Food Need cooking ideas/recipes for the ingredients I bought.

L

lightdays

O.G.
Feb 18, 2009
4,823
7
#1
I went out to the grocery store today and bought $50 worth of ingredients/vegetables and I need help with recipes/ideas for what to make of these ingredients I bought ONLY. Meaning, I'm not going to out and buy more ingredients anymore because I spent a lot on just ingredients. I bought them based on only two recipes I found, but obviously I don't think I'll be eating those only two recipes for the whole week... I want more variations. I'm new to cooking obviously and need some help. I want to be able to cook myself a full week's worth of meals from these ingredients I bought. Here are the ingredients I bought:

Red wine vinegar.
Dried basil.
Dried oregano.
Minced garlic.
Chili powder.
Ground cumin.

Stuff I already own:
Chipotle power.
Olive oil.
Curry powder.

Any ideas? I'm trying to look for more recipes online that uses ONLY these ingredients, but all of them require these ingredients plus additional ones which I am not going to out and just buy them. I want to use these ones for now. I used to eat frozen meals weekly and I'm trying to eat healthier without spending too much. Any help is appreciated.
 
#2
Do you have anything else in your house as staples?? Like potatoes, rice, bread, breadcrumbs, pasta?? How about meat wise?? Or seasonings like soy sauce, fish sauce, or oyster sauce??

Many times when I have very little to work with (usually towards the end of the grocery week) I just take whatever scraps (things that will go bad soon if I don't use it soon)I have laying around in the fridge and build on it with whatever staples I have already in the kitchen.
 
#3
dearmissie said:
Do you have anything else in your house as staples?? Like potatoes, rice, bread, breadcrumbs, pasta?? How about meat wise?? Or seasonings like soy sauce, fish sauce, or oyster sauce??

Many times when I have very little to work with (usually towards the end of the grocery week) I just take whatever scraps (things that will go bad soon if I don't use it soon)I have laying around in the fridge and build on it with whatever staples I have already in the kitchen.
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I don't really like to eat meat unless it's chicken and I really HATE handling meat. The only meat I'll only eat now is chicken and that's when it's already cooked/someone cooked it for me. I have rice and pasta, carrots. I have soy sauce, I'm not sure about the other sauces though.

Do you experiment with your ingredients and come up with whatever you can?
 
#4
lightdays said:
I don't really like to eat meat unless it's chicken and I really HATE handling meat. The only meat I'll only eat now is chicken and that's when it's already cooked/someone cooked it for me. I have rice and pasta, carrots. I have soy sauce, I'm not sure about the other sauces though.

Do you experiment with your ingredients and come up with whatever you can?
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Yah I do. When just figuring out what to do with scrapes (again, that's what I call food in my fridge that I need to cook before it goes bad). My key though is not to over season while experimenting. You can always add more but never take back. Don't want thing being too salty so this is a helpful tip. Or just grilling/searing things. Usually turns our great. Or turn it into a fried rice dish!! Stir fry is so great!! Fast and easy!!
 
#9
minced garlic, cumin and olive oil with salt is also very good for marinade on meat. you can also add cilantro if you like the taste.

lightdays said:
I went out to the grocery store today and bought $50 worth of ingredients/vegetables and I need help with recipes/ideas for what to make of these ingredients I bought ONLY. Meaning, I'm not going to out and buy more ingredients anymore because I spent a lot on just ingredients. I bought them based on only two recipes I found, but obviously I don't think I'll be eating those only two recipes for the whole week... I want more variations. I'm new to cooking obviously and need some help. I want to be able to cook myself a full week's worth of meals from these ingredients I bought. Here are the ingredients I bought:

Red wine vinegar.
Dried basil.
Dried oregano.
Minced garlic.
Chili powder.
Ground cumin.

Stuff I already own:
Chipotle power.
Olive oil.
Curry powder.

Any ideas? I'm trying to look for more recipes online that uses ONLY these ingredients, but all of them require these ingredients plus additional ones which I am not going to out and just buy them. I want to use these ones for now. I used to eat frozen meals weekly and I'm trying to eat healthier without spending too much. Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...
 
#10
If you will eat chicken, you can make several variations of chicken salad.

