Non-meat eaters, can you share your storecupboard standbys?

[choosyfloosy]

Hiya, we are dropping meat from our diet (adults only at this stage). I was a non-meat eater for 2 years in the past but didn't really cook at the time . If this is you, what tins and packets do you have to have in the cupboard? Any bog easy recipes you would care to share? Many thanks

We are mostly veggie and not fantastic cooks (well DH is but doesn't have much time!) so we do stick to quick and easy meals. Some standbys are:

pasta with homemade tomato sauce and veg
veg stirfry
veg chilli using quorn mince
veg curry
thai green curry
baked potato and beans
veg sausage and mash
quiche or pie with chips/croquettes
pizza

Veggie chilli
Pasta
Veg curry
Fajitas

Very quick and easy, but delicious chilli recipe:

Brown off some quorn/veggie mince with some chopped onions
Throw in some veggies - mixed peppers, garlic, aubergine, etc.
Add half a teaspoon each of cumon, ground coriander and ground connamon
Add 3 crushed cardamon pods
Stir in a couple of big tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce - do it to taste depending on spiciness preference
Add a jar of passatta
Cook for 20 minutes
If you prefer it hotter ass a bit of chilli here

Serve with grated cheese on top - yum!

Ooops = missed out the tin of mixed beans - add with the veggies.

dry mushrooms, re-hydrate for mushroom risotto. I freeze leftover white wine and parsley so I can make it fast.
tinned lentils (there's a MN lentil lasagne recipe somewhere on here which is easy and tastes so good, and feezes well}
Pizza dough mix. Can be topped with basics and I usually have tinned canpers and olives to pep it up.

store standards:

w/m rice
w/m pasta/lasagne
dried lentils (red, green, brown or puy)
tinned green lentils (non salt)
dried chick peas
tinned chick peas (non salt)
spelt pizza base
batch cook great pig pot of veg and freeze in portions
batch cook great big pot of veg with tinned tomatoes, freeze in portions (also puree some of this and freeze in potions, for pizza etc)

basic tomato pasta sauces (Lloyd grossman ones very good) for instant pasta bakes - just add cooked pasta, veg and grated cheese and shove under grill...

breadcrumbs, flour and dijon mustard for ace macaroni cheese...

Old El Paso taco shells, tortillas and salsa in jars plus refried beans, sweetcorn etc for various taco and quesadilla combos (add veg/spring onions/guacamole/cheese/soured cream etc...)

kidney beans/borlotti beans/chick peas for chillis and curries

jar of pataks curry paste (madras v. good) for quick veggie-chuck-it-all-in-the-oven curry

soy sauce and veggie worcester sauce for jazzing up stir fry/quorn shepherds pie etc

tons of pasta, rice, lentils

couscous for having with oven roasted red onion, squash, courgette, peppers, cherry tomato with grilled halloumi

always a couple of jars of pesto for emergencies though easy to make your own

pine nuts and cashew nuts for jazzing up various dishes; flaked almonds for curries; coconut milk and veggie thai curry paste for thai stuff

HTH!

that's fab thanks so much

feeling ridiculously nervous about this, i think because i really wanted to do it for ecological reasons but thought dh would never go for it, then he suggested it himself after wine-fuelled chat with local eco guru who has great legs...

Potatoes (spanish omelette / mash with veg sausages / roasties / grated, squeezed mixed with flour and egg for latkes)
Polenta (easy to cook, let cool, fry and then top with spicy tomato sauce)
risotto rice / frozen peas for a quick risotto (or a 'fresh' pea soup, stir in creme fraiche)
cous cous for Chakchouka (moroccan- saute peppers and onions, add fresh tomatoes and cook more, garlic, grd cumin and chili or not, put in an egg at the end)

Cous cous, pine nuts and spices - for instant serving with a casserole starch.

Red pesto for pitta bread pizzas (I make my own green but buy the red).

