10 Things To Always Have In The Fridge To Avoid The Dinner Panic

There's nothing worse than gazing dolefully into a depressingly empty fridge stocked with nothing more than a few lonely tumbleweeds blowing through. I've often heard it said that dinner is always sorted when you've got an egg to hand, but let's face it; that's a pretty boring dinner. However, if you've got say an egg, some cheese, and some smoked meats, well now you're cookin'. Here're 10 Things to Always Have In The Fridge To Avoid The Dinner Panic: 1. Parmesan Parmesan is big on flavour and lasts for ages. Add it to salads, pasta, vegetable bakes, you can even throw the rind of parmesan into a soup as you're cooking it, this gives a lovely, deep flavour and saves on waste. 2. Chorizo Chorizo is a great way to give any meal an instant lift. The smokey, savoury flavour is great with pasta and bean dishes; chorizo also works exceptionally well with white fish. 3. Spring onions Spring onions are a nice, slightly more mellow member of the onion clan, meaning you can happily eat them raw in salads or cook them in Asian stir-fries. Or finely slice a spring onion and stir into some créme fraiche for an instant tasty dip. 4. Eggs Combine the first four ingredients on this list in a pan et voila dinner is ready. 5. Chicken breasts Obviously chicken is a great fridge staple as they are a great source of lean protein and work in everything from superfood salads and punchy pasta dishes to quick curries and even tasty Mexican meals, such as Smoky BBQ Stand ‘N’ Stuff Chicken Soft Tacos. 6. Créme Fraiche Créme fraiche is brilliant in savoury cooking – make a creamy pasta sauce, dip or add to curries if you're out of coconut milk. It also works well as dessert with berries or as an alternative to whipped cream. 7. Herbs Fresh herbs add a certain sparkle to every dish. Parsley is the hardiest herb to have on hand in the fridge as it lasts that bit longer usually. 8. Capers and olives These two are flavour heavy hitters and are brilliant in salads and sauces. Not to mention a dry martini. 9. Mustard Use it in sauces, salad dressing and smeared on sandwiches. Yum. 10. Anchovies Anchovies can be divisive, personally I would just gobble them from the jar though anyone who professes to hate them can usually be tricked into enjoying them. Sneak them into any pasta sauce or salad dressing and guaranteed the haters will be ooohhhinh and ahhhing. For clever hints and tips to getting the most from your ingredients check out 10 kitchen hacks to keep food fresh and save you money. Sponsored by Old El Paso. For more fun Old El Paso recipes to have with the family click here.