A well-stocked pantry can be the difference between mealtime crisis and a stress-free family dinner. No one cook's pantry will look the same as another, but you can determine what should be in your pantry by what you use often. I break down my lists in this series into Non-Perishable, Refrigerated, and Freezer Items because keeping the freezer and refrigerator well-stocked is just as important as keeping a stocked pantry.
Confessions of a Once-A-Month-Cooking Dropout
Okay, I admit it. I’m a Once-A-Month-Cooking drop-out. I tried to make a month’s worth of meals for the freezer, but I couldn’t come up with enough time or enough meals. Next I tried to make 2 weeks of meals for the freezer and stopped because I ran out of dishes, freezer bags, and patience. I had good intentions, but I’m just not that organized.
Even though I flunked OAMC, my freezer is not empty. I do have a few tricks up my sleeve that I’d like to share.
Grilled Vegetables
Grilled vegetables are almost universally loved and are easy to prepare with little clean-up. Try combining your favorite flavors and mixing up marinades for a variety of different dishes. Here are two of our favorites.
Easy DIY Chalkboard Paint Labels for Glass Jars
This easy DIY chalkboard paint project turns your pantry items into decor! Pasta, beans, baking supplies, and more can be stored and easily identified.
French Provencial Chicken
With just a few ingredients and little preparation, French Provincial Chicken is simple yet delicious. It takes about 40 minutes to cook and can be on the table with a couple of easy sides in less time than driving to a restaurant and waiting for your order.
Baked Potato Soup
Baked Potato Soup is one of our most requested recipes - it's creamy and rich with the perfect balance of flavors. It's a good way to use planned leftovers as well; have baked potatoes during the week and simmer a pot of this satisfying soup on the weekend.
Pumpkin Trifle
This beautiful dessert is almost as much fun to look at as it is to eat. With gingerbread, pumpkin, gingersnaps, and pudding, you know it is going to be good.
Chipped Beef Gravy
We love to have breakfast for dinner at our house, and one of our favorites is biscuits and gravy. This creamy chipped beef gravy is delicious over homemade buttermilk biscuits or soft rolls, or you can serve it over toast.
3 Ingredient Buttermilk Biscuits
These 3 ingredient buttermilk biscuits from scratch yield consistent, delicious results. This large batch makes enough to freeze half either before or after cooking. Freezing them before cooking makes it easy to have fresh, hot biscuits for breakfast, but if you cook them first, you can make your own breakfast biscuit sandwiches for the freezer instead of buying them already prepared.
Homemade Apple Pie
Pastries are my weakness. Luckily, I had a houseful of teenagers that devoured this pie and saved me from the mental anguish of trying to avoid it after the first slice. This pie uses our bulk pie crust recipe, which makes 6 crusts for the freezer. I took 2 crusts out to thaw the morning I made the pie and by afternoon they were thawed and ready to go. You can use any fresh fruit in this recipe, just be sure to omit the cinnamon if you are not using apples, peaches, or another fruit that goes well with cinnamon.
