With the right pantry staples, you can make weeknight dinners a breeze. In my home, it’s not about fancy chef meals during a busy work week, but it’s about creating dishes that are packed with flavor and require very little time. These are my five favorite pantry meals and my chef tips for how to stock your pantry with the staples and fresh organic ingredients needed to make cooking easier.
MONDAY (go meatless!): Late Summer Eggplant and Tomato Pizza
Make Monday your meat free meal with a family favorite, pizza night. It’s late summer, and in our family we’re eating lots of Chinese and fairytale eggplant (hint: these varieties cook fast!) and tomatoes. The key with this pizza recipe is that with our ricotta base, you can really add any sauteed vegetable you love to the topping, more cheese and some fresh herbs. It literally takes 20 minutes to make!
- Organic vegetables and fresh herbs: eggplant (fairytale or Chinese variety), tomatoes, basil
- Pantry staples: frozen pizza crust, ricotta cheese, onions
- Chef tip: saute the eggplant with onion and finish with a glug of balsamic vinegar
- Variation: on another night, try cumin roasted sweet potato and some fresh arugula on top of your ricotta base and throw in some goat cheese on top!
To make our sweet-n-spicy eggplant and tomato pizza, see the recipe below, and for more inspiration on how to build a pantry pizza, don’t miss our recent post for loads of ideas.
TUESDAY: The Perfect 15 Minute Orange Curry Chicken and Spiced Roasted Veggies
If you talk to my husband, he’ll tell you that we always build our fastest meals around which veggies can we roast and which organic lean protein can we cook quickly! If you’re like me, I’ve eaten one too many sad dried chicken breasts to last me a lifetime. This method, inspired by Jacques Pepin, is sure fire and works every time. Watch my video to see just how easy moist chicken breasts can be!
- Organic vegetables and fresh herbs: sweet potatoes, broccolini, thyme
- Pantry staples: curry powder, cumin, aleppo pepper, olive oil, sriracha, mayo
- Chef tip: roast the veggies on the same pan for faster clean-up and be sure to let your chicken rest for 5 minutes before you slice into it to maintain that moisture!
- Variation: use the same method to cook the chicken but use lemon, rosemary, and garlic as your seasoning and throw in some canned artichokes while the chicken is cooking. This makes an amazing sauce and complete dish when served over quick cooking polenta.
To make this meal, check out our detailed recipe below.
WEDNESDAY: Roasted Fall Squash and Mozzarella Quesadillas
It’s hump day, and let’s face it, some weeks it’s all we can do to get through the day! But with my roasted fall squash quesadillas, you’ll be smiling in no time, and for the parents it may just be the excuse you need for a mid-week Margarita. Cheers!
- Organic vegetables and fresh herbs: acorn squash, green onions, cilantro
- Pantry staples: salsa, quesadilla wraps, mozzarella cheese
- Chef tip: the minute you walk in the door, preheat the oven. It will take 5 minutes to cut open an acorn squash and scoop out the seeds. Get it roasting while you do other things. That will make the assembly so much faster when you’re ready to eat!
- Variation: use pre-cut butternut squash and boil it for 10-12 minutes, drain, and smash. Add some canned organic black beans for a little extra protein in this veggie quesadilla!
To make our fall squash and mozzarella quesadilla and my amazing avocado sauce, check out our post.
THURSDAY: Best of Fall Potato and Leek Quiche
This quiche is the ultimate no-brainer. We use our favorite GF frozen pie crust from Whole Foods Market, and each season we change the veggies that go in but keep the egg, cheese, and spice ratios the same. Crack those eggs, crumble that cheese, and do a quick saute and you’re ready to pop this quiche in the oven and forget about having to make dinner for the next 45 minutes. It’s so easy, you could technically put your kiddos in charge of making it (with a little adult supervision of course)!
- Organic vegetables and fresh herbs: leeks, potatoes, and spinach
- Pantry staples: eggs, garlic salt, cheddar cheese, and frozen pie crust
- Chef tip: if you don’t have leeks, use onions! This quiche is a great day two morning breakfast or lunch with a quick reheat in the microwave. We like to serve a simple green salad on the side.
- Variation: substitute bok choy for the spinach and mix it up by adding half cheddar/half feta to the mix and a dash of worcestershire sauce to your veggie saute!
To make our Best of Fall Leek and Potato quiche recipe, check out our detailed recipe below.
FRIDAY: Baked Turkey Meatballs Over Penne with my 15-minute Tomato Sauce
My moist and meaty florentine turkey meatballs are beyond delicious. I created these little gems for a teen class I was teaching in New York years ago. Trust me, the teenaged boys liked them and so does everyone I serve them to! Over the weekend, my husband and I love to take leftovers and make them into day two pita burgers with all kinds of Greek fixings. Make this your Friday night family treat!
- Organic vegetables and fresh herbs: spinach, parsley, thyme
- Pantry staples: pureed boxed Italian tomatoes, onion, garlic, dried pasta, ketchup, bread crumbs, eggs
- Chef tip: add a simple green salad with my homemade vinaigrette to the meal
- Variation: instead of putting spinach and parsley in your turkey meatballs, go with a spicy Mediterranean vibe and add harissa paste and mint. Grill them like burgers, and serve them on pita bread with cucumbers and feta cheese!
To make my moist and meaty florentine baked turkey meatballs with my simple 15 minute tomato sauce and to see how we love to play with this recipe for a variation of a Greek themed pita burger meal, check out our posts on the joyful blog!
