Heat up the Kitchen

Well today I can finally breath without any pain.  It is amazing that by cooling off I am so much better.  My sinus headache is gone.  My earache is gone.  My toothache is gone.  But sadly my arthritis is still here.

I love my new room.  The window a/c has cooled things off so much.  We moved in the computer, TV and Wii for our entertainment.  I also made it a bit of lil hotel suite.  How?  Added in our coffee maker so I can make a nice cuppa while being cooled off.  I could not do that with the heat that we have been experiencing.  Lunch included iced coffee.

Now thinking of all that is in here I had to figure out what I wanted to do next.  Well that is not easy.  Being cooled off most of the time now, I am hoping I can start cooking again.  We have not been having any good meals here at home.  I need to get back to cooking and feeding my family properly.  And I can do that with a lil helpful shopping list.  Do you have a stocked kitchen?  One that has the same items in it all the time?  Well I know I tend to always purchase the same items over and over again.  But it can create a stale menu if your not careful.  Well I have found the perfect shopping list from The Stocked Kitchen. 

What is so great about this list?  Well it goes along with The Stocked Kitchen Cookbook.  From this one list you can make 300 different recipes.  Here is the first one I want to try.

Bruschetta Pasta

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Course: main dish

Ingredients
1 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 T olive oil
2 C fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 C fresh basil chopped
1/2 lb pasta, cooked and drained

Directions
Mix together vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic. Whisk in oil well to emulsify.
Fold in tomatoes and basil.
Toss with cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese. If desired, top with cooked chicken or shrimp.

Sounds easy enough.  And with those same items I could also make Tomato Artichoke Pasta or Tomato Basil Egg White Omelette.  Of course we would add in an item or two.  But that is still 3 different meals from the same basic items.  I hate having to purchase something that I am only going to use once or twice in a year.  So The Stocked Kitchen would be a great help.  Using the hopping list to keep the same items up to date all the time would also make shopping much easier.  Just clip it to my fridge and mark items as I run low. 

What is some of your favorite dishes?  Do you like to keep the same items around or do you like to experiment often.  With 300 recipes I am sure we could have a wide variety of meals.  This was a nice book to review.  Thanks so for sending it to me.