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Heidi Raker, a Haworth resident who blogs at Redhead With A Fork suggests looking in your pantry, including your freezer, for ways to spice up meals. She, for example, used a handful of frozen berries that she put in a pot with 1/2 cup of maple syrup and let simmer for a couple hours. "They broke down, exuding their delicious juice, and reduced to a lovely syrup, perfect for spooning over ice cream or French Toast," she said.
Ridgewood blogger Deidre Groehnert, who posts recipes at AlwaysAdd Love and recently published a cookbook (go HERE for details), likes using milk to make a comforting, bubbly pot of creamy macaroni and cheese. All you need is pasta, butter, flour, salt, pepper, grated cheese and then something to add a little background flavor like powdered mustard, paprika, cayenne pepper, or nutmeg.
For eggs, Groehnert advises setting up an omelette bar for the kids, so you're not only feeding them, but coming up with a short activity to keep them busy. It's also a great way to use ingredients that have been in your pantry a while, think grated cheeses, raw spinach leaves, fresh herbs, or, for braver souls, salsa or hot sauce.
Montvale's Sean Curry who blogs at TheSandwichEnthusiast has his "go-to" storm pantry suggestion: French Toast PB & J. His recipe follows.
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 slices challah, brioche, or white bread
- 1/2 cup maple syrup, warmed
- peanut butter
- jelly
- chocolate hazelnut spread
Directions:
- Mix cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar together in a medium bowl.
- Whisk the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract into the bowl. Pour the mixture into a shallow pie plate or casserole dish.
- Dip each slice of bread into the mixture, soaking both sides.
- Fry bread in cast iron pan with melted butter.
- Liberally spread your choice(s) of peanut butter, jelly, or chocolate spread on a slice, top with another slice.
- Cut in half, garnish with fresh fruit like strawberries, blueberries, or bananas, and pour syrup over the whole thing.
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