10 Dinners I Make When I'm Too Tired to Cook — Pantry Only

Presenter

• Brenda (Brenda Cooks) — “10 Dinners I Make When I’m Too Tired to Cook — Pantry Only”

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Pantry-only dinners (ingredients + method)

#10 Spaghetti with garlic and oil

Ingredients (quantities not exact)

• Spaghetti
• Garlic: “a few cloves,” sliced thin
• Olive oil
• Red pepper flakes (pinch, optional)
• Salt (for pasta water)

Method

1. Boil spaghetti.
2. While it boils: in a cold pan, add sliced garlic to olive oil and turn to medium.
3. Cook garlic slowly until soft, golden, and sweet (avoid browning; pull before it darkens).
4. Drain spaghetti, then drop into the garlic oil.
5. Toss so strands are coated; add red pepper flakes to taste.

Technique cues / tips

• “Burnt garlic is the one way to ruin this” → keep heat gentle.

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#9 Beans on toast

Ingredients

• Plain beans (from a can), warmed
• Ketchup or Worcestershire sauce
• Black pepper
• Toast: 2 slices
• Butter

Method

1. Warm canned plain beans in a small pot.
2. Stir in ketchup or Worcestershire and pepper.
3. Spread butter on toast, then pour beans over (bread soaks sauce; edges stay crisp).
4. Cook time: about 4 minutes (warm beans + assemble).

Serving

• Eat as a “filling, warm, honest supper.”

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#8 Tuna and pasta

Ingredients

• Short pasta
• Canned tuna (including oil if packed in oil)
• Lemon (squeeze) or vinegar (splash if no lemon)
• Black pepper
• Reserved pasta water (a spoonful)

Optional

• Peas or corn

Method

1. Boil short pasta; drain but save starchy pasta water in the pot.
2. Flake in tuna (and oil if packed in oil).
3. Add lemon or vinegar, black pepper, and a spoon of pasta water.
4. Stir until it turns silky instead of dry.
5. Toss in peas/corn if using.

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#7 Peanut butter noodles

Ingredients

• Peanut butter: 2 spoons
• Soy sauce: good splash
• Sugar or honey: a little
• Hot water: splash (from the noodle pot)
• Chili flakes and/or garlic powder (optional)

Method

1. In a bowl, stir peanut butter + soy sauce + sugar/honey + splash of hot water until smooth sauce forms.
2. Pile hot cooked noodles on top (spaghetti works).
3. Toss to coat.

Tips

• Flavor boost: chili flakes or garlic powder.

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#6 Rice and beans (burrito bowl)

Ingredients

• Rice
• Black beans: 1 can
• Cumin
• Garlic powder
• Salt
• Hot sauce (optional)
• Corn (optional)

Method

1. Start cooking rice in a pot.
2. While it cooks, warm black beans with cumin, garlic powder, salt.
3. Cook until some liquid cooks off so the beans are thick and saucy (not soupy).
4. Spoon beans over rice.
5. Top with hot sauce; add corn if using.

Serving

• Eat as a complete bowl; described as a complete protein and filling.

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#5 One-pot lentil soup

Ingredients

• Dry lentils: 1 cup
• Water or broth: about 4 cups
• Onion powder: shake
• Garlic powder: shake
• Bay leaf (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Vinegar: splash (at end)

Method

1. In a pot, combine lentils + water/broth + onion powder + garlic powder + bay leaf (if using) + salt + pepper.
2. Bring to a boil, then turn down.
3. Simmer for 25 minutes.
4. Return to a pot of thick, hearty soup.
5. Add splash of vinegar right at the end.

Chef tip

• A little vinegar at the end wakes up bean/lentil flavor.

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#4 Salmon patties

Ingredients

• Canned salmon (cheap kind), including bones (soft bones mash)
• Egg: beaten egg (to hold together)
• Crushed crackers or breadcrumbs
• Pepper
• Onion powder

Method

1. Dump canned salmon into a bowl; mash bones included.
2. Mix in: beaten egg, crushed crackers/breadcrumbs, pepper, onion powder.
3. Shape into patties with your hands.
4. Fry in a little oil until brown and crisp on both sides.

