An Italian Pantry

 I have a tendency to keep a large, full pantry. It has grown and shrunk over the years but I try to keep it as full as possible. It was a surprise to discover, when I was first out on my own, that many people don't keep a large, full pantry. I was told it was an Italian thing and that kind of stuck in my brain. Nowadays, it's just a sanity thing.
A few friends have been trying to figure out how to build up their food pantry and have asked for ideas. All I can tell you is the way I learned to do it. It's a journey though, not a shopping list, because everyone is different. So I'll do multiple posts that you can follow to create a large, full pantry that fits your family's needs, regardless of diet restrictions.
The first step sounds easy but you will discover it is not. For step on, find 7 to 14 recipes that your family likes to eat. The more you have, the more variety will be available for those times when getting to the store is difficult or money is tight. So try for 14. 
Give yourself a variety of easy to fix and more difficult to fix meals. That will keep you going for those nights when you can barely function at dinner time, and the ones where you have time and energy.
For now, don't worry about whether the ingredients are canned or frozen. But for these recipes, avoid fresh ingredients or find substitutes for them. The reason for the is because the ingredients for these recipes need to be something that can sit on the shelves or in the freezer for a while.
Three examples from my household - chicken and rice, and shepherd's pie, and our version of tacos. Unless it's been a really long, bad stretch there are ingredients for all of those in my house. We prefer the tacos with fresh lettuce, but if there's none in the fridge or growing, well it just becomes yummy nachos.
So off you go. Find those recipes. Print them out or write them down. If you are finding new ones to add, take the time to make them and be sure the family likes them. Because the last thing you want to have happen when you are tired and nothing else is available is to find out that the recipe isn't something you're family will eat. Oh, and btw, slow cooker favorites qualify for those recipes as well.