There’s never been a better time to eat together at home. Here at Griller’s Gold, we want to share ways to make great dishes — mains and sides — with a few ingredients you have in your pantry. Stay-at-home dinner never tasted so good.
First, look in the pantry
What have you got there? If you’re like so many of us, you’ll see:
- Canned or dry beans
- Canned tomatoes
- Spices like cumin and hot pepper.
It all adds up to something fantastic:
Recipe: Chili on the grill!
That’s a genius main dish*. And you can basically never have too much of it. For the dedicated griller in you, the great Steve Raichlen, author of The Barbecue Bible, says it all: “The secret to the world’s BEST chili lies in your backyard. Start with barbecued brisket and pork, not raw meat. Add plenty of beer and a little chocolate. And above all, cook it in a smoker.” Here’s Steve’s Smokehouse Chili recipe in all its glory.
*Yes, Steve and pretty much everyone else who loves chili will acknowledge that maybe your part of the country thinks either tomatoes or beans just don’t belong. Nonetheless, this is your opportunity to make chili with what you’ve got. And you can swap out any smoke-worthy meat for the cuts Steve recommends. Once you’ve smoked the meat, it’s time to fire up the chili pot. This chili can make down time fun.
When it’s time to serve, you can choose to go traditional with the sides and do a cornbread and salad. You mix things up a little by cooking some pasta and making a chili mac. Work with what you already have in your kitchen to keep it easy.
Recipe: Quick BBQ sauce
If you’ve got bone-in chicken pieces plus some tomato sauce and brown sugar from the pantry, that’s pretty much all it takes for this 5-ingredient BBQ chicken recipe. Just mix the sauce and grill. And in the spirit of inspiring your creativity and problem solving, you could dig in the freezer and see if there’s another protein on which you could splash your home-brewed BBQ sauce.
Recipe: Spanish rice is nice
Look in the pantry again, and you’re almost sure to find white rice and chicken stock in addition to those canned tomatoes. Combine with onion and garlic, and you’ll have the makings of a savory Spanish rice recipe that’s the perfect side dish for grilled meats.
So whether you do a project of grilled chili empowered by your pantry, or keep it simple with a homemade BBQ sauce or simple Spanish rice side, you’re grilling like a champion. And we applaud all of you who BBQ with attitude.
And check out our other post in the ‘skip the shopping trip series’ — on making dinner with a minimal number of ingredients you’ve got on hand.