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Menu Planning
Edit: I didn't realize this was basically just like Sarah's post below. Oops! Any ideas for stocking a pantry would still be helpful 
Does anyone else feel like they weren't born with the "good housekeeping" gene? I was so not born with it and am lately really frustrated with my lack of abilities in the kitchen. I am in major need of stocking up our pantry and freezer with foods to make quick easy meals and not run to the grocery every time I want to 'cook' something more than cereal or Hamburger Helper. There are way too many nights that I try to scavenge something together from the random stuff we have on-hand and end up with major dinner fails. Or we end up eating out or getting pizza delivery which blows both our diet and budget.
I'm sitting down this afternoon to make a grocery list and realize I need to do some menu planning. If I don't have a plan I'm so lost in the kitchen and if I don't have a shopping list I'm so lost at the store.
I have a bunch of cookbooks and cooking websites bookmarked, but it's kind of overwhelming. To help me get started, what are some of your favorite, basic dinners? What food items do you like to have on-hand for when you need to whip up something quick?
Thanks ladies!
Re: Menu Planning
We buy the big bag of frozen chicken breasts from Sam's Club, that way we always have chicken on hand. I also like to keep some hamburger and Italian sausage in the freezer.
We stock our pantry with pasta (we eat LOTS of pasta which is why I'm switching us to whole grain pasta once our stash is gone). I also make sure I have a few jars of pasta sauce, but I also keep canned diced tomatoes so I can make my own sauce if I want to. I always keep rice stocked in the pantry also for an easy side with dinner. I don't like canned vegetable, but I do keep canned corn in the house because it's a good veggie to throw in casseroles, soups, or just to have with dinner.
In the fridge I make sure I always have bread for garlic bread, and I keep a jar of yummy basil pesto. I mix the pesto in with the diced tomatoes for a super quick & simple basil-tomato sauce.
So, with just what I mentioned here, if I'm too tired to run to the store I can still make a decent meal with just what's in the pantry, fridge, & freezer.
We're also always stocked with plenty of spices. We always have odds & ends cheeses in the fridge so when I get enough leftover I make mac & cheese. It's always yummy & never exactly the same since there's always different cheeses in it.
I'm exactly the same way. I hope somebody else adds some great suggestions.
I've started bookmarking recipes online and putting them in a "Recipes" folder so whenever I need ideas I can just skim through those. I also put blogs on there that I like - the crockpot one, pioneer woman, etc.
I wanted to add - before we lived together I never knew how to keep a pantry stocked. To be honest it's still something I struggle with. The one thing that helps me is to keep the pantry/fridge/freezer stocked with foods we actually like and will eat. There's no point in keeping stuff around if you don't really like it.
Ted & I both consider ourselves "foodies" but we can't afford to eat exotic all the time. We eat a lot of the same things each week, but usually one day a week I try to make something completely new.
There's a new dish that we really like and it uses chicken sausage, I'm trying to find out where I can buy it in bulk and keep it in the freezer! lol.
Items I almost always have on hand (and use regularly) -
frozen chicken
lean hamburger (we buy it at Costco and then freeze it into smaller portions)
various cheeses (also buy at Costco and freeze)
frozen breaded chicken patties
sausage
canned tomatoes (crushed, diced, paste)
canned beans (kidney, black, garbanzo, refried, etc)
Canned peas (pretty much the only canned veggie I will eat...we add them to fried rice a lot)
various seasoning packets (fried rice, chili, au jus, taco)
bread crumbs
pasta in various shapes
rice
jars of pasta sauce
pesto
onions
potatoes
garlic
lemons & limes
and then our fridge is always stocked with red bell peppers, green onions, lettuce, carrots, milk, eggs, and bread.
