MY IDEA OF PANTRY STAPLES

 I have two different pantry staple lists.  One list is when money is very tight and one is when money is not so tight. So here they are.  If I forget something I will add them on as I remember them.

~Very Basic Pantry and Fridge Staples~

White Flour (Bread, Muffins, Pancakes, Fried bread, Pizza dough, Bread sticks, Cake, coating, thickening 

                     agent, Pancakes, Waffles, Tortilla shells, French Toast with the bread, etc.)

Sugar

Brown Sugar ( Sprinkled with butter over fried bread for a dessert, in baked beans, in cookies, etc.)

Powdered Sugar (Frosting, Sprinkling on Cupcakes or cake, etc.,)

Chocolate Chips

Cocoa (Homemade chocolate syrup, No bake cookies, Chocolate pudding, Chocolate cake, etc.)

Baking Powder

Baking Soda

Vanilla (Vanilla pudding, Custard, Banana cream pudding, etc.,)

Rice (Rice Pudding, Casseroles, Cabbage rolls, Chicken and rice, in chicken soup instead of noodles, etc.)

Dried Pinto and Black Beans (ean soup, Chili,Refried beans, Black bean and chicken burritos, Black bean 

              salsa, black or pinto bean veggie burgers, etc.,)

Pasta ( Goulash, in soups, Tuna casserole, Pizza pasta, Taco pasta,  Macaroni and cheese, Macaroni  

             salad, etc.,)   

Canned Tomatoes (Diced and Sauce)

Canned Vegetables (Corn, Green Beans, Peas)

Potatoes ( Potato salad, Scalloped potatoes, Fried potatoes, hashbrowns, mashed potatoes, potato soup

                 Shepards pie, Baked potato w/sour cream, aked potato with chili over, Loaded baked, French 

                 fries, Chunked up in stew, etc.)

Onions

Carrots (baked, roasted, in soups, boiled dinners, carrot cake, carrot cake muffiins, in chicken pot pie,etc.)

Celery (Chopped in potato salad, chicken noodle or rice soup)

Lettuce (Salad, Sandwiches)

Tomatoes (Salad, Toasted Tomato sandwich)

Cucumber (Cucumber salad, on salads, sliced on veggie tray)

Salad Dressing (Sandwiches, Potato salad, Macaroni salad, Chicken salad, etc.,)

Apples ( just for eating, Apple pie, Apple tart, Applesauce, Baked apples, Apple muffins, Cake, Mini pies,  

             mini tarts, etc.)

Banana's ( Banana cream pudding, Banana muffiins, Cake, Bread, Pancakes, Cookies, Waffles, etc. )

Eggs ( Egg salad, in baked goods, Deviled eggs, in potato salad, Macaroni salad, Scrambled eggs, Omelets, 

          Quiche, Egg noodles, Boiled eggs, Poached eggs, etc.)

Mayo

Mustard

Ketchup

Raisins (Rice Pudding, Oatmeal Cookies, Cake, Chicken Salad, Salad, etc.,)

Stick Butter (in place of shortening in recipes)

Seasonings (Garlic Powder, Salt, Pepper, Chili Powder, Poultry Seasoning,

                    Cinnamon, Italian Seasoning)

Oatmeal (Oatmeal cookies,Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, Oatmeal peanut butter cookies, Oatmeal                                                                                                                   

                and fruit  in crockpot, Oatmeal jam bars, Oatmeal cake, Oatmeal cinamon muffins, blended into      

                smoothies,No-bake cookies, etc.)

Peanut Butter (Peanut butter cookies, Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cChocolate chip peanut butter 

                       cookies,  Peanut butter muffins, Peanut butter pie, etc.)

Grape Jam ( cause its cheap)

Cheese- Cottage, Mozarella, Cheddar

Chicken (Can be boiled so stock can be used or frozen and chicken taken off the bones

               and used in place of expensive beef in tacos, Burritos, Chicken salad, Soup, Chili,

                Chicken pot pie, etc.)

