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Your Well-Stocked Pantry

Earlier I wrote a post about the financial benefits of keeping a large pantry in your house in which to store food.  So, now that the financial benefits are laid out, how do you get started with this pantry? If you are new to cooking then you may not have the faintest idea what items to stock. Even those of us who are seasoned cooks don’t always approach the stocking of our pantries in anything more than a haphazard manner.

If we approach this pantry stocking activity with a modicum of sense and organization we can save even more money by ensuring that we don’t run out of items, that we have the time to wait until things go on sale or we find a great coupon, and so on.

To begin this organization effort, the following is a list of the things I would deem important to stock up on and keep in the pantry. Of course you will only buy these things when you can get your hands on a good coupon for them or a sale price that is exceptional. But starting with a list that you can tick off as you go should lend some order to this somewhat daunting task. To that end:

Pantry Items to Keep In-Stock

• Canned tomatoes, crushed or whole
• Canned beans, any variety
• Rice
• Flour
• Dried pasta
• Sugar
• Salt
• Canned vegetables
• Cooking oils such as: olive, vegetable, canola
• Vinegars such as balsamic, white, and red
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Oatmeal
• Chicken and beef broth (and/or bouillon cubes)
• Canned fruit
• Tuna
• Peanut butter
• Cream of mushroom soup
• Cornmeal
• Brown sugar
• Yeast (in packets if you can’t refrigerate it)
• Cornstarch
• Crackers
• Barley
• Dried beans, any variety
• Peas
• Lentils
• And plenty of your favorite spices

Worried about space? Some people convert their linen closets into pantries and put the linens in boxes under their bed. Some use racks in the garage or coat-closets in the foyer. If you are well-stocked you only need one of each item out at a time, making storage of the extras in the kitchen unnecessary.

Some of the dishes that come to mind that could be made from these pantry ingredients are: spaghetti with tomato sauce, home made tortillas with rice and beans, bread, stew augmented with whatever fresh meat and vegetables you might have on hand, and oatmeal cookies!

Whenever possible I buy minimally processed canned food. For the canned vegetables, for example, I might buy no salt-added, whole green beans. I figure I can always add my own salt and oil later if I want it.  Are there any items that you keep in your well-stocked pantry that I have left out? Please share!