Store Cupboard Dinners

So, finally the thermometer is showing some decent temperatures, HURRAY! But I really, really don’t want to drag a 3yr old to the supermarket today, so I had a quick trawl of the supplies to see what I can come with so that I can swan off and visit my lovely friend and her 2 week old baby for the afternoon and sit in the garden drinking coffee and chatting instead.

Anyhow, I haven’t been to the butchers so while there is plenty of veg, there’s not a lot of “mate”, as they might say down home. But then inspiration hits me – pasta and tuna salad. A firm favourite dating right back to my college days, all I need is some veg, a tin of tuna, a bag of pasta and a bit of mayonnaise. Oh dear, there’s no tuna – but wait, what’s that lurking at the back of the food cupboard? Why, a long lost tin of salmon… that’ll do nicely, I’m sure!

So, stick some pasta on to boil and get chopping. Really, it’s a moveable feast of whatever you might have; today I have chopped carrot, tomato, cucumber, celery, red pepper, mushroom, sugar snap peas and some scallions, as well as a tin of sweetcorn. Personally, I find raw red pepper a little indigestbibe, so I quickly fry off the red pepper – I also add the mushroom, sugar snaps and scallions in too (fried scallions are lovely) but you can easily leave the raw of course. I find a bag of peanuts at the back of same press, nestling up to the salmon, so I reckoned, “why not?” and threw a fist of them in too, to add crunch. Drain the pasta and run some cold water over it to cool it, then throw it all into a big bowl, season and stir in a spoon of mayonnaise and Bob’s your uncle – dinner!

So, what's your favourite / easiest store cupboard dinner? There's a sausage casserole that is made with a tin of cannellini or borlotti beans, a tin of tomatoes and a packet of sausages that is also very good - I'll post that another day.

PS:- Lidl is on my way to my friend’s house, so I will pop in and get some lemons, cream and stuff, it’s lemon posset for dessert tomorrow after our barbecue... lamb chops, sausages, potato salad and bbq-ed corn on the cobs, looking forward to it already

Sarah