Storecupboard Essentials

devon_guy

I've just bought my own place and moving out of home. I went to the supermarket today to do my first shop, spent just under £150!!!!

Anyway amongst other things I bought......

Pasta
Tinned Tomatoes
Stewing Steak
Mince
Chicken (whole and breast)
Baked Beans
Herbs & Spices
Oxo
Gravy
Self-raising, plain and bread flour

My cupboards seem incredibly bare still. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful.

I bought things like cereal, butter etc by the way just thinking of storecupboard essentials here!

Stephen_Leak

Your stuff so far is pretty much spot on. My absolute minimum store cupboard basics are as follows. If I run out of any of these , I get "twitchy".

CUPBOARD

140g tin of tomato puree
400g tin of plum tomatoes 1
400g tin of red kidney beans
400g tin of tuna in brine
420g tin of baked beans
500g bag of plain flour
500g packet of basmati rice 2
500g packet of spaghetti
250ml bottle of olive oil
500ml bottle of sunflower or vegetable oil
Chilli powder 3
Dried mixed herbs
Eggs 4
Ground black pepper
Stock cubes 5

FREEZER

375g pack of casserole or stewing beef
375g pack of chicken breasts
500g of white fish fillets 6
500g pack of minced meat 7

FRIDGE

Beer
Bottle of lemon juice
Butter
Cheese
Milk
Tomatoes

VEGETABLES

Baking potatoes
Garlic
Onions
　　
1 Plum tomatoes can be used either whole or chopped. It is difficult to stick chopped tomatoes back together again if you need to use them whole.

2 Basmati is the best all purpose rice. It cooks quickly, it is more fragrant (its name is Hindi for ‘fragrant’) than long grain and it also holds together during cooking.

3 Get hot chilli powder, as you will use less of this than mild.

4 There is no need to keep eggs in the fridge.

5 Get vegetable ones first, as they sort of go with everything, then chicken or beef as required.

6 Use cod, coley, haddock, hake, ling, plaice, pollack or whiting, whichever is cheapest.

7 Use minced beef, lamb, pork or turkey, whichever is cheapest.

lightisfading

Depends what you like to eat! People could probably help more if you indicated what sorta things you cook

- Pasta (shapes, lasagne and spaghetti)
- Rice/Noodles/Tortilla Wraps (can be frozen)
- Tomatoey Stuff (tinned toms, tom puree, passata)
- Condiments (soy sauce, worcester sauce, ketchup, sweet chilli sauce... )
- Beans/Pulses (kidney, baked, chickpeas, dried soup/stew mix, cannelini/borlotti)
- Tinned sweetcorn
- Stir Fry Sauces (the 50p packet ones, not OS but I add them to just about any combo of veggies/quorn (meat) for a quick dinner, or use to 'marinade' quorn (meat) for sandwiches/pittas/wraps)
- Frozen veggies (sweetcorn, peas, green beans, broccoli, mixed veg... all good)
- Fresh/Canned fruit (bananas, apples, pineapple, peaches, apricots, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries - all good to eat as they are, with yoghurt, in a smoothie etc)
- Dairy (yoghurt, milk, butter, cheese)
- Fresh veggies, potatoes, onions and garlic.

With that lot plus 'meat' (i'm veggie so quorn for me) I can usually whip something up - lasagne, pasta, stew, soup, chilli, stir fry, curry, fajitas/enchiladas, shepherds pie...

Butterfly_Brain

Well done so far you have a good start there :T
A Store cupboard is usually based around the things that you would cook for yourself so if you do a couple of meal plans ou might get an idea of what you need to buy.
My Store Cupboard has:
Plain Flour
SR Flour
Bread Flour
Cornflour
Yeast, Bicarbonate of Soda, Baking powder,Cream of Tartar
Long Grain Rice
Spaghetti
Fuselli
All manner of Herbs, Spices and flavourings
Caster Sugar
Brown Sugar
Honey
Jam
Marmalade
Golden syrup
Stock cubes
Bisto
Broth Mix
Cheese Sauce Mix
Ketchup, Brown Sauce,Barbeque Sauce
Tins of Soup
Tuna, pilchards and Mackerel
Tins of Beans, Baked, Kidney, cannellini
Tins of tomatoes, tomato puree, pasta sauce
Tins of various fruits
Dried fruits, Glace cherries and nuts
coconut and coconut milk
Noodles, Soy Sauce, Sherry, black bean sauce