- Eggplant, Chinese variety, 2 medium
- Onion (yellow), 1
- Ricotta cheese, 1 cup
- Olive oil, 3 TBS (divided)
- Salt, 1 1/4 tsp (divided)
- Black pepper, ¼ tsp
- Garlic powder, 1 tsp
- Balsamic vinegar, 2 TBS
- Tomatoes, 1-2
- Hot chili flakes, 1/2 tsp
- Pizza crust (We use Udi’s frozen gluten free crust), 2 crusts in 1 package
- Basil (fresh), 1 small bunch
- Goat cheese, plain, about ½ cup
- Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach. Wash all fresh ingredients.
- Preheat an oven to 500F. This will ensure a nice crispy crust on your pizza dough.
- Cut off the tips of the eggplant. Then cut them into halves and then into a small dice. Note: for Chinese or Japanese varieties of eggplant, you do not need to peel them or salt them before cooking.
- Dice the onion.
- Season the ricotta with ¼ teaspoon salt and black pepper.
- Sauté diced onion in 2 tablespoons olive oil on medium-high heat for about three minutes.
- Add the diced eggplant, plus 1 additional tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and the garlic powder. Continue sautéing on medium-high heat for another two minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar to the mixture. Scrape up any brown bits that have formed on the bottom of the pan with your spoon as the eggplant absorbs the vinegar. This technique is called “deglazing” the pan. Cook another few minutes on low heat.
- Spread ricotta onto the pizza crusts.
- Top with crumbled goat cheese, then the sautéed eggplant and onion, and lastly slices of tomato and torn basil leaves on top. Sprinkle hot pepper flakes as desired.
- Bake at 500F for 10 minutes. You can rotate the pizza midway through cooking. Enjoy served with more fresh basil on top.
- we recommend you use the smaller Japanese or Chinese eggplant in this dish, as they do not require pre-salting and have a milder, sweeter taste.
- this pizza is a perfect meal as is. The ricotta provides protein and it’s very filling. However, if you wanted to add some extra protein, ground turkey or ground pork sautéed with olive oil, salt and pepper, could be a nice extra along with the other toppings.
- Organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 4
- Sweet potatoes, 2
- Broccolini, 1 bunch (or 2-3 stalks/person)
- Olive oil, as needed
- Salt, as needed
- Curry Powder, ½ tsp
- Cumin, ½ tsp
- Orange, 1
- Fresh thyme, 1 bunch
- Aleppo pepper, ½ tsp
- Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach. Wash all fresh ingredients.
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Take your chicken breasts out of the refrigerator and set aside while you get your other ingredients prepped.
- On both sides: dry off raw chicken breasts with paper towels, sprinkle with a pinch of salt (about ¼ teaspoon each) and curry powder and drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto both sides of chicken.
- Juice the orange.
- Cut sweet potatoes into french fry slices (with the skin on). Lightly drizzle with olive oil, salt and cumin powder and place on the cookie sheet you’ll use to roast them.
- If broccolini is bigger, you can cut each stalk in half. If it’s on the small and skinny side, just toss them with a good drizzle of olive oil in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and aleppo pepper and place on the cookie sheet you’ll use to roast them.
- Put the vegetables into the oven to roast at 425F for 15 minutes. You may want to cook the broccolini just a little short of 15 minutes (around 12 minutes), but the french fries will need the full 15 minutes. While the vegetables are roasting, we’ll sear our chicken breasts.
- Get out an aluminum sauté pan and turn your flame on medium high heat (no oil in pan).
- Place the chicken breasts down (rounded side down) in hot pan. If you wiggle them a little when you put them in the pan, they will keep it from sticking. Do NOT touch it for 3 minutes.
- Flip chicken over in pan; turn heat on low; add juice of the orange and place thyme branches on top of chicken; cover with lid and set timer for 12 minutes to cook on low.
- When the 12-minute timer buzzes, take off the lid, remove chicken and let rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting or serving.
- While the chicken is resting, don’t waste the delicious juices that have gathered in the pan into the orange juice. Turn the heat on high and let that sauce reduce down by about ½. Now you have the perfect pan sauce to drizzle on top of your chicken!
- Serve your perfectly moist chicken with your delicious roasted vegetables. We love to make a sriracha mayonnaise dipping sauce for our sweet potato fries!
- pie crust (gluten free), 1
- leeks, 2 medium
- olive oil, 3 TBS (divided)
- potato (Yukon Gold), 1 large
- spinach, 2 cups
- salt, 1 tsp
- cheddar cheese (white, sharp), 7-8 oz
- eggs, 6
- garlic powder, 1/4 tsp
- black pepper, 1/4 tsp
- Take 5 minutes to get out all your ingredients, measuring and cooking equipment needed, and place them on a cookie sheet within easy reach.
- Wash all produce. Be sure to clean leeks thoroughly to remove dirt. The best way to do this is to first cut and set aside the dark green tops, then cut from the root up through the length of the leek and under a stream of running water, peel back the layers with your fingers and let the water wash out the dirt.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Remove pie crust from freezer. Let come to room temperature.
- Cut leeks into thin half moon slices.
- Cut the potato into quarters, then slice into thin pieces.
- Grate the cheddar cheese. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, crack and beat eggs. Stir in salt, pepper, garlic powder, and grated cheese.
- In a preheated skillet, saute potatoes in 2 tablespoons olive oil for 7 minutes over medium high heat.
- Add the leeks and spinach, plus 1 more tablespoon olive oil, and cook another 2-3 minutes, or until spinach has wilted and leeks have softened.
- Let this mixture cool slightly.
- In a bowl, mix the egg and cheese mixture with the cooked veggies.
- Transfer to the pie crust.
- Bake uncovered for 40 minutes at 350F.
