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My Fridge & Pantry Favorites
38
items Adulthood is just an endless task of deciding what to eat everyday for the rest of your life. Motherhood is an endless task of deciding what everyone in your family is going to eat everyday for the rest of their life. These are my favorite ingredient...
Sections
5
Canned Vegetables
Dry stock
Spices
Oils (and butter)
Baking
Canned Vegetables
I do frozen corn when I can, but sometimes there’s more pantry space than freezer space, and this isn’t too bad! Drain it, and sauté it up in coconut oil, and you have the best side dish!
Great Value Golden Sweet Whole Kernel Corn, 15 oz
I’m not a fan of the after taste of frozen green beans, unless they’re sautéed, so we use canned green beans. Put ‘em in a pan with bacon grease, salt, and pepper, and simmer low and slow, and they almost taste like freshly canned beans!
Great Value Cut Green Beans, Canned Green Beans, 14.5 oz Can
These are the best beans to use for baked beans! They’re also fantastic in tacos or chili.
For baked beans, put some bbq sauce, mustard, bacon grease, garlic, red pepper flakes, and a tad bit of brown sugar, and cook low and slow!
Dakota's Pride Pork & Beans
Low sodium is always good! I always keep a couple of these on hand for dishes like Dirty Rice, Chicken Fajitas, or tacos
Low Sodium Black Beans - 15.5oz - Good & Gather™
I buy a lot of diced tomatoes, and I use them as an ingredient for things like spaghetti or pizza sauce, or just in dishes like chili.
Diced Tomatoes - 14.5oz - Good & Gather™
These stir fry medleys make great sides! I don’t steam them though. I like to sauté them with some soy sauce, pepper, garlic, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. They can take a little bit to cook that way, but they’re so much more flavorful!
Birds Eye Steamfresh Asian Medley Frozen Vegetables - 10.8oz
I don’t like fresh mushrooms, so these are great for my family! They’re good on pizza, in stir fry, or in a pasta dish. I always grab a couple cans when I do my grocery runs!
Pennsylvania Dutchman Pieces & Stems Mushrooms, 4oz Can
Dry stock
Having a big bag of rice on hand is great! So many meals can be made with rice or supplemented by rice. And, a big bag can let a long time, if stored properly (airtight container, clipped and in a freezer bag, etc)
Carolina Long Grain Jasmine Rice - 2lbs
I always have flour, especially all-purpose. Honestly, the only thing self-rising is good for is biscuits (in my opinion), so why spend the extra money to have both?
King Arthur Flour Unbleached All-Purpose Flour - 5lbs
If you’ve never had brown beans, fried potatoes, collard greens, and cornbread, you need to! And dried pinto beans will last you a long time.
Dry Pinto Beans - 1LB - Good & Gather™
If you can buy pasta in a bulk pack, do it! It’s a lot cheaper that way, and will last a long time, as long as it’s stored in a cool, dry place. It’s great for loads of meals too: Mac and cheese, spaghetti, goulash, garlic butter noodles, bolognese, ...
Barilla Pasta Variety Pack (16 oz., 6 ct.)
These are good for oatmeal, no bake cookies, and homemade granola!
Old Fashioned Oats - 18oz - Good & Gather™
Cornmeal is great to add to make a meal go further, cornbread, or encrusting foods you want to fry (I see you, fried green tomatoes!)
Yellow Corn Meal - 16oz - Good & Gather™
One bag (or box) of this will last you a long, long time, unless you use it to make oobleck for your kids! It's most useful for thickening things, especially if you need it to be gluten free!
Corn Starch - 16oz - Good & Gather™
Obviously, sugar is a must. Not only is it a necessity for baking, but some dinner dishes may need it too!
Granulated Sugar - 4lbs - Good & Gather™
Spices
Maybe a little pricier, but it packs a better punch than the bigger pre-ground tins of pepper
Black Peppercorn Grinder - 1.58oz - Good & Gather™
Get a bigger one, and fill your salt shaker as needed. Life-hack: put a little bit of rice in your salt shaker before you put salt in. It will keep the salt from clumping together.
