Bare Minimum

• Table Salt – nothing fancy, just a big thing of Morton’s table salt. You can put this on your food, but you need to salt the water for pasta, add salt to chocolate chip cookies, use salt to blot oil stains in your clothes, and gargle with warm salt water when you are getting sick.
• Black Pepper – you know your dad lives for black pepper, but it does kick plain food up a notch.

Just Getting Started

Once your budget allows room for expansion, there are 3 more spices that I couldn’t live without. There are, in no particular order …

• Garlic Powder – We’re Italian — ok, YOU guys are Italian. Garlic powder is essential. I use fresh garlic, ‘jarlic’, and even roasted heads of garlic, but I cannot live without garlic powder. I put it on everything I cook, from hamburgers and chicken breasts to grilled veggies and pasta sauce.
• Lawrey’s Seasoning Salt – I am sure there are all sorts of junk in this, but I use it all the time. It is an essential ingredient in chicken spaghetti and my chicken salad. It just has a little more of a kick than regular table salt. And, Lawrey’s always kicks up my garlic bread to a whole other level!
• Onion Powder– Onion powder wasn’t really on my radar until I had kids. You guys refused to eat anything with onions, but your dad and I still wanted the flavor in certain recipes. So I had to improvise. Now, I put onion powder on everything 🙂

A Little Variety

Once you’ve bought the above five, you can branch out and add a little variety.

• Italian Seasoning or Oregano – Italian seasoning has oregano in it. Sometimes I have one, sometimes I have both. Honestly, I use them interchangeably, like in our family sauce recipe.
• Lemon Pepper – We like grilled chicken with lemon pepper. We also add lemon pepper to steamed veggies and even alfredo.
• Taco Seasoning – I know not everyone is a fan of taco seasoning, but it comes in handy. You know I love a bag of pre-cooked taco meat n the freezer for quickie quesadillas, taco Tuesdays, and taco salad.
• Montreal Steak Seasoning – This comes in different flavor profiles and is good for grilled steaks, burgers, and chicken.

Spice Things Up

• Cumin – I absolutely hate the way cumin smells but, that aside, I use cumin in my salsa recipe and in refried beans.
• Garlic Salt – I admit I don’t use garlic salt that often, but when I make homemade potato wedges, I use both garlic powder, Lawrey’s seasoning salt, AND garlic salt.
• Poultry Seasoning- You can buy multiple spices and make your own poultry seasoning, but its more cost effective to just buy this. I use it for chicken soup and chicken a la king.
• Dill – Dill smells so good! I add it to homemade tartar sauce and to tuna salad.
• Mustard Powder – I can’t remember which recipe, but I use mustard powder for one particular recipe :/
• Old Bay Seasoning – Old Bay is great on fish and seafood! Use liberally!

Sweet Nothings

• Vanilla Extract- While not exactly a spice, PURE vanilla extract is an essential for your spice cabinet/drawer. Do not even bother with imitation. Just. No.
• Cinnamon – Cinnamon toast. Cinnamon rolls. I’ve even used a shake or two in chocolate chip cookies. Dad doesn’t like it that way, but I do!
• Pumpkin Pie Spice – Like poultry seasoning, you could buy each spice separately, but pumpkin pie spice does the trick for both pumpkin pie and my pumpkin white chocolate blondies.

Oh La La

• Pink Himalayan Sea Salt – I admit it. Dad and I rolled our eyes at Uncle M when he insisted on buying Pink Himalayan Sea Salt, but it tastes sooooo much better! Who knew?! Buy some when your budget allows!
• Red Pepper Flakes – I’m allergic, but these jazz up pizza and are used in many Asian recipes.
• Paprika – Same with the allergies, but looks awfully pretty on deviled eggs.
• Herbs de Provence – This is a classic French spice combo. I have some for an omelette recipe.

Obviously, there are so many more spices out there to try. Just like when you were little and I used to let you open and smell all the jars.

Milk

We are not really a milk-drinking family. If you have milk or cream — dairy or non-dairy — that is reaching it’s expiration date (7 days after opening for non-dairy), you can freeze it! If it’s just a small amount, you can pour it into an ice cube tray and transfer to another container after it freezes. Throw a milk ice cube in your hot chocolate, broccoli soup, or even chicken a la king.

If you have a lot of milk, you can freeze it in the plastic jug it came in (not the cardboard cartons). Simply make sure to pour some out as it will expand when it freezes and you don’t want it to ‘explode’ in your freezer. When you defrost it, be sure to shake it well. It will want to separate, but shaking helps to recombine everything.

