty meal. One pan, under thirty minutes, and you’ve got a seriously delicious dinner. It’s a quick and easy dinner solution, but thanks to plenty of garlic, herbs, and parmesan, it also happens to be a satisfyingly creamy and flavorful one too.
Condensed Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Say you have a craving for chocolate chip cookies and you happen to be out of eggs. If you’re anything like us, chocolate chip cookie cravings are a common occurrence in your household, and you’ve run into this particular eggless conundrum more than once. (We know we have.) But never fear, we’ve found a way to satisfy that chocolate chip cookie craving that doesn’t require a trip to the store to pick up more eggs. All it takes a little can that most of us have hiding in the back of our pantry or cupboard – sweetened condensed milk!
Hamburger Supreme Casserole
There are casseroles that are time-intensive and totally from scratch and then there are casseroles that take a few basic ingredients and quickly combine them in a way that somehow makes them even better, even more comforting. This Hamburger Supreme Casserole is more of the latter, the type of cozy casserole that families have been turning to for decades when they want something easy and sure to be delicious. It’s humble, but it always hits the spot.
V8 Beef Vegetable Soup
On a cold day there’s nothing quite as comforting as a steaming hot bowl of yummy soup to warm you up. But, sometimes you don’t have the time to make some of your favorite soups from scratch. And, let’s be honest, canned soup doesn’t always cut the mustard. That’s why this genious hack for delicious, homemade soup is such a game changer! A few canned goods and some v8 and you’re well on your way to a delicious meal.
Old Fashioned Crazy Cake
The Great Depression was a time of hardship and of scarcity but it was also a time of great ingenuity and creativity. People had to make do with what they had to get food on the table, and expensive ingredients like butter, milk, and eggs were sometimes impossible to come by. Out of necessity, resourceful homemakers created recipes like this Crazy Cake which uses no milk, butter, or eggs at all. This cake is so fluffy you wouldn’t believe that there aren’t any eggs in it, and that’s because of the vinegar and baking soda. They work together to bubble up and lift that cake right up, which was a common trick during the Great Depression.
8-Can Chicken Taco Soup.
Nothing is better than having a recipe that basically cooks itself, right? That’s basically what this 8-can chicken soup is like. If it weren’t clear from the name, the crux of this soup is comprised of eight different cans of assorted ingredients. Beans, corn, tomatoes, chicken and green chiles are some of the many things tucked away into this soup, but our favorite part, apart from the flavor and how filling it is, is the fact that it can be made in as long as it takes you to bring it to a boil. We’re talking under 20 minutes – victory!
Chicken and Stuffing Casserole
I love casserole because you generally end up being able to serve an entire meal out of one baking dish, but I especially love it when you don’t have to prep any of the ingredients, which is the case here. You don’t have to pre-cook any chicken, prepare the actual stuffing, or even chop anything. It’s a “dump and bake” kind of situation that uses a few pantry ingredients for a totally comforting hot dish.