The most essential part of any happy kitchen (besides your cookware) is your dry goods pantry.  You will enjoy cooking so much more with a fully stocked pantry.  I will share all of the products I keep on hand everyday so that in a

pinch - I can make a delicious meal; without having to run to the store on a day when I was not planning on doing any grocery shopping. 

 

When your dry pantry is not properly stocked, this is when you may find yourself resorting to ordering  pizza or Chinese. 

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One of the biggest obstacles in setting up a dry pantry is space.  If your home has a small kitchen and not a lot of cabinet space you may believe that stocking a dry pantry is not an option.  Trust me, you have a perfect spot, you just may need to be a little creative. Think about where you have some dry clean space and here you can stock a great pantry.  It can be in a closet, the basement or even a hallway closet.  That is where I have my dry pantry now - it's in the entryway hallway closet.  Tom put up wire racks for me in half the closet.  It is close to the kitchen and works great.  If you cannot do something like this you can pack your canned goods in old milk crates and stack them.  You do not need for it be a fancy pantry.  You just need someplace to stock essentials.

 

There are a several staple items I have in my dry pantry at all times.  I will share what's in my pantry and you can decide what items might work for you.  If you do not like buying in bulk, you do not have to, but the better stocked you pantry is - the more you will come to enjoy cooking at home.

 

With all of the experience I had on cooking and grocery shopping, I did not learn about Amazon Prime Pantry until last year, when my step-daughter told me she orders all her heavy household and canned items this way.  I joined Amazon Prime Pantry immediately and have never looked back.  It makes all of my cooking needs so much easier - both on my wallet and my physical body.  I no longer have to hand carry heavy bag after heavy bag filled with canned goods or jars into my house.  

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Here are the top essentials for my dry goods pantry.  Please feel free to add or substitute as you feel best works for you and your menu planning. 

 

Pantry Essentials  

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Cento San Marzano Peeled Tomatoes

Cento San Marzano Crushed Tomatoes

Cento Tomato paste in a tube

Thai Coconut Milk 

8.5 oz cans of Swanson Chicken Stock

32 oz boxes of Swanson Chicken Stock

8.5 oz cans of Swanson Chicken Broth 

32 oz cans of Swanson Chicken Broth

8.5 oz cans of Swanson Beef Stock

8.5 oz cans of Swanson Beef Bone Broth

Barilla Pasta 

Angel Hair

Thin Spagetti

Spagetti

Linguine Fini 

Elbows

Penne

Sherry Vinegar

Red Wine Vinegar

White Champagne Vinegar

Capers

 Nuts - pine nuts, walnuts and almonds

Mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard

White Vermouth

Red Vermouth 

Bags of Basamati Rice

Italian Risotto 

Potatoes, Onions, Shallots & Garlic

Exotic Spices

Exotic Spices can be categorized as specialty spices you do not use everyday

i.e. Turmeric, Cumin, Fennel seeds, mustard seeds and Chile's.  If you use these spices a lot in your cooking you may have many of them in individual containers.  If you do not work with these spices but would like an option to have one blend.  I recommend the one I have listed below.

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One of the most important parts of your dry goods pantry are spices.  You may keep most of your everyday spices near the stove up inside a cabinet.  These would be of course your chosen salts, black pepper, garlic powder and a good Italian spice blend.  I have also an Herbs de Provence.     

Herbs de Provence is a mix of dried herbs found near the Provence region of southeast France. The blend I use has savory, marjoram, rosemary, thyme, oregano and lavender.  Herbs de Provence can be used in any dish you typically would use an Italian Herb blend.  Oftentimes, it is used on grilled steaks and in stews.

I use to buy my Herbs de Provence blend from William Sonoma.  A small bag of herbs comes with a cute white and green pot.  I now get a less expensive Herbs de Provence blend from Amazon which

I put into this little pot.  

 

The key is to buy only those essential ingredients you think your kitchen needs.  Since I cook now every night I keep my dry goods pantry and my spice blend fully stocked.  When I decided to do a food and cooking blog - I gave a lot of thought to what would have helped me years ago after Tom and I got married and I began to do a lot more cooking at home for us as a family.

 

Having Amazon & Amazon Prime Pantry at my fingertips would have made my shopping so much easier.

As such, I have decided that as part of my blog - I would include direct links for the brands, cookware, utensils and small kitchen items I have come to rely on everyday.   

 

Once you have your pantry organized you might want to keep a small notepad inside it for reminders on what needs to be re-ordered.  I started doing this last year and it helps me greatly.