Mix chopped cooked with curry powder, a bit of mayo or sour cream, salt, garlic powder, celery or apple for crunch, even a few raisins.

Whatever pasta you have tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, oregano and garlic.

Do you like beans? You can take a can of kidney beans, drain and rinse, heat with a little bit of diced tomato and onion, add some cumin , garlic, chili powder and you have some chili. Serve with rice or elbow macaroni for chili-mac.

You can make a salad dressing with vinegar, basil, oregano, garlic, salt pepper and olive oil. Drizzle over veggies and salad. If you have tortillas or pita bread, you can make a wrap.

Roast potatoes and veggies. Cut potatoes and veggie into equal sized pieces and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and your choice of spice/herbs. Roast at 425 for 30-40 minutes. Chipotle & garlic? Oregano and parmesan? Curry & some sugar?
 
#11
Kitsunegrl said:
If you will eat chicken, you can make several variations of chicken salad.

Mix chopped cooked with curry powder, a bit of mayo or sour cream, salt, garlic powder, celery or apple for crunch, even a few raisins.

Whatever pasta you have tossed with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper, basil, oregano and garlic.

Do you like beans? You can take a can of kidney beans, drain and rinse, heat with a little bit of diced tomato and onion, add some cumin , garlic, chili powder and you have some chili. Serve with rice or elbow macaroni for chili-mac.

You can make a salad dressing with vinegar, basil, oregano, garlic, salt pepper and olive oil. Drizzle over veggies and salad. If you have tortillas or pita bread, you can make a wrap.

Roast potatoes and veggies. Cut potatoes and veggie into equal sized pieces and drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and your choice of spice/herbs. Roast at 425 for 30-40 minutes. Chipotle & garlic? Oregano and parmesan? Curry & some sugar?
Click to expand...

Youza damn genius giiiiiirl!!
 
#12
lightdays said:
I went out to the grocery store today and bought $50 worth of ingredients/vegetables and I need help with recipes/ideas for what to make of these ingredients I bought ONLY. Meaning, I'm not going to out and buy more ingredients anymore because I spent a lot on just ingredients. I bought them based on only two recipes I found, but obviously I don't think I'll be eating those only two recipes for the whole week... I want more variations. I'm new to cooking obviously and need some help. I want to be able to cook myself a full week's worth of meals from these ingredients I bought. Here are the ingredients I bought:

Red wine vinegar.
Dried basil.
Dried oregano.
Minced garlic.
Chili powder.
Ground cumin.

Stuff I already own:
Chipotle power.
Olive oil.
Curry powder.

Any ideas? I'm trying to look for more recipes online that uses ONLY these ingredients, but all of them require these ingredients plus additional ones which I am not going to out and just buy them. I want to use these ones for now. I used to eat frozen meals weekly and I'm trying to eat healthier without spending too much. Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Do you enjoy Mexican food? You could do some mexican food real easy with what you have.
Easy Fajitas-
Diced chicken, bell peppers, red onion and garlic. Marinate everything with some cumin, chili powder, chipotle powder and drizzle with olive oil. Mix everything together in the same bowl, cover and stick in the fridge for a couple of hours. When you are ready, heat up your pan real good and throw everything in, have it with some tortillas and sides like sour cream,cheese and guac.
You could even do some Shrimp or Fish tacos. Marinate seafood with the same seasoning.
Baked Mexican potato wedges- Slice your potatoes, sprinkle salt, cumin, chili powder and drizzle olive oil, stick it in the oven on 350 for 30 mins, then flip them over and cook for another 30 mins

A few more ideas...

Rice and beans

You can marinate some chicken breasts with some of the herbs or spices you have. You can make a lot of different things with left over grilled chicken, like chop it up and toss it in a salad, shred it up and make some quick Chicken Enchilada's, chicken quesadilla's , chicken wrap. You can do so many things with pasta, experiment with different sauces. Casseroles are pretty easy too, especially if you have leftovers.

I look on food blogs, food network.com and get ideas from there. Cooking is fun, enjoy yourself in the kitchen, try new recipes and even come up with some of your own, once you get the hang of it, its so easy.
 
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