As busy as our lives are, once work is done for the day it’s easy to feel like cooking a meal is too much of a task. Of course going out to eat is typically a little pricier, but when it comes to having extra time the choice can be easy to skip out on making a home cooked meal.
If you feel like you’ve hit your limit with takeout meals and to-go orders, figuring out the first steps of cooking at home can feel overwhelming. For those that don’t know where to start in terms of stocking the kitchen, here’s a few things you should always keep in the kitchen that’ll make cooking at home all the easier.
Rice
Getting more comfortable in the kitchen means trying out different meals from around the world. Even if you consider yourself a picky eater, you never know what you might end up gaining an interest in. As you end up sampling different cooking styles, you’ll realize things aren’t as different as they might seem.
Whatever style of cooking interests you, keeping rice on hand is always going to be a good choice. Plenty of dishes, originating from all corners of the world, are going to have a bed of rice as the base to build the rest of the dish upon.
Frozen Vegetables
Trying to cook more doesn’t mean it’s going to happen every night. Those who are used to getting takeout more nights than they aren’t, but are trying to change the habit, might find that fresh veggies are going bad before they get a chance to use them.
The frozen stuff might not always taste as fresh as what you can get at your local farmers market, but being able to store it in the freezer and not worry about anything has its perks too.
Pepper Jelly
Having your bases covered is always something that’s going to make cooking feel like less work but you also can’t forget about adding flavors that will make your dishes as exciting as your takeout favorites.
You might think of pepper jelly as something to put with cheese and crackers, but it is much more versatile than that. While it is the perfect addition to a snack, it’s also great as a glaze for whatever meat you might be cooking, be it chicken breast or meatloaf.
Eggs
Always having eggs in the fridge is the perfect thing to prevent you from caving and just getting take-out. On their own, they’re delicious. That’s not news to anyone but they’re also going to go well with whatever else you’re having. Are you making that rice? Throwing a fried egg into the mix is a great addition for texture and flavor.
Cheese
The world of cheese is something that’s easy to be overwhelmed by but don’t worry too much when you’re just getting started. Yes, there’s going to be certain kinds of cheese that really make a certain type of meal pop but when just thinking about what to keep in your kitchen, don’t worry about that.
Having a safe cheese around such as American or cheddar is it great way to always be ready for a quick grilled cheese or breakfast sandwich.