Shelf-Stable Items to Keep On Hand

A recent post on a FaceBook group made me start thinking about all the shelf-stable items people could keep on hand during our Covid 19 lockdown. Or at least try to keep as many as they can with supermarkets being what they are. I've made a list of items, in no particular order, and I've given you some ideas. Leave comments at the bottom if you'd like more ideas.

1. Instant potatoes - not just mashed, but boxes of scalloped, au gratin and other varieties and flavors.

 

2. Canned Potatoes. Whole, sliced and diced. Make roasted potatoes, hash, home fries, scalloped potatoes. Use them in a soup or stew. Mix them with other veggies.

3. Canned veggies. I know, not as good as fresh or even frozen, but when you have small fridge, canned works better. And don't forget canned tomatoes. Diced, crushed, puree, sauce. Get some of everything.

4. Canned beans. Yeah, technically veggies, but I think people don't think about these a lot. Not just baked beans, but chili beans, chick peas, lentils, black beans etc.

5. Canned meals. Chef Boyardee, Spaghettios, Dinty Moore Beef Stew and anything else your store may carry.

6. Canned soup. Lots of flavors out there. Good for lunch or dinner. Get creamed soups and cheddar cheese soup to use in cooking.

7. Gravy. Buy it in jars, cans or packets of mix. You will always want it on hand once you're used to it.

8. Hormel Complete meals. In little white plastic containers. No freezer or refrigerator needed. Just put in your pantry. Most have some kind of meat and gravy, but there's also spaghetti, chicken and rice, chicken Alfredo and more. Serve with a veggie and everyone gets what they want and you didn't have to cook.

9. Pasta. For the obvious pasta and sauce, but also chop suey, goulash, soups, casseroles, pesto, homemade hamburger helper and more.

10. Pasta sauce. Again, the obvious, plus use for homemade pizza
and calzones, fried mozzarella sticks and fried ravioli, over chicken with melted cheese, with frozen meatballs on sub rolls, lasagna, stuffed shells and casseroles.

11. Dry pesto. Knorr makes pesto in a dry mix. This is better than refrigerated pesto, takes up less room and ready only when you need it.

12. Egg Noodles. Great substitute for pasta. Pair with ground meat and pasta sauce or ground meat with beef gravy for homemade hamburger helper. Or another version using ground meat and cans of cheddar cheese soup or Cheez Whiz. Use in casseroles, stews and soups.

13. Chess Whiz. Not just for dipping nachos. Use for cheeseburger macaroni, homemade Mac and Cheese, cheese over broccoli or other veggies, casseroles and more.

14. Great Seasons Salad Dressing Mix. Instead of making salad dressing, make a marinade good for beef, pork, chicken or fish. Less than the cost of traditional marinade and takes up hardly any room. Can also use it to season meatloaf or meatballs.

15. Tuna Fish. Obviously for sandwiches. Good for lunch or dinner. Serve on toast with a bowl of soup for a heartier meal. Also, serve it straight out of the can with a dash of salt and some crackers. Maybe a few carrot and/or celery sticks in the side. Make an old fashioned tuna noodle casserole. Add it to salads.

16. Canned Chicken. Comes just like canned tuna. Make chicken salad for sandwiches. Use it in soups or stews. Use it for tacos. Add it to salads. Use it in casseroles.

17. Canned Shrimp. Eat it on sandwiches like tuna. Add to salads. Add to tacos. Add to hush puppies.

18. Canned Clams. Use with canned diced potatoes and cream of celery soup to make chowder. Mince them up and make a beer batter with pancake mix and make clam fritters aka RI clam cakes.

19. Pancake/Waffle Mix. Obviously, pancakes and waffles. You can also use it to make batter for chicken or fish. Use beer or add Old Bay Seasoning. Running short on bread? Make savory waffles. A waffle with a little rosemary and sage is wonderful with ham. Stretch a couple of ham steaks into a meal for 4 by cutting them in half and grilling them between two waffles with cheese and honey mustard. If you have room in your freezer, make a big batch of waffles and freeze them in a Ziploc bag. Your kids can toast them like Eggos, but it's cheaper.

20. Corn Bread Mix. Naturally the usual corn bread. But you can make corn dogs, a corn bread pot pie, fiesta bread (see my post on 5 Things to do with Jiffy Corn Bread Mix). Corn Bread Stuffing, muffins using dried cranberries or blueberries, hotcakes, hush puppies and more.

21. Baking Mix. Like Bisquick or Jiffy Baking Mix. You can make Southern style biscuits, dumplings, fruit cobblers, quick breads, pot pies and so much more. Great alternative if they are out of pancake mix.

22. Three Bean Salad. Great side dish, especially at lunch. Help fill them up and tide them over until dinner. Can also add to a soup or stew.

23. SPAM. Hey, it's good. In Hawaii there's a whole food culture built around it. Fry slices of it in a pan with some brown sugar and pineapple rings. Serve on a bulkie roll. Add lettuce, tomato etc if you like. Dice up and add to already browned and seasoned diced potatoes. When hot, serve with a fried egg. Dice and serve with rice with veggies. (This means keep canned pineapple around too)

24. Canned Corned Beef. I like it on a sandwich. My parents used to make English muffin pizzas and add a slice of corned beef under the cheese. Great for hash. Great to warm a slice in a pan and serve with breakfast if you are out of other breakfast meats.

25. Taco Shells. You can put almost anything in them. Even
leftovers. Make eating leftovers a taco party.

26. Sardines. Yeah, yeah. I know. But how many of you have actually tried them and not just avoided them. When I was very little my mother used to serve them to me on top of buttered saltines until sometime during kindergarten I decided I didn't like them anymore. Put them on salads, serve them on crackers, use them in hush puppies or just eat them out of the can. Don't make a big deal out of them and maybe your kids will like them.

27. Cake, Cookie, Brownie Mix. The day will come when someone has a sweet tooth and there's nothing in the house. Or your kid(s) will want something different to do. Bake with them. Just make sure if you've got cake mix, you've got frosting.

28. Mac & Cheese. Like most of us don't have that anyway. But you can change it up. Add ground meat, diced ham, peas and carrots, broccoli. Layer it in a casserole with ground meat and a can of diced tomatoes and some more cheese. Put it on a homemade pizza.  Stir in your favorite fixings, add more cheese and bake it til it's bubbly.

29. Beef and Chicken Broth Cubes. If you don't have room in your fridge to put a box of broth, make sure you keep plenty of cubes or crystals on hand to use. You wouldn't want your food to be under seasoned after all your hard work.

30. Marinades, Sauces and Condiments. You go to the store to get some meat and you come home with chicken. Again. You used to love chicken, but now.... How many times can you have Shake n Bake or lemon pepper chicken? Keep a variety of marinades and sauces in your pantry. Even salad dressings can be used. Keep Dijon and honey mustard on hand. I know they have to be refrigerated, but once you get used to cooking with them, you'll use them a lot. Lipton's Beefy Onion, brown sugar, garlic, honey, nuts. Grind up some pecans and add to Panko breadcrumbs. Slather chicken with mixture of Dijon mustard, honey and paprika. Press into pecan/panko mix and bake. There you go, nice, easy new recipe.

hope you find this useful.
KerryBut

Questions? Ask below in the Comments.