Cleaned and organized the stockpile today

[khaski]

Emptied the shelves, regrouped, dusted, made sure everything is labeled (expiration dates labeled on front and tops of cans/jars). I also started a notebook recording sizes/quantities. A few things I learned...
-I've done well using things in a timely manner, as nothing was past its date or super close to it (Yay!)
-there are things I definitely need to bulk up on, specifically canned fruit, canned meat, and veggies other than corn. Will work on building my dehydrated stores as well, as I'm working more with my new dehydrator.

We need more canned meat than just tuna. The problem is I am not used to using canned meat, but I'm going to work on incorporating it so we can have a variety on hand without it going to waste. I've also got to learn what to do with more canned veggies. I'm not a big fan of canned green beans, but they're okay. I guess it is time to learn what to do with canned carrots as well!

One new thing I'm doing for May- a list of food preps I plan to buy for the month. I will add them into my regular grocery cart bit by bit, depending on what else I'm buying that week (so I stay within budget). It is less overwhelming to say, "In May I am adding 2 boxed milks, 4 cans of x, 4 cans of y, etc, etc instead of trying to fill in one hole all at once. It's also better to spread out buying an additional 15 cans of such-and-such over time a bit to stagger expiration dates.

So I've been a bit lazy with caring for the stockpile lately, but no more. Clean and organized, and eyes forward to improving it now!

[zakity]

My husband puts ketchup on canned green beans. It grosses me out, but I don't have to eat it.

[nuisance26]

~It may be along the same vein but how about canned salmon for your stash? My mom makes a killer salmon loaf. She serves it with egg noodles and a veggie cream gravy. Oh it's so good! How about some canned ham or corned beef?
Canned carrots can be pureed in the blender and used like pumpkin in some recipes. I've used pureed carrot for "pumpkin" pie(just reduced the liquid a tad since carrot is more wet than canned pumpkin)and "pumpkin" bread. It also works in some recipes as a partial oil replacement like you would with applesauce. It should be a recipe that would hide the favor and color, like a chocolate or spice cake. If you use it in a spice cake, just could add some raisins and nuts to the batter and then frost it with cream cheese icing when you are finished and it will be a different textured carrot cake. I've also used pureed carrot in a cheddar cheese soup. It really punches up the flavor and nutrition, as well and intensifying the color.~

[khaski]

We do have a few cans of salmon, and I did recently make salmon patties. They were good, and hubby tolerated them pretty well- and he doesn't generally care for salmon. I plan to add more canned salmon when it's on sale. I hadn't thought of the corned beef, will have to check that out. I think canned chicken would do as well. I made linguine with canned clams/sauce last night, and it was a hit, so I will be adding canned clams in as well.

Wonderful suggestions on the carrots- I would never think to puree and substitute! I will be trying that soon, I think, because that would solve the issue.

I did use my lone can of French-cut green beans mixed with a little mayo, sour cream and Dijon mustard tonight. Add in some sautéed minced onion, a sprinkle of cheese and bread crumbs, and we had a decent casserole. I love ketchup, but I think even my beloved Heinz could not fit well with green beans! Supposedly my Grandfather adored cold canned greened beans (from the home garden) with cold gravy on top for breakfast before a hard day's work. No thanks!

As odd as it sounds (well, maybe not, on here ), I'm looking forward to perusing the canned veggies and meats this week. We'll see what I find to expand our stockpile palates.