A new freezer - what do we put in it?

aliasojo

Can I jump on the bandwagon here please? I have a freezer related question.

For those who have chest freezers.....how/when do you rotate things?

Do you always take stuff out so you put new stuff at the bottom then put old stuff back in...or do you chuck everything in and go through it once every few weeks/months(?) to sort out what needs used up next?

maman

I know you said you live a long way out but bread is very bulky so I wouldn't freeze too much of it personally.

I have certain frozen veg (from Farmfoods, excellent value). Like lightisfading said some are better than others. I have peas, green beans, broad beans, and leeks (they're excellent ready cleaned and prepped so no waste or work!).

I have heaps of peppers (YS), courgettes (home grown)beansprouts, mushrooms and diced carrots (bought but not all used) that I can just grab a handful when I'm making soup or a casserole.

I don't know if you eat fish but I buy kippers (Sainsbury's my fave) and bags of smoked haddock from Farmfoods. They're scrappy little pieces but tasty and for £5 a kg, very good value. I've also got Aldi fish fingers (for sandwiches) and their Thai fishcakes (DH loves them).

Then I have HM ready meals as others have said. As well as LOs I cook specially for the freezer, mainly using my SC.

Personally I don't bother to date anything but I do mark it with ingredients. I also keep an inventory and 'shop' from that and my fridge and storecupboard before I buy anything else.

[Deleted User]

Try to get into the habit of cooking more than you need and freezing the extra food in portions for 1 or 2 if that's how many of you there are usually. It gives you a good stock of things ready to go on busy days and saves you fuel as well as you only have to reheat the cooked meals not cook them from scratch. It's surprising how quickly your stocks build up too.

valentina

If you see ready made pastry (chilled) reduced, buy it, cut it into portion sized pieces and freeze it; it's surprisingly useful if you are a lone vegetarian and you are able to make a pie whenever you want!

23rdspiral

All of the above, but we have a couple of apple trees, so I chop & freeze lots of apples for year round crumbles & savoury dishes like pork & apple stew. Plus I make stewed apples & freeze them. Can you tell what's on my mind!

YORKSHIRELASS

unimaginative_user_name wrote: »

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.

Ha! I thought we were the only ones who do this!! This is a regular favourite on a Sunday night when the kids have been playing footie.

Oh and things like sweetcorn and peppers are easy to buy frozen and use out of the freezer.

Allegra

aliasojo wrote: »

Can I jump on the bandwagon here please? I have a freezer related question.

For those who have chest freezers.....how/when do you rotate things?

Do you always take stuff out so you put new stuff at the bottom then put old stuff back in...or do you chuck everything in and go through it once every few weeks/months(?) to sort out what needs used up next?

A big list in the kitchen with all the freezer contents (chest freezer lives in the shed as there's no space for it elsewhere), then menu planning from the list.

Also, easy to access storage in the actual freezer - home made batch cooked meals, stock etc. in empty margarine tubs; a piece of masking tape stuck on and written on in marker pen; these are then stacked neatly in similar groupings with labels facing out, so I know what's where at a glance.

Meat and other oddly shaped packages are placed either into the wire basket thingy that's part of the freezer, or if there's a lot of them, into a large bag for life that can just be lifted out and rummaged through easily.

Fruits, veggies and pulses are open frozen, then gathered into freezer bags, which are then stacked on their side for ease of access.

And once a year or so we eat more or less just from the freezer to use up the contents and get it defrosted.

Honestly, once you have a system going, it takes less time to maintain it then it does to write about it - a couple of minutes here and there making sure all is stacked neatly and added to the list or crossed off it, and it all runs smoothly. If you have more than one person doing the kitcheny stuff, or so many distractions that you don't trust yourself to keep up with the lists, then doing a freezer audit weekly - or at least monthly - is also a good idea, just to make sure that your list is a true reflection of what is actually there.

maman

23rdspiral wrote: »

All of the above, but we have a couple of apple trees, so I chop & freeze lots of apples for year round crumbles & savoury dishes like pork & apple stew. Plus I make stewed apples & freeze them. Can you tell what's on my mind!

I get given apples so I do much the same. Another use is to make a big pot of braised red cabbage with apple and freeze in portions.

Savannah02K

I also have a little container at the front of the freezer, at end of the week every tiny scrap of vegetable left over goes in there, ditto any rinse out of sauce jars, I even throw in lettuce leaves! As that little container gets full, I transfer everything to a bigger one, when that's full do it again. eventually I end up with a nice big box of frozen goodies that gets thrown in my soup pot with either red lentils, potatoes or split peas to act as bulk, and hey presto, what feels like 'free soup!' And never the same flavour twice!

candylucy

Savannah02K wrote: »

I also have a little container at the front of the freezer, at end of the week every tiny scrap of vegetable left over goes in there, ditto any rinse out of sauce jars, I even throw in lettuce leaves! As that little container gets full, I transfer everything to a bigger one, when that's full do it again. eventually I end up with a nice big box of frozen goodies that gets thrown in my soup pot with either red lentils, potatoes or split peas to act as bulk, and hey presto, what feels like 'free soup!' And never the same flavour twice!

Hi

Sorry for the dumb question but is this just raw veg leftovers or do you also throw in cooked leftovers?

Thanks!

x