There are four possible reasons you’re reading this post. In the first case, you’re my Mom (Hi Mom!) and you’ve been a faithful reader of everything I’ve put on my blogs. But that only covers one reader, so if the “blog read” count stays at one I’ll know who was visiting…
In the other three cases you’re either:
- Newly out on your own and need to stock a brand new kitchen
- You’ve been thinking about “getting it together” in the kitchen for a while and this post intrigued you
- You’re somebody else’s Mom or Dad and your worried that your little darling doesn’t have a clue how to stock a kitchen with enough food to actually feed themselves or their family
I’m going to do my best to cover the first two scenarios and will leave it to any of you in category three to glean what you can from my wisdom. After helping six of my own kids setup their own kitchens I’ve got some experience to share. Couple that with the far-too-regular attempts at do-overs in my kitchen and I’m a veritable expert. An expert at screwing up, that is. Just follow what I write and not what I do and you’ll be fine!
As you read on, remember, everybody is going to be different. If you see something and think “I’d never buy that”…then don’t buy it. The thoughts and ideas that I’m sharing are from my experience and they’ve worked well for a some of the people I know. But even among the Hectic Family there have been huge variations on what they considered essential and what they considered total luxury. So the bottom line is, pick and choose from my ideas. Make yourself and your family happy. And absolutely under no circumstances buy something that you aren’t going to use. Don’t even buy things that you think you might use someday. If you’re that uncertain, hold off on the purchase. You can always run out and get it later!
Whether you’re newly out on your own or your envisioning a do-over of your kitchen…be advised that you’re going to feel overwhelmed. There is always more that you can add to your collection. Recognize that you’re going to be stocking your kitchen for a while. It’s not going to be a single trip to the store. Some things are going to be more important to you at a particular time, and other things can wait. Remember, it’s not just about space but it’s about value too. While you may save a lot per pound by buying 50 pounds of dry rice…do you really have space for that much rice? Will you eat it before it goes bad? Will your family run you out on a rail because you’ve fed them plain rice for two weeks straight for every meal? Just keep those things in mind. OK?
Before you get too deep into the process of stocking your kitchen, think about what you’re trying to achieve here. Are you cooking for just yourself or for a small group? Do you have a starving hoard like the Hectic Clan where you need to fill 10+ heaping plates at every meal? Depending on how many people you’re feeding (and their ages), the quantity of food you need to buy will vary immensely.
Also, think about the types of foods you’re going to prepare. I grew up in a small family with just four of us. Casseroles made in 9×13” baking dishes lasted three meals. So as you can imagine, we didn’t eat that many casseroles. On the other hand, my wife grew up with nine siblings. With 12+ people at the dinner table, one baking dish was barely enough food. Casseroles were a staple in her family. Let’s face it, you don’t feed a hungry mob filet mignon on a regular basis! Know who and how many people you’re cooking for.
After you’ve got an idea of who’s going to be eating the food and what types you’re going to make, take a little bit of time and think about cuisines. Will there be a lot of Mexican foods? Italian? Eastern European? Asian? My family home was centered on “good ole’ American cooking”, but there was a heavy influence of both German and Polish dishes. My Mom never made spaghetti sauce, she always poured it out of a jar. The idea of actually making sauce from scratch was not something she ever entertained. Just like the quantity, you need to think about what ingredients you will really use. I’m probably a bad example since I’m willing to give any recipe a whirl. Heck, before Fajitas were common I’d heard someone describe them, so I decided to create my own recipe. Mind you, I’d never tasted them, so the food that we call “Beef Fajitas” in Hectic Manor is vastly different than what you get in a restaurant. Both are delicious…and I love them…but what I use for my fajitas is quite a bit different than what you’ll use if you’re following a copycat recipe for a restaurant’s version of the dish.
Now that you’ve got your head wrapped around what your going to be cooking and how much you need to produce on a regular basis, start making a list. Please learn from my zillion years of experience and don’t go grocery shopping without a list. You are asking for an epic disaster if you go to stock your kitchen without a list. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, we’ve created four free guides for stocking your spices, pantry, refrigerator, and freezer.
With your sharp looking downloaded list or a handwritten one on the back of an envelope, get ready to go to the store. But don’t grab your checkbook and head out quite yet. You need a budget to go along with that list. In an upcoming post I’m going to talk about how to set your budget and how to figure out what to scratch off the list for this week’s trip. In the meantime, starting looking over the lists I’ve created and get a feel for the sorts of things you need and the things that would be nice-to-have.
And as always, make it a great day in the kitchen!