Cox's Cooking Tips

lists of things that you should always have on hand in the kitchen

Pantry:
Canned diced tomatoes
Tomato sauce
tomato Paste
Canned Chicken, beef and vegetable broth
Jarred Marinara Sauce
Creamed Soups (chicken, mushroom, celery)
bullion cubes
pasta- a variety of shapes
Pice
Tuna fish (other canned meat such as chicken)
Onions
Garlic
Vegetable oil
Extra Virgin Oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Dried herbs (leaves)-basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano, dill, herbs de provence, red pepper flakes
Dried spices- cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
vanilla
kosher salt
black peppercorn

Fridge:
Fresh herbs- basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley
mixed greens
butter
soy sauce
eggs
cheese
lemon

Freezer:
Ground beef and/or turkey (1 lb segments)
Chicken breasts
store bought pie crusts
bag of mixed berries
mixed vegetables
nuts
grated cheese
bread

tips that we learned last night at the Enrichment Mtg.

Fresh lemon juice: squeeze lemon juice into ice cube trays in desired amount and freeze, then dump frozen cubes into a ziploc and keep in freezer. Remove as needed.

Only need 1 TBSP of Tomato Paste: Instead of wasting the rest of can; drop paste in 1 TBSP droplets onto make shift foil like pan and freeze. Once frozen, dump into a ziploc and keep in freezer. Remove as needed.

When freezing ground beef, flatten the 1 lb segment in ziploc bag so it lays flat. This makes it easier to defrost and stack in the freezer.