Rice Cooker Stars in Pantry Meals

By David Hu

Last week was Pantry Week on Special Fork and I shared some of my favorite tips and tricks for what to stock in your pantry. One thing I didn’t mention is my trusty rice cooker. A rice cooker is key to effectively using rice, a go-to pantry staple, since it cooks your rice for you while you make the rest of the meal.

So with that in mind, we’ve been running a Zojirushi rice cooker sweepstakes than ends this week (Sunday Oct 21, 2012). It’s not too late to get in on the action. Click here to enter.

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Breakfast for Dinner: Short Stacks

By Katie Barreira

Who says pancakes are only to be eaten before noon? Whip up a fluffy stack for dinner with this classic flapjack recipe and step-by-step tips for making the perfect pancake.

5 Ways to Get Your Perfect Pancake:

My mom always separates the egg yolks and whites, adding the yolks to the liquid ingredients, then whipping and folding in the whites just before cooking; her pancakes are always light and airy.

My favorite way to cook pancakes is on an electric griddle. The steady, even temperature makes for fluffy, golden flapjacks and the large surface area means fewer batches.

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Frittata – the Perfect Last-Minute Dinner

By Zoe McLaughlin

This dish is as simple as it gets. With just a few pantry staples, you'll have a delicious and satisfying meal in minutes.

Growing up in a household where both parents worked outside the home, this dish was perfect for the nights when we all got home late. We served it with a simple green salad.

A frittata is essentially an open-faced omelet. It's prepared in one pan so clean up is easy. I used a nonstick sauté pan but you could also use a cast iron skillet and finish the frittata off in the oven at 375°F for about 10 minutes, instead of cooking it on the stovetop.

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Make this Stew in Less than 30 Minutes, from Start to Finish

By David Hu

I love to cook, but sometimes I just don’t have the time or the energy to do much. Stews tend to be a great answer to this problem because they don’t require much active cooking. But usually they take hours on the stove and aren’t the instant solution.

Today’s video recipe is a hearty bean and pasta stew. Once you get all the ingredients cut and measured, just throw them in a pot, let everything simmer, sit back and you’ll be eating in 15 minutes. Since most of the ingredients are primarily pantry items, you should be able to skip a trip to the supermarket.

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Tweet to @Specialforksndy: F#*<k no!! that sounds so nasty!!!!

From Sandy Hu

What’s for dinner? Most people – as many as 70 percent, according to one survey – don’t have a clue at 4 p.m.

About that time Twitter comes alive with plaintive cries for help, “girl what u cook?” “im hungry, any ideas for supper??? idk what to cook?” “Ummmm what to cook for dinner? Any ideas tweeps?”

I, @specialforksndy, come to the rescue! It’s not easy to respond with recipe ideas in 140 characters or less.

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