Cheese

OK. Cheese lasts a long time in the fridge and we eat the heck out of it. The likelihood of cheese going bad is slim. However, in the event you buy a 5-lb bag at Costco and need to know what to do with it, freeze it.

Well, let me back up.

Freezing cheese makes it crumble-y. If you want to cut nice slices for a charcuterie board, frozen cheese is not your best bet. However, if you have shredded cheese or plan on using the cheese for cooking, freeze with confidence, right in the existing packaging.

Tomatoes

Inevitably, I buy mini tomatoes and they get wrinkle-y when I have a few left. Slice them in half lengthwise and drizzle with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake them on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 2 hours at 300* (longer for large tomatoes). Et voila! Roasted tomatoes! Toss them in some pasta with a little pesto or top a piece of cheese-y garlic bread with them for a quick dinner.

Lunchmeat

Lunchmeat lasts 7 days from the time you open it, regardless of the date on the package! If its Day 6 or 7 and you don’t want to waste it, dice it up and throw it in a gravy. I explain how to make gravy from a roux here. Just like chicken a la king, you add the lunchmeat and any veggies to the gravy and serve over mashed potatoes, rice, noodles, or even cut up toast.

Salami, pepperoni, and other cured meats last longer. I often store my pepperoni in the freezer to help it last even longer. It doesn’t really freeze so just grab a few pieces out of the package and go.

Vegetables

While I don’t know of a way to save wilted lettuce, hard vegetables can be roasted in the oven. Toss with a bit of olive oil and some seasonings. Eat as a side dish with dinner or blitz in the food processor and make a sauce for pasta (add a little more oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, and some parm cheese).

You can throw wilt-y celery and carrots in a chicken soup. You could even make some vegetable stock on the stove out of wilt-y vegetables and veggie scraps. Strain the stock before using or storing.

Fruit

Throw it in the freezer for smoothies! Conversely, you can look up a recipe for dehydrating fruit or making fruit ‘leather’ in the oven!

Bread

I automatically put the heel of a loaf of regular bread in with my brown sugar. It’s pretty much a go-to, but if you have a loaf of bread that needs to be used up you can make grilled cheese or toasted BLT sandwiches. You could also make French toast if you have a few eggs.

Conversely, you can spread the bread on a cookie and bake in the oven at 250* until crispy. Blitz in a food processor and store in the freezer for homemade bread crumbs.

Additionally, if you know that you won’t be able to eat the whole loaf. Stick half in the freezer right when you get home from the store. Pull it out when you need more.

Sub Rolls

I make garlic bread out of extra sub rolls and stash them in the freezer until later. Simply split in half and liberally spread softened butter on the roll. Top with a generous amount of garlic powder, Lawry’s seasoning salt, and parm cheese. Stick them in a plastic bag and store in the freezer until you need them. You could add shredded mozz if you are feeling cheese-y. Here’s a few more ideas.

Bacon

Like lunch meat, bacon is only good for 6 or 7 days after opening, regardless of the date on the package! If I need some for a recipe, I just dice the rest of the package very small and sauté in a pan until thoroughly cooked. After it cools, I stick it in a Ziploc bag and store in the freezer for salads. Like pepperoni, it doesn’t really freeze so you don’t have to worry about defrosting time.

Flour

Flour does not go bad per se. It can, however, get … worms. Ask me how I know. Actually, don’t. It’s too gross to even think about. It’s rare, but under the right conditions, a bug can get in there and lay eggs and under the right conditions, they can hatch. So, I keep my flour in the fridge or freezer to avoid this from happening ever again.

Hummus

Can you guess what my suggestion is? That’s right! You can freeze hummus!! You’re welcome.

Step 1:

Put all the seeds and pumpkin goo in a deep bowl and fill with cold water. Swish things around a bit with your hands as the bowl fills. This should separate the goo from the seeds and the seeds will rise to the top. Scoop all the seeds out and place in a 13 x 9 pan. There will still be some goo attached. At this point, I refrigerated overnight, but you don’t have to.

Step 2:

Rinse in cold water a second time to separate out any remaining pumpkin goo. Place all seeds in a pot of boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.

Step 3:

Drain pot and pat seeds dry. They won’t be perfectly dry, but its ok. Place on cookie sheet covered in parchment paper. Season well with

• garlic powder
• onion powder
• pepper
• salt
• seasoning salt (Lawry’s)

You really can’t have too much salt here. Bake at 250* for 1 hour, stirring every 20 minutes or so.

Step 4:

After 1 hour and once the pumpkin seeds feel 100% dry, bump the heat up to 350* and bake another 20 minutes. They should be *really* crunchy now.

