The Poor Life in Napa Valley | How My "Cook What You've Got" Method Fed Us Well

TLW #3 - Budget-Friendly No Waste Templates for Making Easy Meals

My passion is rekindling the joy of cooking to the cooking averse. And it was this passion that drove us to uproot our lives and make our crazy move to Napa Valley as I alluded to in my 25 Must-Have Ingredients post. We wanted to be in the heart of where the best wines and best produce were grown, and to learn everything we could where the farm-to-table movement had been a way of life for years. We were so passionate we were willing to jump without a parachute.

We quickly found the cost of living far outlasted the paycheck of a winery employee and private chef so feeding a family of four was a challenge. Thankfully, I thrive on constraints and the constraint came in the box of veggies I received in exchange for being the pickup spot for a local farm.

The contents of this box was like opening a Christmas gift each week and became the starting point for our veggie-centric meals. I would look through the fridge and cabinets to see what I could pull together with what I had. If I had onions and garlic, I could make almost any combination work. I just hoped the locals wouldn’t see me selling plastic bottles at the recycling post so I could go buy a head of garlic to flavor the meal when I didn’t have them.

For the first few months, I had to google many of the veggies because I hadn’t seen them before and since it was a box left on my doorstep, I couldn’t ask the farmer. I highly recommend shopping at farmers markets for this very reason, you have the expert, the one who grew your food, to tell you what it is and how to prepare it even if it’s completely foreign to you. You will find some great new veggies this way, also.

Learning to combine produce with the contents of my pantry, fridge and freezer allowed me to be at my creative best. It also formed a foundation for the method of meal planning, also mentioned in my 25 Must-Have ingredients post, that I still use today and teach my students and RFS Weekly Meal Plan Members.

This concept, affectionately named Cook What You’ve Got was even a fairly popular blog until I hit the fatal delete button unaware I was unrecoverably deleting the entire website, files and all. So today, I’m bringing back the Cook What You’ve Got concept. It’s time you know all my secrets for how I can create easy meals with the most random and basic things in your fridge.

Start with What’s in Season

If you’re shopping at a local farmers market where everything is grown within a certain number of miles, it’s easy to know what’s in season. But if you don’t have that, I’ve got a PDF cheat sheet for you. You can also usually rely on what’s on sale for the week. Seasonality also depends greatly on where you live. I’ve found since moving back to Texas our seasons are about a month earlier than California. So use the list as a guide but not the gospel.

Then Cook What You’ve Got

CWYG for short…the beauty of this is you can repurpose leftovers even if you just have random bits. Or if you have plenty of time, you can set out everything and let your family pick out what they want like a salad or omelet bar. Since recipes can definitely make cooking take longer and I’m hoping to help you find the confidence to cook without them, these are not exact recipes but more like templates.

Step One - Gather What You Have

Veggies:

• Use whatever veggies you have from a farm box, farmers market or grocery store, preferably in season but this still works if not.

• Chop then into bite sized pieces

Protein:

• Find whatever protein you have - leftover cooked steak, chicken or pork chops, sausage links or loose cooked, bacon, ham, deli meat, etc.

• Chop or slice into bite sized pieces if already cooked or ready to eat.

• If not cooked, season with a little salt, pepper and granulated garlic (or powder) and cook quickly in a skillet or air fryer.

Flavoring Agents:

• Onions and garlic are the basics to have around. I usually keep at least one onion and a head of garlic in the pantry, peeled garlic cloves in the fridge and I always have a tray of minced garlic cubes in the freezer for when I don’t have anything else. Chopped onions freeze well, so any time you’re chopping, freeze what you don’t use.

• You may also have green onions (these are always in my fridge), ginger (frozen cubes available for these, too) or fresh herbs. These are all great!

• Spices or Spice Blends - I have a whole post on homemade spice blends, but salt and pepper are completely adequate.

• Condiments - I love having a variety of condiments around but my faves are Organic BBQ Sauce, Primal Kitchen Buffalo Sauce or Teriyaki Sauce, and Dijon mustard.

