I wrote yesterday that my wife made me a delicious dinner, but it wasn’t cheap because she had to run out to the store to pick up some ingredients because we didn’t have a well stocked pantry.
Run a Google search, and you’ll get all kinds of hits telling you what to get (the first one on this list has an unreal amount of items for the pantry). I actually was really surprised. Let’s take a look at that first hit. These are all great great items, but do you honestly have enough room in your freezer for all of these things? What about produce? I expect pantry staples to be shelf-stable for a long while, and I would be surprised if you could use this assortment of fresh produce in less than the time before it expires.
I must concede that a well stocked pantry means something different to different people. But, it doesn’t have to be a mini-grocery store in itself to be well stocked. This is what I have to say about pantry staples–have on hand very basic items that are shelf stable, and supplement those items with fresh items from the grocery each week. Plan your meals so you can do this, and you’ll be fine.
Our “well-stocked” pantry includes:
- cans of chicken, beef, and vegetable stock
- cans of whole and diced tomatoes, in juice
- cans of tomato sauce and paste
- cans of cream of (whatever) soup
- Skyline Chili
- boxes of macaroni and cheese
- boxes of soup mix (chicken noodle, onion)
- boxes of ranch dip mix
- tuna in a can
- cans of green chilies
- various pasta (currently, about 4 boxes of angel hair and one of penne)
- boxes of instant potatoes
- pasta sauce
- pizza sauce
- corn bread mix
- pizza dough mix
- baking mix (a la Bisquick)
- oatmeal (I have pin-oats right now)
- white and light brown sugar
- flour, baking soda, baking powder
- cornmeal
- cornstarch
- rice
- a bunch of spices (I always have cinnamon, nutmeg, basil, oregano, seasoned salt, garlic powder and vanilla extract on hand)
- tea
- butter
- milk (since we don’t actually drink it, I use it in the powdered form)
- frozen vegatables (corn, green beans, broccoli, peas, spinach)
- frozen chicken patties, tenders
- frozen meatballs
- yellow mustard
- ketchup
- mayonnaise
- dijon mustard
- worcestershire sauce
- soy sauce
- rice wine
- rice vinegar
- red wine vinegar
- apple cider vinegar
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- canola oil
- honey
- shortening
- potatoes
- onions
- garlic
- peanut butter
- cocoa powder
We usually buy meat when its on sale, and produce as we need it. If we had a garden, we’d probably grow fresh tomatoes and herbs. There are some shelf stable produce items you can get (like root vegetables) and don’t have to worry about them going bad quickly, but I get really nervous about most fruits and vegetables after they’ve been in my fridge for about a week. I’m probably just weird about that, though; to me, it just tastes better if it’s fresh. We find we can usually make some good things from these items, and most of them are called for over and over again in recipes.
What items are in your pantry?