I've also found that having a wide variety of spices, vinegars (white wine, red wine, cider, rice wine, champagne, etc) and condiments (various mustards, sesame oil, worchestershire sauce, mae ploy, chili sauce, hoisin, fish sauce, etc) on hand really help for when I want to try a new recipe. I'm always more willing to make it if I don't have to run to the grocery store to get anything. I went through my whole spice cupboard and dumped everything since it was all old anyway. I ordered all new spices from Penzey's. They are super reasonably priced (WAY cheaper than the grocery store and much better quality) and have every kind of spice you could ever want. I replaced everything and was really surprised how inexpensive it was for me to do so.
Those are our staples and I can always whip up something easy from what we have on hand. Hope that helps!
ETA: I also like to keep cans of coconut milk on hand. It's actually pretty versatile. We also have several varieties of nuts in the freezer (pine nuts, walnut, pecans, and almonds), they're great for adding to salads, crushing and coating protiens, etc. HTH!
{Blog: Adventures of AlaskanAlison}
This blog has 3 different grocery list formats that you can download for free. My favorite is the Menu Grocery List. It helped me a lot!
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/01/diy-project-kates-grocery-planner.html
I think the key to simple dinners is keeping all the basics on hand (protein, veggies, grains, flavorings) and knowing how to use your spices! Almost any protein or veggie is good cooked in various ways with a little bit of olive oil and different pairings of spices, wines, and salad dressings like vinaigrettes or Italian dressing. I just throw in what I think will taste good together and experiment. It's more fun that way.
In the freezer I always keep chicken, ground beef, steaks (for grilling or cutting up and putting into a saute dish), some veggies, and usually french fries or something so I can put them in the oven to bake when I'm having a lazy day. When I make stuff like spaghetti or chili I usually make huge pots and portion the rest into containers and put them into the freezer. That makes for an easy dinner when I work late also.
In the fridge I keep assorted cheeses, deli meat for lunches, and a whole bunch of different dressings/marinades.
In the pantry I keep stuff like pasta, rice, various tomato cans and spaghetti sauce, brownie or cake mixes in case we go somewhere and I need to bring a dessert, canned veggies. Uncle Ben's has some rice in microwavable packaging that is an easy side dish. I also keep pancake mix for the occasional sunday morning breakfast. Cream of chicken/celery I use quite a bit with some casseroles. I like to also have a taco kit or 2 in there.
Hope this helps!
Hatteras, North Carolina
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I always keep these things in the freezer:
Chicken Breasts
Ground Turkey
Pork Chops
Frozen Sides - usually a couple microwavable bags
A bag of stir fry (for when DH is responsible for dinner
)
Frozen portions of "extras" (chilli, soup, stuffed peppers, etc.)
I basically hoard canned goods. My pantry always has:
baking essentials (flour, sugar, brown sugar, etc.)
pasta of all different kinds
canned tomatoes for pasta sauce
canned basil pesto
spaghetti sauce
an assortment of soups - I NEVER eat soup by itself. I'm not a soup person but I love cooking with Cream of Chicken, Cream of Mushroom, Cream of Celery, Cheddar Cheese Soup, Tomato Soup, etc.
Chicken and Beef Broth
salsa
Spices and sauces - this will be such a help for when you are using those recipes! This is the stuff that you never buy unless it's for a specific recipe. Having them on hand really helps me try new things!
bananas
The fridge is always stocked with
lunch meat
baby carrots, celery, tomatoes, green peppers
grapes (I hate fruit!)
different cheeses (usually shredded)
eggs
ricotta cheese and cottage cheese
I am in love with the America's Test Kitchen cook books. They have a section in it for skillet dinners (ie: skillet baked ziti, skillet lasagna, and even skillet burgers). There is another one for one pot dinners, but I have yet to make anything out of it. We have really added to our menu lists by using their cook books.
Also my best suggestion is to always buy a few easy meals. I have noticed when I plan a menu for a few weeks it never fails that I come home one day and just don't feel like cooking. Spaghetti, sandwiches, and a few select boxed meals seem to help with that.
Ashley & Josh ~ The Reef Resort ~ Grand Cayman~ May 15th 2010