How I Keep My Grocery List Simple But Useful

The smell of browned butter and garlic clung to my favorite hoodie last Tuesday night, and I didn’t even mind. It’s the same hoodie my youngest wiped her sticky hands on after licking the spoon clean of pancake batter that morning.

That day, like most in our house, was a whirlwind of school pickups, teaching, misplaced shoes, and reminders to feed the cat. Yet, we still managed to sit down together and eat one of the simplest dinners we’ve ever loved: creamy chicken and rice with green peas.

Not fancy, not impressive to anyone on the outside. But in my kitchen, it’s the recipe equivalent of a hug from my late grandmother. My grocery list, just like this dish, is built for function and full hearts, not flair.

The Grocery List That Works Like a Quiet Helper

I don’t keep a color-coded fridge spreadsheet. No app with barcode scanners. Just a lined notepad on the side of the fridge, and my favorite pen that writes smooth and fast. The key? Simplicity.

Here’s how I keep that list both useful and completely manageable:

Categories, Not Chaos: I split my page into five loose sections: Produce, Dairy, Pantry, Meat, and Other. It helps me mentally walk through the store without zigzagging back and forth.

Repetition Is My Friend: Most weeks, I buy variations of the same basics. Rice, chicken thighs, eggs, carrots, bananas, yogurt. It takes decision fatigue off my plate.

Keep a List Nearby—Always: One drawer in the kitchen has a stack of index cards. If I run out of cinnamon mid-oatmeal, I write it down right then. Otherwise? Gone from memory.

Anchor Meals: I build my week around three go-to meals I know my family loves. One of them is always creamy chicken and rice. Then I allow room for flexibility or leftovers.

The Dish That Holds a Little Bit of Everyone

Creamy chicken and rice started as a midweek solution. I was pregnant with my third, tired to the bone, and needed something that didn’t require twenty steps. The first time I made it, my middle son asked, “Is this like soup and rice had a baby?” And it stuck.

Now, I use chicken thighs, seasoned simply with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Browned in a pan until golden. Then I sauté onions and garlic, pour in some chicken broth, add the rice, and let it all simmer gently until the rice is soft and the broth is absorbed. A swirl of cream and a handful of frozen peas go in at the end.

That’s it. But it fills the house with warmth. It tastes like comfort. And my kids always ask for seconds.

How I Shop for This Meal (and Many Others)

Because this dish is always in our rotation, my grocery list often includes:

• Chicken thighs (bone-in, skin-on if I can find them)
• Yellow onions
• Fresh garlic
• White rice (basmati or jasmine)
• Chicken broth (or bouillon if I’m in a pinch)
• Heavy cream
• Frozen peas

Nothing extravagant. All available at nearly every grocery store. And the beautiful thing? Each of these ingredients can stretch into other meals too. Garlic and onions go into just about everything I cook. Rice can be fried with eggs the next day. Leftover chicken gets tucked into wraps.

What I’ve Learned From Teaching, Mothering, and Feeding People

As a teacher, I crave structure—but I’ve also learned to embrace the mess. That applies to the classroom and the kitchen. I used to feel pressure to cook like a food magazine: new recipe every night, exotic ingredients, gourmet flair. But my best meals? They come from love, not from the length of the ingredient list.

My students used to ask me how I had time to cook real meals at night. I’d smile and say: “I plan small. And I repeat the good stuff.” It’s true. A good grocery list isn’t about covering every craving. It’s about knowing what feeds your people well.

Tips I Share With My Friends (and Now With You)

Theme Days Work: I rotate basic categories like Pasta Night, Soup Night, Breakfast-for-Dinner Night. It helps keep my list focused.

Double Duty Ingredients: Plan meals that share ingredients. One container of sour cream might stretch over baked potatoes and chicken enchiladas.

Prep What You Can—Only If You Want To: Sometimes I wash and chop the onions ahead. Sometimes I just need to get through the week. No shame either way.

Don’t Fear the Frozen Aisle: Frozen veggies, fruit, even chopped garlic have saved me more times than I can count.

Family, Food, and Finding Joy

The first time my youngest tried creamy chicken and rice, she clapped her hands. Tiny spoon in her little fingers, face covered in sauce. That memory lives somewhere in the folds of my grocery list now. That’s what keeps me writing it, week after week.

We don’t need perfect pantries or thirty dinner options. We need real food. A bit of planning. A whole lot of grace. And maybe, if we’re lucky, something creamy, warm, and familiar waiting on the stove.

More Than Just a List

So many of us—women especially—carry the weight of meals, nourishment, and planning like a quiet song we sing to care for the people we love. My grocery list isn’t just a task. It’s a rhythm. A steady beat that keeps our family moving, eating, connecting.

And when the week gets wild, when the socks are mismatched and the homework folder is MIA, that list becomes my anchor. Not fancy. But full of purpose.

Have a dish like that in your home? I’d love to know. Maybe it’s lasagna, or tacos, or something only your family eats a certain way. Whatever it is, you’re not alone in this kitchen rhythm. Keep cooking. Keep loving. Keep feeding your people.

And always—always—keep the grocery list simple enough to work, and rich enough to matter.