readerjane

lightgetsin asked: What are your core recipes? The things you make when there's no plan but you know you'll have the ingredients in the pantry because they're always ready. Or the things you make when everyone is having a bad day.

Tuna Mac. Chili and cornbread. Chicken Divan. Spaghetti.

It occurs to me that all these recipes are difficult to make in small batches. They're meant for groups around the table - plenty of servings plus leftovers for tomorrow.

They're also pretty flexible in terms of timing. Useful when I don't know exactly when everyone will arrive home.

I've been looking for ways to adapt these recipes and make them a little healthier. The thing about always-available ingredients is, they're not fresh. They tend to have a lot of sodium (canned tomatoes, cream of mushroom soup) and be heavy on the carbs.

I buy whole-grain pasta these days, so there's that. And I can make chili from scratch: soak the beans the night before, buy fresh tomatoes. But then it's not a spur-of-the-minute meal. It's a planned menu.

We're having a Winterpocalypse this week, so I forsee a lot of core recipes in my near future. Ugh, I wish the sun would come out.