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<div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Meal Preparation - Part 2 - Starting a Stockpile</span></strong></div>
I had discussed in the previous post that I like to have a good stockpile of food on hand. I think that it really helps when you're on a tight budget. Because of the move I've decided to focus on having a good size stockpile of food in our new place. This includes canned goods, frozen meats and prepared meals. I think that stockpiling food is becoming a more common thing because of the uncertainty with our economy. That is not why I'm stockpiling. I'm doing it because I want to save money!

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<div><strong><span style="text-decoration:underline;">What should I have in my stockpile?
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It depends what you eat. Don't stock up on black olives and artichoke hearts if you don't like them or if you don’t have a recipe for those ingredients. I usually have a bunch of casserole and crockpot recipes that use the items that I have in my stockpile. Usually I only have to get meat (unless it's in the freezer) and some kind of side/starch.</div>
<div>Here is a good example of what could be in your stockpile:</div>
<div>Assorted Pastas
Cream of soups (mushroom, Cream of chicken, Cream of celery)
Canned Fruits
Spaghetti Sauce
Enchilada Sauce
Canned Veggies - Corn, green beans, olives, Carrots
Tomato Sauce
Diced Tomatoes
Stewed Tomatoes
Tomato Paste
Dry Milk
Condensed Milk
Evaporated Milk
Black Beans
Kidney Beans
Northern Beans
Chick Peas
Pinto Beans</div>
I usually have an extra one of each of the following so I don't have a melt down when I use the last drop or when I grab the mayo and realize that the bottle had been put back in the fridge empty!

Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Soy Sauce
BBQ sauce
Honey
Mustard

In the next post I'll discuss what's in the freezer!