Manage Your Pantry

Our current economy is forcing many families to reevaluate what they do at mealtime.  It’s easy to say you aren’t going to eat out or buy ready made but if both the adults in the household work, it’s easier said than done.  Unless you make a concerted effort to change what you buy at the grocery store and even what you do with it when you get it home, you are doomed from the start.

Cheap Meals is not about using inferior ingredients or living on macaroni and cheese.  It’s about finding ways to eat nutritious meals on a budget.  This isn’t necessarily a recipe site , but I intend to share some of the ones that work for my family and to point you to other sites that will make dinner a little easier to prepare.  At the same time, I really want my readers to share what works for them.

To start off, take an informal inventory of what is in your kitchen.  You don’t have to be a master chef to keep a well stocked pantry.  You also don’t have to run out and buy everything at once.  Simply decide what you should have in your cupboard and buy a couple of items a week.  No one can tell you exactly what you should have on hand.  My family doesn’t like canned foods.  I keep several varieties of beans (including baked) on hand and a few other canned veggies but most of what I have gets used in recipes rather than heated in a pot on the stove.  You have to find what works for your family.  That being said, here is a list of things I would not want to be without:

• unbleached all purpose flour
• sugar (white and brown)
• salt & pepper
• baking powder
• baking soda
• apple cider vinegar
• spices – cinnamon, oregano, basil, garlic powder, garlic salt, cumin, chili powder, red pepper.  I have rosemary growing outside my door and also use nutmeg, ginger, cloves, allspice, thyme and others.  Pick up spices as you need them as they are expensive.  Some brands are cheaper and work as well so comparison shop.
• olive oil (salads), coconut oil (cooking), sunflower oil, etc.
• applesauce in snack paks (A jar is cheaper to buy but ends up going bad as I usually only use a 1/2 cup to cut the oil in a recipe.  I got tired of throwing it out so this works for me.)
• spaghetti sauce and dried pasta
• rice
• tuna fish and or canned chicken
• soup (dried soup along with canned cream of mushroom & cream of chicken for cooking, other kinds to eat)
• Worcestershire sauce
• mustard, ketchup, pickles, mayo, etc.

I also tend to keep bags of vegetables in the freezer along with onions, potatoes and seasonal fruit in my refrigerator.  I’m sure I’ll add to this list later but that’s plenty to start with.

BONUS:  One of my favorite recipe sites is allrecipes.com They get my vote because they have an active community commenting on their recipes and sharing how they actually made them for their family.  If 20 people all tell you something is a great recipe, you can bet it’s pretty good!

Tags: budget, Cheap Meals, pantry, recipes