[JennyCup]

Lots of great advice here!

Becca is right about just buying what you need to start you off. Only get things you know you will use/need. It helps to have a plan of action aka a menu in place before you start shopping. Use the ads to plan your meals around what is on sale for the most bang for your buck. Before we moved in together I made a menu complete with 3 meals, snacks, and desserts for a month and that helped me plan and shop. Sign up for the Kraft magazine for lots of great cooking ideas - it's free!

Since it has not been that long since I started with a bare pantry I will list what I can remember we bought in that first food trip. I was slowly learning to cook myself. We spent quite a bit to get the kitchen started, but we had planned for that.

Produce section:
lettuce, radishes, green onions, tomatoes, fruit (whatever is on sale), cilantro, carrots, bell pepper, lemon juice, limes, lemons, mushrooms, bag potatoes, bag onions, celery, lime juice. - salads, baked potatoes, kabob veggies, veggies for pan roasting, salsa, drink garnishes, etc.

1 or two roma tomatoes, a few squeezes of lime or lemon juice, some minced garlic, some cilantro leaves - no stems, a very little green pepper, and a green onion put in a small food chopper (I got mine at walmart for under $20.00) makes a great fresh salsa for chips or tacos. Sorry I don't measure! I just add stuff and blend till it tastes good.

Bakery section:
Bread, sliced french bread, & flour tortillas - quesadillas, tacos, sandwiches, garlic bread, brushetta, etc.

Condiments & spices:
mayo, mustard, PB, jelly, pepper, salt, parsley, Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, a good steak/burger spice, mrs. dash (yellow one), cinnamon, olive oil, non stick pan spray, 2 ranch and 2 Italian salad dressing bottles, ketchup, pancake syrup, nutella, tea bags, lemonade mix, kool-aid,

Baking:
Jiffy or Bisquick baking mix (very versatile), brown, powdered, & white sugar, all purpose flour, cake mix, pudding, jello, jiffy small box mixes (muffins, pizza crust, etc. great for two) - pancakes, pot pies, muffins, pizza, cookies, biscuits, etc.

Meats & cheeses:
Lunchmeat, chicken, ground beef, 2 small steaks to celebrate moving in together, beef chopped for stir fry and cubed for kabobs, pork chops, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, - chicken cordon bleu, burgers, stir fry, SOS (white gravy with chunks of ham lunch meat served over toast), biscuits and gravy, etc.

Canned & boxed items:
can chicken, can tuna, cream of mushroom & chicken soups, ramen (great noodles for stir fry), mac & cheese, tomato sauce, dry gravy mix, pasta noodles, pasta sauce, rice, can fruit, mashed potato flakes, can beans, sauerkraut, pickles, olives, can veggies, minced garlic, oreos, dry onion soup mix, bagged cereal, - chicken salad, tuna salad, chili, ham & beans, casseroles, spaghetti, meatloaf, kraut dogs, Spanish rice, etc.

Dairy:
Milk carton (expiration date is really long on organic milk which is great for two), mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream, cream, eggs, Pillsbury canned items, butter, - dips, quiche, croissants, cinnamon rolls, etc.

Frozen:
peas & carrots, fajita veggie mix, mixed veggies, blueberries, vanilla ice cream, pizza, bag of shrimp, tater tots, chopped onion, chopped bell pepper, - fajitas, shakes, tater tots used for hash browns, etc.

This lasted us almost a full month with 1 more small trip for perishables and gave us a nice variety each night from meatloaf to shrimp kabobs. I made my own bbq sauce by pairing ketchup with lemon juice, onions, and brown sugar poured on pork chops and baked in the oven. Yummy! I will say that not every dish was gourmet, but it was filling and what we could afford.

Try to find a really old paperback cook book called cooking for two from Betty Crocker (it is part of an older small white boxed set with red writing at the top and each book has a circle picture on it) and it was my cooking bible since the menus/recipes in the book were scaled for two people. I would have been lost without this. I got it at a library sale for 50 cents, but I later purchased the entire set on ebay and gave the extra book to my friend who had just got married and needed it.

Good Luck!