I often wonder how my mom (Gracie) always seemed to have food on the table even in lean times? When visiting the grocery store every week to the tune of hundreds of dollars, I wish to know her secret. Then again, maybe it wasn’t a secret at all. Maybe it was just good planning and preparation on her part.  

Let’s consider the fact that items that we have on hand are what determine how far our food will go. Filling your cabinets or pantry with a few useful staples can be the difference between one trip to the grocery store each week as opposed to three or four times due to poor planning.  Stocking just a few choice items is all you need to create wonderful meals and by taking this approach I’m sure you will save some money.

Flour. Flour is a starter item for many recipes. You can add it to some water and make gravy in the pan for many meat dishes. Flour is used to make bread (biscuits, rolls, loaves) and to coat chicken. It can also be used to coat a round or square cake pan to prevent the cake from sticking. Of course, one of the favorite uses for flour is in cookie recipes that make scrumptious desserts.

My college daughter was home for the holidays and loves to bake.  We always have a bag of flour on hand but with our budding baker around it just was not enough.  Buy extra flour and keep it in the fridge.

Rice. I love rice so much that I once bought a fifty pound bag from a grocery store. Fifty pounds, that’s a lot of rice! Rice is a side dish, but it doesn’t have to be plain. It can be jazzed up with veggies to accompany dinner. Gracie used leftover rice for a dessert called sweet rice. Just add evaporated milk and some sugar to a bowl of rice and warm it in the microwave. It is a tasty treat for after dinner. Another popular dessert is rice pudding.

Rice can also be mixed with leftover meat and a cream soup to form a casserole. Rice has many uses and your sure to find a few that your family will love.  A few weeks back we did a post on Sicilian Rice Croquettes.  Mom would often make those croquettes with leftover rice from a dish she prepared the night before.

Pasta. I don’t have to go into the many different uses and recipes on can come up when cooking with pasta.  In fact our next EBook in the Italian Living Series is all about pasta.  You got a pound of pasta in the cupboard, you got dinner for the family. When cooking with pasta try thinking outside the tomato sauce box a little. Macaroni can be used to make a creamy salad while spiral pasta is used in many different pasta salads.  Spaghetti can be used in a casserole topped with cheese or with a lite pesto topping.

Spices. Every Kitchen had a spice rack and enough spices to create unique taste to ordinary meals.  There are other ways to season food besides salt and pepper. In fact, many spices taste better than salt. Even diehard salt-a-holics won’t miss the salt in foods if other seasonings are used. Cayenne pepper, chili powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, oregano, and garlic powder are all useful tools in your flavor arsenal to give foods a fresh new taste.

Beans. There go those beans again. Beans can top your salad (edamame), make an awesome dip (black beans), and go well with grilled foods (baked beans). They provide a good source of protein with very little fat. Beans are good in soups, stews, and over rice for a simple yet filling meal.

I can open my pantry right now and find four or five cans of different beans and believe me we go through them.  I can also find a few bags of dried beans which are far superior to the can version, just a bit more work.  My go to meal on Tuesday seems to be steamed salmon and a vegetable of choice.  I usually drum up a balsamic dressing and add some red kidney beans.  Dinner in twelve minutes, no joke!

So, do you have these staples in your kitchen? I bet you can probably think of several more that will enhance your pantry and save money. Start with these and grow your own list of basic kitchen staples that are versatile and economical.

Gracie’s Super Bowl Chili.

The big game is coming up and it provides an excellent opportunity to use some (or many) of the stables we mentioned and I’m sure a few of your own in a Super Chili.  Here’s one of my favorite ways to do chili.

• 1/4 lb each of the following beans; kidney, red pinto, cranberry and navy
• 1 lb bacon
• 5 lg onions, peeled and chopped
• 2/3 c garlic, minced
• 1/4 c coriander seeds, toasted and ground
• 1/4 c  cinnamon
• 1/4 c paprika
• 1/4 c cayenne pepper (or) to taste for the timid tongue
• 1/2 c poblano chili peppers dried and ground
• 1 can 108 oz Italian tomatoes with juice
  
• 12 oz beer
• 5 lb lean beef, ground
• salt and pepper to taste

Pick over and wash beans. Put in large pot and cover with 4 qts.cold water. Soak over night. Wash and drain. Cover with water, bring to a bowl over high heat, lower heat and simmer for 2 hours or until tender.

Cook bacon in a large skillet, drain and crumble. Put next 7 ingredients in skillet and saute for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and beer, simmer. In another skillet saute ground beef until no longer pink.

When beans are tender drain, reserving liquid. Add meat, bacon and vegetables to beans. Simmer over low heat until hot, adding bean liquid if necessary.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Want more of Gracie’s Secret recipes?  Click the ad below for her “7 Days of Italian Cooking – Gracie’s Guide to Everyday Meals.”