Must have kitchen gadgets

vij

I may have to streamline my kitchen soon and would like some advice. The following I see as things I cant live without,and are fairly portable please can you let me know if I have forgotten something important thank you.

Slow Cooker
Breadmaker
Stick Blender
Hand Blender
Easi-Yo
Microwave
Fridge Freezer

3 x mixing bowls
2 x very large saucepan (5L)
3 x normal saucepan
1 x large wok
1 x deep frying pan (for frying or small sauce making)
? George Foreman?

Knife Block and Set

4 place crockery set

The reason for the streamline is that we may be going into forces married quarters so I will be catering for just me (and OH at weekends and when he is home) My intent is to make for him what he wants when he is home and to live as sensibly as possible when he is not.

My plan is to batch cook to save time, energy and costs, and to minimise the need to go shopping.

New Start Kitchen Basic Staples:
Im looking to be prepared here for upto 6 months without the need for too much heavy carrying

5k rice
1k oats
dried beans
(kidney, chick pea, mung, black eye, lentils, pearl barley, haricot 1k each)
1k Soya mince
10k flour (bread)
2k plain flour
2k s/r flour
Yeast
1k Salt
5k Sugar
2k Butter
5L veg oil
2L olive oil
1k dried milk

24 cans toms/passata
24 cans baked beans
24 cans spagetti
6 x angel delight
6 x jelly
golden syrup
marmite
jam
pickles
dried fruit
tea, coffee, hot choc

5k sack potatoes
3k sack onions

herbs and spices

Always in the fridge:
Yogurt Starter
Eggs
Milk
probiotic culture (for hm yakult type drinks)

Freezer Plan for the start of 6 months
12 chickens (will be slow cooked and stock always made)
10 steaks (for OH)
16 burgers
40 Sausages (in 2s)
2 x 2l ice cream
12 x 500g cheddar
1k bacon (in 2 strip packs)
6 beef joints ( I will prob buy a big joint and portion)
or alternatively buy 1/4 cow as dog can eat the bits we wont
4l milk for "emergencies"

This move wont be happening for a while but I am obsessive about being organised especially as once we make the move I will be leaving my job and I dont want to spend OH earnings unless I have to. I will ofc be looking for work which is another reason I want to be organised and I will be doing the first major stocking in from my settlement when I leave my employment to join him in MQ. I will be setting aside 2k for stocking and essential furniture/white goods that we must have but dont want to spend more than I should. I am currently working on a bit shop every 3-4 months with top ups here and there for fresh goods, Im looking to move the major shop to 6 monthly with a batch cook every couple of months. We also grow a lot of produce so not having that is going to be strange.

Thank you for your comments and advice

Mrs_Thrify

Glad to see SC is first on the list.

angeltreats

You'll probably want a few utensils. Ladle, fish slice, slotted spoon etc. And a set of measuring spoons wouldn't go amiss.

Penelope_Penguin

julie_d wrote: »

Glad to see SC is first on the list.

Why If you have an oven and hob, that's the first thing I'd ditch If you don't have an oven and hob - they would be first on my list, with a lidded casserole dish :T

Penny. x

seraphina

I would ditch the slow cooker as well, but obviously you know what you'll use. If you haven't bought them already, I would go for one goblet blender rather than a stick/hand blender and also get a electric whisk/beater set for cakey goodness.

I would also have a small milk pan type saucepan for small things like porridge, heating up a single portion of soup, can of beans etc.

What kind of variety are you planning on having in your diet? I would need a *lot* more herbs/spices etc, but I don't know on how much you are planning on buying fresh.

There are only two of us at home and to be honest I don't really get on with the batch cooking thing. I'll often double up on a recipe so we can eat half one night and put on in the freezer for a night when we're late home or something but the idea of having 16 portions of spaghetti bolognese in the freezer that needs eating fills me with dread! A bit different if you are a family and therefore getting through stuff much quicker.

I think your major issue will be adequate storage - if there are two of you you might not have the turnover to go through 5kg potatoes/1kg flour before they grow eyes etc. So I would be very careful with my storage and stock rotation, to make sure nothing gets wasted.

Edited to add: I wouldn't keep 4l milk for emergencies in the freezer - I would buy a litre of UHT milk and leave it in the cupboard. If it's only for emergenices it will get you through - I can't ever imagine needing 4 litres of the stuff in an emergency!

hotcookie101

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

Why If you have an oven and hob, that's the first thing I'd ditch If you don't have an oven and hob - they would be first on my list, with a lidded casserole dish :T

Penny. x

I agree
A nice big lidded casserole, that you can use on hob or in oven. Preferable big enough to fit a chicken or a small joint so can do pot roasts as well as normal things. Much more versatile than a slow cooker
I do have a slow cooker, it lives on top of my fridge and comes down to make chicken stock and occasionally soups. Have decided I prefer my stews and casseroles slow cooked in the oven in a nice big le creuset, mmmmm I do like winter approaching when I think about stews!

hotcookie101

Oh,
I would also advise a small milk pan type thing (pref non stick) for making scrambled eggs, boiled eggs, heating baked beans etc. I use mine all the time. The other thing that I would really recommend, instead of (or maybe as well as, if you use george foreman a lot) is a cast iron griddle pan. They really do make the best steaks, which I see hubby likes from the freezer list. Also really good for pork chops and chicken thighs, and Nigel did prawns on one the other night. Get it well seasoned and you really need to use only a tiny bit of oil (on the meat)
As one of the above posters also said-utensils like ladles, wooden spoons, potato peelers etc
I love my stick blender-I have one that has a small mini chopper too, which is great for pesto and stuff, and then a food processor which has a liquidiser goblet attachment, I think you can make cakes in it too, but I don't really bake much and I have my gran's old kenwood chef hidden in the cupboard

valk_scot

Why do you have to take all that food? Are there not going to be shops where you're going? I can see you say you don't want to be spending OH's money but putting the present food budget cash into a seperate savings account would be a lot more portable, surely? And if you're not working and don't have kids to look after or gardening to do, you might be quite keen on a trip to the shops just to break the day up.

Slinky_Malinky

Don`t forget cutlery, can opener and peeler, plus a bottle opener or cork screw if you drink wine/bottled beer. Also what containers will you use to microwave food? You could use your cereal bowls from your crockery or buy one of the plastic m/w pans or lidded conatiners (I think I would probably buy a m/w lidded casserole as this would be more versatile)

maman

Definitely a measuring jug and some pyrex dishes that can double up for cooking/serving/freezing. Not sure why you need two large saucepans?