Bought a new chest freezer - Give me good ways to fill it!

twirlie

Hi, I'm a single mum with a 3 year old who goes to nursery so dinners need to be things I can buy cheaply and cook fast when he gets home. I have limited time and money, so I'm trying to streamline the process of dinners as much as I can while still eating as well as we can.

I bought myself a chest freezer as a christmas present because now we finally have the space to have one, I'll be able to buy the bigger packs of chips, frozen mash (works out cheaper than spuds as we only use a few discs at a time) frozen veggies, and I can go to town buying whoopsie-d chops, sausages etc when I see them.

I'm planning on keeping it in the garage so I'm thinking of buying the big economy size bags of veggies / chips / potato / mince and separating them out into potion sized "grab bags" so that I'm not constantly running in and out to put bags of veggies back in the freezer.

I'm also planning on freezing milk, so that in an emergency we'll always have some on hand. (Last year I had to walk miles in the snow to grab more!) Does anyone know how long previously frozen milk lasts in the fridge? (Would I be better buying 1 pint bottles or 2 pints)

Does anyone have any other suggestions for what I can keep in there? I'm very excited about my upcoming trip to iceland! :P

geordie_joe

twirlie wrote: »

(Would I be better buying 1 pint bottles or 2 pints)

I bought 4 x 1 pint bottles. When empty I wash them and buy a 4 pint bottle and decant into the 1 pint bottles, freezing 3 of them.

twirlie wrote: »

Does anyone have any other suggestions for what I can keep in there? I'm very excited about my upcoming trip to iceland! :P

Be careful in Iceland, I don't go in mine much, but when I do it looks like a pound shop. "only £1" signs every where, but not everything is as cheap as it appears. Often the items that are only £1 are 70p in other shops.

The 4 pints of milk are good for £1, but don't usually have the same life left as they do in other shops. Hence my buying one and freezing 3 pints of it. if you get the whole milk you can water it down too.

Debt_Free_Dreamer

Make things yourself. Bulk cook:-

Chilli Con Carne
Spag Bol
The meat part for a cottage pie, so you can just top it with mashed potato and cook it quickly
Vegetable soups
Curry - much cheaper than a take away!

When I cook, I always make extra now and freeze around 3 to 4 portions. That way my OH always has a quick meal in the freezer. When I cannot be bothered to cook, he can grab a curry from the freezer and heat it up.

My two kids (2 and 6) love cottage pie too and I know it's all good stuff making it myself.



I tend to take the soups or chilli to work. Much cheaper than buying sandwiches or some other food from the work shop.

caramacgirl

It is always more economical to run a chest freeze full, if you have any space in it buy up sliced bread when it has been 'reduced for quick sale'.
I split mine into smaller batches and it is sound for toast and stops you wasting energy cooling fresh air.

storminabuttercup

i would freeze bread - so much cheaper in supermarkets or even the bakers than local shops - buy a few dozen then split them - we throw away loads of bread as it goes off before we use it - im pushing for a chest freezer too. another good one is asda pizzas when they are on offer - you can have pizza that taste better then the takeaway at a fraction of the cost and in less time!!

twirlie

Thanks! Those are exactly the ideas I was looking for.

I already freeze cheese (grated) and I use the chinese takeaway containers (from £land) for things like stews and casseroles that I make in the slow cooker. Because there's only two of us there's always loads left, and its so nice to be able to microwave / bung them in the oven on a weeknight for a quick dinner.

I'm thinking of getting some stickers which I can write the date on to stick on things as I buy them - especially as I'm planning on splitting things up into smaller portion bags. I know when my mum had a chest freezer things at the bottom often went metallic tasting if they sat in there for too long, so I'm going to make myself be really strict about rotating things and not letting them sit in there for years.

Thanks for the tip about full chest freezers being more efficient than empty!

