Pantry Essentials and Garden Wrap Recipe

Last year, everything in our kitchen started falling apart; the counters were bowing, the faucet burst off the sink, I had to bang the burners on the stove with the heel of my hand to get them to light, and the refrigerator was showing its age.  Andrew and I decided it was time to have our old kitchen remodeled this summer. Before construction began when we were packing up all the food from the pantry and cabinets, I was amazed by how many condiments, oils, cans and packages we had accrued over the 16 years weve been in this house. I pride myself on using up ingredients before buying new ones and trying to use what we have on hand first, but clearly things had gotten out of control. Did I really need 3 different types of soy sauce and 12 different varieties of oil? Now that the kitchen is almost finished and we are organizing our new and improved kitchen and unloading the boxes, Im giving some thought to what ingredients we really need to have filling our limited space. Which ones do we use all the time, and which are just taking up room? I wondered what I would buy if I were starting from scratch. Below is my list of the pantry staples we really need to put together most family-friendly meals and snacks. Your list probably looks a little different than mine, so Id love you to leave a comment below telling me what items you must have in your pantry to feel capable of putting together your meals. (For this list, I have stuck to the non-refrigerated and frozen items to keep it from looking overwhelming.  If you want me to, Ill tackle that list in an upcoming week.) Pantry Staples for Family Dinners:     olive oil, vegetable or canola oil, nonstick cooking spray     red wine vinegar, rice vinegar, balsamic vinegar     Dijon and yellow mustard     ketchup and barbeque sauce     reduced-fat mayonnaise     reduced-sodium soy sauce     wines: rice wine, white cooking wine, red cooking wine, dry sherry     Worcestershire sauce     pitted black and green olives, capers     bread crumbs, panko, cornmeal, flour     white and brown sugar, honey, pure maple syrup or agave nectar     peanut butter or other nut butters     white or brown rice, quinoa, couscous or your favorite grains     pasta (regular or whole grain), variety of shapes     whole wheat tortillas     whole grain bread     reduced-sodium chicken or vegetable broth     red pasta sauce     canned tomatoes     canned beans such as black, kidney, cannellini, pinto beans and/or chickpeas     salsa     tuna     nuts:  pine nuts, slivered almonds, walnuts, pecans (keep in freezer)     onions, potatoes and garlic     DARK CHOCOLATE! (Cant live without it) Spices     salt     black pepper     basil     chili powder     cinnamon     cumin     curry powder     dry mustard powder     garlic powder     oregano     rosemary     thyme Once youre all stocked up, you can easily add some fresh ingredients to make a colorful and healthy meal like this one for your family.