Plain Salt - 26oz - Good & Gather™
I’m going to tell you now, do yourself a favor, and buy the Italian seasonings separate instead of the mix. You will always be looking for just one of them, and get frustrated you don’t have it. Some dishes need just oregano.
Oregano Leaves - 0.75oz - Good & Gather™
Dried basil is a lovely addition to many a meal.
Basil Leaves - 0.62oz - Good & Gather™
I use rosemary in a lot! For chicken, veggies, soups, you name it. It’s a versatile spice, just watch out for the spines!
Rosemary - .75oz - Good & Gather™
First, don’t spring extra for pre-mixed garlic salt. Second, minced garlic is better, and fresh garlic is best; however, this works in a pinch, and you’ll be surprised by how much you use it!
Garlic Powder - 10.3oz - Good & Gather™
Important for any Hispanic meal, and great in other meals too! My family loves cumin.
Ground Cumin - 2oz - Good & Gather™
Please, please, please don’t forget to pronounce that first ‘r’. Also, look up a recipe for “keema aloo”. You’ll thank me later!
Ground Turmeric - 2oz - Good & Gather™
Mix this with some ground cumin, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried oregano, along with salt and black pepper, and you’ve got your own taco seasoning.
Chili Powder - 2.5oz - Good & Gather™
Honestly not 100% sure of the point of paprika, but I put it in a lot of stuff that tastes good, so….
Ground Paprika - 2.12oz - Good & Gather™
Drop these in with your roast or in a soup for a little extra flavor! Don’t eat them though
Whole Bay Leaves - 0.12oz - Good & Gather™
Add this to anything for a bit of pizzaz. Just a warning: don’t put too much! Your dish will get spicy as it sits and cooks. If you put it in and taste right away, it’s not ready.
Crushed Red Pepper - 1.5oz - Good & Gather™
Oils (and butter)
I always grab these in a pinch if I need butter (I usually buy in bulk from Costco), and they work perfectly for my buttering or greasing needs!
Great Value Sweet Cream Salted Butter, 16 oz Box, 4 Sticks
If I want to get fancy, for one reason or another, I'll grab this butter. It is SUPER tasty, and perfect for making a rich dessert.
Kerrygold Grass-Fed Pure Irish Block Salted Butter
I always get my olive oil in bulk from Costco, because it's cheaper and excellent quality! Apparently you can order their brand through Walmart too, though, so I've linked it as well.
Kirkland Signature, Extra Virgin Italian Olive Oil, 2 L
I love using coconut oil! You can use it in food, for your skin, for your hair, etc. My favorite way to use it is for corn (see above), but I also love to fry donuts in it. You just have to watch the smoke point!
Organic Refined Coconut Oil - 14oz - Good & Gather™
Baking
I buy a huge bag of these, and then stick them in the freezer! They stay good for a long time, as long as you stick the whole package in a freezer bag once it's opened.
Kirkland Signature Walnut Halves 3 Pounds
I love using these in desserts! They also keep well in the freezer. Also, if you haven't tried Kentucky Derby Pie, do yourself a favor, and look it up!
Kirkland Signature Pecan Halves 2 Pounds
Trust me, no one's going to know if you went generic or name brand with these! They're delicious either way!
Semi Sweet Chocolate Morsels - 12oz - Good & Gather™
Depending on what you're making, and how often, one bag could last a while. I like using it to dust over desserts, or to make a sweet glaze!
Great Value Confectioners Powdered Sugar, 32 oz
This is a pantry staple for 2 reasons. First, it's why I don't use self-rising flour. Second, it's great for bee stings, if you mix it in water to make a paste.
Great Value Baking Soda, 1 lb
Again, necessary, so I don't have to worry about having self-rising flour!
Great Value Double Acting Baking Powder, 8.1 oz
Did you know yeast is necessary for sourdough bread? It is, but it doesn't have to be instant dry, like some recipes say. Active dry works just as well!
Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast - 4oz