Pantry Confessions With Melissa Dean

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I’ll Show you Who is Boss, Pantry.

Awwww, the pantry.

That elusive and cavernous, never-ending stockpile of canned goods and left-over non-perishables that you just never know what to do with.
The bags of potato and tortilla chips that upon opening you discover there is nothing but dust when you were so hoping for just one to be intact.
That weird can of lima beans you bought “accidentally”, because it was sitting too close to the can of beans you meant to grab.
Oh, and my personal favorite.
Organizing it?
Forget about it.
You go ahead and stack those cans just as prim and proper as possible, but you know it won’t stay that way.
I’m sorry.
That should include me.
The sheer snobbery of that statement makes me giggle.
It’s me. I am that person.
Those canned goods never stay stacked with their pretty little labels all facing forward where I can see just exactly what I have, I know it.
I would include a picture in this article, but I don’t want to embarrass my Mama.
Yeah.
Anyway, it is what it is.
But I can tell you this with a great amount of certainty.
If I have one significant talent, mark my words, it is this.
I am a wizard when it comes to taking pantry staples or even that weird can of lima beans and turning them into some pretty fabulous food and fare.
Like Harry Potter, but instead of a wand I wield a whisk.
I am like the MacGyver of transforming ingredients into delicious and delectable meals.
It’s a gift really.
Like, it’s my superhero power.
I mean, I dare you.
I will gladly accept that challenge at any time.
You have hot dog buns, a can of ranch style beans, a box of mac n’ cheese and a can of cream of chicken soup?
I got you.
Or maybe a can of corn, cornbread, and that same can of soup?
The wheels are already turning.
I can produce not only a meal, but a recipe to accompany it.
You dare me, you say?
Challenge accepted.
So, just to make this legit, my Mama is digging deep into her perfect pantry and sending me a list of ingredients, including 3 random items from her pantry, a protein from her freezer and two other random ingredients found in her fridge.
And included in this article will be the list she sent me, a recipe, and a photo of what I made.
Now, I am able to use things I already have like any spices, milk, eggs, etc. but I can’t stray from or not include any one thing from her list. And I will disclose all other ingredients I use.
Aggreed?
Here it goes.
So here is the list my Mom sent.:
Bushes Pinto Beans
DelMonte Whole Kernel Corn
DelMonte Green Beans
Ground Meat
Peach Preserves
Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
You should see my face right now.
However, I am wielding my magic whisk and I am going to handle this.
Just you wait and see.
Until next week, because the above ingredients are going to take me more than one day to curate and cultivate a proper menu and recipe, I wish you joy, love and an EXTREMELY organized pantry!
Love,
Sweet M