What is you favourite 'store cupboard' meal

[OMGitsnotgood]

Chatting to a friend recently, I mentioned 'store cupboard meals' - ie dishes you can rustle up from ingredients you routinely have in, for when you've not had time to shop for fresh food. This was a totally alien concept to her. Tuna & sweetcorn pasta bake is my standby, would be interested in hearing other people's favourites.

Lots of fruit and veg in these meal suggestions - not what I'd class as a 'store cupboard' meal tbh.

Favourite instant pud.... affogato. With crumbled amaretti on top.

I've not done with booze in, just coffee and vanilla ice cream ... Yum!!

I do carbonara.

Now DS has left home I have different store cupboard foods. I always have bacon, cheese and eggs and they are good on their own but also for making other things.
My carbonara is literally pasta, fried bacon, garlic, cheese and and egg with a bit pasta with the pasta water to make it creamy.

Dal with frozen chopped spinach
Pesto pasta with cannellini beans, frozen peas/spinach
Pasta puttanesca, I don’t use anchovies as veggie but cupboard friendly even if you do
spaghetti aglio olio e peperoncino
some kind of beans and rice

Chickpea curry

Tin or 2 of chickpeas
Tin of sweetcorn.
Tin or 2 of coconut milk
Curry paste
Frozen peas

Bung it all in a pan, mix and cook until the milk has evaporated to a nice saucy consistency.

Tortellini pasta bake:
ready made tortellini that don’t need to be refrigerated, mixed in with tomato pasta sauce, top with a layer of white/cheese sauce (can be from a jar) top with grated cheese, cover with foil and chuck in the oven.

Chicken in a white sauce (in a tin, m&s is the best one) shoved in a pie dish with ready made shortcrust pastry. Don’t even need to blind bake just assemble and cook.

Lentil chorizo stew in the slow cooker. Need carrots and leeks for it though.

What my kids call "special pasta"

Literally pasta, butter, black pepper, grated cheese.

Quick, tasty, comforting and the kids love it.

Chopped vegetables ( peppers , garlic, courgettes, mushrooms) fried in a little olive oil. Cook tagliatelle and add some Greek yogurt to the veg.
lots of herbs and salt and pepper.
Maybe Parmesan .
Eggs whipped up with a bit of milk and poured into a cake tin with veg cooked as above and baked in the oven.

It depends if you always have lots of fruit and vegetables in your fridge, frozen or tins.

I tend to have a fair bit frozen but also most of my store cupboards meals are about using up the combinations in the bottom of the fridge - the 3 mushrooms, half a pepper, 1 floppy carrot, 2" of courgette, 4 french beans, single floret of cauliflower or broccoli... etc - not enough of any of those on their own to si something but throw them all in together and you can something tasty by using storecupboard staples.

Nigella's marmite pasta
Carbonara
Dhal
Baked potatoes with cheese and beans
Bean chilli
Frittata

Just remembered another from my slimming world day's which has saved me many times when I've been absolutely skint. Sounds like it will be disgusting but is actually really tasty and super cheap for 4/5 good portions. Tin of beans, 2 x tins of tomatos, 1 tin of carrots, 3 or 4 pickled onions (or just a chopped onion) and a couple of vegetable stock cubes. Heat through in a saucepan then blend. I do add whatever seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, chilli sauce, garlic powder etc I fancy at the time too.

If we are only talking store cupboard, no fridge then I would make chilli tuna pasta or a bean chilli. I routinely keep meat in the freezer and root vegetables in though.