Just got my first apartment. How do I stock it?

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fatfriendonadiet
fatfriendonadiet Posts: 36 Member
in Recipes
I'm really, really embarrassed to be posting this.

So I just moved... I used to live on campus with a meal plan. As a result, I don't have any pots or pans... Or plates. Or cups. Or anything in the cupboards, fridge, freezer, whatever.

Okay, okay. I do have moscato, a bag of tortilla chips, and hummus. ;) Some friends helped me move and spent the night.

How do I make my new kitchen look like one that belongs to an actual adult? How do I get started cooking for myself? What would you do?

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  • Mygsds
    Mygsds Posts: 1,564 Member
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    Hi, don't know what your finances are just starting out, but find a thrift store like Goodwill you can find tons of things here like pans, dishes, silverware. They even have crockpots, baking pans. Then as you can afford it, replace.. My son when he started his first place got really nice things there. He was lucky because some things had never been taken from their box...... Good luck!!
  • littlelily613
    littlelily613 Posts: 769 Member
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    I got a starter kit from Walmart when I first moved into my own apartment a couple years ago. It came with two pots, a pan, and several utensils. Cost 20$ and definitely worth the money.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
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    Goodwill is a great idea.

    Food wise start off with your staples. Milk, bread, cans of things like beans, fish etc.. salt & pepper, breakfast cereal, oil, butter if you use it and juice or other drinks. Then things like pasta, pasta sauce, rice, canned or frozen veggies(frozen is better since it has no sodium added), bacon and other meats/chicken/fish, salad ingredients etc..
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
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    Here is a basic list. You don't have to get everything at once.

    Chef knife
    Pairing knife
    Serrated knife (for bread and tomatoes)
    soup pot (for soup and boiling pasta)
    12" non stick skillet
    omelet pan
    2 qt casserole
    9x13 pyrex
    2 qt sauce pan
    sheet pan
    measuring cups
    measuring spoons
    2 cup liquid measuring cup
    colander
    whisk
    wooden spoons
    spatula
    ladle
    slotted spoon
    12 oz glass (you can drink anything out of it, fill half way for juice)
    Coffee mugs
    bowls (you can eat, soup, salad or cereal in these)
    dinner plates
    flatware (spoons, forks, knives)

    Optional if you are a baker:
    8x8 pan
    rectangle pan
    round cake pan
    pie plate
    bundt pan
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,951 Member
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    Good will is a good idea.

    What I was always partial to (particularly as a poor cook) was to go to the local restaurant supply store and buy stuff there. Inexpensive is the name of the game, but stuff that also survives well.

    For a new fish I'd suggest:

    3 knives, a 6" chef, a paring knife, and a bread/slicing knife
    A 12" saute pan, an 8" saute pan, and a couple pots with lids. I like 2quart, 1 gallon, and 2 gallon. (Those can be aluminum, the sautes need to be steel.)

    Get a colander, some rubber pot handles, some mixing bowls, a couple mixing spoons, a couple spatulas, dry and wet measure, a decent general purpose whip, a bench scraper, some tongs.

    A few different sheet pans
    A couple farberware casserole/cake pans.
    Set of plates
    Glasses
    Flatware

    that's just the hard goods.
  • monbot
    monbot Posts: 97 Member
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    I suggest a housewarming. That way people buy you house presents ;)
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
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    Food wise:

    Flour tortillas are great! You can make breakfast tacos, dinner tacos, enchiladas, burritos, wraps, quesadilla, pizzas, use them for chicken and dumplings. They seem to keep longer than bread too.

    For a tortilla pizza you can put any toppings on it: http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/04/tomato-and-breakfast-bacon-pizza.html

    Hungry girl egg mugs are a great breakfast option. You cook an omelet in a coffee mug in the microwave. http://www.hungry-girl.com/biteout/show/best-of-egg-mug-recipes

