Article and Photo Courtesy of Organized Christmas
Thanksgiving is coming: hold onto your wallet!
No question, holiday meals can put an unexpected burden on the budget.
Solution? Get organized, and shop at home first!
This week at the Christmas Countdown, we'll inventory pantry areas,
refrigerator and freezer before we begin shopping for holiday foods.
Knowing exactly what we have and what we need to buy prevents that
fuzzy "Oh, just throw in another can of olives!" mentality from
setting on us at the grocery story--and keeps us from tossing stale food items
months down the road.
A bountiful meal with no waste makes the best use of our food
dollars--and time and energy!
Similarly, we'll check the spice rack today, assessing the freshness of
seasonal staples. Will we have enough sage for our dressing? Has the pumpkin
pie spice lost it's savor? Time to find out, when replacements are offered at
the year's lowest prices at the market this week.
To Do Today
Print pantry inventory form.
Inventory the pantry
Will you really need to buy ten cans of chicken broth for holiday meals
this year? It's time to check pantry or food storage areas and inventory
holiday non-perishables before shopping for Thanksgiving.
Use a pantry inventory form to record supplies of canned goods, baking
supplies and holiday staples. You'll know at a glance whether to load up on
loss-leaders ... or whether your pantry is full this year.
Check spices for freshness
Fresh, savory seasonings are a must during the holiday season--but in
many kitchens, jars and tins of spices languish for years, losing flavor over
time.
Check your spice rack for freshness today. Newer products often include
a "use by" date as a guideline. Otherwise, open each jar, and use
your eyes and nose! A spice that has caked, changed color or lost it's smell
should be replaced.
Add any needed replacements to the seasonal shopping list, and stock up
when pre-Thanksgiving discounts hit the baking aisle!
For suggested dates and freshness tips, try this link:
To Read Today
Organized Pantry: Beginner's
Guide to Pantry Pride
A pantry's not a room, it's a state of mind. Get organized for
efficient, easy meal planning and brush up your pantry power:
A working pantry? It's the secret weapon of a well-organized kitchen.
A planned reserve of foodstuffs and sundries used in the home, a pantry
saves time, money and stress in the kitchen.
Tap the pantry for unexpected meals and reduce trips to the
supermarket.
Stock it with frugal finds to lower grocery costs.
Set aside a supply of food and sundries for a rainy day and protect
your family against weather emergencies or financial dislocation.
Properly managed, the pantry is an integral part of an organized home.
Polish your pantry pride with our best hints and tips.
A Pantry's Not A Place: It's An Attitude
"Oh, I'd love to have a pantry," writes a reader, "but
my house doesn't have one!" Sure it does! If there's so much as a spare
roll of toilet paper tucked underneath a sink, the household boasts a pantry.
Don't confuse storage space with the reality of the pantry principle.
Certainly, it's helpful to have designated cabinet space for pantry goods--but
that's not the pantry. Think of the pantry as a reservoir of consumable goods
which may be stored in any area of the home.
Tiny urban apartment or spacious rural farmhouse, all homes can include
a pantry. That some houses may or may not feature a specific storage area
labeled "pantry" is beside the point. A pantry's not a place, it's an
attitude!
Eyes On The Goal
What's the goal of establishing and maintaining a pantry? It's
two-fold: household convenience and protection against unexpected events. A
well-planned pantry means that the household will never run out of commonly
used products such as toilet paper.
More important, a pantry is a reserve against hard times. Whether it's
job loss, illness, or natural disaster, a pantry ensures that the family will
continue to be fed, clean, and comfortable in the face of adversity.
A beginner's pantry focuses on convenience and contains back-up
products for each storable item used in the home. The standard is simple: for
each open bag, box or carton in the household, the pantry contains a second,
back-up product, toothbrushes to tortellini. A good first goal: a three-day
supply of food and hygiene supplies adequate to support your family plus one
additional person.
More robust pantries serve additional goals. A mid-range pantry can
feed a family for a period of two weeks to a month in case of emergency.
This pantry includes substitutes for fresh foods, such as powdered
milk, dried fruits and vegetables, and protein products. A mid-range pantry
offers convenience and basic protection.
The most comprehensive home pantries are designed to meet long-term
food storage needs. For instance, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-Day Saints (LDS) are taught to maintain a one-year supply of food and
clothing for their families.
