Planning -- Stocking Your Pantry

As the new year approaches, my goal is to make sure that I plan to get our pantry, freezer & fridge stocked with items so that we cut our grocery bill by a large amount. I will be sharing over the next week or so, how we are stocking up our pantry, freezer and fridge to prepare us for this challenge.


Stocking your pantry:
Today, I will discuss what we do to keep our pantry stocked. It does help to purchase items at Sams Club and when I can get items on sale or for free (via coupons) from the grocery store.

By keeping a stocked pantry not only does it make it easy to find a simple dinner when we haven't planned something or when we planned a leftover night and ended up with no leftovers but it is also nice to know if for some reason we aren't able to go to the grocery store or if our grocery budget is short one week then we don't have to worry about dinner.

This is a list of what we always keep on hand in our pantry -- a good portion of this we do purchase at Sams Club. I have marked the items with an astrick of the items we buy in bulk.

Canned Green Beans*
Canned Corn*
Canned Baked Beans*
Canned Chicken Broth*
Canned Chicken* & Tuna*
Canned Beans -- kidney, white beans, ranch style, charro, black beans, butter beans, refried*, etc
Nuts -- almonds*, cashews*, soynuts
Pasta -- all shapes and styles (I stock up when I can get on sale or for free at grocery store)
Pasta Sauces*
Diced Tomatoes (I need to get at Sams)
Rotell (tomatoes w/chilies)
Green Chilies, Jarred Jalapenos, Jarred peppers
Salsas, BBQ Sauces, Ketchup
Dressings -- Ranch, Blue Cheese, etc
Mayo & Mustard
Cereals
Soups -- tomato, chicken noodle, etc
Cream Soups -- mushroom, chicken
Oatmeal -- instant & old fashion oats
Applesauce*
Dried Fruit
Granola Bars & Fruit Bars
PB Crackers & Cheese Crackers
Snack Items for G to take to school (individual pkgs items)
Rice -- instant, brown, white, red beans & rice, dirty rice, etc
Instant Potatoes
Seasoning Packets -- taco, ranch, chili mixes, gravy, onion soup, etc
Cornbread mixes
Cake Mixes, Brownie Mixes, Quick Bread Mixes
Tortillas -- flour & corn
Baking Items -- flour, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, etc
Protein Powder*
Pre-made Protein Shakes*
Nesquick No Sugar Added
Juice -- bottles & individual boxes
Breadcrumbs -- regular, seasoned, whole wheat, panko
Pudding/Jello -- cups & packets
Canned Pumpkin
Canned Milk
Bisquick*
PB*
Jelly*
Syrup & Honey*
Crackers
Popcorn*
Gateraide/Kool-Aide