Building a Pantry Part 3

Since the basics hardly ever go on sale they can be a bit more to stock up on. These are the items that you can get for free or dirt cheap by combining sales and coupons. Remember that if you won't eat it, it doesn't matter if you got it free its a waste of time and money. Now I know to the pantry purists these prepackaged convience foods are a no no. But to me if its what you eat then make sure you have a couple extra as back up.

Pasta:

This usually goes on sale pretty cheap. But with the basics you can make your own pasta that is just as good or sometimes even better depending on the recipe.

Condiments:

Mustard, Ketchup, Maynosis, Relish, Chutneys. Depending on your taste I'm sure there are a lot more things that you could add to this list. Again, if you wanted to you could make all of these yourself with little effort or expense.

Veggies & Fruit:

Since we are suppose to eat 5-9 servings a day of Fruit and Veggies, you need to have a bit on hand, when fresh might not be an option. You can choose low-salt and low/no sugar types. Fruits and Veggies can be canned also.... But with some of the Veggies you will need a pressure canner to can. It isn't safe to can certain veggies with a water bath canner. So if you want to put food up your self then a the Ball Canning Book is a valueable tool to have on hand.

Seasonings:

Salt, Pepper and everything else.... LOL! I bet you thought I was going to label a lot of them...But I think this one is self explanitory. One thing though most seasonings need to be replaced at least every year, sometimes more often as they lose potency.

Baking Items:

Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Vanilla things of this type. I find that when I get a hankerin' to bake I like to have the items on hand. Especially, when the family wants cookies, there is nothing worse then not having a fresh can of baking powder and the cookies don't rise.... Oh, well. But like with the seasonings, some baking items need to be replaced yearly.

Snacks:

This is whatever you like as a snack. I like popcorn so I keep that handy for me. Grim, likes walnuts, Picky likes pretzels. The other two just eat to eat... LOL! But you get the idea. I like having this on hand because I have made more trips to the convience store and spent way more money then I should have over the years. Now I keep this stuff as a regular standby.

Baby:

Diapers, cream, shampoo, soap, baby food. Any item that you don't want to be out of at 3am. Those are the items that need a special place in you pantry.

Pet:

Treats and Food. It doesn't hurt to have an extra bag of something in the pantry. I know that there have been times that we have run out of animal food between pays and my stash was very apprecated... LOL!

Gotta Run,

Yart