The OS freezer

wssla00

Hi all,

Having successfully defrosted my freezer, I can now see in it :j and want to stock it up with some basics.

I have about £30 to spend on freezer stuff, and was going to go to Farmfoods as I also have a discount voucher

In there at the mo are some very non os instant mash, roast potatoes and some burgers but that's about it. Reallyt want some things that I can just chuck in a pan and use- I'm not fussy!

Any suggestions on what you would put in your OS freezer?

Sunnyday

I would buy a big bag of potatoes, you can then make your own roasties, spicy wedges and oven chips to freeze and just throw in the oven at a later date when you don`t fancy cooking.

It will save you lots as you will get many things for a fraction of the price of the ready made ones which will probably be full of nasties.

Mince too, for the cottage pie, chilli con carne, spag bol type of meals and something nice to put into pie.

Hmmm i`m hungry now

HTH

SD

wssla00

Thanks Has anyone successfully made their own frozen mash? I wonder if it would come out too watery??

Sunnyday

I`ve made frozen mash and yes it does give up water when its thawed, i didn`t mash any milk or butter into it and it still gave up quite a bit. I will still make it though, just defrost it in a bowl so that the water can be tipped out before reheating.

Its always good to have a bit in to mix with tuna and make hm fishcakes to bake in the oven - okay definitely going to raid the fridge now

SD

anguk

Every time I make mash I always do a big panful so I can freeze at least half. I let it cool then open freeze it in ice-cream scoop sized portions, then bag it up. It's so much easier if you freeze it in portions, you can just take out what you need. I've never had any problem with them being watery but I reheat them from frozen in the microwave.

I also part fry chips, let them cool, open freeze then bag them up. Then they can be either deep fried for a few minutes or put on a tray in the oven just like shop bought frozen chips.

Mince will make lots of shepherds pies, chilli, bolognese sauce etc that can be quickly reheated. You can even make your own burgers!

The only frozen food I buy are peas, chicken breasts and fish fillets, the rest of the freezer is filled with leftovers or things I've batch cooked like soup etc.

Mrs_Thrify

I would stock up on vegetables, sweetcorn, pea's,peppers and the like along with a bag of frozen potatoes - their are so many to choose from.
A spare loaf of bread.
I would buy some fresh mince and batch cook using the SC.
Burgers and rolls for a quick meal.
Look at the yellow sticker offers too!

Pink.

Hi wssla,

This thread should help with freezing mash:

Freezing fresh Mash

Pink

falady

Hi there,

If you are meat eaters, you could buy a joint of pork / gammon / a chicken (whatever you like best), cook it and then slice it and freeze in portions. This is good for emergency sandwich fillings or when you can't be bothered cooking dinner (just defrost in the morning and have along with your ready prepared wedges / frozen veg!). Gammon is particularly good value for this, especially (in our case, at least) if you get it from the butchers.

Bacon is also good for freezing and handy for an emergency dinner (hot pot, full english etc) or for home cooking eg quiche etc.

Hope that helps,

Ali x

floyd

wssla00 wrote: »

Thanks Has anyone successfully made their own frozen mash? I wonder if it would come out too watery??

Yes and now we have mastered the blend to get it just right! :rotfl: If you boil a batch of desiree or maris piper potatoes and sweet potatoes in a ratio of 2/3 desiree or maris to 1/3 sweet then put them through a ricer and mash together with proper butter, no milk and white pepper.

They defrost and warm up beautifully in the micro and are never watery. The secret is using decent spuds in the first place as generic white potatoes are never good enough to produce top quality mash, even King Eddies have proven a bit hit and miss so we stick with Desiree or Maris Piper all the time.

I am a self confessed potato snob

Trinny

Hi there

I would take a look at the freezer building blocks thread.

Otherwise - i tend to batch cook and freeze, so i would be getting mince - to make shepherds pie and lasagne - cook two and freeze one.

I also make batches of soup - put them in an old large yogurt container and freeze ready for use.

I tend to make banana cake and freeze it.

I dont usually buy ready made stuff - because i can make HM potato wedges cheaper and tastier than ready made stuff. Its the same with ready meals too - i try to cook in advance and stock the freezer so that its just a case of defrosting and heat and eat.

Best Wishes

Trin