Kitchen Pantry - a Cook's Secret Weapon

Doing any job is easier when you have the right tools on hand. One of a cook's best tools -- and secret weapons -- is having a well-stocked kitchen pantry.





Cooking is much simpler if you know that you've already got what you need on hand, and aren't going to have to run to the corner market every time you want to fix a meal.





Having a well-stocked pantry is also the secret weapon especially when unexpected guests drop by.





You'll be able to make every guest feel special and welcome because, whether it is appetizers for four or dinner for ten, you can handle it with style and panache. In fact, your reputation -- and your sanity -- will be assured, because with these things in your pantry, you can put together beautiful and tasty food that is beautifully presented in just minutes, simply and easily.





Here is a list of basic ingredients that should be in any well-stocked pantry. (One great way to stock your pantry is to buy one or two things on the list each time you go shopping, rather than trying to get it all at once. If you watch the sales and take advantage of seasonal buys, you'll be able to save money as well!).





Remember to rotate everything in your pantry on a regular basis, and adjust the items on this list to suit your family's likes and dislikes.





Herbs, Spices, Extracts and Sauces:


- Salt (Sea and Iodized)


- Pepper (Whole Peppercorns, Black, White and Red)


- Nutmeg (Ground and Fresh)


- Cinnamon (Ground and Sticks)


- Pumpkin Pie Spice (Ground)


- Allspice (Ground)


- Cardamom (Whole and Ground)


- Ginger (Whole and Ground)


- Curry (Ground)


- Garlic (Fresh and Ground for Emergencies)


- Mustard (Ground)


- Bay Leaves (Dried)


- Rosemary (Fresh and Bottled)


- Thyme (Fresh and Bottled)


- Sage (Fresh and Dried)


- Sweet Basil (Fresh and Dried)


- Parsley (Fresh and Dried for Emergencies)


- Cumin (Ground)


- Oregano (Dried)


- Onions (Flakes for Emergencies)


- Vanilla Extract


- Maple Extract


- Almond Extract


- Lemon Extract


- Orange Extract


- Soy Sauce


- Cooking Wine or Cooking Sherry


- Rice Wine Vinegar


- Sesame Oil


- Balsamic Vinegar


- Red Wine Vinegar


- Citrus Vinegar


- Teriyaki Sauce


- Barbecue Sauce


- Sweet and Sour Sauce


- Tabasco or Other Hot Sauce


- Chili Sauce


- Steak Sauce


- Packages of Salad Dressing Mix


- Packages of Dried Onion Soup Mix (Or Other Flavors)


- Soup for Sauces (Cream of Chicken, Mushroom, Celery and Cheese)





For Baking:


- All Purpose Flour


- Self-Rising Flour


- Whole Wheat Flour


- Pancake Mix


- Yeast


- Sugar


- Confectioner's Sugar


- Brown Sugar


- Sugar Cubes


- Molasses


- Baking Powder


- Baking Soda


- Yeast


- Cornstarch


- Honey


- Cocoa Powder


- Unsweetened or Semi-Sweet Chocolate


- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips


- Butterscotch, Caramel and other flavored "chips"


- Nuts (Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds, Hazelnuts and Cashews)


- Marshmallow Cream


- Vegetable Shortening (Regular and Butter-Flavored)


- Sunflower Oil


- Maraschino Cherries





For Appetizers or Adding "Something Special" to Meals:


- Peanuts in the Shell


- Salted Peanuts


- Mixed Nuts


- Extra Virgin Olive Oil


- A Variety of Crackers


- Black and Green Olives


- Canned Mushrooms


- Palm Tree Hearts


- Bottled Asparagus


- Sun-dried Tomatoes


- Bottled Salsa


- A Variety of Chips and Dips


- Cheeses (Traditionally, 3 to 5 are served, from hard to soft, mild to strong. Find flavors that mix well together, and serve cheeses from different animals and different countries)





For Everyday Meals:


- Bullion Cubes and Powders (Chicken, Beef and Vegetable)


- White Rice


- Long Grain and Wild Rice


- Brown Rice


- A Variety of Pastas


- Barley


- Bread Crumbs


- Croutons


- Tomato Sauce


- Tomato Paste


- A Variety of Canned Tomatoes


- A Variety of Canned Beans (Black, Red, Kidney and Garbanzo)


- Dried Beans (Pinto, Chili and Kidney)


- Canned Tuna, Chicken, Crab and Clams





For Desserts:


- Canned Pineapple (Chunks and Slices)


- A Variety of Canned Fruits


- A Variety of Jams or Jellies


- A Variety of Cake Mixes, Brownies and Frostings


- A Variety of Packaged Puddings


- All the fixings for Ice Cream Sundaes or Banana Splits


- Applesauce





In the Refrigerator:


