A new freezer - what do we put in it?

[Deleted User]

Hello,

We have a new under-the-counter freezer being delivered this week and we want to stock in a way that will save money. We have not had a freezer for many years so we are not sure what to do with it.

A few notes on how we eat :

- We eat lots of fruits and vegetables ( I am a vegi.)
- We also live in the middle of nowhere and so emergency supplies might also be a good idea (e.g. bread)
- My husband eats meat and so we can use it to separate packs of meat so that he does not have to eat all of it in one go before it goes off.

What else would you recommended that we put in the freezer to help save money?

Thanks,
Spider.

Bluegreen143

Oh how exciting, I absolutely love my freezer!

The most useful things I do with mine:

• I don't shop much in the freezer section as I make almost everything from scratch, so the only packets that are in mine are peas, sweetcorn, white fish, prawns and icecream (I buy all other veg fresh).
  
• I like to make double amounts of freezable meals to give myself an easy night another day - veggie and meat chillies, curries, tomato-based pasta sauces, casseroles, stews and pie fillings all freeze well. Even shepherds pie (or veggie equivalents), pasta bakes and cooked quiches can be frozen.
  
• I also use it to store leftovers that I won't use before they go off (it's surprising what you can freeze) e.g. the pastry scraps left after making a pie get frozen in a ball; stale bread gets whizzed into breadcrumbs and stored in a freezer bag; brown bananas get chucked in there then I make lovely cold milkshake when I want it; if I make too much crumble topping it gets popped in a freezer bag etc etc etc.
  
• As you noted, it's a good way to separate out meat (we only eat meat 2-3x per week so it lasts us ages) so I freeze bacon in 4 slice bags, sausages in single serves, portion up a whole chicken and big packs of mince etc.
  
• I also freeze home baking (as long as it's not iced) to stop us eating it all at once! I freeze cakes like lemon drizzle in slices, muffins, cookie dough in balls (just bake a few at a time straight from frozen) and scones.
  
• I make all our own homemade bread, rolls, wraps etc at the weekend and freeze until needed as it only lasts a couple of days and I can't make it during the week as I work full time.

Just a few ideas - hope they help!

Allegra

Anything that is freezable and that's being sold off at a lower price than usual - meat, milk, butter - anything that's reduced to clear - cheese, grated - vegetables, blanched - fruit that will be used in cakes, pies, crumbles - batch cooked meals (curries, soups, pies, etc) - almost anything, really.

Have fun - I too love my freezer, and would really struggle to keep to the grocery budget without it !

YORKSHIRELASS

Good advice there. I suggest you start saving margarine tubs. Then use these to freeze leftovers, even small amounts dont get thrown out in our house. We will eventually combine small portions to make a meal or use them up in something else.

As Bluegreen says you need to freeze things like chicken portions separately or you will never get them apart later (sorry if this is stating the obvious). It can also be cheaper to buy a big pack of mince and split it into portions before freezing.

Linda32

I think having a freezer is money saving as well.

From your list, you can freeze berries so if you see any in the reduce section then I would buy these. Strawberries tend to go abit mushy when defrosted but OH mixes them into value strawberry yoghurt or plain yoghurt as a pudding. All other berries freeze well, just open freeze first then bag up and defrost a portion at a time.

Same with veggies, just prepare and freeze in bags. Just as if you had bought a bag of frozen carrots or whatever.

You can indeed freeze bread. We always freeze half of a loaf. We also freeze wraps. But you need to use greaseproof between each wrap, otherwise you end up with 8 wraps frozen together :rotfl: You can of course re-use the sheets of greaseproof If you like pancakes or waffles, these can often be found in the reduced section and freeze fine. I oftern have these for breakfast. Just take one out the night before.

With regards to meat, there is oftern the 3 for £10 offers on so again, as you say this can be seperated into portions and frozen. We do this with bacon as OH likes bacon sandwiches.

Others have said about pastry, this freezes well. Cakes and biscuits freeze well also. Makes for good portion control [STRIKE]not scoffing the lot[/STRIKE] :rotfl:

Another thing I freeze is stock made from stock cubes. I use a cube to make couscous instead of water. But some make a pint of stock. Obviously far too much for couscous so I freeze this.Just pour into a bag, label and freeze.

HTH

meritaten

My freezer is full to bursting! I really must have a cull! I tend to save lots of leftovers and that is what is filling the freezer! I cant bear to throw out one portion packs of meals. Do I use all these leftovers? not very often though they do come in handy............Ideally my freezer would be full of garden produce which I have frozen (it is) Bread for emergencies (not even one slice) and meat which was on special offer - yes, I DO make room for this!

unimaginative_user_name

I think it's a good idea to have some frozen veg from the freezer section for when you want a cheap accompaniment to a meal or in case you're snowed in and don't want to go out for fresh veg. I also chop onions and peppers if I've managed to get them cheap and freeze them in portions to add to a pasta sauce or casserole. I love homemade soups in the winter so I often cook a large pot and freeze the excess in old take away tubs. We're a family of three and so many recipes are for four servings so I freeze the extra portion and we occasionally have 'leftover' nights where we all choose something different and I cook some rice or baked potatoes to go with it.

I freeze whole loaves of bread and just take out the slices I need for breakfast rather than ending up with mouldy bread. I find myself buying fewer and fewer convenience foods (ready meals, pizzas etc) as they are generally expensive and/or not particularly healthy, and freeze more and more things I've prepared myself.

The key thing is to LABEL things you've frozen yourself as they may not be recognisable afterwards!

I hope this helps and that you enjoy your freezer. I would recommend fairly regular defrosting so that you don't forget what's lurking at the back!

amcg100

I bought 5 packets of bacon from a supermarket which were reduced to 65p from £2.99 on Sunday afternoon. It was just under 4lb of bacon for £3.25. It was perfectly fresh with no signs of aging. I split it into portion size bundles of which I got 12 and froze it. I will not need to buy bacon now for about a year. I do the same with other produce, for example, leeks freeze well. I buy them when they are cheap, then wash them , chop them and freeze them in a big bag. Same goes for most vegetables.

lightisfading

Frozen veggies - I'm fussy about texture but ie. green beans and corn on the cob taste just like fresh to me, and are *significantly* cheaper. Plus corn, peas etc, and usually some frozen berries for adding to cereal/yoghurt, oh and fresh ginger and chillies, herbs etc - buy when cheap and freeze

Meat - just one of me so I always buy and portion up.

Leftovers - pound shops etc usually do 'takeaway' style plastic containers which are the right size for a portion and stack nicely. I label them with masking tape, what's in it and when frozen.

Baking - make up big batches of muffins etc, freeze, and they defrost within an hour or two. Great for lunches

Icecream. Because a freezer without icecream is just wrong

Snowy_Owl

lightisfading wrote: »

Icecream. Because a freezer without icecream is just wrong

Hear Here!!!!! :beer: (spelling?!?)

[Deleted User]

Hello,

Thanks for taking the time to reply. There are some really good ideas and tips. I had forgotton that you need to separate items so thanks for the reminder.

We do cook everything from scratch and so I will be using it for sauces and soups, berries and meat from the butchers for Mr Spider. Also, I often cook bread so I am going to try and bulk bake and then freeze some which is something I would never have thought of.

Also, don't worry there will be ice cream in there.

Thanks again,
Spider