OS help to fill my chest freezer please?

mismax

We have just ordered a chest freezer! I have been watching offers and this one is a good price, energy rating and has 197 litres of storage.

Up to now we have just had a couple of small drawers so if I do even a small batch cook I struggle to keep it. It will be going out in the garage and I want to maximise it's use so I'm looking for help to plan the best way to fill it while I am off work next week please?!:j

There is just DH and I. I work full time and he works part time plus farms. He does a mean reheated dinner but couldn't cope from scratch so I need to preprepare and batch cook!

We have a full veggie garden that I will be harvesting and vacuum packing. I know how to do peas and beans but ideas for cabbage, turnips and spring onion storage appreciated!

We also have plum and cooking apple trees with heavy crops plus as many blackberries as we could pick just turning ripe. I would like to store these without sugar if possible so just stew and freeze?

I usually batch cook shepherds pie and bolognese but not very creative after that! I'm also of the generation that does not know what to ask for in the butchers never mind what to do with it. We eat a fairly high protein diet as I keep my weight under control with low carbing so as little sugar as possible and small quantities of other carbs. I would love to know what I can do with cheaper cuts of meat and freeze.

Hubby on the other hand is a sugar fiend and goes through packs of scones, biscuits, apple pie, carrot cake etc in the week - all bought stuff. What can i bake and freeze that he can lift out as and when he needs them without them being soggy?

Any other tips much appreciated. I have the use of a vacuum packer that I was going to use for the veg. Should I vacuum pack baked goods as well? Should I buy a batch of foil containers like you get chinese food in or is there something better to freeze dinners in?

Thanks in advance for any help. I love reading here, am learning a lot and remembering things I saw Mum and Gran do!

PollyFlinders_3

Hi,

I have a chest freezer too - the biggest problem is that stuff does tend to get "lost" at the bottom of the freezer, so would recommend you think about a system of boxes or colour coded bags so you can see at a glance what fruit, meat, ready meals etc you have. Also, label everything - we tend to eat a lot of "green" or "orange" soup because I forget to label it and then its unrecognisable after a couple of weeks!

I find most fruit freezes fine without stewing it first. Blackberries certainly do.

I cut plums in half, remove the stone, open freeze (where you just put them in a single layer on a tray) and then decant into bags when they are frozen. That way when I come to use them I can take out exactly what I need, and add sugar as required by the recipe.

Apples can either be stewed without sugar, or chopped and dipped in lemon juice, then frozen without stewing.

Likewise cakes - I regularly freeze scones, fairy cakes, biscuits, and cakes. Just open freeze them first, then transfer into bags or boxes. I remove them in the morning and pop them in lunchboxes and have never heard any complaints about soggy cakes.

I don't have a vacuum packer - I do try to remove as much of the air in the bags as possible, as much as anything to stop the bags from splitting when anything lands too heavily on top of them...

If you buy foil containers to freeze stuff in, then be aware you can't microwave in the containers - I use the plastic boxes from our chinese takeaway, or margarine tubs.

meritaten

I dont have a chest freezer but do understand that it doesnt work the same as the other types. food needs to be packed in quite sturdy containers to withstand the weight on top of it.
foil containers are great - I didnt find a problem defrosting or cooking from them if I used a large pyrex dish to defrost them in. they are convenient and cheap.
personally I use the thick plastic freezer bags. push out as much air as I can then seal. havent had any problems with them. but i do worry a bit about recycling so if i have a large quantity of food to freeze (I made a curry last night with a whole chicken and have frozen half) will use an old ice cream tub with its lid and label it 'chicken curry'. Important that, or the kids would get a nasty surprise! I then sterilise the used tub with milton and reuse it!

mismax

Those tips are great. I had forgotten about needing to "open freeze" things first. That's a good idea so they don't end up all in one block!

Anyone got any ideas for meals to batch cook so we don't get bored with bolognese.:o

So far I will do

chicken curry
shepherds pie
ratatoille (sp?!)
soup

sproggi

I freeze mini toad-in-the-holes, just cut each sausage into 3 and make them in bun tins.
They take just a few minutes in the oven to heat up and I use them from frozen.
Handy for when we are having something for dinner that someone in the house doesn't eat or when we have unexpected company.

ragz_2

I have just recieved a chest freezer from Freecycle :j:j:j

It's huge and I have hardly any food to put in it so any ideas welcome! I'd ideally like to fill it with reduced bread, meat etc but never seem to get any these days

Do you have a chest freezer and if so, what's in it?

p-pincher

when i first got my chest freezer it took me a little while it fill it properly, i just waited til there were good offers on things i like and whenever i cooked i always doubled it up so i was always building up a store. That was quite a few years ago and i always try and run it down every 6 months or so or else theres always things lurking at the bottom that have been there for years. I always like to have some bread and milk for emergencies.

I always like to have a variety of vegs and meat so i can always rustle up dinners quickly, Just remeber to label everything clearly so you can keep track of what you have.

Charis

You can freeze milk. The two pint size thaws much more quickly than the four pint but I usually get the four pint size. Just be sure to thaw it completely and give it a shake before using it to mix the thawed ice (now water) in with the milk at the bottom. You can freeze sliced bread for emergencies. Best to store half a loaf only in each bag and the rest stays frozen for when you want it.

I have large bags in the bottom of the freezer, (one T*sco's green bag and two L*keland bags meant for supermarket shopping, and I keep meat in one, bread flour in another (down to 50p per 1.5k in Mr T's this week). Frozen veg go in the other one and there are also two wire baskets. Everything has a place so if DS goes out to get something he knows which bag/basket or section to look in.

L*keland also do lovely labels which stay on in the freezer but peel off when you want them to, without leaving a sticky mess. Sold in rolls, with the freezer bags. I also cook enough for four portions whenever I make a casserole or curry, and bag up the rest so I can have the odd lazy night when I don't cook from scratch.

caitybabes

Hello,

We were recently given a chest freezer which my parents didn't need anymore...

Filling it was quite fun as I managed to go to Tesco just as they had a section of items reduced to 10% of their original price!

Apart from bargains, I fill my freezer with:
1. Casserole in individual portions
2. Sausage and bean chilli
3. Bread
4. Scones
5. Crumble mix (easier to make in bulk and chuck over fruit when needed straight from freezer)
6. Milk if we buy spare
7. A selection of veg so we can choose what to have with dinner on the day

Whenever I cook I generally make enough for 4, 6 or 8 people and freeze either individual or 2 person portions. This works with most meals, even things like spaghetti bolognese or carbonara. There's always soup in there which rotates regularly for lunches. My slow cooker holds 8 portions of most things so that helps keeping the freezer stocked up.

I agree that organisation is a bit of a key with chest freezers... I cannot recommend enough our method of having a little wipe clean whiteboard on top of the freezer. When something goes in, it gets written on. When something comes out, it gets wiped off. This means you can see what's in there without delving around and you also don't end up looking for something that's not there or forgetting about things.

Hope that helps!

Cait

JulieGeorgiana

As for snacks for your husband, I make scones for my boys (I butter and jam them before freezing) and also Rock Cakes freeze very well.

I find twinks hobnobs freeze well as a 'raw' batter and you just defrost, flatten and bake!

rozmister

I made HM Beetroot and Salmon fishcakes last night and froze them and also peeled and sliced a whole bag of potatoes into chips, wedges and roastie shapes then par boiled them and froze them so I don't have to do it in the evenings. I already have in my freezer Veggie Chilli, Stew and HM Curry and I use our freezer to freeze reduced meat and bread and other bready things (teacakes, english muffins, etc). Being single I also freeze full price meat in individual portions because I can't eat it quick enough!