Build Your Own Meals with What You Have on Hand

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What to make for dinner when there's no grocery store around for 50 nm?

Here's an idea: First, see what's in your larder. Even better, check out what you've got in your Boat Notebook provisioning pages.

Then, use one of the 13 Build-Your-Own-Meals recipes in the our Boat Notebook Printable Pages. Build your own meals are basically using what you have on hand. You'll find loose instructions for making:
Cream of Anything Soup
Pizza
Foil-Packet Fish

Rustic Fruit Tart
Rustic Savory Tart
Salad Dressing
Buddha Bowl
Stir Fry
Stir Fry Sauces
Grilling Sauce
Gourmet Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Salsa
Tacos

The beauty of these recipes is they give you a loose idea of what you need to make a delicious meal using what you have on hand. They tell you:

• types of ingredients you'll need, but not specifics
• order of combining
• baking time, if any
  

For example, the Cream of Anything Soup says:

• Sauté 2-5 aromatics (onion, carrot, celery family).
  
• Add a spice.
• Simmer veggies in broth. Add some meat if you like.
• Add a tart liquid (wine, cider, etc.)
• Add cream mix (leGout, your own made from recipe*).
• Add a little acid (lemon, vinegar, etc.)

*  2 C nonfat dry milk, 3/4  cornstarch, 1/4 C chicken bouillon granules, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and basil, 1/4 tsp pepper

Pretty simple, huh!

Using the above loose recipe, I planned to make a 2-cup pot of soup.

I chopped up some carrots, red onion, and celery. I could have use peppers, garlic, or some other aromatic vegetables.

I sauteed them in a combination of butter and olive oil. If you like to saute your veggies in something else, please do that.

Then I added a spice. Instead of a spice, I added some tarragon. I could have added pepper, turmeric, cardamom, etc., but I making the soup with what I have on hand. A book I use to help me add the best flavors to food is The Flavor Bible.

Then I simmered the veggies in broth. I used 2 cups of water (remember, I'm making a 2-cup pot of soup) and some chicken bouillon.

Then I added some pre-cooked chicken.

I added a little wine to it, also.

Then I add LeGout cream soup mix. If you want to make your own, this one works well:
2 C nonfat dry milk, 3/4  cornstarch, 1/4 C chicken bouillon granules, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp dried thyme and basil, 1/4 tsp pepper

Or do a Google search for one you like better.  

According to the LeGout package, the ratio of water to LeGout is 3:1. So I put in two 1/3 cups of powder into the soup.

Then I added a little chardonnay vinegar from Trader Joe's.

It was a little lumpy, so I whisked the soup while cooking on low.

It ended up being kind of thick. I could have watered it down a bit, but Davy said it looked good to him, so we ended up eating it thick. It was yummy and satisfying. Perfect with a grilled cheese sandwich on a chilly PNW day.

The reasons I love these Build Your Own Meals are that:

• nothing has to be exact
  
• there's plenty of room for experimentation
  
• I can be surprised by what I've created
  
• I can make a meal with what I have on hand
  
• making them has given me confidence to be a more creative cook
  

I hope you find this helpful for your cruising life!

Another name for
Build Your Own is
Use What You Have on Hand!

Printables designed to make you feel safe and organized on extended boat cruises.

Feel safe and organized on your next long cruise. Use the printable Boat Notebook Pages. A5, Half Page, Happy Planner Classic, and Letter

"Along the way to Alaska, both Gary and I read through The First Mate's Guide and believe you should add a sub-title: A Guide for All Boaters in the Northwest, British Colombia and Alaska. It is the most complete and comprehensive collection of information of any book on the subject. You covered topics we were sure we knew but didn't. Topics we forgot but we're unaware they had forgotten. And, most importantly, it makes you review all the procedures and plans necessary for a safe and comfortable cruise. It contains a wealth of important information and is a serious work of great breadth. Well done and many thanks, Bill Healy.”

The First Mate's Guide to Cruising the Inside Passage
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