- Milk


- Eggs (Or Egg Substitutes)


- Cream (A staple for many Mediterranean Dishes)


- Butter or Margarine


- Yellow Mustard


- Brown Mustard


- Dijon Mustard


- Ketchup


- Mayonnaise or Salad Dressing


- Cheeses (Cheddar, Swiss, Feta, Parmesan and Jack)


- Cottage Cheese


- Sour Cream


- Green Onions


- Tomatoes


- Cilantro


- Salad Fixings





In the Freezer:


- Whole Chicken


- Steaks


- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts


- Beef or Pork Roast


- Stew Meat


- Hamburger


- Pork Chops


- Pieces of yellow, red and green peppers (Chop up any leftovers each time you use them and throw them into a bag in the freezer. They will add color and flavor to bland dishes)


- Frozen Bread Dough (Make your own or store bought)


- Frozen Rolls (Make your own or store bought)


- Frozen Pizza Dough (Make your own or store bought)


- Frozen Baguette


- Broccoli


- Spinach





With these ingredients in your kitchen, the only thing you'll have to worry about when it's time to cook is which recipe you want to try!

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Betty's Peanut Butter Cup Squares Recipe

In this video, Betty demonstrates her imitation Reese's cups--with the help and encouragement of her 3-year-old grandson, Carter. These are Betty's Peanut Butter Cup Squares, and they are as close to Reese's cups as you will find, made at home! Ingredients: 1 stick butter or margarine 1 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups confectioner's sugar 6 oz. milk chocolate morsels Melt 1 stick of butter in a saucepan. Add 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter, and melt it with the butter over low heat. Remove from heat, and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 2 cups of confectioner's sugar. Blend completely, and then pour into a 9-inch by 9-inch pan (glass or metal). (I used a 7-inch by 10-inch Teflon-coated pan.) Spread the peanut butter blend evenly in the pan to get to all corners and sides at the same level. Melt 6 oz. milk chocolate morsels in a double boiler (or in a small pan over low heat). Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the peanut butter blend. Let stand at room temperature several hours to cool. Do not refrigerate. When the chocolate has set up appropriately, cut your peanut butter cups into squares and place on a pretty serving dish. I like to make the squares fairly small (about 3/4-inch by 3/4-inch). This is a popular sweet treat, and it does provide some protein from the peanut butter. Kids love it!!! Thanks to Carter for his appearance in the video!

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Slow Jam

I decided to try a slow jam. I hope you like it! I'll keep the videos coming! Lyrics: I see you sneaking a peak at me I see you looking at me While you sit and you chill on the second shelf of the pantry Just had a sandwich without you Somehow it was soggy and dry Only had baloney, homey how I thought I would die But I'm not dead, I need another, it's just something I'm wishing I got the bread and peanut butter there's just one thing I'm missing Grape or cherry, blueberry put it in a can or not All I know is don't be putting on no apricot We need to cover peanut butter Spread it around the whole place With some Skippy, Jif-y, hit me put it up in my face With some jelly in my belly it can make for a fun ride But the jam on my hands can make it hard to stay alive So I do what I do when my computer doesn't run right Yeah I be like USB, yeah I be using a thumb drive Yeah baloney is phoney and speaking of phoney, homey this Blackberry jelly sounds phone-y Does this count as roaming? Don't need no BLT-eating, G Nothing against the tomato But I need a spread on my bread be it Wonder or potato I got some brown whole wheat bread from this store that I've been to Only brown thing needed is the face the sandwich be going into I'm no organic-paniced fanatic I'm not telling lies I'll overlook the fact my jam is just corn syrup and dye See organic fertilizer is you-know-what, don't you know it-- I'm not paying twice the price for what I can find in a toilet Cuz when I'm tasting berry ...

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One of my new models, all it needs is better textures... here is the final model picture: Thanks to Buffy from Epic Forum: www.zimagez.com

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What the Halo 3 Mythbusters Forgot - Episode 1

WOW ! 20K views!! Nice!!! The first episode of the series. It covers some of the myths that the H3MB didn't confirm or bust. BTW: All the credit for the concept goes to the H3MB. Please don't assassinate me.

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Dogs, Children and Responsibility!

Dogs and children seem to go together like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a perfect match for the most part. For many of us, growing up included at least one dog and maybe a cat or two.

Not too much attention was paid to spaying or neutering, kittens or puppies were considered part of the game when you had a pet. Trips to the vet were only for dire emergencies and it took a lot to determine what was a dire emergency.

