Your Blizzard Pantry Must Haves

Yet again there's blizzard coming to the East Coast, namely the New York City area.Unless you live in the sunny, summery Southern Hemisphere, this is snow season. That means one thing: a well stocked pantry  - and fridge.Be prepared for a  few days without the grocery store.

Grains are important in a winter pantry. Have boxes of favorite pastas on hand. These can be a main meal, or even go into soups . Also there's nothing like a hearty penne or spaghetti lunch or supper on a cold, snowy day. Rice is also a must have. It's good as a side but also can be incorporated as part of the main meal to give it more substance. Mix it with stew or even thin soups like tomato and minestrone.Barley and bulgur are also good to have in your winter pantry. Bulgur can also be used instead of oatmeal for breakfast as well.Oatmeal is another must along with farina. You can  get a box of the flavored packets or a canister of plain oatmeal  that can be used in baking bread and/or cookies.Should you also have flour? It will come in handy if you're planning on making pizza dough  or roux bases. A snowy day usually means baking so do have a bag of it along with other baking must haves such as baking powder and baking soda.As for the already baked stuff, it helps to have a loaf .Bread can be used in making sandwiches, grilled cheese and French toast.Grind it into crumbs for baked macaroni and cheese topping along with thickener for soups and breading veggies and meats.

Should you include canned meats in the mix? Yes! Canned tuna can be used for salads and casseroles along with that cold weather fave tuna melt. Get a few cans of tuna fish in olive oil. You can make a sunny salad Nicoise with it , a perfect meal to help imagine warmer climes.You may also want to stock up on the lower calorie salmon which is versatile to use in such hot dishes as croquettes and pasta sauce.Another must have is canned chicken which can easily be turned into chicken a la king. A winter pantry should have a small variety of canned vegetables too.You can also stock up on bags of frozen ones too. These can be made into sides but also salads if you have the odd craving for something cold. Corn can also be tossed into corn cakes and corn bread. Canned or frozen spinach can be turned into a dip for movie or football binging. Have a few cans of fruit too. You may want to finish a meal with a fruit cocktail or peaches as a side to pound or angel food cake. Dried fruit or fruit crisps are also good to stock up on. They're perfect low calories snacks when the boredom munchies hit.

Make sure your pantry is well stocked for the stormy,  snowy weather ahead. Have the basics. They'll go  along way when you can't make it to the grocery store.