Step 5:

Eat. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

• 29 oz can Hunt’s tomato sauce
• 36 oz Contadina tomato paste (two 18-oz cans or 3 12-oz cans)
• 1 lb meat (combination of ground beef, sweet Italian sausage, spicy sausage, ground turkey, even leftover pot roast or brats diced up)
• 3 TB garlic powder
• 2 TB Italian seasoning
• 1 TB black pepper
• water

Brown the meat in a large pot. Leave the grease in the pot!! Trust me! It’s where all the flavor is.

Add 1 can of tomato paste to the pot with meat. Fill the can with water. Add and stir for a minute or two until it is relatively combined. Repeat with other cans of paste and then with the large can of tomato sauce, adding that same can full of water each time. Stir so there are no clumps of tomato paste. Add the seasonings and stir well. If you have any pre-cooked, leftover meat, add that now. This should be on the thin/water-y side. It will thicken as it cooks.

Let simmer on the stove on low for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Eat some the first night with pasta or, if we are being honest, just dip bread in the pot until you can’t possibly eat another bite. Once it cools, put in a ziploc bags and stash in the freezer.

Buon appetito!

Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette

This is my absolute favorite dressing. It seems so basic, but the flavor is in your face. I use this when I make a leftover salad with cabbage (or lettuce) and leftover grilled brats, cranberries, nuts, cauliflower, and mozzarella cheese.

• 2 TB maple syrup (the good stuff)
• 1 TB dijon or brown mustard
• 2 TB apple cider vinegar
• 1/3 cup EVOO
• salt and pepper

So, SO good!

Tartar Sauce

It may seem over-the-top to make tartar sauce when you can buy it, but IYKYK. (I bet you are rolling your eyes at that acronym – LOL! Ack! another acronym!)

• 1/2 cup mayo (Duke’s is the best!)
• 1 or 2 small dill pickles
• 1 TB lemon juice
• 1/2 TB juice from a jar of capers
• 1 tsp dill (dried)
• 1 tsp Worcester sauce
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• salt and pepper

I usually taste this and adjust one or more ingredients. You can also add pickle juice, but not too much because the tartar sauce will be too thin/runny.

Stir Fry Sauce

I’ve used this sauce on rice, noodles, or anything stir-fried.

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 TB cornstarch
• 1 TB honey
• 1 TB maple syrup (the good stuff)
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 1 tsp sesame seed oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 TB ginger (from the squeeze tube)
• 2 cloves minced garlic

I typically put everything in a mason jar and shake to combine.

Chimichurri

This is my favorite sauce for steak – especially skirt steak!

• 1 cup fresh parsley
• 1 cup fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup red onions
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 TB lemon juice (or lime for a different vibe)
• 2 TB red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup EVOO
• salt and pepper

Sam Sauce

So, Sam Sauce was inspired by a YouTuber we like. The idea is that when you make a plate of nachos, the meat typically falls off the chip and the beans just kinda clump up. With Sam Sauce, it’s a win-win.

Add equal amounts of taco meat and refried beans (my recipe is here) to a pan and warm through. Add 1/2 cup of beef broth or ‘liquid’ nacho cheese from the jar (or both) and stir until everything is combined and warm. It should be the consistency of thick soup. Add more broth or cheese to thin out if you need to.

The resulting mixture is a warm, gooey pan of yum. Drizzle on your nachos before melting the cheese and devour!

Corn Salsa

• 1 small bag frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 1/4 red onion, diced
• Zest and juice of one lime (You may need 2 – limes can be stingy. You could also use bottled lime juice, but fresh is better.)
• Salt

Mix all of the above and let sit in fridge for several hours. Overnight is best.

Garlic-y Tomato Salsa

• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes
• 1 small can diced green chilies
• 1 small can sliced black olives, drained
• 1 bunch of green onions, diced
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 6-8 cherry tomatoes, diced (or Roma or whatever looks good)
• 1 TB of minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin

Mix all of the above and let several hours. It tastes the best the next day.

Fruit Salsa

• 2 kiwi, peeled and diced
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and diced
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 pound strawberries, sliced
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 3 TB strawberry jam (any brand)

Slice strawberries and place in a mixing bowl. Mash just a little bit with a potato masher. My mom always did this with strawberries for strawberry shortcake. It gets the juices flowing – yum!

Mix the brown sugar and jam. Add strawberries and all the other fruit.

Note: This is the opposite of the salsas above. It does not last long and is best to eat the day you make it. We usually eat with cinnamon pita chips, but it would be great on yogurt, oatmeal, or even ice cream.