Freezer

Chicken Breasts, Thighs and Drumsticks
Turkey Mince, Beef Mince
Sausages
Joint Beef, lamb and pork
Pork chops, Lamb Chops
Bacon
Prawns, Smoked Haddock, Sea Bass, Lemon sole, and kippers
Potato Wedges
Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots,Sweetcorn,peas,mushrooms,runner beans etc
Apples, Blackberries, Blueberries, summer fruits,rhubarb and Ice cream

I also keep a stock of cleaning stuff and shampoo,soap, toilet rolls etc
Hope this not too long but I am feeding the five thousand with two teenagers in the house and all their friends who seem to pop in at a moments notice

PasturesNew

I live alone, so long as I have the following then everything in life is great:

Cupboard:
packets of cheapo noodles (10-20p/packet), usually about 6-8 packs
tins of baked beans (4 tins)
tins of tomatoes (4 tins)
tins of peas (2 tins) - great mixed with a pack of noodles
tin of chilli beans (in case I ever make a chilli, or great with a pack of noodles)
tin of pineapple - instant meal, eat out of the tin, job done, marvellous
instant custard - ideal quick snack
Bag of rice. I usually get basmati as it's lovely.
Mixed herbs
Jar of peanut butter
Jar of jam
Couple of tiny jars of crab paste

Fresh veg:
spuds
onions

Fridge:
Margarine
Cheese
6 eggs

With the above I could make dozens of meals. It all depends on your lifestyle. What one person will tell you to have you might never ever use.

The rule with shopping is: always double check everything you put in the trolley - can you REALLY eat ALL this before the "use by/best before" date? If not, what's going back on the shelf...?

It's easy to buy stuff, get home, then realise you have enough food for 20 days but the best before dates are all 4-5 days away.... I had to cook a whole large pack of 12 sausages last week as I'd misjudged what I was going to eat/when... then spent the next 3 days eating them.

dmv_2

People have said most of mine but I dont think anyone has mentioned lazy/easy garlic or chilli. About £1.50 a big jar that lasts ages and means you always have two crucial fresh tasting ingredients to add to dishes, also cheers up plain pasta for a quick lunch/dinner etc. I also always have a bag of the cheapest "breakfast" value oats in for any baking etc. Also even if you dont drink it its always good to have squash in as well as tea and coffee then you can cater for everyone.

Penelope_Penguin

devon_guy wrote: »

My cupboards seem incredibly bare still. If anyone can point me in the right direction I would be very grateful.

I'll add this to the existing thread of Store Cupboard lists so that you can see what other OSers have in their cupboards Congratulations on your new home!

My list is here.

Penny. x

fossy_2

When I first moved away from home, I went mad on buying storecupboard items that I never used and ultimately ended up throwing away (I managed to let some things go a couple of years out of date!)

The key for me was to think of a couple of meals or other things that I would always want to be able to make if there was nothing else to eat in the house. This is a good way to do it, as then you'll make sure you only ever have the things you need in.

So I always have herbs and spices (and of course, salt and pepper), the stuff to make a nice bowl of pasta (so tinned toms, garlic and often a stick of chorizo - a little goes a long way!), flour and yeast for bread, eggs, beans, cheese, and lentils for a soup or dal, frozen peas, risotto rice, regular rice and a bottle of liquid chicken stock. I think with that lot, you can make about 10 different meals!

Your storecupboard will then grow naturally, with new recipes you try out. Some of these things you will use again and again while others will sit leaking in the back of your cupboard - so make sure you have a clear out ever few months.

Joney

Everyone has freezer items on their list. Is anyone else thinking about getting rid of their freezer? I have nearly decided to -I use it more as a cupboard than a freezer -I've decided to eat things more often rather than freezing leftovers!

princess_lou

Hi was just wondered wot everyone have in their storecupboard without fail... Im planning on setting up a BIG shop once a month for basics, then a little one once a wk/fortnght(suggetions plse) 4 all fresh in season veg/fruit etc... hope u all dont mind :rolleyes: x x