To do so, these premier pantry managers stock versatile foodstuffs with
long shelf life, such as whole wheat berries, together with a variety of
preserved and dried foods. LDS home managers learn pantry-specific cooking
techniques to enhance nutrition and appeal of long-keeping foods.
Inside the Well-Stocked Pantry
Traditional home organization advice often specifies long lists of
"recommended pantry items", idea being that you buy them and voila!
you've got pantry.
Eighteen months later, you're hauling dusty cans of apricot halves to
the Food Bank and wondering what ever possessed you to purchase them in the
first place.
Reality check! Each family's pantry will vary according to their own
tastes, needs and standard of living. Storage space and financial constraints
also affect pantry contents.
For instance, single-income households with young children will build
pantries replete with cold cereal, formula, disposable diapers and
child-friendly snack foods--all purchased on sale with coupons. Empty-nesters
with an active social life and his-and-hers diets will lean toward pickled
asparagus, cocktail crackers and tiny jars of caviar for pick-up appetizers and
hostess gifts.
Dedicated home bakers include specialty flours, gluten, and dried
buttermilk powder in their pantries, while non-cooks rely heavily on microwave
entrees and freezer pizza. And just about every family can stockpile basics for
kitchen and bath: toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry and dishwasher detergent,
disposable diapers and feminine hygiene products, paper napkins and food
storage bags.
Where's the best place to discover your family's pantry preferences? A
grocery list!
If you buy it, use it, and it can be stored, it's a pantry candidate.
Building a pantry from the grocery list is also a powerful antidote to Pantry
Mania: the indiscriminate purchase of case lots of canned turkey chili or
house-brand soups that no one in the household will eat. Hello, Food Bank!
An expansive view of the pantry principle encompasses more than the
traditional dry storage of canned foods and baking staples. Manage your pantry
to include freezer storage and a limited amount of refrigerator real estate.
Carrots, potatoes, oranges and apples enter the pantry zone when bought on sale
and tucked into corners of the vegetable bin, while freezer convenience entrees
qualify, too.
Bottom line: build a pantry to suit your family. Whether it's Chef
Boy-ar-dee brand ravioli or Wolfgang Puck's upscale line of condensed soups,
feature your family's favorites on the pantry shelves.
Organization and Inventory Tips
To work the pantry principle, you've gotta get organized! Maximum
pantry power requires that you know what you have, how long it will keep, and
how to store it safely. Good organization and inventory techniques will keep
your pantry cycling smoothly.
Beginning pantries are relatively simple, and don't require complex
organization systems. Create them by buying twice as many of each item as
required for weekly use, then storing the extras. Use the last smidge of mayo
making today's tuna salad? Retrieve the back-up jar from the pantry, and add
"mayo" to the week's shopping list to replace the pantry jar.
Often, the beginner's pantry can be stored side-by-side with opened or
in-use items. For example, stack the open box of detergent on top of the pantry
box or line up cans of chicken noodle soup front to back on the canned goods
shelf. Remember to rotate! Add newly-purchased items to the back of the stack
or row; use the front items first.
Even for beginners, a dedicated pantry area can be a big help. Set aside
a cabinet or shelf to hold pantry items. Organize them by category, stacking
cans and boxes. Flat-bottomed plastic baskets support and contain bags of dried
beans, rice, or pasta.
One exception to the "store by category" rule: complete
pantry meals. On a section of pantry shelf, assemble all the makings for three
to five pantry meals: a family-sized can of clam chowder, extra can of chopped
clams, and the box of oyster crackers shelved together make it easy to replace
these items after use. Check your "pantry meals" area before shopping
day. Empty spaces will remind you to stock up on the clam chowder as needed.
More comprehensive pantries call for a more organized approach. Larger
pantries require more storage space, often sited away from the kitchen. In this
situation, a written pantry inventory can remind forgetful cooks of the
existence and location of pantry items.
To inventory the pantry, use a clipboard, steno pad, laptop computer or
a free printable pantry inventory form from our Household Notebook Forms
Library. Record pantry contents, amount and location for easy reference.
Before grocery shopping, check the pantry; will you need to replace any
items that have been used? Include them on the weekly shopping list.