Anyone have any suggestions for the best places to go for frozen things / the best frozen things to buy? I bought Delia's How to Cheat book and I'm loving some of her suggestions - things like frozen parsnips roasted in oil with tikka masala spices. I think the idea would really work for me but I just need to figure out ways to make her recipes cheaper because some of her "cheat" ingredients are a bit on the pricey side!

storminabuttercup

i personally like iceland for frozen stuff - in fact most stuff. we have an allotment (well my dad does) and if i had a bigger freezer i would blanche and freeze more veg as i reckon it works out cheaper. maybe visit local markets etc, stuff like that is much cheaper - esp if you go as late as poss on a saturday. ive always fancied making and freezing my own yorkshire puds (except they NEVER rise) but you make them for pennies and would go nice with stews etc. also - i find herbs and garlic freezes well - esp garlic - dad grows loads - i just seperate the cloves and freeze then use it as i need it !!

geordie_joe

caramacgirl wrote: »

It is always more economical to run a chest freeze full,

The difference is not worth thinking about. Last time I defrosted my chest freezer I stuck the leccy monitor on it and it uses exactly the same amount of leccy when completely empty as it does when it is completely full.

Yes, you may say that it is uneconomical to to run it half full as you are using the leccy to freeze air instead of goods. But you have to take into account the opportunities you miss by having a full freezer.

Like me today, I had to pass on a £16 joint of beef (the biggest I have ever seen) reduced to £7 in Morrisons today. Because it was far to large for just me and my freezer is full to the brim.

Luckily it is full of good stuff, I would have been gutted if it was full of cheap bread I'd bought just because someone told me it was more economical to keep the freezer full.

Keep your freezer 3/4 full and leave room for those special bargains you find now and again. If you buy stuff just to fill your freezer the chances are it will always stay in your freezer, because that's what it was bought for, to fill the freezer!

geordie_joe

twirlie wrote: »

I'm thinking of getting some stickers which I can write the date on to stick on things as I buy them - especially as I'm planning on splitting things up into smaller portion bags. I know when my mum had a chest freezer things at the bottom often went metallic tasting if they sat in there for too long, so I'm going to make myself be really strict about rotating things and not letting them sit in there for years.

Stickers are a great idea, I once pulled a piece of brisket out of the freezer before going to work. I intended to have it for my tea when I got home, but when I got home it turned out to be a portion of home made chocolate sponge pudding!

Also try to buy some plastic baskets to put the stuff in, it makes it easier to take out a lot f stuff and get to the bottom. If you don't, the stuff at the bottom tends to get left as it s too hard to get to.

It may be uneconomical to keep the freezer half full, but it's just as uneconomical to keep food frozen that you never use. It may have been cheap when you bought it, but when you have paid to keep it frozen for a year or two it's not so cheap.

caramacgirl

As the poster above says herbs freeze well. I go to a local Asian grocery and you can get a big clump of fresh coriander for 50p.
I cut off the stalks and put them through the blender with some water, to make like a coriander pesto, then put into icecube trays. (you can pop them out and put them in a bag once theyve frozen). Just add a couple of cubes and it makes all the difference to a homemade curry.
The leafy bits I put loose in a plastic bag, once frozen you just scrunch up the bag to crush them up. Add these at the end of cooking, even to a shop bought sauce and it boosts the flavour no end.

As you might be able to tell, I love coriander

caramacgirl

geordie_joe wrote: »

Stickers are a great idea, I once pulled a piece of brisket out of the freezer before going to work. I intended to have it for my tea when I got home, but when I got home it turned out to be a portion of home made chocolate sponge pudding!

Also try to buy some plastic baskets to put the stuff in, it makes it easier to take out a lot f stuff and get to the bottom. If you don't, the stuff at the bottom tends to get left as it s too hard to get to.

It may be uneconomical to keep the freezer half full, but it's just as uneconomical to keep food frozen that you never use. It may have been cheap when you bought it, but when you have paid to keep it frozen for a year or two it's not so cheap.

:rotfl:I once added chocolate sauce to a stew thinking it was gravy. :rotfl:
Sharpies are good for writing on plastic tubs.