A well stocked pantry can make your life a great deal easier as well as save you money in the long run. I had reason to beef up my pantry in the last week due to an infestation of pantry moths. Yes, I am here announcing to the internet that there were bugs in my pantry. I’ve been fighting the #$(&$@! little buggers for a while now and last week I think I may have finally won. The problem was I had to throw just about everything in the pantry other than canned goods. I have done this a few times in the last few months but this time I found a colony/nest/big hairy pile of them. I ahdn’t successfully found the nest before.
They are nasty.
See?
So I threw out everything and wiped everything first with vinegar and then eucalytus oil. Then when it dried I put everything back. Neatly. The breads and cereals are being stored in the extra fridge for a few weeks to make sure they littl creatures are really gone. The nuts, dried beans and homemade bread crumbs are living in the freezer and chips are in the fridge in the kitchen. Flours and grains are stored on metal shelving in the kitchen in tightly lidded glass drawers.
So what consitutes a well-stocked pantry? Here’s what works for us:
Fridge
Milk (whole)
Butter (salted and unsalted)
Cheese (cheddar both sharp and mild, jack, pepper jack, mozzarella, parmesan, romano, feta and cream)
Sour cream
Salad lettuces and veggies
Citrus fruit
Mayo
Mustards
Freezer
Chopped spinach
Green beans
Peas
Corn
Sliced peppers
Diced onions
Chicken breasts
Ground beef
Ground pork
Ground turkey
Condiments/oils/vinegars
Extra virgin olive oil
Sesame oil
Balsamic
Grapeseed oil
Vinegars (apple cider, red wine, rice,)
BBQ sauce (homemade in the fridge)
Worcestershire
Ketchup
Mustard
Mayo
Mirin
Hoisin
Herbs/spices/seasonings/flavorings
This is a really long list, suffice to say I have about thirty mason jars of dried spices which I buy in bulk here . We tend towards those spices that enhance italian and mexican foods although I am considering trying some Indian dishes this winter.
Salt (kosher and sea salt)
Pepper (black ground and peppercorns) I don’t care for white pepper so I don’t stock it.
Garlic (chopped in oil and whole cloves)
Onions (diced in the freezer, pearl in the freezer and whole in baskets)
Ginger (fresh in fridge)
Maple syrup (real, not the chemical junk)
Agave
Lyles Golden Syrup
Honey (local for allergies, raw for cooking and tonics, organic for tea)
Unsweetened cocoa
Chocolate chips
Canned goods
Tuna
Salmon
Beans (red kidney, black beans, garbanzo)
Tomatoes (stewed, sauce, diced, crushed and paste)
Artichokes
Grains/legumes
Flour (white, bread, whole wheat, rye, almond, flax)
Brown rice
Aborio rice
Pasta
Yellow cornmeal
Couscous
Quinoa
Dried lentils
Dried black beans
Panko
Nuts
Almonds
Walnuts
Pecans
Peanut butter
Almond butter
Tahini
Sesame seeds
Pumpkin seeds
Poppy seeds
I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting a bunch of stuff but that’s the bulk of it. From this list I can pull together a quick meal even if we don’t have meat (or I haven’t thawed any). I’ll post more about stocking the freezer with pre-made meals in the future.
This week’s plan”
Monday
Chicken enchiladas
Tuesday
Chicken noodle soup
Biscuts
Wednesday
Pancakes and sausage
Fried apples
Thursday
(Mama is traveling so this will be made before I go, hopefully they will eat it)
Meatloaf
Roasted potatoes
String beans
Friday
(Mama is still traveling)
Pizza
Salad
Saturday
Dad is in charge.
Sunday
(Mama arrives home)
I will have to see the state of things when I get home, we may need to order in :),
Leave your link and share your menu this week!
Thanks for the heads-up on your spice source! I was looking for a new source for quality spices after my current spice shop got more than a little in-your-face with its political agenda. I don’t need politics stuffed between the chili powder and cinnamon, thankyouverymuch.
Penzeys? That was my problem with them too, I used to like them. I’ve used this source twice and so far, so good. Thanks for linking in!
Yes, that’s the one. And it makes me sad, because they have a shop about 15 minutes from my daughter’s college, and it is fun to go in there and browse in person.
I already told my older son about Spice Jungle (since he called me from the supermarket last night, looking for some seasoning or other.) He had a huge boxful of spices he’d accumulated during his last 2 years at college when he lived in a townhouse and did his own cooking. He’s a way better cook than I was at 22!