Basic cupboard & freezer MUST haves!!

thriftlady_2

This is my basic list which I've posted before. It has a few new additions which aren't really essential but give our meals a bit of extra oomph. I've italicised the non-essentials;)

Baking supplies
Flour – bread, plain, self-raising (wholemeal and white)
Yeast, baking powder, bicarb, salt
Sugar – granulated, Demerara, soft brown
Golden syrup
Oats
Raisins, sultanas, apricots, prunes
Coconut, sunflower seeds, walnuts and almonds
Cocoa
Chocolate
Cornflour
Suet

Staples
Potatoes
Rice-basmati or long grain, brown, risotto, pudding
Pasta – spaghetti, penne, lasagne
couscous
bulghar
Lentils (red and green/brown)
Soup mix
Beans – mung (for sprouting), kidney, white beans, chickpeas
Popcorn
Crispbreads and oatcakes

Tins and cartons
Baked beans
Corned beef
Sardines/tuna/mackerel , anchovies
Peaches/pineapple/mandarins
Passata, tomato puree, chopped tomatoes
Coconut milk
Orange juice, apple juice
Coffee, tea

Bottles and jars
Olive oil, sunflower oil, garlic oil (for very lazy dressings)
Wine vinegar, balsamic vinegar
Sherry, vermouth
Soy sauce
Worcester sauce
Marmite
Tahini (for hm hummus)
Curry paste
Mustard
Honey
Jams, jellies, chutneys (homemade)
Sun-dried tomatoes (in oil-the oil is really useful)
Black olives
Mayonnaise
Capers
Stock powder
Spices - a variety

Fridge
Milk
Yogurt (homemade)
Cream
Butter
Cheese – cheddar, parmesan, a little blue cheese, feta, mozzarella
Eggs
Bacon
Chorizo
Ham or salami

Freezer
Peas, sweetcorn
Berries and fruit purees- picked in season
Pittas
Loaves and rolls (homemade)
Stock (homemade)
Tomato sauce (homemade)
Vegetable hash (onion, garlic, celery, red pepper, carrot)
Chickens
Mince
Sausages
Fish fillets – salmon and white fish
Prawns (small north Atlantic ones)

Fruit and veg
Onions, garlic
Carrots
Lemons
Apples, bananas, oranges
Seasonal, locally grown stuff

prettypennies

This would be my list of stuff I don't like to run out of:

Store cupboard

flour - plain, self raising and bread flour
yeast
rice - basmati, risotto
pasta - penne, spaghetti
caster Sugar
sea salt
olive oil
vinegar - basmati, sherry
spices - everything!!!
tinned toms
beans
tuna
sweetcorn
marmite
black pepper
breadcrumbs
vermouth
garlic
chillis
bouillion powder
honey - local and manuka (for coughs and colds)
c vit tabs (for preserving fruit slices)
cereal

Fridge

parsley, thyme
yogurt
cream
milk
eggs
butter
cheddar
cream cheese
onions
carrots
pancetta
chicken thighs
lemons
oranges
fresh stock

I think that's about it:o

Syl

I must have tinned toms in the cupboard as well as condensed soup (for instant pasta sauces), baked beans, chick peas, butter beans and corned beef.

In the freezer I always have frozen vegetables notably peas, sweetcorn, broccoli and cauliflower. I buy larger packs of chicken breasts and pack the meat into usable quantities. I also make use of offers on turkey and mince and freeze those. My best standby tip for the freezer is to double up your cooking e.g when cooking bolognese sauce,curries or stews - and freeze the extra portion. It takes virtually no longer to cook and you can either take it out of the freezer early to allow it to defrost naturally or stick it in the microwave to reheat while you are cooking the pasta or whatever. It's a trick we started doing early in our married life when we were both working and it now works just as well with a family.

Hubby made beouf bourgignon this weekend this way last weekend and we now have another lovely portion to look forward to sometime.

mmmm.

