Essential Ingredients for Any College Kitchen

While it would be nice to always have a bottle of truffle oil and pancetta sitting in my cupboard, it is neither practical nor affordable. So I have provided a list of essential ingredients, as well as which of their more expensive cousins that they could substitute for.

Meat:
Chicken Breast
Hamburger Meat (add to your homemade tomato sauce, hamburgers for a quick meal, or a chipotle night at home)
Bacon (love it at breakfast, can use it in place of pancetta in Italian cuisine)

Dairy:
2% Milk (for baking with your flour)
Butter
Large Eggs (great for breakfast, lunch or dinner)
Pizza Dough (for homemade pizza, calzones, stromboli)
Whole Wheat Bread (for toast, cut a circle in the middle and fry an egg for breakfast, or with a salad on the side for lunch)

Produce:
Garlic (an amazing flavor, and it keeps the Ed [ away)
Onion (Julia Childs couldn't imagine a world without them; get one yellow/vidalia and one red if you can)
Baby Spinach (good for salads, mixing into pastas and adding a little green to all entrees)
Basil (one of the most versatile herbs, use in European and Asian cooking)
Mushrooms (use it to top pizzas, put in calzones, mix with pastas, in entrees or just on the side)

Cabinet:
Crushed or Diced or Pureed Tomatoes (make tomato sauce with the garlic, onions, basil and olive oil)
Black Beans (to eat on your chipotle night or with rice and topped with greek yogurt, and guacamole if you splurge)
Jam (for your toast, to mix with green yogurt)
Vanilla and Almond Extract (don't mind getting artificial if it means saving money)
Raw Agave (use it in place of sugar or honey)
lemon (mix a little with milk to make buttermilk for pancakes or biscuits)

Rice (one part rice to two parts water, steam on the stove top; if the rice is still dry add more water)

Pasta

Olive Oil (nectar of the gods)

Balsamic Vinegar (mix with olive oil for a cheap, healthy salad dressing)

Canola Oil (good for frying)

Flour

Baking Powder (add a little more in a recipe to substitute for Baking Soda)

Cornstarch (thickens soups, sauces, etc)

Spices: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cayenne Pepper and Red Pepper Flakes (for Spice), Cumin (for Mexican or Indian), Black Pepper (most important)

Frozen:
Green Peas (heat with mushrooms, olive oil and garlic on the stove top; mix with pasta or eat on the side of another meal)
Ravioli (a quick meal for when you don't feel like doing anything other than boil water)

I know I listed a lot, and it maybe be a higher upfront expense upfront, but the cabinet items will last for months, the pizza dough can be frozen for later use, odds are your won't eat a one pound bag of frozen peas in one sitting. And you'll save money making your own tomato sauce, and cooking at home instead of going out for your meals.

Hope this helps you one your way to stocking up your kitchen, this way when you open up your fridge you won't have this guy pop out.