My pantry & fridge “staples”

Over the years I have taken a mental note on what my family eats and drinks the most and what I cook and bake with the most. The things that are my staples that I always pick up when they are on sale and make sure I always have on hand…

First let’s start with the pantry. I always have dry pasta on hand. I keep spaghetti noodles, egg noodles, and one other type of  noodle (penne, serial, macaroni…). A lot of our dinner recipes that are my families favorites have pasta in them and its always a great idea to keep spaghetti noodles and sauce on hand too whenever you want a super quick dinner option. I use the egg noodles a lot as a side for dinners or even for lunches. I cook them according to the package and then add some butter and a bit of seasoning. YUM.

Another pantry item we always have is Annie’s macaroni and cheese. Again, a great quick dinner or lunch option! If we are having it for dinner I’ll add a veggie such as peas and some cubed cooked ham or chicken to it.

Some of the more obvious staples in our pantry :

1. chicken stock
2. cans of cream of chicken
3. tomato sauce
4. canned tuna
5. canned beans (I always have at least one can of black beans because we like them with our tacos)
6. rice
7. peanut Butter (We go through a LOT of peanut butter so I buy the big ones at Costco)
8. Some sort of crackers (we eat a lot of cheese and crackers and spread nutella and peanut butter on them as well as crush them up to make a breaded seasoning for chicken tenders)
9. Bread
10. Tortillas (we always have these on hand because we can make a quick last minute dinner such as tacos or quesadillas plus you can fry them and add butter cinnamon and sugar for a quick treat too)

 

 

Ok now moving to the refrigerator…

We always have some whole milk, 1/2 and 1/2 for Nate’s coffee, and either almond milk or soy milk for me. And…

1. eggs
2. tub of vanilla yogurt (I bake with yogurt, have it for a snack topped with crunchy granola and my son eats bowls and bowls if it! We like the Stonyfield Smooth And Creamy organic vanilla yogurt
3. Parmesan cheese
4. shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese  (we make homemade pizzas, quesadillas, tacos,  and a lot of our favorite recipes call for shredded cheese ! )
5. minced garlic (this saves so much time and is more cost efficient than fresh!)
6. Cream cheese (for baking, cooking, and spread on bagels)
7. condiments : ketchup,ranch, mayo, mustard, BBQ sauce (because we have a four year old who always wants to dip his food into everything )

Freezer:

1. berries (great for throwing in to make a smoothie or topping your yogurt or oatmeal with)
2. corn and peas (I will add corn or peas to mac and cheese & as a quick lunch or dinner side)
3. Bread (we go through so much bread over here I always keep an extra one in the freezer in case we run out and I can’t get to the store)
4. chicken breasts (I buy these whenever they are on sale! We eat a lot of chicken over here)

And for the baking cupboard…

1. White flour
2. whole wheat flour
3. salt
4. Baking soda
5. Baking powder
6. Sugar (raw and white)
7. Brown sugar
8. Vanilla Extract
9. Oats (I like rolled old-fashioned oats for making oatmeal in the morning and for baking with)
10. Chia seeds (I add these to everything I can! Baked goods, smoothies, casseroles….Will be posting a few of my yummy smoothie recipes with chia seeds soon)

 

These are just our “must-haves” that I always try to keep stocked in our home. For a printable version click HERE