Yesterday we talked about how to make a menu plan and I shared my process of choosing meals for the week. However, everyone knows that a well stocked kitchen will help you make the most of food that’s on sale, and will enable you to pull together a last minute dish. Here is what I consider absolutely essential to have on hand in our house. I keep a list similar to the one below (except organized according to the aisles of our own grocery store) and take it with me every shopping trip to make sure that we don’t run out of necessities.
Staples for Baking
Active Dry Yeast
Baking chocolate
Baking powder
Baking soda (I buy two containers of baking soda. One for baking and one to use at the kitchen sink for cleaning! Baking soda is great for scouring.)
Brown sugar
Butter (Keep both unsalted and salted butter on hand.)
Chocolate chips
Chopped pecans and walnuts
Confectioner’s sugar
Cornmeal
Cornstarch
Corn syrup
Evaporated milk
Flaked Coconut
Flour (Keep both white and wheat on hand. In many baked recipes, you can substitute at least a portion of the white flour with wheat flour to make a healthier version.)
Graham Crackers (Keep on hand both for a good snack for the kids and to make crumb crusts.)
Honey
Instant coffee (For recipes only! I always have on hand brewed coffee for drinking)
Jello Pudding Mix (Used for making cakes extra smooth and rich!)
Molasses
Oats
Powdered milk (Substitute in recipes for milk. It’s much cheaper.)
Raisins
Sugar
Sweetened condensed milk
Unsweetened Applesauce
Vanilla extract
Vegetable oil
Staples From the Spice Rack
Adobo
Allspice
Almond Extract
Basil
Black pepper
Bouillon cubes (both beef and chicken)
Cayenne pepper
Celery salt
Chili powder
Cinnamon
Cinnamon sticks
Cinnamon sugar (I make this myself rather than buying it.)
Cloves
Cocoa powder
Cumin
Dry mustard
Ginger
Italian seasoning
Lemon & black pepper seasoning
Lipton onion soup mix
Non-dairy vanilla coffee creamer (As a flavoring for oatmeal)
Nutmeg
Onion powder
Oregano
Paprika
Parsley
Pork seasoning
Rotisserie chicken seasoning
Sea salt
White pepper
Staples from the Produce Aisle
Avocados
Baby Carrots
Cucumbers
Garlic
Green bell peppers
Lettuce
Onions
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes/yams
Tomatoes
The “Everything Else” Staples
Bread crumbs
Canned diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning
Canned Stewed tomatoes
Canned Tomato Sauce
Cream cheese
Crushed pineapple
Distilled white vinegar, cider vinegar and wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
Frozen vegetables (Can be thrown into soups or stews rather than chopping up vegetables.)
Ketchup
Lemon juice
Mayonnaise
Marinara sauce
Pasta
Peanut butter
Rice
Shredded cheese (we usually keep Mozzarella and cheddar)
Soy sauce
Syrup
Tortillas
Tuna
Worcestershire sauce
Yogurt (I keep both plain and vanilla on hand. Vanilla yogurt is a great dip for fruit. Plain yogurt is usually a pretty good substitute for sour cream in recipes.)