Not too much attention was paid to what we fed our pets, the dogs usually got table scraps and the cats were supposed to catch their food and usually fed some milk and whatever else they would eat.

Life was fairly simple during those childhood days; Mom and Dad assigned simple chores and the family as a group kept watch on each other including the pets.

Where did those times go and why is life suddenly so much more complex?

As I look back on a time when our family had nine dogs. We did not go out and acquire nine dogs the dogs acquired us. With the exception of the three we did choose to be our dogs, the other six seemed to drop out of the sky and onto our driveway to become members of our household.

And this is where our story begins. Where does responsibility fit in when you first set out to get a pet for yourself or your child?

Many parents think that getting their child a dog will teach the child responsibility. The child will learn to be responsible for the care of something. The child will learn empathy and love for another living being. And if all else fails, there will just be so many opportunities to get some really cute pictures of their child and dog to show off to family.

These are all great reasons for getting a dog, but there is one very important point missing. If you want to teach your child to be a responsible dog owner you have to be one, too. You cannot teach your child anything, if you are not setting the example with your own behavior.

Having a dog as a pet in the family means just that, the dog is part of the family and what do family members do? They watch out for each other. If Mom or Dad is not a good role model when it comes to taking care of the dog, how is the child to learn?

Certainly, you can assign all the chores to the child you want, but if you are not willing to step in when necessary and show the child where it is being neglectful and take over the duty, nothing is gained.

Threatening to get rid of the dog if the child does not tend to its responsibilities does not teach responsibility, it teaches the child that the dog is a disposable item and is as meaningless as a broken toy. The dog is really not a loved member of the family, but something that can be tossed away (like in our driveway) or taken to a shelter. And should the child in a fit of anger say, "fine take the dog away," even if he/she does not mean it. How can we measure the emotional trauma the child may face in the future, when the guilt of giving up the dog sinks in?

Giving up a dog or cat may not seem like an emotional problem to a busy non-pet caring parent, but as the reality sets in to a child it may damage that child's future ability to fulfill responsibilities or to commit to relationships, canine or otherwise. Our animal shelters are filled with these broken bonds as are many homes where animals have been dropped along the roadway and caring people have picked them up to give them forever homes.

I guess the point I am trying to make is, if you are a parent and you want to teach your child some responsibility, along with bringing more love and joy into your home by getting a dog. Do it only if you the parent are going to commit yourself to helping care for the pet. Do not even think of it if you are going to use the pet as a threat over the child's head or as a means of punishment for a wrongdoing. Unless you are willing to accept the dog as part of your growing family, as a responsibility for yourself and your child, get a fish.

If your child does not fulfill his/her responsibility, neglects their chores take away a privilege do not use the dog as a threat, you would not threaten to take away a younger brother or sister if the older child did not fulfill a babysitting responsibility, would you? If your dog is not part of the "real" family it has no business being there in the first place.

The only way a child can learn to be a responsible human is by following in the footsteps of their parents. If you are a loving, humane and caring individual, who shows love and compassion to not only people, but to the family pet, guess what your child will learn to do! Yep, follow in Mom or Dad's footsteps!

Having to raise a puppy along with a child is not an easy task. If you are not familiar with the problems that lie ahead, attend some training classes many classes will allow children over the age of seven. Use the same positive training methods on the puppy as you would use on your child. Do not hit or beat the puppy for wrongdoing.

Read a dog training book or two in order to get a handle on what to expect before you venture out to get a dog. Do some research on what breeds are better with children, some are, some are not.

Never and I cannot say this strongly enough leave a child under eight alone with a dog, puppy or not. Too many dogs have bitten children when they have been left unsupervised.

Teach your child how to play gently with your dog. When walking your dog and you have a young child, put two leashes on the dog and let your child walk with the longer leash and you keep control with the shorter one.

You can teach your child and your dog basic commands like sit, stay and come. Teach your child that those commands are not to be used as "toys" to drive the dog crazy as some children will keep at the dog until it get stressed out and may bite. If your child understands that you treat your dog as you would a close friend with kindness and by being polite the relationship should last a lifetime.

I hope these few ideas and thoughts will help you and your family build a long and loving relationship with your family pet.

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Gable Hall`s reply to jay, peanut butter chaz time ( charley kew )

PENUT BUTTER CHAZ TIME!!!! lyrics : jay is gay!!! jay is gay!!jay is gay!!! jay is gay!!jay is gay!!! jay is gay!!jay is gay!!! jay is gay!!jay is gay!!! jay is gay!!jay is gay!!! jay is gay!!jay is gay!!! jay is gay!!jay is gay!!! jay is gay!! - from gable hall ( gable hall school ) - charley kew

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