Larger pantries may be stored in multiple locations around the house,
so pay attention to food storage guidelines as you store. A cool, dry basement
room is a good storage environment for root vegetables, apples, or baking
staples; canned goods and dried beans can be safely stored in areas with
greater temperature variation.
Long-term storage pantries require a thorough approach to selection,
storage, maintenance and use of stored foods. Families storing a year's supply
of food and water must pay close attention to storage guidelines, safe
packaging, and integration of pantry supplies into the daily diet.
Building A Pantry On A Budget
Investing in the pantry principle pays off in savings of time and
money, but it does involve an up-front cost. Even a beginner's pantry--a
back-up product for each item used in the home, plus ingredients for three to
five pantry meals--represents a significant financial outlay.
Try these tips to spread the load:
"Tithe" for the pantry: set aside a regular percentage of
each week's grocery budget for pantry-building. Even a few dollars a week will
start the process of stocking and maintaining pantry reserves.
Buy on sale: take advantage of supermarket loss leaders to stock up.
Supermarkets routinely offer tuna, tomato sauce, canned soup and canned beans
at drop-dead prices to get shoppers in the door. If it's a pantry candidate and
it's on sale, buy multiples!
Buy in bulk: bulk-buying for the pantry really pays off. Using the
pantry "tithe", buy the 25-pound sack of bread flour for $3.89 at the
warehouse store, rather than spend $1.39 for the supermarket's five-pound bag.
You'll save and stock up at the same time!
Storage tips for small spaces
Even beginner's pantries may have a hard time finding a home in small
houses or apartments. Try these storage ideas to tuck away a pantry in the
tiniest home:
Break the mold: look beyond the kitchen to store pantry items in a
small home. Provided that temperature and moisture are not issues, any room in
the house is a candidate for pantry storage. Who says cans can't live in the
coat closet?
Disguise it: integrate pantry goods into the home. For example, stack
two large bulk-food storage containers and top with a plywood circle and round
tablecloth. Who can tell this attractive end table is really storage space for
50 pounds of flour?
Look high and low: make use of storage space under or over furniture.
Fill shallow under-bed storage boxes with canned food, labels up, and push them
beneath the bed. Similarly, cover cardboard records boxes with gift wrap or
fabric, fill them with bags of pasta, beans and rice, and stash them away on
top of tall bookcases.
Today's Recipe
M&M Cookie Mix in a Jar makes a colorful jar gift, and is popular
with kids.
Use seasonal-colored M&Ms-brand candies for a holiday touch.
We make it easy with recipe and free printable gift tag. Attach the tag
to create a sweet and welcome holiday gift.
Child-friendly, fun craft gift, M&M Cookies in a Jar is perfect for
teacher gifts, Secret Santa or stocking stuffers! For a holiday touch, use
M&M-brand chocolate candies in seasonal colors.
Our free printable gift tag carries out the M&M-brand theme! Bold
and bright, this two-sided tag comes in three lively colors. Print and fold to
create this colorful gift-in-a-jar.
Ingredients
1 wide-mouth quart (4-cup) canning jars with lid and rings
1⁄4 cupsugar
1 1⁄4 cupM&M-brand chocolate candies
2 cupssifted flour, all purpose
1⁄2 teaspoonbaking soda
3⁄4 cupsbrown sugar, packed
1⁄4 teaspoonbaking powder
Instructions
1. Sift flour before measuring. Mix together flour, soda and baking
powder. Layer flour mixture, brown sugar, granulated sugar and M&Ms-brand
candies in jar. Pack firmly.
[Hint for FoodSaver brand vacuum sealer owners: use the jar sealing
attachment to seal jars for longer storage.]
2. Cut appropriate number of 7-inch circles from cotton fabric. Top
each jar with fabric circle, and tie with ribbon.
3. Print appropriate number of gift tags. Cut gift tags apart and
attach to ribbon. Or, hand-write recipe tag using the recipe below.
M&M Cookies in a Jar Recipe
Empty jar of cookie mix into mixing bowl; blend thoroughly.
Add 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened, 1 beaten egg and 1 teaspoon
vanilla. Mix until completely blended.
Roll into 1-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie
sheet. Bake at 375 degrees until edges are lightly browned, about 12 to 14
minutes.
Cool on cookie sheet for five minutes, then transfer to wire racks.
Makes 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
