Easy-to-Make Meals Start with an Organized Pantry

The secret weapon of any good cook or hostess is the "fridge dive." What this means is at any time you can throw together a group of ingredients without too much time, planning, or effort and still have a great meal.

The key to easily making dinner, snacks, or appetizers for an impromptu gathering or a weekday dinner is having a pantry (and refrigerator) well-stocked with the basics. Taking an hour to get organized will save countless amounts of time and aggravation in the future.

First, clean it out. Before stocking the refrigerator and pantry, it's important to de-stock it. Odds are that you have expired foods, dented cans, and other items you will never use. Be ruthless, and throw out anything you have questions: if you can't remember why or when you bought it, it's time for it to go.

Put like with like. Once your shelves only hold items you use, organize them. Think of your pantry like a mini-grocery store. If the cans, cereals, and oils are grouped together, you'll have a much easier time putting your hands on everything you need. With small kitchens this may take a little creativity: if you don't have enough cabinet space, put infrequently used but still important supplies on a designated shelf in the basement.

Know what you have, and what you eat. Every family is different and so the basic necessities and amounts will vary. This said, every pantry could use canned soups, beans, tomatoes, chicken and vegetable stock, grains and pasta, spices and herbs, oils and vinegars, baking supplies like flour and sugar. What your family eats should dictate the rest (i.e. pancake mixes, cocoa, coffee, canned fruit, oatmeal, crackers, etc.).

Keep key ingredients - or even prepared meals - on hand. Uber-organized individuals keep lists of everything they have and check off what has been used, but for the rest of us, keeping a list easily accessible to write when a food runs out works just as well. This ensures you are never out of all your essentials at once. And remember, the freezer is your friend. Bags of frozen shrimp, vegetables, and fruits are lifesavers for fast meal preparation. A shrimp stir-fry is easy to prepare, and frozen spinach or zucchini add a healthy and delicious touch to any pasta dish. Even better, next time you make a dish your family loves, double the recipe and freeze it so you have a future meal with very little effort.

The "fridge dive" depends on having basic supplies available and the willingness to try something new. Every meal doesn't have to come straight out of a cookbook but instead can evolve from the ingredients on hand. A well-stocked and basically organized pantry and refrigerator makes this possible.