Food Hamper Example - what meals would you come up with?

**Wendy99** · 10-05-2010, 10:18 AM

What meals could you come up with that would last 3 days (or longer if you could) on the following food hamper:

(along with five standard pantry ingredients - oil, flour, salt, coffee, tea) - however given the items I would assume you have margarine?

Single person

•2 boxes Kraft Dinner (or substitute extra rice if gluten-intolerant)
•3 juice boxes
•3 single-serving-size scoops dry rice
•2 small cans soup
•box of dry cereal or 3 packages instant oatmeal
•any TWO of: 175 g tin of tuna, chicken or turkey; small jar peanut butter; 3 eggs
•2 small cans of tinned vegetables, or 1 tin vegetables and 1 fruit
•1 potato
•1 onion
•1 can plain beans or chickpeas, or 1 can pork and beans
•3 granola bars or 3 fruit chews
•1 quart milk
•1 loaf bread (or substitute extra rice)

**Contrary Housewife** · 10-05-2010, 10:44 AM

bread + tuna = 2 sandwiches
bread + peanut butter = more than 2 sandwiches

cereal = breakfast

juice boxes and granola bars = snacks

I would use the mac and vegs as two meals, the soups as a meal each, the beans and franks as a meal.

I would grate the potato and chop some of the onion and use an egg to make potato pancakes, or you could skip the egg and just make hash browns.

Might take the rice and some of the milk and some sugar and try to make rice pudding. I always have raisins on hand, and they are cheap if you don't (and you like them).

Alternately, you could do some kind of chicken/turkey and rice dish, if you chose that. Toss in the canned veg maybe.

**Wendy99** · 10-05-2010, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by Contrary Housewife

bread + tuna = 2 sandwiches
bread + peanut butter = more than 2 sandwiches

cereal = breakfast

juice boxes and granola bars = snacks

I would use the mac and vegs as two meals, the soups as a meal each, the beans and franks as a meal.

I would grate the potato and chop some of the onion and use an egg to make potato pancakes, or you could skip the egg and just make hash browns.

Might take the rice and some of the milk and some sugar and try to make rice pudding. I always have raisins on hand, and they are cheap if you don't (and you like them).

Alternately, you could do some kind of chicken/turkey and rice dish, if you chose that. Toss in the canned veg maybe.

Great ideas - just remember you can only use the ingrediants posted - can't use your raisins

... I'm going to sit down later and figure out what I would do for a 3 day meal plan & see if I could stretch it any further. There is a church not to far away that is doing this challenge for 3 days (longer if they can).

**imagine** · 10-05-2010, 11:16 AM

A meal I notice that can be made from the stuff

Is Tuna mac
1 box of make and cheese
1 can of cream of soup
1 can tuna

Make mac and cheese according to package ( can skip margairine if you don't have since you are adding the soup at the time) add a can of cream of soup (mushroom is my favorite in this recipie) and the can of tuna.

This feeds our family of four a meal so four meals for one person.

**imagine** · 10-05-2010, 11:22 AM

If you got the eggs I just though of another one

Make fried rice

Cook rice let cool.

Fry rice and some veggie ( would be best if you received a can of mixed veggies but any kind works you probably would not need to use the whole can) fry up a bit. While doing that scramble up an egg.

Then push the rice veggie mix to the sides of the pan to make a "well" in the middle pour the scrambled egg in and quickly start stirring it into the rice.veggie mix to coat the mixture. cook until you are sure the egg if cooked.

In a pinch you can make this without the veggies and it is okay just not as yummy.

**imagine** · 10-05-2010, 11:49 AM

You could use the flour and oil and bit of milk to make dumplings

If you had a clear soup like broth or chicken and noddles or veggies soup. you would mix of the flour oil and milk and drop my spoon fulls into the soup to cook them.

This would stretch the soup to make it more filling or stretch it into another meal.

OR

If you had an egg to spare you could make pasta using the flour, milk, and egg.

Here is an easy one I make

This recipe make four servings
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
a pinch of salt
mix four and salt together mix milk and egg together . then add them together. Push though a colander or slotted spoon into the boiling soup or water. they will float when cooked ( I like to boil them a bit longer to make sure they are really done) We generally cook it in broth and make a soup.

In Germany this is made as a side dish just stain the water. generally served with a pat of butter or margarine if you have it. But is yummy with a pinch of salt on it.

But if you wanted you could cook it in water and add just add what you wanted to the soup so you could use the rest as a side at another meal or to. or as a "pasta" base for another meal.

**Josephhgoins** · 10-05-2010, 12:07 PM

WOW, this one is a hard one for me.

