Midweek Munchies: Pantry Meals Edition

Hello friends! One thing I have gotten very used to doing over the past few months is making sure to stock up on some pantry friendly meals. Both because sometimes you can't get things, but also now that we are only getting a weekly grocery delivery there is no guarantee that produce delivered on Thursday will still be in good shape by Wednesday... So this post is dedicated to a few of the pantry meals I have made! By pantry I mean pantry and freezer. One of the nice things about these as well is that as they don't involve a recipe, they involve very little brain power to pop together. Win win!

First up, a classic. Spaghetti and Meatballs! I am not a big fan of Gardein chicken products, but I really enjoy their meatballs. Even better is now they are available from the major supermarkets, so I can get them sent in our weekly delivery! At the beginning of everything, pasta was very hard to come by, so this packet of spaghetti was very special. Also, a random vegan jar of pasta sauce I picked up. Normally I make pasta sauce from scratch when I am making recipes, but nothing beats a jar from the cupboard for convenience. Not included in the 'before' photo, but seen in the 'after', is some frozen spinach that I added to the sauce and also some FYH vegan parmesan from my fridge.





These Vegie Delight Garlic and Herb Sausages are some of my favourite sausages, and they are easy to order from the supermarket and live in your freezer until you are ready. I always have a packet of them on hand. When veggies were scare, I grabbed a tin of mushy peas for fun. I like mushy peas! Also some potatoes that I just cubed and roasted, and all drenched in some Just Add... vegan gravy (easily made up with the powder and some 'beef' stock).





I saved a bit of the gravy to make a roast beef, gravy, and cheese toasted sandwich. The beef was the last of a packet of Redwoods Beef-Style Slices that had been languishing in my freezer, and the cheese was Miyoko's smoked farmhouse from my ridiculous stash of it that I bought when I found it on super clearance sale.



The final meal is meatloaf! I got this Made With Plants Meatloaf on sale (short-dated) and threw it into my freezer until the time was right. It doesn't technically say you can freeze it, but you can. I mashed some potatoes, cooked up some frozen green beans, and topped it in yet more Just Add... gravy. I don't know what I will do when that stash of gravy powder runs out! These frozen baby green beans have quickly become one of my favourite veggies to keep on hand. I just boil them for a couple of minutes, then drain. They are so sweet and juicy. Previously I haven't been one for frozen veggies (besides peas and corn), but I now consider these an essential in my freezer, and I use them to add a green side to all sorts of things! But back to the meatloaf, you can microwave it or bake it. I was tired, so I just zapped it in the microwave. It has a glaze on it too. It was actually pretty good, but very small. The three of us demolished it for dinner, no leftover meatloaf sandwiches here!







Cute Kitty Photo of the Post



One very sleepy kitty. We went to the clinic yesterday morning for her six monthly senior check up. Everything on her exam seemed stable, given that she is a 20 year old kitty with several issues, but still waiting for her blood results to get back later on today!