The Dreaded Stockpile

When we first got married I decided that I wanted to become an avid couponer, and it wasn't long before I started learning the art of "stockpiling."

If you're not familiar, that is when you get a really good deal on an item so you "stock up" on it, or in other words, buy a whole lot more than actually need at a given time. The idea is you buy when the price is right, and then have things on hand when you need them. This is not a bad idea in itself of course, unless you become one of those crazy hoarding stockpilers who clears the entire shelf like you might have seen on some of those extreme couponing shows.

I am not and have definitely not ever been the crazy shelf clearing stockpilers. Quite frankly, I didn't have the room even if I wanted to. I did however, get a little carried away on a few things. Like instant potatoes. And Chex Mix. And laundry soap. And cake mixes.

Let me tell you, the last thing you want when dealing with a move is to have a bunch of food on hand. When we put our house on the market, I began frantically trying to reduce the dreaded stockpile. Kev's coworkers were the recipients of a lot of my cake mix reduction as I found several bar type desserts that I could use it in.

Unfortunately, it takes awhile to use up laundry soap. And what in the world do you do with chex besides, well, make chex mix?

Here we go again. My goal in these next few however many months is to significantly reduce the non-perishables.

As I do that, I wanted to share some of the recipes I am utilizing with the hope that others may benefit from the pantry friendly recipes I find.

For last night's supper, I was able to use up a bottle of BBQ sauce, a can of crushed pineapple (well, half of it), a package of frozen green beans and a pouch of instant sour cream and chives potatoes.

Here is the recipe:

Glazed Pineapple Chops



http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/glazed-pineapple-chops-75088.aspx?pf=true

These take about 20 minutes on the grill. I also cooked the green beans on the grill (actually my husband did) by placing them in a foil packet mixed with some onion, bacon, and spices.

The instant potatoes can be ready in a matter of minutes, so I just threw those on the stove.

Easy!

Here is also a dessert that I made today that also took a matter of minutes and helped used up one of my 5 or 6 boxes of Chex Cereal and some corn syrup:

No bake Honey-Peanut Butter Bars



http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/no-bake-honey-peanut-butter-bars/c7b46ee0-8b26-41a8-bd16-18af66f58625

There are an amazing number of recipes for different kinds of chex bars-who would've thought! You can find those on bettycrocker.com, one of my favorite recipe sites. Be sure to check out kraftfoods.com too, they also have some great recipes!