
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 :
- chicken stock
- cans of cream of chicken
- tomato sauce
- canned tuna
- canned beans (I always have at least one can of black beans because we like them with our tacos)
- rice
- peanut Butter (We go through a LOT of peanut butter so I buy the big ones at Costco)
- 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)
- Bread
- 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…
- eggs
- 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
- Parmesan cheese
- shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese (we make homemade pizzas, quesadillas, tacos, and a lot of our favorite recipes call for shredded cheese ! )
- minced garlic (this saves so much time and is more cost efficient than fresh!)
- Cream cheese (for baking, cooking, and spread on bagels)
- condiments : ketchup,ranch, mayo, mustard, BBQ sauce (because we have a four year old who always wants to dip his food into everything )
Freezer:
- berries (great for throwing in to make a smoothie or topping your yogurt or oatmeal with)
- corn and peas (I will add corn or peas to mac and cheese & as a quick lunch or dinner side)
- 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)
- chicken breasts (I buy these whenever they are on sale! We eat a lot of chicken over here)
And for the baking cupboard…
- White flour
- whole wheat flour
- salt
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Sugar (raw and white)
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla Extract
- Oats (I like rolled old-fashioned oats for making oatmeal in the morning and for baking with)
- 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
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