Pantry Perils

The pantry. God, I'd love an honest-to-goodness pantry. Le sigh.

So you took the chicken out of the freezer to thaw, but that's as far as you got into planning dinner. And now it's five o'clock. Crap. Or maybe Benson and Stabler are at the door and you want to offer refreshments. What now? Well, if you have a well stocked pantry, you'll be all...

Pictured: swag

and less like...

Pictured: guilt

But what IS a well stocked pantry? Well, it's your kitchen staples...dry goods and the like. I made a list :) I love lists. So much. But anyway...

Absolute Must Haves:

These are items that are always, always, ALWAYS on hand at my house, regardless of time of year, how often I think I'll use it, etc., AND ALSO should be in everyone's pantries. In other words, STAPLES.

Dry Goods/Things that don't need refrigerating until AFTER they've been opened:

• Baking powder
• Baking soda (also awesome for cleaning!)
• Barbeque sauce
• Bread crumbs
• Bouillon cubes (or canned broth, I suppose, but I prefer the cubes)
• Canned vegetables 
• Coffee (fo' sho'!)
• Cornstarch
• Flour
• Garlic, bulb
• Hot pepper sauce
• Jelly (seriously, I ONLY buy grape. Nothing else should EVER go on a PB&J sandwich. But I gueeeesss you can buy whatever you want.)
• Ketchup
• Mayonnaise
• Mustard ("deli" otherwise known as brown or spicy, plus whatever others you might use)
• Oil (vegetable AND olive)
• Pancake syrup
• Pasta (a variety shapes and sizes--I keep about four pounds of "thin spaghetti" on hand at all times because that's what we eat most, plus a box each of elbow, penne, ziti, and lasagna. If you have a wee one, add pastine to the list)
• Peanut butter
• Popcorn kernels (it REALLY doesn't take much more effort than the microwave stuff)
• Potatoes 
• Quick sides (ya know, Betty Crocker and Lipton side dish type things. Especially au gratin potatoes)
• Rice
• Salad dressing(s)
• Sugar (at LEAST granulated and brown, if not those and powdered/10x)
• Tomatoes (crushed, paste, and sauce {NOT to be confused with spaghetti sauce})
• Vinegar (balsamic and white -- buy the biggest bottle of white you can find and use it for cleaning and cooking!)

Spices (and herbs...but they all go in the SPICE rack. Jus' sayin'):

• Basil
• Bay leaves
• Chili powder
• Cinnamon
• Cream of tartar
• Cumin
• Garlic powder (salt, too, if that's how you roll)
• Marjoram, ground
• Nutmeg, ground
• Oregano
• Paprika
• Pepper (black, cayenne, crushed red flakes, white)
• Poultry seasoning
• Rosemary
• Sage leaves
• Salt (table and kosher)
• Seasoned salt
• Thyme
• Vanilla extract

Fridge and Freezer:

• Butter (buy extra, it can be frozen!)
• Cheese (sandwich, Parmesan, cheddar) 
• Eggs
• Lemon juice
• Milk
• Produce, fresh or frozen (I'd list stuff, but really, we all have our favorites, so stock accordingly)
• Dinner meats (ground beef, poultry, pork stuffs, etc)

Optional Items:

Items on this list are just useful (some are super useful) things you might want to add to the pantry, but may not be considered "staples" (in my opinion). Some I would consider staples...either to MY kitchen (my grandfather will tell you that Old Bay is a staple. I, however, have NEVER used it), or I only keep stocked seasonally. Things marked with + I do consider staples for my own kitchen. Things marked with * I buy seasonally. Things not marked, I don't buy at all, but YOU might want stock.

• Allspice
• Beans (especially chili)*
• Biscuit mix
• Canned pumpkin*
• Chocolate (chips in all types of flavors and sizes, baking squares, powder)+
• Chocolate syrup
• Cornmeal+
• Craisins*
• Crisco+
• Evaporated milk*
• Fruit, lunchbox packaging*
• Gelatin+
• Heavy cream*
• Honey
• Microwave popcorn
• Molasses*
• Nonstick cooking spray (I preseasoned my cast iron then used the hell out of it! No use for nonstick spray here :D)
• Oats (quick-cooking and rolled)+
• Roasted red peppers+
• Salsa+
• Spaghetti sauce
• Sour mix (for the margaritas, ya know)+
• Tortilla chips+
• Tortilla shells+

Did I forget something? Comment and let me know!