Cooking Tips for Beginners + Pantry Item Free Printable

As you probably know by now, I'm a very new cook that just started cooking back in July. I know it is difficult to believe that someone could live 26 and a half years and not know that packs of chicken can be kept in the freezer until needed, or that Carrie Bradshaw actually sounded crazy, not helpful, when she offered the "sweater in the stove" tip.

So now that I've been working at this cooking thing for a few months, I realize I've got a problem to deal with, and I have yet to see Pinterest offering up any solutions. Jerks.

Problem: I keep buying items from the grocery store I already own!!

I am not a Sunday-afternoon-shop-for-the-whole-week grocery shopper. Sunday afternoon is for Football (insert all of the tears here now that football is over), not fighting the crowds at Kroger. I also think a telltale sign of a new cook is that they only shop one meal at a time. My dad used to be the same way.

I know all you meal prep people are gasping at how horrific I am right now, but I'm very new at this. At this point in time, I feel most comfortable finding a recipe on my lunch break at work, going to the grocery store on my lunch break for that one meal, then preparing the meal that night. Plus, when you have a boyfriend that lives 45 minutes away from you, grocery shopping for a full week is easier said than done. This method just works for me.

I could be the only person in the world who cooks like this, but in the event that I'm not, here is my plan of attack to remember what I have in the pantry, and to stop buying duplicates.

Last night I dumped out my spice cabinet and pantry on to the counter, so I could organize and take inventory of what I owned.

Then I separated out each ingredient how I wanted them grouped going forward. So for me that meant spices, baking, oils and then other random liquids in bottles.

As you can see, I have a lot of duplicates. If ~~my neighbor~~ anyone in the Metroplex needs sugar, I'm your girl.

After sorting out what I owned, I then wrote down each item on a printable I made that fits into my planner. I never go anywhere without my planner, especially during the work week, so I really think this will work great for me. I also made a sheet that fits my planner that has the shelf life of some common ingredients.

:: Download Free Printables Shown Above ::

sized to fit 8.5 by 5.5 planners

1. What's On Hand? - Includes Refrigerated Items and Spices

2. What's On Hand? - Includes Oils, Vinegars and Basics Used When Cooking

3. Common Pantry Ingredient Shelf Life Chart

I also took pictures of the ingredients for two reasons.

Reason one, this blog post of course.

Reason two, so I could create a photo album on my iPhone with pictures documenting what spices, oils, vinegars, etc. that I have at home, in the event I don't have my planner with me while I'm shopping!

So hopefully this will help me, and I would love it if it ended up helping you too. Are you a once a week grocery shopper or do you go more often, like me? What obstacles do you face when cooking?

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Today I have Alison from Puppies and Pretties taking over with a Game of Thrones Drinking Game. Ok so I hate to say this, but I've only watched one episode of Game of Thrones. But because so many of my friends tell me it is one of the best shows on TV, I'm fairly certain I am missing out. I told Alison that I think a drinking game was the exact excuse I needed to give GOT another chance, and start right from season one, episode one!

Hello VTIM readers! Alison here and I blog over at Puppies & Pretties. While I focus on style for the most part, I'm still a major nerd and that side of me comes out every once in awhile. And if there is one thing that I really geek out on, it is Game of Thrones/Song of Ice and Fire (the book series that it is based on). Since Season 4 is coming out on DVD on February 11th, I thought I would put together a drinking game to get you ready for catching up on seasons 1-4. Season 5 starts on April 12! Yay! Now to the game!

Game of Thrones Drinking Game by Puppies & Pretties