I've forgotten how much I like to cook but have done it every day this month except for one or two. It's gotten me to optimize my home kitchen to prepare for 2026, when I plan not to work for its entirety after the first week in February. I'm touching every piece of food we have in stock, donating what I can, ditching what I can't, and slating the rest for consumption. I've created inventory sheets for the dry goods and freezables and will adjust pars as things develop. In theory, aside from restocking the shelf-stables, I will only need to shop for produce and meal-specific ingredients as they come up. The idea is have the ability to produce a dozen-ish bad ass meals in 20-30 minutes flat with no shopping or prior preparation needed.
Shrimp Scampi: shrimp, butter, garlic, capers, cooking wine, EVOO, and pasta: all of which are shelf stable, dry, or freezable. No reason I should ever not have those on hand at all times. We keep these frozen pizzas around that we really like. 10 minutes for the oven to preheat and 12 minutes to cook it. 22 minutes all in. I can get the scampi on the table in 19 and that's with me messing around on my phone for a few minutes waiting for the pasta water to boil.
Amatriciana: an onion, pancetta (freezable), a can of tomatoes, pasta. Impossible to run out.
Chicken Milanese: chicken (freezable), flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, spices, shaved romano, lemons, arugula. For that, I need to go the store to buy arugula. Everything else, including the lemons, is essentially shelf stable.
Irish Sausage and Peppers: sausage (freezable), onions, peppers, potatoes, spices. Okay, I will have to buy peppers within 4 days prior.
Burgers: beef (freezable), onions, beer, condiments. We usually do them without the bread. I get my carbs from pasta.
Those are the easy ones. I'm working on more. Going to make my own salsas, so as long as I have tortillas (shelf stable) and literally any kind of protein (freezable), there's something Mexican a few minutes away. I have dual ovens and an air-fryer, so I can be braising something to be quarted and frozen, roasting something else, and quick firing anything (like potatoes) in the air fryer. Two fridges, two freezers (and I might add a third)... I think I'm ready!
Shrimp Scampi: shrimp, butter, garlic, capers, cooking wine, EVOO, and pasta: all of which are shelf stable, dry, or freezable. No reason I should ever not have those on hand at all times. We keep these frozen pizzas around that we really like. 10 minutes for the oven to preheat and 12 minutes to cook it. 22 minutes all in. I can get the scampi on the table in 19 and that's with me messing around on my phone for a few minutes waiting for the pasta water to boil.
Amatriciana: an onion, pancetta (freezable), a can of tomatoes, pasta. Impossible to run out.
Chicken Milanese: chicken (freezable), flour, eggs, breadcrumbs, spices, shaved romano, lemons, arugula. For that, I need to go the store to buy arugula. Everything else, including the lemons, is essentially shelf stable.
Irish Sausage and Peppers: sausage (freezable), onions, peppers, potatoes, spices. Okay, I will have to buy peppers within 4 days prior.
Burgers: beef (freezable), onions, beer, condiments. We usually do them without the bread. I get my carbs from pasta.
Those are the easy ones. I'm working on more. Going to make my own salsas, so as long as I have tortillas (shelf stable) and literally any kind of protein (freezable), there's something Mexican a few minutes away. I have dual ovens and an air-fryer, so I can be braising something to be quarted and frozen, roasting something else, and quick firing anything (like potatoes) in the air fryer. Two fridges, two freezers (and I might add a third)... I think I'm ready!
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