What do you put in your cupboard / freezer?

kxc798

Good Evening Everyone,

Please forgive me as I am sure someone has asked this question before. Unfortunately for whatever reason my freezer broke which led to an impromptu clearing out and I recently ran down my cupboard stock (some dating back several years). I have tried several wonderful recipes mentioned here for meals and so I thought that I should ask the experienced folk amongst you, over the next few weeks, what would you recommend that I buy for my cupboard and freezer? I have a son who is nearly 4 and it is just my son and I (plus 2 greedy cats) who live in the house.

Many thanks for your future advice!

Horace

In my freezer I put any dinners that I have batch-cooked. I also put bread in there along with cheese. Fresh meat goes in there as do frozen veg (or even veg that I have blanched myself).

My cupboards have sugar, flour (plain, self raising and gluten-free only because I have gluten free friends and would rather make one cake). I have teabags, coffee refill packs (I buy these as they are often cheaper than buying a jar). I have pearl barley, stock cubes, table sauces, vinegar, dried herbs (in bottles), caster sugar, packet sauces, packs of jelly, tins of veg, tins of fruit, tins of soup. Cartons of passata, a carton of longlife milk (gradually building up a store of these in case I cannot get out if it snows). Cereals, pasta, long grain and Arborio, pudding rice, gravy browning, cornflour, gravy mix (the type you just add water to), custard powder.

kxc798

Thank you for this Horace, I very much appreciate it. I wanted to know what people stock up on as I have tried several of the money saving meals on here which are splendid but I am embarrassed to admit that I had to go out to buy all of the ingredients such as passata or lasagne sheets or flour et cetera as I am new to this. And so I was curious what people kept in stock in order to add to meal or for emergency meals et cetera.

Lizling

I would add tinned or dried beans to that. I always have kidney beans, chickpeas and dried lentils in the cupboard. Cheap, healthy and useful in loads of things.

Tins of chopped tomatoes too. There are some things where passata just isn't as good.

Maybe also some mixed dried fruit and some vanilla essence for baking?

I think though, that as you try more recipes, you''ll naturally build up a store cupboard of things you use.

kboss2010

Cupboard:
Cornmeal/plain flour
Basic lasagna sheets
Basic pasta (any shape)
Tinned tomatoes
Chickpeas
Kidney beans
Baked beans
Gravy powder
Stock cubes
A LOT of herbs and spices
Salt & pepper
Soy sauce
Sweet chilli sauce
Porridge oats
Rice
Sugar
Garlic
Dried chilli flakes
Tomato paste

Freezer:
Sausages
Bacon
Grated cheese
Peas
Bread

kxc798

Brilliant, thank you all for your suggestions so far.

beluga

I've been trying to run down my stores and use up oddments that I can't remember buying, so have been giving more thought to what I have / want to buy.

Cupboards -
Herbs
Stock cubes
Rice (basmati, brown, arborio)
Pasta (penne, spaghetti, wholemeal spaghetti and twists)
Gravy granuals
Salt and pepper (white and peppercorns)
Soy sauce
Baked beans
Chick peas
Refried beans
Dried lentils
Tuna
Tinned tomatoes
Tomato puree

Freezer -
Meat
Grated cheese
Bread (bagels, pitas, wraps)
Frozen veg (corn, spinach, peas)
Frozen berries
Any hm meals / leftovers

JustThisOnce

Ooh, interesting post - really got me thinking. These are the things I try to not to run out of:

Cupboard
Plain flour
Wholemeal flour
Cornflour
Caster sugar
Bicarbonate of soda
Baking powder
Dried yeast
Cashew nuts [brilliant for bulking out stir-fries]
Almonds or hazelnuts for baking
Basic sultanas
Honey
Stock cubes
Dried mixed herbs
Dried chilli flakes
Cumin, Coriander, Paprika [for 'savoury']
Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg [mostly for baking]
Pine nuts [I know, a luxury , but I only use them sparingly...]
Tinned tomatoes
Passata
Baked beans
Tomato puree
Tinned tuna
Tinned sardines
Coconut cream block
Curry paste/powder
Dried chickpeas, red lentils, pinto beans [I loathe kidney beans]
Basic pasta
Basic long grain rice
Risotto rice
Noodles
Soy sauce
Tabasco
Ketchup and brown sauce
Worcestershire sauce

Freezer
It's mostly used for batch-cooked meals and leftovers, but stock items are:

Peas
Beans
Whole leaf spinach
Chopped mixed peppers
White fish
Salmon/Smoked haddock [one or the other]
Peeled chunks of root ginger
Chillies
Fish fingers and potato waffles for the small person
Breadcrumbs

Needless to say, I have much more than this lying around in both places. I think I need to keep this list somewhere more prominent...

maman

What I keep in is probably fairly standard but I do have a freezer inventory. Sounds impressive but it's really just a piece of paper stuck on the side of the microwave!;)


Over time, I've found my freezer contents fall into these categories (headings on my list)

• fish
• meat
• ready meals
• fruit and veg
• other (things like grated cheese, bread etc)

Most of the ready meals are HM but a few are YS curries and the like. I'm careful to cross things off as they get used up and when it get's a bit untidy I just rewrite it.


