CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Jennifer Joles' secret weapon has doors on it.

An accountant with two kids — Emma, 9, and Alex, 6 — a blogger (at www.momscharlotte.com) and a police officer for a husband, we wondered how she balances all that while cooking dinner at home. Open Joles' pantry cabinet at her home in Mint Hill, N.C.: She's learned the trick of making the kitchen do the work.

"I keep it stocked with what I consider basics: beef stock, beans, rice, pasta. There are certain seasonings that I would never not have — Italian seasoning, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, garlic salt.

"I always have tomato puree or canned diced tomatoes. I can do everything with that. I'm a big Bisquick person. Bisquick can do so many things. You can make breakfast, you can make lunch, you can make dinner.

"Any of those things in your pantry, you can take what you buy perishable and turn it into a meal."

Dinner at the Joleses' tends to go a couple of ways. When husband Ray, an officer with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, is working at night, she and the kids have fun meals. They'll do build-your-own pizza night with pizza dough from Trader Joe's, a soup and salad, or breakfast night with that Bisquick.

"When he's home, I like to put a real meal on the table. He says I don't need to do that, but that's my old-fashioned thing."

Dinner the night before we talked to her was a cold chicken tortellini salad with bread sticks.

"One of the things I talk about in my blog is preparation. If you do as much as you can ahead, it makes dinner that much easier."

So for that one, she boiled cheese tortellini and cooked the chicken the night before. She shredded the chicken and tossed it with the tortellini and bottled Caesar dressing, then refrigerated it. When everyone came home the next night, all she had to do was pull it out, toss it with baby spinach and warm up the bread sticks.

Joles, 43, was the oldest of six kids, so she learned to cook by watching her mother. But she wasn't interested in it until after she left college and started living on her own.

As a "bean counter" — her own description of life as an accountant — she watches money carefully and knows that using a kitchen well can save a lot.

"I'm very mindful," she says. "I'm very big on not wasting food and not throwing things away. If it's left over, I'm making it into another meal."

She doesn't shop much at warehouse clubs. Bulk isn't always the best deal, she says.

"The snack foods aren't good to stock up on. They're expensive. I don't stock up on cereal. I don't need a six months' supply of cereal."

Instead, she saves by shopping sales and using coupons, particularly watching for double and triple coupon deals.

"Whenever I come home from the store, my husband is like, 'OK, go ahead and tell me how much you saved this time.' "

Her best advice for beginner cooks: Keep it simple and avoid recipes with more than 10 ingredients.

"You'll sabotage yourself and all of sudden, you're calling the pizza guy."

TOOL TIPS

• Stocking a kitchen isn't just about the food. The right tools also save work. Here are Jennifer Joles' picks:

•Whisks. "I use my whisk a lot of the time instead of using an electric mixer. Anything I have to stir, I find a whisk is better." She has two, in small and medium sizes. She tried a flat whisk but didn't like it. "It doesn't get that same effect."

•Multiple sets of measuring spoons. Having more than one set keeps you from having to constantly stop and wash them out. "Some things earn their space."

•Good glass bakeware, such as Corningware, with lids.

•Good grilling utensils. She grills a lot.

•Two-quart saucepans. "I've learned over the years that some of these big, giant frying pans, unless you're cooking for company, they're too big."

•Zip 'n Steam microwave steamer bags by Ziploc. She bags her own vegetables in them. "Stuff stays green, but it gets tender." She stocks up whenever they're on sale.

A FEW RECIPES

To save time in making these burgers, chop the onion and celery the night before.

BUFFALO CHICKEN BURGERS

• 1 pound ground chicken breast

• 1/4 cup buffalo wing sauce, divided*

• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion

• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery

• 1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs

• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

• 4 whole-wheat hamburger buns

• Blue cheese crumbles

• Lettuce and tomato

Combine ground chicken, half of the buffalo wing sauce, onion, celery, bread crumbs and garlic salt. Form into 4 patties (wet hands to prevent mixture from sticking). Brush tops of burgers with some of the remaining buffalo sauce.

Place burgers on grill, sauce side down. Brush remaining sauce on top of burgers. Grill, turning once, until cooked through, about 10 minutes. Lightly toast buns during last minute of cooking.

Serve on whole-wheat buns topped with crumbled blue cheese, lettuce and tomato. For additional heat, add a little buffalo wing sauce to your toasted bun top.

Makes 4 servings.

* If you can't find a commercial version, make your own. Although there are more complicated versions available online (just Google "buffalo chicken wings sauce") the simplest sauce is merely a mix of melted butter and Tabasco or other hot sauce (6 tablespoons butter to [0xa4] cup hot sauce).

Here's Joles' quick sausage stir-fry.

EASY SAUSAGEDINNER

• 1 green bell pepper, cut in thin strips

• 1 small onion, cut in strips

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 (14-ounce) package turkey smoked sausage

• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes

• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

• Egg noodles, cooked according to package directions

Saute onion and pepper in olive oil until soft.

Cut sausage into approximately 1/2-inch pieces and add to onions and peppers. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning. Simmer on low for 10-15 minutes. Serve over egg noodles.

Makes 4-6 servings.

In making this shrimp creole, to save time, chop the onion, green pepper and celery the night before and move shrimp to the refrigerator to thaw.

SHRIMP CREOLE

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped

• 1 medium green pepper, finely chopped

• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 (14.5-ounce) can plain tomato sauce

• 2 bay leaves, crushed

• 1 teaspoon garlic salt

• 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce or to taste

• 1 (16-ounce) package frozen cooked shrimp, thawed

• Hot, cooked rice

Saute onion, green pepper and celery in olive oil about 5 minutes or until tender.

Stir in tomato sauce, 1 cup water, garlic salt, bay leaves and hot sauce. Simmer 10 minutes.

Add thawed shrimp and cook just until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve over rice.

Makes 4 servings.