Chris Redding lives in the wilds of New Jersey with her husband, two kids, one dog, and three rabbits. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in journalism and has only had one job in that field because she spent her early marriage following her husband’s career around Europe. When she isn’t writing she works part time for her local hospital. She has 4 romantic suspense novels published.
Find her on the web:
http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/chrisreddingauthor
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Most people don’t have time to cook. Especially authors who have deadlines and have to spend an amazing amount of time promoting. This is the beginning of a series of blog posts about cooking well for your family without spending too much time or using processed food.
In this blog post, I’m going to tackle items you should have in your house. If you don’t think you will use much, get the smallest container of it possible. If you think the opposite, then go to a warehouse store and get the most you can.
Flour
I use all-purpose, but also have whole wheat and quinoa. If you only have one, choose all-purpose.
Oil
Olive oil, both extra virgin and regular. Peanut oil (unless there’s an allergy).
Butter
Not margarine or Crisco. I prefer unsalted butter.
Herbs
Fresh is preferable, but you may not have the time to take care of the plants. Do not buy these in bulk because they go stale.
Spices
Again, do not buy in bulk. Which ones you have can depend on your family’s tastes.
Lemon/lime
Lemons keep for a surprisingly long time in your fruit crisper. Don’t buy a lot because you will only use one or two.
Eggs
Enough said.
Frozen Vegetables
This way you can always have something nutritious no matter what you are making.
Vinegar
At the very least white wine and red wine vinegars. If you are willing to go further, balsamic and champagne white wine vinegar.
Rice/pasta/quinoa
Dried for all of these. All of these you can add stuff to them to perk them up for a great side dish or main meal.
Nuts
Clearly if there are allergy concerns, take this off your list, but nuts are pretty versatile and add a nice crunch to any dish.
Bread Crumbs
If you can save your old bread, and grind it up with spices, that is best, but if you buy ready-made, buy unflavored so you can put in your own spices.
Milk
Whatever kind you like be it whole, skim, almond, rice. Does not matter.
Mushrooms
Unless you hate them. They don’t last long unless you can get them from a farmer’s market. If not, you can get many varieties of dried.
Tomato Sauce
Your own homemade would be best, but if necessary use jarred sauce.
Meat
Obviously, not if you are a vegetarian. Buy this in bulk and freeze in portions you would use for one meal. You just have to remember to pull them out that morning. More in the post about prepping meals beforehand.
I’m not a big fan of things in a can so if you can find these in a jar version, do it, but make sure you can pronounce all the ingredients.
Tomatoes
Jalapeno Peppers
Artichoke Hearts
Sun-dried Tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Thanks for having me today and as Jacques Pepin says, “Happy Cooking.”
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