so what's in your larder??

this morning, as i cooked breakfast, i thought about all of the foods that we need to "use up" before our move to hawaii- can't take the freezers full! and all of the staples in the cupboards..(some will go but some are being used or given) .and wondered what you all keep at your house for "just in case" or the "staple items"...

(this whole concept of NOT putting up the summer bounty is so hard for me this year!!!!!!! and not buying the large quantity of things to freeze!!!) (meijers had decaf maxwell house on sale butt cheap a few months ago-i bought like 10 or 12 cans for michael -now i will have to pay to ship whatever is left!!!!)

now; i am NOT a good cook to go in the frig and just whip up something--i am more calculated- recipe or tried and true standbys-michael is a spur of the moment recipe creator! this morning, however, i took a small ziploc outta the freezer that held the (frosted!) tail end of the bacon ends he last bought- cooked them as a base and then chopped smaller , found a bag of red and green bell peppers and a bag of yellow -took out a good portion from each and cut up some zucchini and summer sqaush-microd' the squashed to more tender state- combined all of the above then eventually added some eggs to scramble--no seasoning but very tasty very colorful--we name our meals sometimes-this was breakfast bounty! it was nothing fancy but very yum...

anyhow- long way around--michael tends to hoard bell peppers-red yellow green-any time he sees a good price he buys and chops to freeze-hence we have lots!!!  he make s a lot of chili thru the year and we use them for things like this mornings' brekkie...we always have onion (tho i neglected to add any today) and we always try to have bacon of some sort-and eggs-

we always have rice and pasta -i just eat less of them-canned tomatoes - soups (cream) -chicken and some pork in the freezer--we are almost out of venison finally...we have an extensive spice cupboard....

i'm finding partial bags of different flours so i will use them to make my zucchini bread etc..rather than buying a bag of white which will take forever to use up...when i baked all of the time i had a full compliment of things for such-chocolates, spices, decors, extracts, nuts, raisins etc ... etc....

what do you keep on hand at all times?????? i love to know what others find "essential"!!!!!

I am a frozen foods hoarder ... I always have tons of frozen dinners since I don't like to cook except on weekends. Then I might cook something that will last forever (last week's Waikiki meatballs and fried brown rice will give me several more meals ... already fed me three times ... I'll bet I'll get another 4-5 meals out of it, but the rest are in the freezer now).

Also; canned tomatoes, beans (black and kidney, for when I make chili ... they were on sale, 10 for 10, with the 11th item free, same with the tomatoes), tomato sauce; applesauce cups, for when I bake or my tummy isn't feeling well; microwave popcorn (single serve), brown rice, whole wheat pasta; cheese (lots of it). This is one of the reasons when we had the power outage I was so devastated because I had to pitch so much food and it cost me so much. Let's see what else ... chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, extracts, spices, once I grate the zucchini, that'll be in the freezer; a variety of canned soups.

Wish I was better at canning and had a garden so I could grow veggies like I did in South Dakota, but limited room here.

Good subject, Margo

I love to cook, read cookbooks and grocery shop. So, when you have a food addiction things can go overboard in a hurry.  I have curtailed the food hoarding to a large degree, but we could still eat for more than 10 days or so if i got creative.

Espresso pods, both reg & decaf, and SF Vanilla syrup---gee, I wonder what for?

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked shrimp, frozen Mahi Mahi,  canned beans(many types), canned tomatoes, milk, eggbeaters, brown rice, microwave potatoes (white and sweet), bananas, yogurt, double fiber bread and whole wheat tortillas.  Single serving 2% cottage cheese, peanut butter. Garlic

Oh, yeah, I forgot about coffee and coffee pods (or K-cups ... for my Keurig brewer).  How could I forget about coffee when I'm sitting here drinking some?

