When I was looking through Homecoming posts for yesterday’s encore, I stumbled upon an early Pantry Raid. This one had a “recipe” for what I called Skillet Stew. As I read it, I realized that I could make it, almost exactly as noted, with the foods in my pantry and kitchen today. And then I realized I’d made pantry raids a few times in the past few weeks.

There was the tomato soup. I realized that I had too many tomatoes for BLTs or salads, so I quartered them and loaded the crock pot. Chef Daisy added in a few herbs and a small onion, diced, along with a hint of garlic, and then it simmered all day. Upon arriving home from school, a potato masher squashed the tomatoes, an immersion blender blended the pulp and pulled out most of the skins, and it was almost soup. A little Worcestershire sauce took the edge off the sweetness of fresh tomatoes, and then a little powdered milk helped thicken it to soup consistency.

Mmm. A little grated cheddar and we had a Wow supper.

Later…I had a chicken rice soup that wasn’t a big hit. The broth was weak. So, with the brilliance of an experienced Kitchen Raider, I drained the soup in a colander. I then added what was left (chicken, rice, and vegetables) to a container of tomato soup. It was thick, tasty, and delicious.

Now, inspired by reviewing my old Skillet Stew, I can see that I might be able to use the leftover lamb chops for a Hunger Games style Lamb Stew. Let’s see if I can find dried fruit to represent the dried plums that Katniss liked. I don’t have any plums at the moment, and for a true raid, I should use what’s on hand here.

By the way: there was no Farmers’ Market today because of a huge celebration that our fair city calls Octoberfest. It’s okay; I have enough fruits and vegetables in the house to feed the family quite well this week, thank you very much.

And another aside: Eating the Opponent this week means Chicago style pizza from Papa Murphy’s take and bake. Sometimes I ask the pros to help out.