What foods can/can't you freeze?

staircase2

Oh yes! And Lemons & Limes too! (Who Knew!)

Just take them out the day before and put in the fridge (on a saucer or something to catch any melted ice) - and I read that you should use them straight away! (WAY better than having them go off and having to waste them by throwing them away)

I also freeze butter if I buy some on special and again just leave it in fridge overnight to defrost...

Beverley_Bill

belfastgirl23 wrote: »

If you make something new I reckon it's always worth trying to freeze a little bit to see how it is. Personally my freezing failures have been risotto (texture was really weird) and soup with a potato base...but most things freeze well. i freeze a lot of lentily dishes and they freeze great!

Good luck!

That is my way too, if it doesn't freeze well you haven't lost anything as you would have thrown it out anyway. Freeze everything and waste nothing. A microwave is the best thing for reheating as it uses the moisture.

joehoover

Plenty can be frozen. I bulk cook any meal and freeze it, bologneses, chillis, lasagne, pastas, curries, lentils and sausages, soups, shepherds pies I can pick any numbe rof meals out to defrost in frudge to take to work for lunch the next day. Meat is portioned up and frozen in freezer bags when its on offer. Defrost overnight and ready to go when I get in from work.
I always have leftover tortilla wraps, freeze them, when defrosted they are not so nice fresh but used for a quesidilla (using leftover roast chicken and cheese for example) or enchillades using some veggie chilli I make with leftover peppers, basics can of kidney beans, onion, garlic and half my spice rack.
All my breads go in there, if stale I put in food belnder and freeze the breadcrumbs. If you had to use egg yolks in a recipe, the whites will freeze perfect for meringues later on. Leftover eggs I make frittata with courgette and spinach, that freezes fine and I defrost overnight and reheat in the microwave at work.
Leftover pastry is frozen, my espresso coffee (keeps better) I even freeze in a tuppaware the juice from pinepple chucks as long as it is juice and not syrup, it easily breaks for a juicy ice hit, I should buy cheap lolly moulds which would be easier!

I have a feature I wrote on my blog months ago about my freezer,
http://londonsurvival.wordpress.com/
but it has gone off on a tangent now with my ramblings so I am in the process of creating a new blog just for food since I think I eat pretty well on a budget with minimal waste and with help from my freezer. This will be located at http://bloggersandmash.wordpress.com/
but will take a few weeks to get going since I have to start taking photos of what I cook

RoseRed

Over the last 6 months or so we have slipped a great deal from the MSE mantra I'm determined to get back in with some good old fashioned thrift. Still been paying off debt but no extras. We're very nearly debt free and I want to get rid of the final bits and get on the savings wagon.

I've been going through my fridge and looking at what needs using up, I've got some ideas for using up bits that are going to go off and just wanted to check they'll freeze Ok.

I've got whoopsied asparagus and a couple of slices of bacon, thought I'd do these in a lentil dish with some lemons and herbs (also go beautifully with the piles of 2 packs salmon fillets I picked up for 49p each in the co-op tonight, all safely in the freezer). Will the lentils freeze OK or will they go mushy?

Next stuffed peppers with feta and veg (courgette, onion, toms and the like), as these are meant to be served hot I suppose it won't matter if they go mushy?

Finally a quiche with more asparagus, ham and leftover odds of cheese. Again will this freeze and does anyone have a quick pastry recipe I can nick?

We're with family for the next couple of days so can't use it up ourselves, it'll also be nice to have some healthy meals ready in the freezer, just don't want to defrost find its all gone wrong and end up out for pizza!

Thanks,

RoseRed

Hawthorn

It sounds ok to freeze all of that except perhaps the peppers. Frozen peppers are VERY soft.

Pastry = half fat to flour. I use plain flour and usually lard, but you could use half lard/butter/margarine I guess. good pinch of salt and enough water to bind. Work it quickly, don't overwork it and keep it cool. I try to bung it in the fridge in cling film for a half hour before using but don't always have time for that, and I've never had a problem with it.
Just be careful not to stretch the pastry as you're rolling it otherwise it will shrink whilst cooking. I learned this the hard way lol.

I usually use for a quiche 6oz flour - 3oz fat, but difficult to say since I don't know how big your quiche dish is :P

SpikyHedgehog

Lentils are fine to freeze. About the peppers, if they'll go mushy, could you disguise them when done with a sauce over them?

RoseRed

Thank you! I'm going to get it all in the freezer. Even if the peppers go mushy they should still taste OK so I can always smear them over some toasted (reduced) baguette for a nice easy lunch.

I'm determined that no more food is going to be binned, financial reasons or not it is wrong to be throwing it away!

RoseRed

Quasar

Sorted now. Thanks anyway.

wayne

hi,made a chicken curry in our new slow cooker last night.it was yum.:D
there is quite a bit of sauce left over now so i was wondering if it,s ok to freeze it?i did brown the chicken off before making the curry if it makes a difference.:beer:

mmmsnow

It should be fine. I tend to make sauces (on their own) in the slow cooker then freeze them in individual portions and I've never had a problem.