So, You Want to See My Pantry?
Let me start by saying... I don't have a pantry.
...I know, right?
When we bought our house I didn't even think about it until we moved in and I was like, "hmm... where am I going to put all of this food??"
I have moved it around a few times until I found what worked.
So, what are my pantry staples?
ie: the things I put on my list automatically if we are running low...
Grains
Boxed Pasta (I currently have over ten boxes that I have paid very little for at Target)
Rice (I really like Uncle Ben's quinoa and brown rice)
Quinoa
Beans
Instant Oats
Corn Bread (Jiffy, duh)
Mac & Cheese boxes
Bread and tortillas (we eat a lot of tacos)
Breakfast bars, we have a huge amount of breakfast bars right now...
Ritz crackers (my husband is obsessed)
Saltines
Various cereals (our favs are Raisin Bran and Special K, Rhett eats the store brand Cheerios dry, cheaper than the baby flavored snacks)
Cookie mixes or Cake mixes (if I can buy on sale)
Tortilla chips
Goldfish and Pretzels for Hudson
Canned
Canned fruit in 100% juice (for the boys)
Canned Black beans
Canned Green beans
Canned corn
Crushed tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Cream of... whatever soups
Tuna
Pasta sauce
Rotel
Produce
5 lb bag of potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Misc (usually extras or backup)
Coffee
Peanut Butter
Almond milk
Salad Dressing
Applesauce
Coffee creamer
Mayo
All of the baking supplies (flour, sugar...)
As you can see, I don't keep a lot of sweets around because if I do then I will want to eat them non-stop. And I didn't want my boys growing up thinking that they get sweet treats all the time. Cookies are a special occasion at our house (or every time we go by the Wal-Mart bakery). I like to keep a stock of basic ingredients for recipes so I can always whip something up if I need to but can't get to the store (which is a mile from my house... ha). We don't eat a lot of pasta but I have a lot of pasta. I use it for taking meals to friends after having a baby or surgery... I have a yummy recipe for Spaghetti Casserole!
I'll be back tomorrow with a terrifying look at our refrigerator and deep freeze. I have to go clean them first, ha!
What are your pantry staples that I don't know about? Maybe they need to be my staples too!
...I know, right?
When we bought our house I didn't even think about it until we moved in and I was like, "hmm... where am I going to put all of this food??"
I have moved it around a few times until I found what worked.
So, what are my pantry staples?
ie: the things I put on my list automatically if we are running low...
Grains
Boxed Pasta (I currently have over ten boxes that I have paid very little for at Target)
Rice (I really like Uncle Ben's quinoa and brown rice)
Quinoa
Beans
Instant Oats
Corn Bread (Jiffy, duh)
Mac & Cheese boxes
Bread and tortillas (we eat a lot of tacos)
Breakfast bars, we have a huge amount of breakfast bars right now...
Ritz crackers (my husband is obsessed)
Saltines
Various cereals (our favs are Raisin Bran and Special K, Rhett eats the store brand Cheerios dry, cheaper than the baby flavored snacks)
Cookie mixes or Cake mixes (if I can buy on sale)
Tortilla chips
Goldfish and Pretzels for Hudson
Canned
Canned fruit in 100% juice (for the boys)
Canned Black beans
Canned Green beans
Canned corn
Crushed tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Cream of... whatever soups
Tuna
Pasta sauce
Rotel
Produce
5 lb bag of potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Onions
Garlic
Misc (usually extras or backup)
Coffee
Peanut Butter
Almond milk
Salad Dressing
Applesauce
Coffee creamer
Mayo
All of the baking supplies (flour, sugar...)
As you can see, I don't keep a lot of sweets around because if I do then I will want to eat them non-stop. And I didn't want my boys growing up thinking that they get sweet treats all the time. Cookies are a special occasion at our house (or every time we go by the Wal-Mart bakery). I like to keep a stock of basic ingredients for recipes so I can always whip something up if I need to but can't get to the store (which is a mile from my house... ha). We don't eat a lot of pasta but I have a lot of pasta. I use it for taking meals to friends after having a baby or surgery... I have a yummy recipe for Spaghetti Casserole!
I'll be back tomorrow with a terrifying look at our refrigerator and deep freeze. I have to go clean them first, ha!
What are your pantry staples that I don't know about? Maybe they need to be my staples too!
Similar, but also add chicken broth, canned chicken (in 2 packs at walmart it is under a 2 dollars a can and one can makes a whole recipe of something...and it's fast!), variety of quick rice mixes (broccoli and cheese rice, add can of chicken and some frozen broccoli, dinner is microwaved in under 15 minutes, same for Spanish rice, chicken, can of rotel). rice wine vinegar, fish sauce etc..turns a pot of noodles into Chinese food, add veggies and meat and no need for take-out. Wide taco shells for baked tacos (family favorite), Canned salmon for salmon patties. Dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, and a variety of nuts to spice up salads.
ReplyDeleteI keep a TON of petite diced tomatoes in stock so I can easily make chilis and tomato based soups. I also second the chicken broth... I always keep several boxes in my pantry (I try to stock up during Thanksgiving/Christmas when they go on sale).
ReplyDeleteI don't have a pantry either, which can make organization a challenge for me! I like having Ovaltine stocked in our pantry and oatmeal. I use the ovaltine for smoothies, and I just love eating oatmeal on nights I don't have time to cook a big meal!
ReplyDeleteYour pantry looks a lot like mine! I always keep everything on hand that I need to make homemade vegetable soup! We are big soup people, and it's something easy and quick that I can make up in a hurry!
ReplyDeleteAt any given time you can come over to my house, open my pantry, and I promise you will always find: almond butter, canned coconut milk, raisins, sweet potatoes, onions, raw almonds (we eat them raw, and grind them into flour for pancakes/waffles, etc) and pecans. Whatever the week's meals call for will throw a little variety in there, but most all of our food is in the fridge and freezer!
ReplyDeleteI have the same situation in my kitchen -- no pantry, which drives me nuts! Unfortunately, my kitchen cabinet that serves as my kitchen's pantry is WAY too full! I am trying to plan meals around the pantry so I can slim down our supply some!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have a pantry when we first moved into our house either. We ended up building one, but only because we had the space and it was relatively cheap. Stopping by from SITS...
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of soups and baked beans and capers. For some reason I always feel like I need capers and then don't use them. Because many of my items are round and various sizes I have such a hard time organizing -- so I give up and just stick things where they go. I hate to admit it, but I think that if I HAD a pantry, it'd still be a big old mess.
ReplyDeleteWOW my pantry is not in the kitchen but in the pantry area of my apartment. We don't keep much in ours due to living the Atkins lifestyle.
ReplyDelete