\well at the moment my freezers , both on the refridgerator and the stand alone freezer are packed to the gills with frozen veggies that i grew this year. we are thinking about buying a big one but dont really know where we would keep it??could it be kept in Joes shop , it isnt heated or colded?
i always keep on hand olive oil , pam spray, spices , p.butter, oats, splenda , protein powder, picantia sauce , jalepanios , toms sauce, mushrooms , tomatoe juice , iuse that in my chili. bags and bags of different dried beans....have several that i grew myself ....
w.w. flour ,  no rice , no sugar in our house  i have finally converted Joe to Splenda, lots of grated cheeses, and block cheeses....i buy big blocks and grate them myself and put them in one cup baggies. most of the time one or two of these are the exzate size needed. Tea bags to make sun tea with.  cant think of much else.  
Im a recipe person too most of the time Margo but have deviated and will try adding something else or exchanging something for something in things at times. lol

I find it so exciting that you are moving to Hawaii!  I have always wanted to visit but never had the chance...  Please tell me all about your new home!

I need to keep Mr. Wheats Crispy Wheats in my cupboard all the time.  They are so good as a bread substitute and only 16 calories each.  Add to my list Polaners sugar free preserves.

I store up on bottled water, coffee, tea, and diet cokes.  The rest I buy as I need; usually a week at a time.  Now, body products...that's a horse of a different color.  I keep an extra bottle of body butter, an extra of shower gel, and two of body lotion.  I also hoard the lip gloss and body spray. 

I used to have a VERY full panty...........I could feed the neighbors for a month or two.  About every 6 months I'd empty it out (My sister and her kids would come and take what they wanted)

Since "getting healthy" I don't stock up much.....One thing we always buy a lot of when on sale is tea (we are pick tea drinkers).

Normally you'll find in the panty
Oatmeal
Raisins
A couple cans of tuna or salmon on hand...(great stuffed in a tomato)
Canned diced tomatoes
Almonds, walnuts and peanuts
Tea

In the fridge you'll always find LOTS of fresh fruit and veg.  Seriously 3/4 of my fridge is filled with veg and fruit.
In the freezer we stock up on Fillet Mignon when on sale and also Chicken Breast.

My family laughs but the thing I normally stock up on when on sale is Toilet Paper!  Heaven Forbid I ever run out!  Sure my family laughs but what did my brother do when he ran out??? Yep, stopped by to visit and grab a couple rolls.

I can't think of anything else.......

Funny you should mention that today.  This morning when I went home, for some reason I decided I wanted to make more room in our cupboard.  I found the following, all open:

pretzels - wheat grain
saltines
Toppers
Wheat Thins
Ritz crackers
Pringles

and two or three others.  I left them on the counter and went to bed, telling Mary what I intended to do with them.  Well, she did it.  The pretzels were in a platic jar about the size of a gallon.  I had her make bread crumbs. She ran it all through the blender and put it in the pretzel jar.  Now we have a huge jar of bread crumbs to cook with.

Upon looking through the cabinet, I did find lots of cracker type things.  We buy them only on a real good sale, and do not eat them all the time.  Also found two cans of cashews.  Again, only buy them on sale.

ALoha Margo......Believe me, you will be shocked when you see the prices in the grocery stores in Hawaii!! I sometimes just wander around Safeway and shake my head at the prices. I ALWAYS use coupons or buy things on sale...if possible.

Things I always try and have on hand are fruit (blueberries, peaches, bananas, nectarines....fresh) and dried appricots, cranberries, plums, etc. WHen I go to work I take snack bags of dried fruit and a small baggie of mixed nuts, and a protein bar....my staples. In my pantry there is always sugarfree jello, pudding and oatmeal. I love to do oatmeal with blueberries for breakfast....or peaches, bananas, etc. Also, I always have chili, tuna, beans of all types, and soups. I have low fat crackers which I don't eat often but occasionally like one or two with cheese on it.

In the frige is always 1% milk, several kinds of cheese, cottage cheese, apples, protein drinks, coffee creamer, sour cream, low fat cream cheese and a pitcher of water/crystal lite. My freezer is way too full of leftovers, bagels (I buy them by the dozen at Safeway...$5) steaks, chicken, Happy Cow ice cream treats, etc. I'm going to be thinning that out when I have to bag everything for the termite tenting.

If you are paying for a container to bring you things over.......put in as much of the nonperishables as you can. Do you have a place to live yet? How is that going?

Good luck to you, sweetie.......the next weeks are going to be BUSY!!

With much aloha,

Maui Karen