Meal building blocks for the freezer

lbt_2

lindadykes wrote: »

Frozen chillis chop easily without any defrosting.

Thanks - I hadn't thought of freezing chillies (and I am the queen of frozen food and cooking with leftovers thanks to OS!)

I have some chillies in the fridge and I was wondering how to use them all up and now I don't have to.

lbt_2

Quick question - do onions that have been chopped and frozen end up a bit soggy? Was thinking of doing some to use for stews etc but I wondered if freezing them dilutes the flavour?

Thanks

MushyPeas

lbt wrote: »

Quick question - do onions that have been chopped and frozen end up a bit soggy? Was thinking of doing some to use for stews etc but I wondered if freezing them dilutes the flavour?

Hey LBT, I did this but then found my freezer smelt of onions - does anyone know a better way of freezing them so they don't smell?

Olliebeak

Frozen onions DO go soggy, but they're fine for stews/casseroles. I buy the 2kg bags of SmartPrice onions, peel and slice them and then freeze in ziplock bags. They freeze in a 'big lump' but are easily separated by 'bashing' the bag on the worktop .

BigMummaF

MushyPeas wrote: »

Hey LBT, I did this but then found my freezer smelt of onions - does anyone know a better way of freezing them so they don't smell?

I make sure I wrap them well--usually at least two layers of plastic wrap/ food bag/ bread bag--& then in an old bread bag. Helps prevent freezer burn too SIZE=1][I][U]don't[/U][/I] ask me how I know! My excuse at the time was I'd put the wrong date on the label[/SIZE] [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]:shhh:[COLOR=SeaGreen][SIZE=2][FONT=Trebuchet MS

MushyPeas

BigMummaF wrote: »

I make sure I wrap them well--usually at least two layers of plastic wrap/ food bag/ bread bag--& then in an old bread bag. Helps prevent freezer burn too SIZE=1][I][U]don't[/U][/I] ask me how I know! My excuse at the time was I'd put the wrong date on the label[/SIZE] [/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]:shhh:[COLOR=SeaGreen][SIZE=2][FONT=Trebuchet MS

Cheers BigMummaF - and there was I about to throw out an old bread bag! Well now it can get rinced and put to use - cheers

BigMummaF

Me muvva keeps her bags for me too, as they are used for No1's sandwich lunches for work & food/freezer bags first, then finally as poopie-doop bags for Pup She's given up offering to buy proper sandwich bags for us & is beginning to use them more often herself :T
Another good one for using in the freezer especially, is the lining from cereal packets--that stuff that's a bit like silicone paper.

pink_numbers

I start hyperventilating if I start to run low on the following items in my freezer (which I know by looking at my stock list):

Sauted onions
sauted leeks
sauted mushrooms
carrots (sliced/grated/junilli - spell?)
grated cheese
sliced savloy
stewed apples or porridge
sliced bananas with sugar & cinamon sprinkled for adding to porridge
stewed plums for porridge
garlic (food processed fine, then frozen in ice cube trays before bagging them)
ginger (same as garlic)
chilli (chopped, frozen on a tray, then kept in a jar)
Coriander (frozen in bag, then bashed about once frozen, saves on chopping)
parsley (same as coriander)
bags of frozen sweetcorn & peas bought from the shops
Chicken and goats in various form
Cabbage (chopped and lightly cooked)
Beans (sliced)

They are my main stuff that I make sure I always have. I tend to batch process them, buy couple of months' worth of about 5 items at a time once a month, and process them in an evening. I also have lots of other things in the freezer (which is why my freezer is so full!) but they are my staples.

Most chopped/sauted veg end up in this drawer:


I pick out three to five things to make meals out of. I find that since I started to do this, I have incorporated more vegs in my meals, because the hard bit of peeling and chopping has already been done.

thriftlady_2

pink_numbers wrote: »

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Chicken and goats in various form

I'm seriously impressed with your freezer list Pink Numbers but please tell me what you do with the goats!

pink_numbers

thriftlady wrote: »

I'm seriously impressed with your freezer list Pink Numbers but please tell me what you do with the goats!

lol I am very limited in what meat I can eat (my stomach can't handle most meat) and can only eat very lean meat. I can eat turkey, chicken and goat only.

There is a lady that we call (but don't tell her) "the goat lady" that shows up in local farmers' markets in our are, who sells the most amazing goat sausage. It's very tasty. So I bulk buy though and use it as normal sausage. I also get cubed and minced goat from the internet, which we use instead of red meat. It's got a distinctive flavour, but you get used to it, and I am just so glad that I have a meat I can eat Goat is quite tough if eaten in cubes (i.e. not minced), so you do have to stew it for a long time.