• Cheeses - Cheddar and parmesan are the most used around here, but use whatever you have.

Meal Makers:

• Pasta

• Rice

• Potato

• Eggs

• Salad Ingredients

Step Two - Create a Meal

Pasta - Use whatever pasta you like but short pastas work best.

• 1/2 cup dried pasta per person or 1 1/2 cups cooked

• Cook a big handful of pasta per person in water salted with a palmful of sea salt.

• Drain and save 1 cup of the pasta cooking water.

• Saute meat and veggies with a little drizzle of olive oil in a large skillet.

• Add in the pasta and a generous handful of parmesan cheese. Toss together and add pasta water until it begins to create a sauce around the pasta, veggies and meat.

• If you happen to have pesto, olive tapenade or marinara, you can add these in as well.

• Sprinkle with extra parm

Rice - NOTE: Rice needs to be cooked and cooled for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight for this to work properly and not be goo.

• 1 1/2 cups cooked rice per person

• Optional: Whisk 2-3 eggs until foamy.

• In a skillet- size determined by number of servings - over medium high heat spray or drizzle a little avocado oil to create a nonstick surface. Add the eggs and stir briefly then spread out to make a flat thin omelet. Let cook until almost completely dry on top. Remove to a large plate.

• Sauté whatever flavoring veggies you have like onions, green onions, garlic, ginger, etc. in a little avocado oil until they are softened. Add meat and veggies and cook until warmed and veggies are softened. Remove everything to the plate with the eggs.

• Add 2 tsp butter or avocado oil per serving of rice (1 1/2 cups per person) then add the rice. Let cook without stirring to crisp the rice for 3ish minutes then stir and add back in everything else, breaking up the eggs as you add them. Drizzle with a little sesame oil and rice vinegar then add a big dash of coconut aminos. (Soy or tamari sauce is fine if you don’t use coconut aminos.)

Potato - Stuffed potatoes are making a comeback and I’m not mad about it.

• Use leftover baked potatoes or quickly bake in microwave or air fryer.

• Combine your favorite barbecue sauce or buffalo sauce with leftover cooked meat and warm over medium heat.

• Split potatoes and stuff with meat.

• Top with sour cream, cheese, bacon and whatever else you have.

Frittata - The options for eggs are endless, but this is the easiest.

• Heat oven to 400 degrees

• Whisk 2 eggs per person

• Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat

• Spray with avocado oil spray or add 1 tsp butter per person

• Cook any meat or veggies you have until the veggies are softened and the meat is warmed through.

• Add the eggs and stir to allow the eggs to begin to cook gently. When they are thickening, spread out the whole mixture to cover the bottom of the skillet.

• Place in the oven to cook the top completely.

• Sprinkle with cheese if you want.

Chopped Salad - The healthiest way to make a budget friendly meal.

• Make a bed of greens

• Add chopped vegetables, meat, cheese, etc.

• If you don’t have a dressing, here’s my go-to:

  • 1 tsp Dijon

  • 2 tbsp vinegar

  • 6 tbsp EVOO

  • 1/2 tsp pepper

  • 1 tsp salt

  • Shake or whisk together

Hate to Cook?

I talk to so many people who say they hate cooking or don’t have time. It’s a necessary nuisance like cleaning toilets. But what if through my recipes, stories and mini cooking lessons, I can convince you that taking the time to create a simple meal of buttery scrambled eggs and toast is an act of self-care as much as getting a massage or setting boundaries. Or help you find the pure delight of tasting the freshest produce bought from a farmer sunburnt from harvesting the food yesterday you will enjoy tonight.

Subscribe to find the joy in cooking using my simple tips, weekly recipes and kitchen hacks.

For More of My Cooking Basics:

• 25 Essential Ingredients for Cheap Easy Meals

• Make Your Own Spice Blends

• 5 Simple Ingredients You Already Have To Make You a Better Cook

• RFS Weekly Meal Plan Membership (Included in my Founding Member Paid Subscription above or use code HALFOFF for 1/2 off first monthly membership)

Grab the “What’s In Season” PDF