Stocking Up

Tigersbballgal

I'm trying to figure out what we need to "stock up" on for our kitchen. We want to do our bi-weekly shopping trips but we also want to have certain things stocked up but we're not sure exactly what that should entail... any tips out there?

ChristineNB

Tigersbballgal:

I'm trying to figure out what we need to "stock up" on for our kitchen. We want to do our bi-weekly shopping trips but we also want to have certain things stocked up but we're not sure exactly what that should entail... any tips out there?

 

I'm curious too.  Besides flour, sugar, spices, and basic baking goods not sure what to keep on hand.  I feel like I end up running to the store a lot during the week unnecessarily. 

missaloha

i always stock up on canned goods i can use in a pinch: canned whole, diced and stewed tomatoes, tomato paste; canned black, pinto, white and kidney beans; green chilies, tuna, clams, and even some cream of mushroom and/or chicken for casseroles.

i also stock up on various rices, pasta and grains: white, brown, arborio, basmati; quinoa, barley, farro; cous cous, and all shapes of pasta.

 for the freezer, i get plenty of different veggies so i always have something on hand as a side if i don' have anything fresh. i always have bacon in the freezer too, as so many recipes seem to call for it!  (and of course it's fabulous regardless!

 i've also started buying pillsbury rolls and biscuits--while i like baking, i don't always think ahead, and having fresh warm rolls for dinner is always nice.

ChristyDM82

Canned tomatoes, canned beans, pasta sauce, chicken, veggie and beef broth.

Pasta, rice, quinoa, egg noodles.  Olive oil, onions, garlic.

Frozen veggies (always have frozen chopped spinach).  Mozzarella and cheddar cheeses.  Grated Parmesan.  Rolls (can be frozen, then defrosted easily).

Jim&Jaime

Always keep in mind, what is a go-to item for some, may not be one for you. I would go through some of your most frequently used recipes and see what ingredients you're using most often and create your pantry from there. 

ohioloveyou

Canned tomatoes (diced and crushed), several types of canned beans, dried pasta, rice, cornmeal, breadcrumbs, chicken broth, and occasionally soup.  

I tend to stock my freezer with frozen peas, broccoli, chopped spinach, corn, and edamame when I can find them on sale.  I also freeze meat I find at good deals and keep a list on the front of the freezer so I know what I have. 

littlemisswitness

I always make sure to have plenty of rice, canned beans(usually black), and frozen veggies. My local supermarket has frozen steam-in-bag vegetables for about $2 each, and each bag is roughly 4 servings(as a side). That way if I don't have meal planned for dinner, or if DH needs to cook for whatever reason, we would just need to pick up meat.
Rachel Ray has a great list of pantry staples. When DH and I first got married I bought everything on the list(it was pretty expensive to do all at once, but we got a lot of money as gifts) and I was so glad we did! I used almost everything, and once a year I re-stock everything that's on the list. Here you go:
http://www.everythingrachaelray.com/2006/05/stocking-your-pantry-rachael-ray-way.html

HTH

alithebride

it really depends on what types of meals you cook. i cook a lot of asian so i always have fish sauce, sriracha, soy, sesame oil etc.... i also cook a ton of italian so i have blocks of cheese to grate (boxed pregrated parm is gross), pasta, my marinara sauce frozen, large cans of san marzano tomatoes, paste, sausage, onions, herbs, spices. I also have a lot of different kinds of salt-kosher, table, fleur de sel etc...

lovethebeach16

I agree that it depends on what you cook, but since I just cleaned out the freezer and fridge and reorganized the whole pantry, here is what I have.

Freezer: chicken, ground beef and shrimp. Fish, steak, pork and other seafoods are usually there but I don't restock those as frequently. Frozen corn, peas, edamame and a stir fry mix are also always in the freezer.

Fridge, condiments: ketchup, yellow mustard, spicy mustard, mayo, pickles/relish, soy sauce, fish sauce, A1, Worcestershire sauce, BBQ sauce.

Fridge, food: carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, at least one type of cheese, eggs, usually bacon, milk, cream or half and half, greek yogurt or sour cream, water, flavored water, ice tea.

Pantry, spices: basil, oregano, parsley, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, rotisserie chicken seasoning, lemon pepper seasoning, cajun seasoning, Old Bay, cumin, paprika, cayenne, ginger, thyme, rosemary, sesame seeds, meat tenderizer, multiple types of salt, pepper.

Pantry, condiments/sauces: Sriracha, olive oil, canola oil, vegetable oil, red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, distilled vinegar, chicken broth, beef broth, vegetable broth, jarred spaghetti sauce.

Pantry, canned: diced/stewed/whole/petite/crushed tomato, tomato paste, tomato sauce, canned corn, sloppy joe sauce, kidney beans, black beans, crushed pineapple, mandarin oranges.

Pantry, baking: all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cake flour, bread flour, white sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, cornmeal, applesauce, sugar subsitutes, chocolate baking bars, marshmallows, sprinkles, pectin, different extracts, chocolate chips.

Pantry, pasta and rice: elbow/spaghetti/linguine/fetticuine/asian/lasagna noodles. Brown/white/arborio/jasmine rice. Orzo, barley. Breadcrumbs.

Everything else: cereal, oatmeal, pancake mix, syrup, peanut butter, nutella, bread/rolls, foil, parchment paper, wax paper, plastic wrap, brown bags, various sized zip lock bags.