Nothing is worse than planning to cook a particular recipe, visiting the pantry, and finding you are missing one or more ingredients. Often, these “missing” ingredients are not there because we typically count on them to be.

When you are making a shopping list for a particular recipe, you probably don’t include salt, sugar, or flour on the list because these are commonly stocked pantry staples, or are they?

Every good cook’s kitchen needs a pantry staple inventory on a regular basis. Once monthly is good measure; if you haven’t time for that, at least perform a staple goods check once every two months.

You won’t know you are out of something until the worst possible moment, and that is when you need it most. Be prepared, and take inventory of your pantry on a regular basis.

Recommended Have on Hand Pantry Spices

Food tastes better when flavored, and spices are magicians when it comes to delicious tasting dishes. While not an all-inclusive list by any means, here are standbys that should be in your pantry.

* Salt (iodized, sea salt coarse, sea salt fine)
* Pepper (ground black, ground white, and peppercorns for a grinder)
* Marjoram, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, oregano, Italian seasoning
* Creole or Cajun seasoning
* Unseasoned meat tenderizer
* Bay leaves
* Onion salt and onion flakes
* Turmeric, cumin, tarragon
* Cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice
* Poultry seasoning, chili powder
* Old Bay or Chesapeake seafood seasoning
* Jar bread yeast (keep frozen)
* Cayenne – ground and red pepper flakes
* Dill weed
* Lemon pepper
* Lawry’s seasoning salt
* Basil
* Hungarian paprika
* Ground mustard
* Ground and whole cloves
* Celery Salt

Recommended Have on Hand Liquid Seasonings

* Worcestershire sauce
* Soy sauce
* Olive oil
* Vanilla and other flavorings
* White and red wine
* White, apple, and balsamic vinegar
* Lemon and lime juice
* Peanut oil
* Louisiana hot sauce and Tabasco
* Dale’s marinade

Recommended Have on Hand Miscellaneous Staples

* All purpose flour
* Self rising flour
* Baking powder and baking soda
* Corn meal
* Crisco shortening
* Butter
* Eggs
* Milk
* Buttermilk
* Pancake and/or baking mix
* Rice
* Sugar (white granulated, natural cane turbinado, light brown, and powdered white)
* Pancake syrup
* Honey
* Ketchup, mayonnaise, prepared mustard, prepared horseradish
* Thin spaghetti, dried macaroni
* Canned tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, V-8 juice
* Small cube pickle relish

This list might become endless if allowed, but armed with the above ingredients, you can always create something to eat, and maybe even provide some first aid. Let’s explore.

* Meat tenderizer – great relief for stings if applied quickly; simply place a teaspoon of tenderizer in hand, water lightly, and apply to affected area; also great for tenderizing steaks prior to cooking.

* Soy sauce is great along with eggs if you want to sizzle up some fried rice.

* Pancakes and syrup, always a great standby; toss in a few bacon slices, a cup of hot coffee sweetened with turbinado sugar along with a shot of milk, breakfast goes good anytime of the day.

* Create an awesome tomato sauce with, of course, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, a can of V-8, some Italian seasoning, and some canned mushrooms, served over al dente cooked thin spaghetti.

* Mix together ketchup, mayonnaise, and small cube pickle relish for quick and easy homemade Thousand Island dressing.

* Boil eggs; rinse and peel; allow to cool. Halve lengthwise. Scoop cooked yolks into a bowl. Mix with salt, pepper, cube pickle relish, mayonnaise, Tabasco, and a drop of prepared mustard. Return mixture to same location in the egg whites when good and moist, sprinkle with Hungarian paprika, and chill; and you have deviled eggs.

A well stocked pantry will produce many things, even when it may seem like there is nothing to eat in the house.

Audrey Hepburn, in the movie Sabrina, played a French cooking school graduate, and was not the least bit taken aback when she embarked on a culinary journey of creating a soufflé for Linus (Humphrey Bogart), out of crackers and other odd pantry ingredients, and we are assuming eggs were involved, possibly cheese.

A good cook knows how to use what is available; but having a choice in the matter makes all the difference in the world. Stock your pantry, stock it well; and never go hungry, no matter what the hour.