Return from vacation and empty fridge: ideas and recipes

Back from vacation, what a bad thing!

Returning to the city after the holidays is sad in itself, but when you find the fridge empty and you don't know what to prepare for dinner, the situation can take on dramatic tones.

Never get discouraged, though: in addition to the obvious desolation given by the lack of fresh supplies, there is inventiveness ... and a pantry that always contains some resources to be exploited in an emergency.

Before falling back on the phone call to delivery, therefore, let's look around and see how we can create something nutritious even with a few ingredients. Let's devote ourselves to emptying our suitcases and, if we are particularly lucky, we will find that jar of vegetable preserves (so good!) We bought on vacation: it's time to use it to prepare quick and delicious recipes together.

Organize home and return to work

The art of getting by is always precious: making it our own will allow us to think positively and take the time to reorganize the daily routine. A little creativity and a keen eye are enough: if we look closely, there is always some long-life product in the pantry that can be used if fresh food is not available.

Pasta or rice, cans of tuna or meat, dried or canned legumes, peeled tomatoes, cubes or tomato sauce: everything can be used for a quick dinner. Whatever recipe we decide to make, prepare an extra portion of it, so that we can take it with us to work and, only afterwards, go calmly to the supermarket.

While waiting to go out shopping and stock up the pantry, with just a few simple ingredients we can feed ourselves and the whole family: let's see how.

Ideas and recipes to prepare if the fridge is empty

1. Emergency first course

Pasta with tuna, pasta with tomato sauce or just with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil: nutritious and satiating, it can be replaced with rice, which can also be converted into a nice saffron risotto. And if there is a clove of garlic left at the bottom of the vegetable basket in the closet, a spaghetti meal always solves ... not just at midnight!

2. A quick and delicious second course: meatballs

They are prepared quickly and really with everything: tuna and legumes, crumbled crackers, canned meat and tomatoes, sandwich bread, chickpeas and various flavors. Appetizing and fun, meatballs can become a single dish when paired with pilau rice and are even 'gourmet' if enriched with a handful of dry spices.

They are fine even if we already have to go to work the next day: just keep them in a practical lunch box and bring them back to optimal temperature with a quick passage in the included food warmer.

3. Passe-par-tout legumes

They go well with pasta, rice and also with the cous-cous that we brought with us from our holidays on the Mediterranean; a can of beans or lentils and a can of tuna together will make a nice salad to be dressed with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Instead, let's put the chickpeas in the blender and prepare a delicious hummus that will also solve the next day's lunch at work: just accompany it with your favorite drink which, inside a thermal bottle, will keep at the ideal temperature throughout the day.

4. Sandwiches, canapés and surroundings

A can of peeled tomatoes or a bottle of tomato puree are precious to prepare a tasty sauce and fill a quick millefeuille of crackers or a delicious roll of bread for sandwiches which, to become perfect, only needs a quick passage under the grill of the oven. And that famous jar of canned vegetables bought on vacation? It will be used to fill mini sandwiches of carré bread or delicious crackers canapes.

5. Hands-on: always a resource

If we have flour, we prepare a fragrant focaccia to be seasoned with just tomato and oregano, or to be left white to accompany the tuna and legume salad. A delicious 'fake pizza', on the other hand, is made with the long-life piadina that we left in the pantry and that we can also use the next day at work, after having stuffed it with ham and cheese ... finally bought at the grocery store!

Solutions for lunch at work

Use Spice electronics products to comfortably transport, store and consume your quick meals at work. They are durable and ergonomic, ideal for office and smart work outside the home. Discover the whole range of food warmers and lunch kits.