What Can I Make With What I Already Have?

“What can I make with what's in my cabinets right now?”

I don't know about you, but I've asked myself that question many times. Either it's the middle of the week and you don't get paid until Friday, you have to make something quick or you just don't feel like going to the store. You probably also have all kinds of seemingly-random stuff around the house-a can of green beans, a pound of hamburger, lemon juice, peanut butter, etc. It's not a matter of not having anything in your cabinets so much as not knowing what you can do with what you have. I've found a couple of websites and tools that might help answer those burning questions.

• My Fridge Food-This site features a comprehensive list of the various things we might have in our refrigerators that we don't know what to make of. All you have to do is check the boxes next to the ingredients you have, and it comes back with recipes you can make with what you've mentioned. Another good thing is that it allows users to submit their recipes so that you can see what other people have come up with. You can also input your grocery list, and the site will make recommendations based on the recipes that feature each item. Registration is free.
• Allrecipes.com-I've recommended this site before, but that's just because it's so useful! Like My Fridge Food, you can search for recipes based on the ingredients. In addition to inputting the ingredients you have, you can also search using the ingredients you don't have. For instance, say you have chicken, pasta and lemon juice, but you don't have tomato sauce. Simply put what you have in one column and what you don't have in another. Search, and the site will show you recipes you can make without the things you don't have. This saves a lot of time in having to read through each recipe to see if it calls for something you don't have or want. Registered members can bookmark recipes they like in their 'recipe boxes'. The recipes are submitted by other users, so you can see what other people have done. A basic membership is free, but there are paid options if you want more features (i.e. to contribute your own recipes).
• Kraft Foods-This site has a simple search engine where you list what you have and watch it spit out recipes. One good thing about this site is that it also allows you to narrow your search by the occasion or meal you are looking for. In addition to the customizable search engine, it gives you lists of recipes based on the occasion. I'm not just talking about 'Christmas dinner', I'm talking about 'Kwanzaa recipes', 'New Years' Eve open house', 'holiday Jell-O recipes', etc. That's a lot more specific than I've seen on other sites; most just leave it at Christmas and Hanukkah, and sometimes not even that last one. Registration is free, and you can also opt for recipes to be sent to your inbox.

As you can see, there are a few internet sites out there that can help you decide what to make with what you already have at home. Now all you have to do is get your kids stop playing with their food. Good luck with that!