the house behind

One of the very real reasons I fell in love with The House Behind was the kitchen pantry. As big as a walk-in closet with seven deep shelves wrapping around three of the walls, I was obsessed from the first moment I saw it.

Glorious.

I did pack a lot of dried goods when I moved so I started stocking my pantry there. I also had plenty of glass jars although I would never stop buying more from various thrift stores and the occasional estate sale. It didn’t take me long to add all my beloved cookbooks on the top shelves and then slowly I rounded out my pantry with the usual suspects: grains, spices, condiments, canned goods, the works.

keep my favorite grains in glass jars so I can see what I have handily. I have been collecting glass jars for years now and when I cruise the aisles of local thrift stores or attend a local estate sale, I am always on the lookout for more.

For a frugal pantry, consider stocking the following:

1. Pastas and Rice. My favorites are rice (both brown and white) and pastas in various shapes: orzo, egg noodles and the standby lasagna, rotini and macaroni. I buy lasagna noodles and macaroni noodles from the dollar store but wait for the spaghetti we love to go on sale on-line. That is when I buy it in bulk, 8 boxes at a time. The point is, I only keep what I know I’ll use. I don’t buy fancy pasta shapes that I know I won’t use. Edit your own pantry accordingly.
2. Beans/lentils. Again, I only keep on hand what I know I like and will use. I buy a lot of beans but only in the smaller packs that I get from the dollar store: white, pinto, black, kidney and navy. I also buy lentils which I use in my Fancy French Lentil salad (recipe below). I love chickpeas, my favorite, and use them in a variety of dishes, so I buy them in bulk. I use them to bulk up casseroles, salads and pasta dishes and when I made hummus and other dishes.
3. Grains. I keep a lot of oatmeal in my pantry and buy it in bulk. Do you see a pattern here? I only buy in bulk when I use the ingredient a lot and oats are a staple for so many things in my kitchen. From smoothies to breads and baked goods, I also use oatmeal to bulk up my Everyday Meatloaf (recipe below). I also have barley, bulgar and farro on hand. And of course, I keep flour and baking grains but those tend to go in the freezer save of AP flour which I keep at my baking station.
4. Canned. Confession: I don’t like most canned goods. I know, shocking for such a frugal devotee. But canned veggies often taste tinny and have way too much sodium, so I don’t buy very many. I do keep some canned fruit on hand, mostly pineapple and mango for baking. I also will buy the bigger cans of tomatoes on sale in a few varieties for cooking; whole, sauce, diced and paste. I buy the larger cans of tomato paste and once opened, I will take the remainder of the paste and put it on a double square of parchment paper and plastic wrap. I will smush/shape it into a cylinder, label and freeze. I can then slice off what I need for future recipes and I save a lot of money on this particular ingredient. I keep a few cans of black olives along with some soups for emergency lunches because I prefer to make soup from scratch but sometimes you have to get lunch ready in a hurry. I also will keep those little cans of green chiles on hand, buying them when they are on sale because they are the perfect size for tacos, enchiladas and other Mexican dishes. Finally, I always have some canned tuna on hand because my partner loves my not-so basic tuna salad sandwiches (recipe below).
5. Glass. There are some specialty items that usually come in glass jars and containers, and I keep those on hand for the recipes we love. I need clam juice because I make cioppino and that is part of the base of the stew. I keep fancy olives on hand because we use them in cheese trays for entertaining and when friends drop by unexpectedly. For the pasta sauces, my partner loves to lie in wait until they go on sale and pick up a few jars for those nights that I just don’t have the time or energy to make a sauce from scratch.
6. Dry goods. I tend to use taco seasoning, ranch dressing seasoning and onion soup seasoning a LOT. Because the little packets are expensive, I did the math and turns out, buying them in larger sizes is far more cost effective. As a dry good, they keep a really long time, and I use them for a lot of recipes including my Sunday Pot Roast (see below for recipe). The little packets are so much more expensive so consider buying the ones you use the most in bulk. I also keep certain spices in bulk such as salt, course ground pepper, onion and garlic powder. Same goes for cinnamon sticks and other spices that I use upon occasion that I know will last a really long time.
7. Baked ingredients. I keep various types of chocolate and chocolate chips on hand for baking along with nuts (you should consider freezing your nuts, but ten to I use mine up quickly), dried fruit and leavening ingredients such as baking powder, soda and yeast. I also like sprinkles and such for the odd celebratory cake that I’ll whip up for friends and family. I also have gelatin powder which seemingly lasts forever and other specialty baking items.

