Whats For Dinner?

How dinner can evolve. I usually try to plan my meals and have a grocery list that compliments the items in my pantry. But tonight was proof that sometimes that doesn't go very well. I was going to make a Alfredo Chicken Pasta bake but when I went to get chicken out of my freezer, there wasn't any. (Add chicken to grocery list) So I pulled out some hamburger and thought I could make a Not Your Momma's Goulash bake. I went into my pantry to grab some spaghetti sauce. Again there wasn't any. (I always have spaghetti sauce, its such a staple in my meal planning. Add spaghetti sauce to grocery list). Then I got inspired. I could make the sauce out of tomato sauce from a can and spices. Well, I dug through my pantry and found the LAST 15oz can and one 8oz can of tomato sauce. (Yikes, I need to go shopping). Any way....now that I understand the plight that my pantry is in... I can finally make dinner.

1 Box Penne noodles, cooked and drained. 1 lb. hamburger cooked through and drained of fat. Add the following ingredients to hamburger. Tomato sauce with onion powder, oregano, pepper, salt, garlic, and other Italian seasonings, and small amount of sugar to taste. Add 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese to mixture if desired. Then mix in with noodles and put into a 13x9 baking dish. Cover with whatever kind of cheese you like. We had mozzarella but whatever you like will work. Or you could omit the cheese. We always have cheese because of Aaron's work so we use it....a lot. Cover 13x9 pan with tin foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes; just to heat through. Serve with green beans or steamed veggies. Or you could put in a bag of mixed frozen veggies right into the casserole and then bake a few minutes longer.

So that is just proof that dinner can be flexible without having to always run to the grocery store for just one or two things. This is also proof that actually knowing what is in your pantry helps a lot too.