Uniscots97

daisy_steiner wrote: »

Our must haves are as follow:

Cupboard
Flour - plain, sr, wholemeal, pasta, bread
Sugar - various types
Icing sugar
Rasins and other dried fruits
Lemon juice
Lime juice
Vanilla extract
Stock cubes
Cous cous
Pasta - lots of (various)
Rice - Brown, white and risotto
8-10 tins of tomatoes
Passata
Tinned sweetcorn
Tinned waterchestnuts - great for bulking out stir frys cheaply
Noodles
Large selection of dried herbs and spices
Cooking chocolate
Dried yeast
Mustard
Mustard powder
Garlic
Olive oil
Tinned beans - baked beans, kidney beans, mixed beans and any that are on offer in the super market
Pearl Barley
Tinned pineappled
Evaporated milk - great for making quick, cheap ice cream
Condensed milk - great for making cheap fudge when in need of a sugar rush
Chorizo - Can spice up even the most basic of meals and a good one can last months
Wasabi paste
Anchovy sauce - a splash of this can be added to lots of meals and a bottle lasts years
Soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
Balsamic vinegar
Cornflour
Tinned sardines
Tinned tuna
Pudding rice
Bouillion
Oats
Green lentils
Capers
Chick peas
Coconut milk





Frozen
Mince
Beef for stews
Chicken thighs
Few blocks of butter
Bacon
Sausages
Chopped veg
Ginger
Few standby chops
Stock
Breadcrumbs
Fish fingers
Pizza dough
Vodka
Made up versions :
burgers
meatballs
fishcakes


Fridge
Cheese - chedder, brie, blue cheese, cream cheese&mozzerella
Butter
Marge&stork
Milk
Lettuce
Peppers
Chillies
Apple juice
Lemons
Limes
Tomato puree
Eggs

Probably a very silly question but how do you make ice cream from evaporated milk? (I know its probably really easy and I'll kick myself for being so stupid as to ask when I see the answer but have 2 tins in the cupboard and no idea what to do with them).

squeaky

Hmmm...


Store Cupboard Staples

Kitchen cupboard essentials????

OS store cupboard basics

os bad weather store cupboard how much and what do you have

Old Style Book - Store Cupboard Essentials

hollydays

Freezer

Beef mince
Smoked Haddock
Quorn
Chicken portions
Breadcrumbs
Soft fruit (Aldi)
Individual bacon rashers
Small cubes of cheese
Small cubes of butter
Prawns
Turkey steaks
soya beans (when on bogof)
chicken livers
belly pork rashers
Milk
bread
stock
chopped onions

soupdragon52

Along with all the usual standbys I have one extra thing in my cupboard - a £10 tesco gift card!!!! think of all the times you have gone to the cupboard/fridge/freezer and the one ingredient that you simply must have is not there, you then go to the purse and out fly the moths (must admit my tesco is only a couple of miles away)

BigMummaF

MARMITE & half decent Loo Rolls:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

stollybolly

Hubby and I graduated 4 years ago but as we are both artists we still have periods where we are living on the poverty line. With 8 years of frugality under our belts we have learnt how to do it in style and I can always feed us for about three weeks with what is in the cupboards/freezer when we have a lean month. Ed can't eat wheat or dairy, so we have learnt to live without lots of things like bread and cake, although I do bake occassionally with ground almonds and eggs (Nigella lawson clementine cake is great for wheat and dairy free)
I have substituted condensed milk in coffee instead of fresh and we use soya in things like porridge and custard. Having speical dietary requirements can be a huge expense if you buy into all the available processed rubbish that is produced, but we have just cut down to basic ingredients we know we can cook a lot of meals from scratch with and only eat meat once or twice a week as a treat (mainly lambs liver or one free range chicken fillet between the two of us)
Things we eat at least once a week include sausage and lentil casserole, rissotto and jacket potato with filling.

Store cupboard essentials

gram flour, rice flour and potato flour
Polenta to use instead of breadcrumbs
marigold stock powder (buy in bulk 1kg tins)
Porridge Oats (daily breakfast with water and soya milk)
Dried green and red lentils (soups and sausage and lentil casserole)
Pickled onions and gerkins and Popping Corn (for when we need a snack)
Tinned Toms
Tinned Chick peas (home made Humous)
Tinned Butter Beans (Ed's Butter Bean ragout)
Tinned Cannelini Beans
Tinned Sweetcorn (for chicken carcass soup)
Tinned Tuna
Tinned Salmon
Wheat Free Pasta
Brown Rice
Rice Noodles
Rissotto Rice (use with mushrooms or chorizo and frozen peas or soya beans)
herbs and spices
Wheat free veggie gravy powder
Olive, veg and sesame oil
Cider, white wine, rice and malt vinegar
worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, tom ketchup and HP
Decaff instant and real coffee
Peppermint tea
Local Honey
Peanut butter
Home made Damson Jam
Home made Chutney (with veg from my garden)
dried procini mushrooms (for rissotto if no fresh mushrooms in)
pattinsons scottish oatcakes (substitute for bread)

