After rent, one of largest spending categories over which you have control is eating out and groceries. Even if you’ve never cooked before, here’s how to get your kitchen started. I’ve experimented for several years and I think this is a setup that allows you to cook a large variety of items while keeping it to a small amount of storage.
Spices and flavor
There are many more spices you can buy, but you can pretty much get by with these. Check out a local neighborhood ethnic store. The spices will likely come in much larger quantities for a lower price. I started out with this collection, and as my grasp of recipes grew, I’d add a spice to the spice rack. Spending an extra $3 every month or so on a new spice helps spread out the cost.
- Cooking oil (I started with one kind – canola)
- White or balsamic vinegar (optional)
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Chicken bouillon – 1 cube makes 4 cups of chicken stock. This lasts longer than keeping chicken stock in fridge
- Garlic
- Onions
- Red pepper flakes, whole dried red peppers, or chili flakes (optional)
- Cumin (optional)
- A meat rub of some sort (optional; I use garlic salt and taco seasoning)
Shelf Stable items
The more you can have items that don’t need the fridge, the longer your food lasts
- Brown or white rice
- Pasta
- Ramen – there is no shame in eating really cheaply when you’re in a pinch. I buy Shin Ramyun brand ramen
- Sugar
- Cereal
Cooking Utensils
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Paring knife (for fruit, cheese plates and small items)
- Scissors
- Can opener
- 10 or 12″ sautee pan
- Rubber or wooden spatula set – I use pretty much every piece in this collection…
- This Cuisinart 2-quart pot with cook and pour saucepan
- 9″ baking / roasting pan
- Oven mitts
- The Instant Pot – which is a multi-functional tool – a rice cooker, slow cooker, pressure cooker, soup maker, and more. I can’t speak highly enough of it. While it is costly, it is completely worth it and pays for itself if you use it to make a lot of food (buy it on Amazon here)
- Santoku knife (optional, for veggies)
- Knife honer (optional, keeps knives sharp)
- Serrated knife (for bread and steaks, optional)
- Vegetable peeler (optional)
- Baking sheet (optional)
