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As you may have seen on my Instagram stories yesterday, my family is officially in quarantine for 1 week. I received a message yesterday from a guest that attended my LA book signing event let me know that they tested positive for COVID-19. While it’s already been 1 week since the event and I am exhibiting no symptoms– I did come into direct contact with this person, so for the safety of others in my community my family and I will be quarantined until it has been 14 days since our contact– so we have 7 days ahead of us without leaving our apartment for anything or being in contact with anyone– unless there is an emergency.
*for the record, I spoke to my doctor and the CDC COVID-19 hotline after finding out this information. I was told I do not meet the requirements to get lab tested for COVID-19. In Texas (and in many states from my understanding) individuals must meet 2 requirements to receive testing: 1. known contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and 2. Symptoms of COVID-19 (difficultly breathing is respiratory issues and a fever). If you were at the LA event, please contact your doctor and let them know that you were at an event with someone who tested positive for COVID-19.
With that being said, this may be all of our reality pretty soon. Rumors are circling that there may, in fact, be a mandatory quarantine period for all US citizens. This could just be rumors, who really knows for certain. Regardless, a lot of us are already practicing “social distancing” and staying away from crowds as much as possible. This includes the grocery store.
Yesterday, I shared this post: A Well Stocked Pantry, where I shared some ideas of things you may want to have on hand in the case we are, in fact, quarantined. I wanted to follow up with some recipe inspiration. This is just inspiration. Please do not gather the ingredients for all of these recipes or else you’ll be stocked for months– which is unnecessary and excessive. Also– use ingredients intuitively! The lovely thing about savory cooking is that it is very forgiving. You don’t have a certain spice or ingredient? It’ll probably still be just fine without it. Get creative and think about flavors (or comment below and ask me my advice, I am happy to help).
This is a time to get creative using what you have in your possession. And I hope these recipes merely serve as inspiration during this time.
SOUPS + STEWS
Whole30 Gumbo Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
Instant Pot Lamb Stew. Dont have lamb? Use any beef or stew meat
Split Pea Soup with Ham *Don’t have ham? Use bacon or omit the protein
Curried Chili *don’t have chickpeas? Any canned legume will work here.
Dairy-Free Creamy Chicken + Wild Rice Soup
CROCKPOT, INSTANTPOT, and SLOW COOKED RECIPES
Instant Pot Whole30 BBQ Pulled Pork *I make my own sauce here, but you can use store-bought!
Instant Pot Flank Steak Taco Meat *you can put this meat over salads, in tacos, or even make enchiladas!
Instant-Pot Texas-Style Brisket Tacos
Apple Cider Vinegar Pulled Pork
Crockpot Chicken Taco Bowls *lose the sauteed bell peppers here (unless you have them) and you likely have most of the ingredients
PASTA RECIPES
One-Pot Hamburger Helper Beef Stroganoff
One-Pot Cacio e Pepe Isreali Couscous
Whole30 Epic Baked Meatballs *served with pasta
Perfect Whole30 Italian Meatballs
OTHER DINNERS/RECIPES:
Juicy Indoor Burgers with Burger Sauce
Greek Style Green Beans *you can use frozen or canned here
Chipotle Chicken Enchilada Skillet
Sour Cream and Green Chile Chicken Enchilada
Buffalo Burger with Buffalo Mayo
Grilled Chicken Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa *here I make my own salsa, you can use jarred!
Whole30 Shrimp Étouffée *you likely don’t have all the veggies to saute, but the spices+sauce alone are so comforting and delicious and a great way to use frozen shrimp!
Easy Chicken Tostadas with Quick Pickled Onions
Coconut Curry Shrimp and Broccoli
Whole Roasted Greek Chicken and Potatoes
WHAT TO DO WITH CANNED FISH
Whole30 Tuna Cakes with Smoke Paprika Aioli
Stuffed Pepper Tuna Melt *put it on top of a piece of toast instead!
Linguine with Clams *just used canned clams here, not fresh
RANDOM THINGS
