What are your MUST HAVE pantry/freezer fillers?

Basically i am looking for foods that you buy for those times where money is low and its the last few days before pay day and you wouldn't normally eat these but they aren't disgusting..

So my pantry, fridge and freezer are basically empty i have a few cans of baked beans, one packet of 2 min noodles and i think some curly fries and frozen vegies in the freezer :lol: thankfully the IL's are cooking tonight otherwise im fighting for those curly fries!

I am writing up a HUGE shopping list. So hit me with your MUST HAVE items!!

Tins of tomato's - great to throw in stews, slow cooker, pasta etc
Chicken noodle soup in the packet - salt reduced, my kids love it and is great for a filling meal with bread and butter when I havent had a chance to cook
Tins of tuna - for toasted sandwiches or in pasta
Mixed Beans- easy for a salad, add some chopped coriander and red onion
Pasta
Burrito Pack - easy dinner
Frozen pizza bases - super easy meal and kids love em! Can hide lots of vegies too under tomato paste and cheese!
Rice - Good for bulking up stirfries etc

Umm cant think of anything else atm but hope that helps.

Canned tomatoes
Dry pasta
Rice


These are the three stables in my house. You can make thousands of different meals with these three basics. Or if you have NOTHING else to add, you can always just do a quick and easy pasta and homemade sauce. So I should probably add my spice rack to that list - most importantly: morrocan spices and mixed herbs.

Otherwise, we always try to have:
eggs
bread (in the freezer)
chicken breast (freezer)
meat (freezer)
mince (freezer)
frozen vege
Tomato sauce

With these things and the three other basics we keep in the pantry, we basically make nearly all of our meals.
Ie, stir fry, spag bol, eggy bread (aka french toast), meat and vege, pasta bake, jaffles, etc...

Failing that, there is always weetbix and milk. ;)

puff pastry, i great cheese over for a cheep lunch/snack also sausage mince is only $2-$3 and if you already have pastry, then easy and cheep sausage rolls!
noodles
spam (:hide:i love spam!)
flour sugar and butter, if i have the cake basics then i can whip up some cup cakes or cookies to tide the kids over between meals as day snacks
soup cans (chunky hinez ones)
tins of spaghetti (spaghetti on toast, yum)
pasta and the spaghetti sauce cans (near dolmioes but already has meat in the can, saved us a tight-ass/lazy week a few times!!)

basicaly anything on the shelf that you would normaly eat but can sit in the pantry for a while.
(there is NOTHING wrong with the odd night of cerial or 2 min noodles for dinner, least ur eating!)

Of course I like to make my own soup and freeze it but when it's on special, especially those chunky soups in a can, I stock up on those.

Rice I buy in bulk
Pasta
Eggs
The odd tin of pineapple or other fruit
The odd tin of veges - tomatoes or peas or mushrooms, basically to add to other leftovers or eggs

Rice
Bacon, ham cheese great for pizza and freeze fine
Pumpkin soup either as a meal or add to rice
Frozen peas, carrots, corn and onion
Mince meat for pasta, tacos
Tinned tomatoes
Pasta sauce

Pasta
Rice
Frozen vegies
Pastry (enless oppurtunities there like Ham & cheese scroll vegemite & cheese scrolls, jam scrolls etc etc)
Pasta stir through sauces
Rice sauces!!