Pantry Raid

First of all, I've been SICK AS A DOG for the past 48ish hours.  I had strep throat, worse than I ever have had it before.  Let me just tell you, it totally rocked me for the past two days.  I've been in bed the entire time with the exception of going to the doctor, the bathroom & the kitchen for freeze pops.  My parent's were amazing, they pretty much took care of Max for us(Josh has strep throat too!) the entire time because we literally were not even functioning.  The only reason I even put up a post yesterday is because I wrote it Monday night and pretty much just had to push "publish".  That was even hard.  I haven't even wanted to watch t.v. or get on the computer, and if you know me, you KNOW I must have been sick - lol.  So if you commented, sorry I was late getting back, I'm just now feeling well enough to open the computer.

So with that said ---  Let's move on.

I'm the type of person that loves having a fully stocked pantry & pantry.  Seeing all that food and all the great things I can make with it makes me a happy girl.  The only problem?  I tend to not utilize it all and just keep buying more and stocking it up when it doesn't really need it.  That's kinda where I am right now, so I decided that my goal for the next week of meals is to use up some of the stock I have instead of buying anything new.  With the exception of produce and dairy I'm not buying anything.  Tonight was my first pantry raid meal and it actually turned out really good.  So good in fact that I'll definitely be making it again soon.  Oh, and it's a crockpot meal, who doesn't love a good crockpot meal?!

You Need:

10 frozen chicken tenders

1 can cream of mushroom

1 can cream of chicken(next time I'd use 2 cream of mushroom, FYI)

1 can seasoned black beans

1 pkg ranch dressing mix

1 container cherry tomatoes

garlic powder

onion powder

1.5-2 c uncooked brown rice

combine your soups & ranch dressing mix

add in your beans, tomatoes & chicken.  mix until everything is coated and combined.

cook 6 hours on low.  shred your chicken, add a few shakes of your garlic & onion powder and some salt & pepper.  stir in your rice until combined then turn slow cooker to warm and let it cook for an additional 1.5-2 hours until the rice is cooked.  I left mine on for 2 and it turned out great.

I topped mine with this salsa and dug in.  It was a great meal, totally filling & tons of flavor.  I would have added in some crushed red pepper but since Max was eating it(well actually he didn't eat it, but that was the plan...) I didn't.  Next time I definitely will add it in because I like my stuff with a kick.

More pantry raids to come!