Chicken Boullion (add long cooking flavor to soups, stews)

Cabbage (Cabbage Rolls, Coleslaw, in stew, Creamed cabbage, etc.,)

Applesauce (in place of part of butter in cake, Applesauce muffins, Applesauce cake, etc.,)

~Expanded Pantry Staples in addition to above~

Whole Wheat Flour

Shortening

Molasses (aked beans, Molasses cake, etc.)

Dried Great Northern Beans (Beans Soup, White chicken chili, etc.)

Dried Kidney Beans (Chili, Soups, etc.)

Dried Lentils (Lentil veggie burgers, Lentil chili, etc.)

Dried Split Peas (Pea Soup)

Lasagna Noodles (Lasagna Roll-ups, Mexican Lasagna Roll-ups, Lasagna, Breakfast Lasagna, etc,)

Onion Powder

Cumin (Chili)

Basil (Spaghetti, Minestrone, Italian Soups, Pizza Sauce)

Oregano ( Italian Dishes)

Lemon Pepper (Lemon Pepper Chicken, Sprinkled in Chicken Noodle or Rice Soup)

Cajun

Parsley (in Egg Noodles)

Thyme (Stuffing)

Shredded Coconut

Almonds

Pecans

BBQ Sauce ( Chicken bbq's, Beef bbqs, etc.,)

Sour Cream (on baked potatoes)

Parmesan Cheese

Honey (Honey Whole Wheat Bread)

Apple Cider Vinegar (mixed with sugar and mayo for coleslaw dressing, poured over sliced cucumbers

         or tomatoes as a salad, delish)

Raspberry Jam (put in Oatmeal Bars, Peanut butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Thumbprint Cookies, etc.,)

Strawberry Jam ( "    "     "     "     " )

Almond Flavoring

Lemon Juice

Lemons

Ground Beef (Meatloaf, Burgers, Goulash, Spaghetti, Lasagna, Soups, Stew in place of stew meat, Meat-

                       balls, Tacos, Burritos, etc.,

Pepperoni (Turkey is what I use, mini pizzas, regular pizza)

English Muffins (mini pizzas, breakfast pizzas, egg sandwiches, etc.,)

Tomato Paste (Tomato Sauces, Stews, Chili, Goulash, etc.,)

Stewed Tomatoes (Stews, Chili, Italian Soups, Goulash, etc.,)

Corn Meal (Corn Pudding, Corn Bread, etc.,)

Green Peppers (Stuffed Peppers, Cut up on pizza's, in scrambled eggs, in sauces or soups, etc.,)

            ~ HALF OF MY  PANTRY BEFORE STOCKING~

          ~THE PANTRY I "WISH" I HAD~

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

  I just found this recipe and tried it and it is delicious!  Its not as thick as store bought  but its not full of corn syrup!  It is very rich because of the cocoa.  My kids love it.  I washed out an empty mayonaise jar to store it in the fridge.  I make a double batch at a time so it lasts longer.  A double batch makes a mayo jar full to top.  It would be good over ice cream also!

CHOCOLATE SYRUP

½ cup cocoa powder
1 cup water
2 cups sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla

Mix the cocoa powder and the water in a saucepan. Heat and stir to dissolve the cocoa. Add the sugar, and stir to dissolve. Boil for 3 minutes over medium heat. Be careful not to let it get too hot and boil over! Add the salt and the vanilla. Let cool. Pour into a clean glass jar, and store in the refrigerator. Keeps for several months, but trust me it will be gone before then. Yields two cups.

TIME TO GROCERY SHOP!

  Getting ready to head to the store for a few groceries.  Have to make sure I have a list and a plan for the meals I am going to make so I don't overspend.  There is double coupon to $2.00 which is great but when you go and something that would have been 6 bucks ends up being 2 bucks you think "oh my gosh, what a deal I saved 4 bucks" but really if you don't need it, you are out 2 bucks that you could have bought a whole bag of flour which would make tons of bread then you are spending money when you don't need to.  I always figure unless my pantry is full of  what I consider staple items then I buy nothing else until it is stocked because when you have the right staple items you can make a meal just from those items.  I will list what I consider "staple" items later today and a few ideas of what you could conjure up with them.

                                                   ~ COUPON HOLDER IDEA~

   They say eat before you go to the store well this picture shows what happens if you do eat or if you don't eat at all!   Happy medium, eat a little!