的Pantry Clean-Out Challenge

的best way to organize your pantry? Use up all the random stuff in it.

Of course you can also run out andbuy a million baskets and labelsand make your pantry look lovely, but for it to be truly functional, once or twice a year you need to clear out all the random odds and ends—those half-empty bags offarro, that jar ofchili sauceyou bought on a whim, the tub ofcoconut oilyou've barely made a dent in—ideally by cooking something delicious with them.

To inspire some creative clean-out-your-pantry cooking, three of my teammates here at Epi presented me with a list of the contents of each of their home pantries and asked me to develop new recipes that would use up some of the languishing ingredients. Here's what I came up with:

David's pantry has everything in it to make a creamy sesame sauce to serve with a rice noodle stir-fry.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle

1. David's Pantry

的first thingDavidtold me about his pantry is that there are "lots of seaweed snacks taking up space." (Those seaweed snacks do require a lot of shelf space. But man do I love them.) He also had a couple packages of rice noodles and lots of half-empty bottles of Asian condiments.

To use up some of those staples, I put together an easily customizable rice noodle dinner garnished with slices of those roasted seaweed snacks, which adds a lovely salty touch to each bite. The noodles feature some of the creamy texture and flavors of your favorite cold sesame noodles, but are served hot—and are hot in flavor too, since I added a lot of hot sesame oil to it. If you don't want it spicy, you can use toasted sesame oil instead.

You can make this dish with any shape or size of rice noodle you want—you can even combine two different shapes. And use any kind of ground meat you want: pork, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey...or skip the meat entirely and just add more vegetables. The scallions are really excellent in the dish, so don't skip those, but you can use carrots or snap peas or snow peas or a combination as the veg, or leave them out entirely. It's an easy framework you can follow to clear out your pantry and get a crowd-pleasing, easy dinner on the table to boot.

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Anya has lots of snacks and nuts and dried fruit and baking supplies taking up space in her pantry—so it's time for her to make brownies!

Photo by Chelsea Kyle

2.安雅的储藏室

Anyais not the only editor with extra cocoa powder and nut butter and coconut oil in her pantry. But thanks to her two elementary school–aged girls, she is the editor with the most snacks in her pantry. And looking at that list of snacks made me want to create a bar cookie that she could top with whatever crunchy, sweet, or salty bits she has lingering in her pantry while also burning through a good amount of that cocoa powder before it expires.

I played around with several different versions of this treat before my vision solidified into a customizable, double-decker brownie that's super fudgy and completely irresistible (if I do say so myself). It also happens to be flourless and naturally gluten-free.

的bottom layer of these brownies is basically a blondie-like version of my favoriteflourless peanut butter cookiesand can be made with either almond butter or peanut butter (I honestly can't decide which flavor I like better) or even a mixture of the two if you have two jars you're trying to finish. The brownie layer is a riff on classiccocoa brownies; using cornstarch instead of flour keeps them naturally gluten-free and provides an extra gooey, fudge-like texture. You can use either melted coconut oil or melted butter in the brownie layer, depending on what you have (or if you want them to be dairy-free). Coconut oil will give them a real coconut-forward flavor, which is excellent if you love coconut.

And to use up some of those pantry snacks, toss a handful of nuts, a handful of chocolate chips, some coconut flakes, or chopped pretzels on top before you bake your brownies. Every time I've made these I've topped them with something different, which makes them feel like new brownies every time.

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Becky's pantry has a lot of random spices in it, rice, and several cans of beans, which can all be turned into an easy one-pan chicken dinner.

Photo by Chelsea Kyle

3. Becky's Pantry

A container with only half a cup of white rice left in it might not seem like much, but it was the first thing I latched onto inBecky's pantry list. With some dried fruit, canned beans, and a lot of spices and crushed red pepper flakes also on her list, I started thinking about a Middle Eastern–inspired baked rice and chicken dinner.

To make it, I seared chicken drumsticks, then sautéed a chopped onion and some spices in the hot pan. I stirred in the rice, a can of drained chickpeas, and a handful of dried currants, covered it all in water and set the lid on the pot for 20 minutes. What emerged is a dinner I'd be more than happy to eat any night of the week.

This dish is even more customizable than the other recipes here. You can make it with any kind of white rice (except sticky) and any kind of canned beans. The dried fruit is totally optional; if you want to include it you can use currants, raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries, or a combination of any of those. The spices are also flexible; you can use any of the suggested spices depending on what you have in your pantry and the flavor direction you want to take the dish in. Just before serving, top the dish with any tender, fresh herb you have in your fridge, garden, or window box. Cleaning out your cupboards has never been tastier.