Everything I can think of needs, sugar, cornstach, vanilla, or some other pantry stable.

I will definately be following this thread.

**Contrary Housewife** · 10-05-2010, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by Wendy99

Great ideas - just remember you can only use the ingrediants posted - can't use your raisins

.

Wow, that's tough.

Well, technically you can make flour tortillas with what you've got. That could get you bean or chicken burritos, flavored with a little onion. It would fill you up, but with no cheese or hot sauce I wouldn't put in the effort.

I could make shu-mei (chinese dumpling) wrappers -- and I did many times in college -- but you've got nothing to fill them with. A little cabbage and even a 1/4 lb of ground meat would make a nice meal.

If your can of fruit is something like peaches, you can dump the instant oatmeal on top and make a little fruit cobbler. Bake it a few minutes until browned and bubbly.

I'd be sorely tempted to trade or sell the coffee for a couple dollars to buy sugar, baking soda, garlic and a piece of fresh fruit.

**Wendy99** · 10-05-2010, 02:13 PM

Originally Posted by Contrary Housewife

Wow, that's tough.

Well, technically you can make flour tortillas with what you've got. That could get you bean or chicken burritos, flavored with a little onion. It would fill you up, but with no cheese or hot sauce I wouldn't put in the effort.

You could use those tortillas with the eggs and onion - like a breakfast wrap ...

**mslolsalot** · 10-05-2010, 03:01 PM

How many people does this feed? It's a fair amount of food, just not a lot of variety.
I would definitely take eggs over canned meat. Eggs are way versatile!

Breakfast every day- oatmeal & coffee
Snacks every day- granola bar & juice or toast
Lunch- soup & toast
rice & beans
eggs, toast, hashbrowns
Dinner- Quiche (eggs, milk, veggies) (crustless if no margarine)
Fried Rice (egg, rice, 1/2 can veggies)
KD w/ 1/2 can veggies

Divvying eggs up differently you can make french toast, pancakes, etc. This would last me more than 3 days, but I might not be happy with the lack of fresh produce!!

**Wendy99** · 10-05-2010, 05:14 PM

Originally Posted by mslolsalot

How many people does this feed? It's a fair amount of food, just not a lot of variety.

This is for one person for 3 days or longer. You have really good ideas!!

**mslolsalot** · 10-05-2010, 10:32 PM

Originally Posted by Wendy99

This is for one person for 3 days or longer. You have really good ideas!!

Oh I could feed myself and my 2 kids on that for 3 days easily. Most of the things I'd make (like quiche or rice & beans) would provide leftovers. I also remembered South of the Border Pie (eggs, milk, onion, rice & beans) it may be bland with no cheese or salsa in it, but it would make a 8" pan full- so leftovers there too. I'd still want some fresh produce, though

**Contrary Housewife** · 10-06-2010, 01:38 AM

Originally Posted by Contrary Housewife

Well, technically you can make flour tortillas with what you've got. That could get you bean or chicken burritos, flavored with a little onion. It would fill you up, but with no cheese or hot sauce I wouldn't put in the effort.

Ok, I really should find other things to do at 1 am (like sleep) but this occurred to me...

Open the box of mac and cheese, if there is cheese sauce, that can be used in the burrito, if it is cheese powder I'd experiment with a little milk and warm it up until it thickens. Use the macaroni to fill out one of the soups or another dish.

If one of your cans of 'vegetables' happens to be tomatoes, you have a bunch more options, including that macaroni.

The coffee, flour, oil, and milk can be used to make 'red eye' gravy, a truck stop delicacy, served over toast (we'll pretend they're biscuits). Add a fried egg if it hasn't been used in something else.

**imagine** · 10-06-2010, 01:50 AM

I'm assuming the 3 eggs is three individual eggs not three cartons of eggs. Did I assume correctly?

**imagine** · 10-06-2010, 02:02 AM

Originally Posted by mslolsalot

Oh I could feed myself and my 2 kids on that for 3 days easily. Most of the things I'd make (like quiche or rice & beans) would provide leftovers. I also remembered South of the Border Pie (eggs, milk, onion, rice & beans) it may be bland with no cheese or salsa in it, but it would make a 8" pan full- so leftovers there too. I'd still want some fresh produce, though

I make quiche and beans and rice too and have leftovers but I don't see how you feed you and your two children for three days easily with the amount provided. WTG

Three eggs, three single servings of rice, 1 can of beans, a quart of milk is the same a four cups of milk

Do you care to share recipes and a complete menu using only the ingredients provided?