Every week I 'shop' from this list and my storecupboards when I'm doing my meal plan.


I have kitchen cupboards with basic ingredients but also a storecupboard for multi buys when I see things good value.


OP, unless you see real bargains (YS or Special Offers or you get to go to a shop that you wouldn't normally be able to access) then I would just build your stores over time as you need them. Aldi prices are good every week.

greenbee

Too much mostly...

I've just defrosted and tidied one freezer, and need to go and empty and reorganise the chest freezer.

The small freezer contains:

Frozen ready meals and parts of meals (e.g. pre-cooked pasta/beans/bulghar wheat for lunches, half tins of tuna/baked beans)
Individually bagged pieces of fish/meat
Cheese, cream (some in pots, some in ice-cube bags), yogurt (to use as a starter for home-made), butter, frozen pastry
Fruit & veg (some home-frozen when I realise I have over-bought - I then use it for smoothies)

Outside freezer is mostly apple juice (we had a bumper crop last year), nice bread bought on offer, croissants, puddings, large frozen ready meals for when the hordes descend, stock of frozen veg, blueberries from a trip to the PYO place.

Cupboards contain about 4 different types of rice, millet, bulghar wheat, couscous, spelt, the world's largest collection of breadsticks (until my niece visits), lots of different pulses, oatmeal, tinned toms, passata, tom puree, pasta, lasagne sheets, marmalade, sugar, flour, salt, masses of herbs and spices, tea, coffee (instant and real), herbal tea.

I really do need to run them down...

Agentmomo

Hi kxc, I agree a great post:
For your cupboard, I would firstly suggest you invest in a dried Herb and Spice rack, Lidl sometimes do them on offer for under a fiver I believe and when you read a recipe that calls for a particular herb, spice or garlic for example and you don't have access to fresh, then dried is fine. I am a huge fan of using dried garlic granules and they "pimp" up anything savoury beautifully. The following are essential cupboard ingredients for me:
Plain flour: Used for white sauces, pastry, Yorkshire puddings, pancakes.
Baking powder, for anything cakey, just add to your plain flour to make it into "self raising" flour.
Stock cubes: I just use chicken and beef as we are not vegetarians. Chicken stock cubes go lovely with any veggie recipe, lamb or pork dish as well as chicken recipes. Beef stock cubes for Beef!
Tinned Fruit: At the moment we have Mandarin segments and peach halves, generally a cheap quick dessert option.
Gravy Granules: excellent also as a thickener for stews.
Tomato Puree
Tinned Fish: Sardines, mackerel and Tuna
Other Tins: Tomatoes, beans, peas, potatoes and sweet corn.
Packets: Cous Cous, rice, pasta, (Lasagne Sheets and macaroni at the mo.) lentils.
Bottled sauces: Tomato Ketchup, Mayo, Soy Sauce, Worcester Sauce and Malt Vinegar.
I like to home bake, so I always have in:
Cocoa Powder, dried fruit, (at the min I have raisins and dried apricots), Granulated sugar, Caster sugar, Icing sugar and Golden Syrup.
Other: Porridge Oats, Coffee, Tea Bags, Veg Oil, Olive Oil, Suet, Whole Black olives, Orange Squash.
Essential Freezer items: (You mention you have a four year old, If I was in your shoes starting from scratch with you freezer I would do the following):
Fish Fingers!
Fresh Potatoes are still really expensive, so suggest stock up on:
Frozen Potato Wedges
Oven chips
Frozen Roast Potatoes
With an empty freezer I would recommend a session of home baking and freeze home made sweet and savoury pies (no need for special freezable containers just double bag in large freezer bags, once cooled that's what I do!) Some brief suggestions:
Chicken Pie
Meat Pie
Sausage Plait
Veggie Pie
Apple and Blackberry Pie
Quiche, any variety made with what you have got!
(Freeze any left over pastry to use another time!)
Cakes:
Fruit Loaf
Banana Loaf
Chocolate sponge
Chocolate brownies
Other freezer essentials for me, would be Frozen Peas and Fresh meat that is short dated, bread, ice cream or any batch cooking leftovers that I know can be frozen and used another time, such as chilli, bolognaise, sausage casserole etc...


Hope this helps