Emergency Pantry Meals

By Karen Henke

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I always try to keep a few pantry meals handy so that I can make dinner without running to the store. I’ve even gone so far as to write down my “meals in reserve.”

But I hadn't thought of the clever idea featured in last month’s Better Homes and Gardens. In an article called Zoning Rules they suggested creating bins to hold a few weeknight meals in your pantry. For example one basket might contain everything you need for a spaghetti dinner: a jar of sauce, pasta, a side dish, even a loaf of French bread. Other menu possibilities might be fixings for chili, tuna casserole or a taco dinner.

If you’ve got the shelf space, it’s a great way to keep everything together and you're guaranteed to have all the ingredients. Once you cook the meal, write down the replacements you’ll need on next week’s grocery list.

Posted May 21, 2008, filed in How I de-cluttered, Organizeit Projects, Clutter Hacks

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5 Comments

From Jan - queenofkaos, May 21 2008

I love this idea. I've done something similar with freezer cooking, putting anything that's frozen and used in one meal into a big ziploc baggie.

Something else that works well is to do your meal plan and then put the main ingredients into a colour coded basket for each day of the week. You can have a set in the freezer and in your cupboard.

It can be fun because there are some really cute baskets in nice colours out there these days and it's so easy to just grab the basket for the day. Kind of like convenience food on steroids.

Jan - queenofkaos's last blog post..Liven Up Your Livingroom with Feng Shui

From Organizing Mommy, May 22 2008

I always learn new things on this site. Thanks.

Organizing Mommy's last blog post..Tackle it Tuesday.. and great finds.

From Karen Henke, May 22 2008

Having a set in the freezer is a great idea, Jan.

From Eva Wallace, May 22 2008

Jan - awesome ideas!
Organized Mommy - I'm so glad - thanks!
Karen - thanks for the comment!
:) Eva

From Karen, May 27 2008

I do the same thing with brown paper bags. I put the ingredients for the days dinner in one bag. The bags can be used in fridge or pantry and you can write the name of the dish/menu on the bag. The bags can be reused.

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