Basmati rice, Thai Jasmine rice, good quality penne, spaghetti, lasagne that doesn't need soaking.

red lentils and puy lentils.

Tins (or Sainsbo's new organic cartons which are MUCH better) of butter beans (for making Greek bean dish or for adding to sausage casserole), chickpeas (for hoummus, tagine or curries).

Cartons of passata. I don't use many jarred sauces but I also like the Lloyd Grossman new ones for making pasta or vegetable bakes with - and the barbarian children think they are much nicer than homemade. I compensate by putting loads of fresh vege in with them.

Cans of coconut milk or cartons of cocnut cream. Thai curry paste.

love the image of "local eco guru who has great legs"

Not veggie but eat a lot of veggie food!

I always have the following in the pantry:

Tins of tomatoes
Tins of coconut milk
Tins of mixed beans
Lentils
Chick peas
Rice
Cous cous
Pasta

I also always try to have some quorn in the freezer.

The tomatoes get used in everything - curry, casserole, pasta sauce.

Coconut milk - curry mainly. Made a great curry the other week which basically consisted of coconut milk, stock, onion, sweet potato and quorn but could do something more basic than that. I am going to try doing it again this week but add in some lentils.

Mixed beans - I put into a lot of casseroles with tomatoes and also good for salads and fajitas.

Lentils - Great for curry and soup. I also just got peckish and have made a lovely spicey dahl type thing for a late snack/dinner. Boiled the lentils. Fried some onion, ginger and garlic and then chucked it in with the lentils. Added some turmeric, chilli powder and oregano. It was great! Very moorish and only took about 20 minutes to cook.

Chickpeas - don't use them often as DP doesn't really like them but made some lovely homemade humous this morning with them.

All the things I was going to suggest are already on here! (We are not veggie but only eat meat once or twice a week).

Dont know if anyone's mentionned kidney beand/cannellini beans which are good for making vegetable stews/chillis/etc more robust.

Wineonafridaynight please would you mind posting your hoummous recipe? I have had very limited success with my previous attempts.

Spicy veg hotpot with cheese scones (ino stew and dumplings), veg sausage casserole ( veg sausages, 1 chopped onion, fry - chop cooking apples, chuck in, add a tin of condensed tomato soup, stick in oven gas 4 for 45 mins, or til you can't wait any longer...great with baked spuds) is a fave atm too.

Another non-vegetarian, but my staples are pretty much vegetarian (NB: I do quite a bit of cooking!):

Sauces:
-tomato
-soy
-ponzu
-passata
-mirin
-home-made pesto (in freezer)
-sriracha
-tobasco
-ketchup
-peri peri
-barbeque (3 different types)

Vinegars: rice, white, red, sherry, cider
Oils: sesame, extra virgin OO, regular OO, rapeseed oil
Alcohols: white wine, dry sherry, sake

Tins:
-loads of different beans, but chick pea and cannelini in particular
-artichoke hearts
-coconut milk
-tomato paste

Spreads/pastes
-dark miso
-light miso
-peanut butter
-almond butter

Pastas:
-soba
-udon
-spaghetti
-linguini
-fusili

Grains/pulses:
-jasmine rice
-sushi rice
-carnaroli rice
-long grain brown rice
-pearled spelt
-quinoa
-puy lentils
-red lentils
-bulgar whear
-giant couscous
-fine couscous

Fridge:
-eggs
-homous
-caramelized onions
-tofu
-long life beetroot
-spring onions
-carrots
-sweet potato
-celery
-buttermilk
-sambal oelek
-good parmesan cheese
-buttermilk
-lemons
-limes

Herbs/spices: salt (maldon, fine sea, fleur de sel), pepper (white and black), ginger, garlic, white onion, red onion, cinnamon (stick and ground), cumin (ground and whole), coriander (ground and whole), nutmeg, 5 spice powder, star anise, ground ginger, turmeric, tamarind, garam masala, paprika, smoked paprika, mild chili powder, saffron, vanilla beans