Notes

• About 4 patties per can (quantity estimate from presenter).

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#3 Chickpeas and tomato (spiced)

Ingredients

• Chickpeas: 1 can, drained
• Diced tomatoes or tomato sauce: 1 can OR scoop
• Garlic powder
• Cumin
• “Pinch of anything warm” (pick what you have):
  • chili, paprika, curry powder, etc.

Method

1. In a pan, combine chickpeas + diced tomatoes/tomato sauce + garlic powder + cumin + warm spice pinch.
2. Let it bubble and cook down for 10 minutes until thick and chickpeas absorb flavor.

Serving options

• Eat as-is
• Serve over rice
• Scoop with bread

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#2 Egg fried rice (pan, 5 minutes)

Ingredients

• Cold leftover rice (from fridge; preferred)
• Oil
• Eggs: “a couple eggs”
• Soy sauce
• Pepper
• Optional vegetables: peas/carrots, corn, etc.

Method (one pan)

1. Heat a pan with a little oil.
2. Add cold rice and let it fry/catch.
3. Push rice to one side.
4. Crack eggs into the empty side; scramble in the pan.
5. Fold eggs into rice.
6. Add soy sauce, pepper, and any leftover veg.
7. Cook until done: ~5 minutes.

Tip

• Cold rice fries better and avoids mushiness.

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#1 Pasta and beans (Pasta e fagioli style, one-pot)

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• Onion powder and garlic powder (or real onion if chopping)
• White beans: 1 can (use whole can liquid too)
• Diced tomatoes or tomato paste (squeeze)
• Water (a little)
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red pepper flakes: pinch
• Spaghetti: “a couple handfuls,” broken into short pieces
• Olive oil for finishing (glug)
• Black pepper
• Parmesan (optional): hard nub, grated if available

Method (one pot)

1. In a pot, heat olive oil.
2. Add onion powder + garlic powder (or chopped onion if you have the energy).
3. Add white beans + the liquid from the can.
4. Add diced tomatoes (or tomato paste).
5. Add water, salt, pepper, and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
6. Bring to a simmer.
7. Break spaghetti into short pieces and drop directly into the sauce (no separate pasta water pot).
8. Stir now and then so it doesn’t stick.
9. If sauce absorbs too fast, add splash more water.
10. Cook 10–12 minutes until thick and starchy.
11. Finish with glug of olive oil, pepper, and parmesan if using.

Serving

• Hearty, “stick-to-your-ribs” bowl; enough for a family and seconds.

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Equipment & prep cues (from subtitles)

• Pot: boiling pasta; cooking rice; simmering soup/beans.
• Pan/skillet: garlic-and-oil spaghetti (cold pan method), salmon patties frying, chickpeas/tomato simmer, egg fried rice.
• Bowl: mixing peanut butter noodle sauce; mixing salmon patty mixture.
• Knife/board (optional): real onion only “if you’ve got the energy.”
• No special marinating/resting mentioned.

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Common pitfalls / key tips called out

• Garlic: keep heat gentle; avoid browning/burning (pull before dark).
• Lentils/beans: add a splash of vinegar at the end to “wake it up.”
• Egg fried rice: use cold leftover rice for best texture.
• One-pot pasta: spaghetti cooks in the sauce; stir occasionally and add water if it absorbs too quickly.

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Variations included

• Beans on toast: ketchup or Worcestershire sauce.
• Tuna and pasta: add peas/corn if you have them.
• Peanut butter noodles: add chili flakes and/or garlic powder.
• Rice and beans: add corn; top with hot sauce.
• Chickpeas and tomato: use chili/paprika/curry powder “whatever’s in the rack.”
• Pasta e beans: use onion powder/garlic powder, or chop real onion if desired; tomato diced vs tomato paste; finish with parmesan if you have a nub.

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Referenced sources

• None explicitly referenced besides the presenter’s own cookbook: Brenda Cooks (brendaooks.com; links below the video).