Pantry

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Pantry items

A Well-Stocked Pantry

One of the blessings of having a full pantry is that I never have to run to the store to make dinner. There is always something on hand. I can buy things when they're on sale, and when I go to make dinner, I can choose by what I feel like making in the time I have. Variety is truly the spice of life; have a good variety of things on your shelf from which to choose.

You can frugally build up a food storage, saving money while building up a storage at the same time.

Canning what you grow in your own garden is another way to frugally build your storage.

The other blessing of storing food is that we have food. Despite 8 months of no income in 2007, and not enough to buy food most months from January 2007 to the present, we have had food to eat because I filled the pantry.

Here's how we have done it and more of our story.

The menus and recipes on this site come from items I have had stored and that I have grown in my garden.

Want to be prepared against rising prices, job layoffs, etc?

Build up a good food storage.

Wondering what you might be missing in your food storage if you found yourself unable to go to the store? I guest posted on that subject over at Saving and Giving.

Buy in Bulk

Buying in bulk can save you a lot of money. You can buy bags, buckets, or #10 cans full of bulk items, such as wheat, oats, milk, dried fruits and vegetables, beans, barley, rice, etc.

For some items, I buy in bulk at Sam's Club (50lbs of long-grain rice is under $17 ). For other things, like wheat, barley, oats, milk, etc., I have bought from other places. See the Bulk Foods and Grains page for links to bulk sellers.

Buying herbs and spices in bulk really helps to cut the cost of these items.

Pantry Items:

These are the items I regularly keep on the shelf, and are the items needed to make the recipes on this site, along with those listed in the Fridge and Freezer sections. Anything else comes from my garden.

Grains

Basmati Rice

Oats*

Hard Red Wheat

Hard White Wheat

Long Grain White Rice

Oats

Pearled Barley

Popcorn

Soft Wheat

Baking Supplies

All-Purpose Flour*

Bread Flour

Corn Meal

Whole Wheat Flour (home ground)

Baking powder

Cocoa Powder

Cornstarch

Cream of Tartar

Kosher Salt

Salt

Shortening

Vanilla

Yeast (in bulk from Sam's Club)

Dairy

Cheese Powder

Powdered milk

Evaporated milk

Sweetened condensed milk

Powdered whole eggs

Powdered egg whites

Sugars

Brown sugar

Powdered sugar

Granulated sugar*

Maple syrup

Dark corn syrup

Molasses

Honey

Oils

Vegetable or canola oil

Olive oil

PAM cooking spray

Popcorn oil

Meats

Canned chicken

Canned tuna fish*

Canned corn beef

Hormel Bacon Bits

Canned Fruits and Vegetables

(including Home Canned)

Applesauce

Apple juice*

Baby Food

Black Olives

Cannellini Beans

Corn*

Cranberry Sauce

Green beans

Diced tomatoes

Tomato sauce

Mandarin oranges*

Peaches

Pears*

Pineapple*

Green chilies*

Kidney Beans

Mushrooms*

Peach nectar

Pickles

Cream of mushroom soup*

Cream of chicken soup*

Clam chowder (or canned clams)

Apple pie filling (or use dried apples)

Cherry pie filling

Canned or boxed chicken stock

Vienna sausages

Tomato soup (or make your own with canned tomatoes)*

Canned chicken noodle soup*

Pasta

Alphabet Letters

Egg Noodles

Farfalle

Penne

Ramen Noodles

Shells

Spaghetti or angel hair noodles

Dried Fruits and Vegetables

Raisins

Golden raisins

Dried cranberries

Dried apricots

Dried figs

Dried apples

Peanut butter

Potato pearls

Potato flakes

Dried potato slices

Dried carrots

Dried celery

Dried onions

Dried apples

Nuts

Almonds

Cashews

Peanuts

Pecans

Pine Nuts

Walnuts

Dried Beans

Alfalfa (for sprouting)

Black Beans

Great Northern Beans

Kidney Beans

Lentils (for sprouting)

Mung Beans (for sprouting)

Vinegars

Apple Cider vinegar

Balsamic Vinegar

Distilled vinegar

Red Wine vinegar

Rice vinegar

Sauces, Jams, etc.

Apricot Vanilla Jam

Apple Butter

BBQ sauce

Ketchup

Mayonnaise

Pear Butter

Pomegranate Jelly

Salsa

Soy Sauce

Fun things to have on hand

Brownie Mix*

Chocolate

Chocolate Chips

Chocolate Syrup

Crackers

Giardiniera

Granola (you can also make it from scratch from things on this list)

Hard Candy

Hot Chocolate

Instant chocolate pudding mix (just add water)

Instant vanilla pudding mix

Krusteaz Pancake Mix

Malt O' Meal

Marshmallows

Macaroni and Cheese

Nutella

Tortilla chips

* denotes item that regularly goes on case sale at Smith's.

I buy a lot of items from Sam's Club. You can see my complete shopping list for Sam's here.

Herbs and Spices

I try to always keep extra spices in my pantry, in addition to those in my spice cupboard. I buy most of my spices in bulk from Sam's Club and from Herb Products Co. I also recommend San Francisco Herb Co.

Allspice, ground

Basil

Black Pepper

Cinnamon

Curry powder

Dill

Garlic (powdered or granulated)

Ginger

Lemongrass

Marjoram

Mustard (dry)

Mustard Seeds