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You have a fridge and pantry full of food. You’re surveying the spoils of your trip, and you’re looking forward to scoring again next week. Then someone walks into the kitchen and interrupts your reverie with three words: What’s for dinner? That’s when you realize you’ve spent so much time shopping for food that you haven’t thought much about eating it.

Meal planning

This is where a fast hand in the kitchen comes in, well, handy. I know a lot of families head off this kind of situation by meal planning. They schedule their meals days — even weeks — ahead of time to match up with sales and what’s overflowing in their pantries. I know this can save a lot of time and money when it comes to feeding a family.

However, I don’t plan our meals. It just doesn’t work for my family. I squirm at the idea of locking ourselves into “taco night” every Wednesday. But that doesn’t mean I don’t strategically cook my family’s meals according to what I have on hand. Goodbye running to the store at the last minute for an esoteric ingredient I might never use again. Hello, cleaning out the fridge so nothing gets wasted.

Last night I was alone with three ravenous children — a situation that explains why many people have pizza delivery on speed dial. But I wasn’t about to break under pressure. So I whipped up the following pasta dish.

My brother unexpectedly dropped in around dinnertime, and he inhaled the meal — as did my 4-year-old and 2-year-old. He asked for my non-existent recipe, so I created this one to approximate what I cooked. All of the ingredients came from my stockpile. For reference, I added in parentheses the brands I used.

Enjoy!

Pete’s Pasta

1 box (approximately 1 pound) of short pasta (Ronzoni Smart Taste rotini)
1 jar prepared pasta sauce (Rinaldi garden veggie)
1 cup frozen spinach (Westpak premium veggies)
1 14-oz. can cannellini beans (Bush’s Best)
1/2 cup dry red wine (Black Swan merlot)
1 T. anchovy paste (Reese — I swear you will not taste fish in this dish!)
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella (Roundy’s)
3 T. butter (Roundy’s)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Shredded parmesan cheese (Crystal Farms)

1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Pour sauce, spinach, wine and anchovy paste in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring often, and lower the heat. Simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. While sauce simmers, drain pasta and pour it back into the pot. Stir in the mozzarella and butter. Cover with a lid and let it sit until sauce has thickened up.
4. Toss some salt and pepper with the pasta, which should be gooey with cheese by now.
5. Spoon pasta into shallow bowls, cover with sauce and top with parmesan cheese.

Serves four.