In the veg department
potatoes
leeks
celery
onions
mushrooms
tomatoes (if they are cheap on the market)
white cabbage
carrots

In the Fridge

Local Allerdale sheeps milk cheese from the cheese farm
Pecorino sheeps milk cheese instead of parmesan
goats milk butter
various condiments like mint sauce, horseradish and mustard
soya spread
fresh ginger and garlic
condensed milk (for my coffee) and fat free yoghurt for my dairy fix
chorizo sausage LIDL (tiny bit goes a long way in soups, stews or omelettes)
fresh pork& apple rusk free sausage from my local butcher (to do with lentils)
nut and seed box with hazlenuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, brazils, walnuts etc (mainly toasted on top of porridge in the morning)
Alpro soya milk,
extra light helmans mayo
beef dripping

Freezer

Don't use the freezer much as it is in an outbuilding not the kitchen, but always has frozen coley fillets from LIDL, a couple of LIDL veggie pizzas for when Ed is working away and frozen game such as partridge from the local butcher when it is in season as its only £2 for two partridge which makes a great sunday roast for two people. Also a stock of staffordshire oatcakes which the family bring when they come up to Cumbria from stoke on trent, local speciality like a savoury oat pancake served with bacon and cheese wrapped in it.

ladycat_2

For MealsBeef Oxo cubesBovrilChicken stock - (M&S - made in France and worth every penny)Dry white wine - small bottle holds two glasses (often get these as multibuys in Asda)Grilled mixed peppers in oil (Aldi or Lidl)Herbs (dried) - tarragon, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, sage, rosemary, mintLentils - dried, orange/greenNuts - cashews, pecans, ground/blanched almondsOil - good quality olive oil, sunflower oil, almond oil, walnut oilPasta - tagliatelle, spaghetti, multi coloured spirals (for pasta bakes)Rice - basmati, risotto, puddingSea saltSpices - whole black peppercorns, whole cloves, cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, cumin, coriander, turmeric, hot chilli powder, mustard, nutmeg, ground cinnamon, ground gingerTinned Fruit - peaches, pineappleTinned Meat and Fish - corned beef, tuna in spring waterTinned Veg - tomatoes, sweetcorn, button mushrooms, chick peas, red kidney beansVeg - onions, carrotsVinegar - balsamic, sherry, tarragon, maltFor baking/puddingsBicarbonate of sodaChocolate - plain, good qualityCocoa powderCream of TartarCustard powderDried fruit - sultanas, raisins, apricots (also lovely with lamb)Flour - plain and self raisingHoneyPorridge OatsStem ginger in syrupStrawberry JamSugar - golden caster, granulated, icingVanilla/almond essence - good qualityFridgeApple juiceBaconButter - Lurpak spreadable, reduced fatCreamed horseradishEggsFeta cheese (keeps ages)Lemon juice (bottle)Maple syrupMargarineMature cheddar cheese Milk (semi and whole) - usually Cravendale, as it really does keep well.Parmesan cheese (dried)PestoPlain yoghourt (usually Total Greek) Small jars of Bart garlic puree and ginger puree (in sunflower oil)Sun dried tomato paste TrexVeg - red/yellow/green peppers, celery, tomatoes, cucumber, spring onionsWholegrain mustardFreezerApple sauce (homemade and stored in small portions)Broad beans (small)Chicken breasts (bought in bulk when on offer)Good quality vanilla ice creamLamb - leg steaks (bought when on offer)Mince (bought in bulk when on offer, then cooked with onions etc. and stored in meal size portions)Nan BreadPeasSausages from local butcherStewing steak (bought in bulk, cut up and slow cooked with onions to produce filling for steak pies, stored in pie size portions)

Interesting how similar many of these lists are - perhaps MSE should produce a list based on all those that have been contributed as a guide for first time store cupboard fillers. It's taken me a good few years to evolve a store cupboard that can produce good meals quickly in an emergency (daughter's friends descend en masse and are very hungry!).