Fancy French Lentil Salad
Ingredients:
Half cup dried lentils (brown, yellow, orange or green, use what you have and like)
Sliced red onion, about half of a small one or a large shallot
Cherry tomatoes, about half a cup, cut in halves
One large carrot, cut into thin matchsticks
Soft cheese for crumbling on top (I will use whatever I have on hand, goat cheese, feta or even some flavored cream cheese)
Dressing (see below)
Good kosher salt
Method: Place the lentils in a strainer and rinse them thoroughly to remove any debris. Then place the lentils in a medium sized pot, along with cold water and a bay leaf.
Turn the heat to medium-heat, place a lid on and bring the pot to a boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. Remove bay leaf and let cool to room temperature.
Mix the lentils with the carrot, tomatoes and onion/shallot. Dress the salad and top with soft cheese.
Dressing
Ingredients:
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp freshly squeezed or bottled lemon juice
¼ cup good quality olive oil
Method: Whisk together all the ingredients and as an aside, do not overdress the salad with too much dressing. Leave some on the side. The French would never overdress a salad. Mon duex. And be sure and garnish with your best finishing salt.
Variations: You can toss in some nuts if you want/need to use them up. Slivered, toasted almonds go well as do chopped walnuts. I’ve also added in dried fruit at times but then to prefer this recipe entirely savory. You can also top the salad with a perfectly jammy, seven-minute cooked hardboiled egg.

Everyday Meatloaf
Ingredients

• One pound ground beef
• One egg
• 1/3 cup milk of any kind
• Half cup oatmeal (not the quick cooking type)
• Equivalent of two slices of old bread (pulled from your freezer stash of leftover bread
• 1/2 diced onion and two minced garlic cloves, about a tablespoon of vegetable oil
• Teaspoon each of: Pepper, salt, garlic and onion powder along with 1/2 teaspoon of paprika and a generous pinch of red pepper flakes (ground beef needs a lot of seasoning for this recipe so don’t be shy)
• One tablespoon each: Worcestershire sauce and onion soup seasoning

Method: Tear the bread in small bits and mix with the milk, taking care to mix well so it quickly turns into mush. Sauté the diced onion for few minutes in a bit of vegetable oil, add in the minced garlic and stir for a minute or two, taking care the garlic does not burn. Set aside to cool. Once the onion-garlic mix reaches room temperature, mix with all the other ingredients. Shape into a loaf pan and pat down well. Bake at 350-F degrees for 45 minutes.

Variations: Some people like to brush the meatloaf with ketchup or put bits of other meat in the middle of the raw meatloaf prior to cooking. Others will slice hardboiled eggs and put them in the middle of the meatloaf so when you slice it, you also get a bit of cooked egg.

Sunday Pot Roast

Ingredients:

1 4-5 lb. chuck roast, go cheap on this one

1 package each of ranch salad dressing and French onion soup mix (I buy larger containers of each because I use them a lot and it saves me money in the long run)

2 cups or so of beef broth

2 cups roughly cut potatoes, any kind will do

1 cup each sliced carrots and celery

1 large onion, thinly sliced

Salt and pepper to taste

One stick of butter, half cup of flour for the gravy

Method: Absurdly easy. Whisk all the spices into the beef broth and set aside. Meanwhile, brown the chuck roast on all sides. Get a nice hard sear using plain vegetable oil or peanut oil because of its high smoke point. This will take a bit of time but so worth it. Use a cast iron skillet if you have one.

Once the meat is seared place it in a slow cooker and pour the seasoned beef broth over the meat. Add the vegetables and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Yes, you will have to start this one early in the day but the results are fall-off the bone tender.

Once the meat comes apart with a spoon (yes, you heard me, spoon) place it on a platter and arrange the vegetables around it.

To make the gravy: melt the butter and whisk in as much flour to make a paste; not to thick. Slowly whisk in the juices and beef broth until you have a nice, shiny gravy. Keep whisking to keep it lump free. Serve with pot roast.

And take a bow. You crushed Sunday supper.