    Enjoy your apartment!
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
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    soup is great for lunch or dinner and uses only one pot. Here are three soups that make a lot and freeze well:

    http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/04/tex-mex-soup.html

    http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2012/10/spicy-beef-vegetable-soup.html

    http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2012/11/amish-chicken-corn-soup.html
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
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    Last one! If you ever get sick this is easy enough to make when you feel bad. http://soupspiceeverythingnice.blogspot.com/2014/02/cheese-tortellini-soup-with-gremolata.html
  • dklibert
    dklibert Posts: 1,196 Member
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    I forgot you will need a cutting board or a pack of those plastic cutting flexible sheets.
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
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    High quality durable kitchen tools really inspire me to cook better. Stainless steel, wood, and glass are easier to keep in good shape and clean than plastic, and don't absorb odors. A few sharp knives are better than a drawerful of dull ones. My favorite utensil is a pair of stainless steel tongs for flipping things on the stove or from the oven. Top 10: cutting board, knives, 10" SS skillet, pasta pot with steamer basket, enameled dutch oven, insulated cookie sheet with 1" lip, round glass covered pyrex casserole dish, coffee maker, soup ladle, and the tongs.
  • lporter229
    lporter229 Posts: 4,907 Member
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    If you are near an Ikea, that is another great place to get things cheap. Not high quality stuff, but you can replace it as you find the need. Ikea got me through my younger years and I still have some of the items that you don't use too often.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
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    If it's anything like my first place then you need beer
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,949 Member
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    Here is a basic list. You don't have to get everything at once.

    Chef knife
    Pairing knife
    Serrated knife (for bread and tomatoes)
    soup pot (for soup and boiling pasta)
    12" non stick skillet
    omelet pan
    2 qt casserole
    9x13 pyrex
    2 qt sauce pan
    sheet pan
    measuring cups
    measuring spoons
    2 cup liquid measuring cup
    colander
    whisk
    wooden spoons
    spatula
    ladle
    slotted spoon
    12 oz glass (you can drink anything out of it, fill half way for juice)
    Coffee mugs
    bowls (you can eat, soup, salad or cereal in these)
    dinner plates
    flatware (spoons, forks, knives)

    Optional if you are a baker:
    8x8 pan
    rectangle pan
    round cake pan
    pie plate
    bundt pan
    Great list! I would personally add in slow cooker and food scale, but that's because slow cookers are easy ways to batch cook and not have to be there to do it. Food scale for the weight loss thing. But the slow cooker is pricey and not necessary if you don't think you'll want it.

    Spaghetti lifters and tongs are good to have too. Also cutting boards. And a pizza pan - it can do anything a cookie sheet can do plus you can make pizza!

    Make sure one of your frying pans has a lid for it so that you can do poached eggs, and anything that needs covering. I don't have one... I have to use tin foil. It's annoying and it's a waste of money.

    Oh and I personally wouldn't bother getting wooden spoons. They don't seem sanitary and you can just use any big plastic spoon.
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    If it's anything like my first place then you need beer

    I see a tread here but don't forget the potato chips...... :drinker:
  • Railr0aderTony
    Railr0aderTony Posts: 6,804 Member
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    If it's anything like my first place then you need beer

    perlick-kegerator-H2RTD4D2S.jpg

    and the number for pizza, nothing else needed.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,932 Member
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    If it's anything like my first place then you need beer

    I see a tread here but don't forget the potato chips...... :drinker:

    I should probably eat lunch, huh? :drinker:
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    I love cast iron (not the porcelain-coated, but the raw) for frying pans. If I could afford a cast iron Dutch oven, I'd have one. One of these days.

    Anyway, I prefer it over any other pots and pans and it's very durable and non-stick if you use it right.

    Obviously plates/bowls/mugs/silverware -- just buy what you like the look of.

    Really, think about what you need to have and buy those things. What do you bake (if anything?). What would you make pasta or sauce in? What do you need to eat those things? Clean them?
  • Original_Sinner
    Original_Sinner Posts: 180 Member
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    It sounds like you are very inexperienced to the art of cookery.


    i would get a starter kit from Walmart or check out Good will....

    but if you know little about cooking are you going to change that? or no?

    do you eat a lot of fresh stuff? or do you want to eat cooked foods?

    do you like soups? meat?

    that will help you figure out how and where to concentrate on first for making meals.

    For example, when I was young and on my own for the first time, I was a vegetarian. All I needed was a good paring knife, chopping knife, silicon mat and one or two pots.

    Because I ate a LOT of fresh chopped veggies, soups and little else.

    As I grew up in started making my own breads and baking more so I slowly added good quality baking pans to my growing kitchen. I invested in better knives and cutting boards....etc etc...

    Then I hit a snag with a health issue that forced me to eat meat. I invested at that point in a slow cooker, a rice cooker, and roasting pan.....see where I'm going here?

    If you are going to be making a lot of soup and KD, then a pot or two and some stirring spoons will be heaven.

    Veggies? paring knife chopping knife and cutting board...

    and on down the line like that.

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