The all new using what you have from your Freezer, Cupboard or Shed (Barn)

Auntycaz

carinjo said:

There was a lovely section on bbc morning live about using your freezer. If you can find the clip on iplayer, lots of good advice. My favourite: if you got the freezer on, no use in it being empty, a waste of energy. At least 75% full is a good target as it gives you room to move things around too. 

I watched that programme too, It's surprising what you can freeze I am currently using some lurpack spreadable with a best before date of september 2022 that had managed to hide itself at the back of the freezer behind some other stuff and it tastes lovely.

Does anyone know if you can freeze Robinsons double concentrated squash please.? 

Wraithlady

Don't seem to be doing well at the 'clearing the freezer' thing - like others, I'm sure I have mischievous visitors who fill it with stuff!

In: finally managed to sort out the chicken breasts, steak and gammon from the Musclefoods order - not helped by the garage door deciding to break so I couldn't actually get in to the outside freezer! Now fixed and everything now bagged up after being open-frozen so that would be about 12 chicken breasts, 3 packs of gammon steaks and 6 rump steaks. Previously froze the fish - 2 packs salmon fillets, same of sea bass, cod and tuna. (Think I might know why my freezer's so full!)

Out: last of the part-baked baguettes, pack of chicken wings, 3 burgers for tonight (Meatball toad-in-the-hole), stewed plums now made into crumble and bacon for tomorrow. Oh, and one of the 4 tea-loaves from Bothams.

oceandreamer

It did make me smile @London_1 the thought of you crossly throwing the casserole in the dog bowl. It's annoying when you get a bargain that turns out not to be.
Used up the rest of the leftover beef from Xmas tonight and made a meat and potato pie.  I made suetcrust pasty as anything else would have meant a trip to the shop.  I'd never made it before and I don't think I did it right but at least the pie had a lid (even if it had the texture of one of those ginger rolled biscuit things that I cannot for the life of me remember the name of).

JIL

London_1 said:

The steak was as tough as shoe leather, I think there are another two in there so I may dig them out and turn them into a casserole via my slow cooker with some veg, if they are still not nice then DDs dogs will finish them off for me.

Semolina pudding was lovely, and enough left for today and tomorrow .I have a pack of gala apples I am going to stew tomorrow and make a crumble with as they are starting to look a bit wrinkly once stewed in a dollop of honey and a nice crumbly top a decent splodge of custard will be a nice treat for Friday and Saturday. Not wasting anything and a pudding helps to streetch a meal a bit.

JackieO xx

I saw a recipe recently where steak was cut into strips, mixed with spices, onions and peppers a little water and slow cooked for 4 hours. It looked really good. 

The other was was to leave out the spices and cook in peppercorn sauce and made into stroganoff. 

Cherryfudge

Auntycaz said:

Does anyone know if you can freeze Robinsons double concentrated squash please.? 

I haven't tried it but I'd imagine it would freeze really well. There might be considerations such as whether to divide it up (if there's a lot) if you aren't likely to use it all at once, and when it defrosts it might need a good shake because the water might separate from the 'solids'. I can't think of any safety reasons not to freeze it and if you aren't going to get through it in short order, what's to lose by freezing? Even freeze in an ice cube tray if you just want to get one drink's worth out at a time.

Most foods seem to freeze, but some don't freeze well because their texture changes (like humous, or bananas). They are still safe to eat. Things that are risky or dangerous are things that have been frozen before such as raw meat that's then been defrosted, but even that can be frozen again after it's been cooked. Sometimes things like New Zealand lamb have been commercially frozen and because that's a very quick process, the label may say they can be refrozen. Check the label on pre-frozen meats if you want to freeze them.

But squash - yes, I'd go for it, if you've got the freezer space. If it's just for a week or two, or even longer, the best before date is about optimum condition not safety: the product will go on being safe to drink but might loose quality - so in the short term don't feel it needs to be frozen by the date on the bottle.

Paspatur

@oceandreamer -  Brandy snaps?

LotsOfTea

I managed to make a start on using up the freezer stuff by using a packet of frozen felafels in some wraps with hummus and salad over the last couple of days. Sadly they were a bit dry but that's my own fault as they've been in the freezer far too long. Once I get the freezers emptied I'm going to start putting dates on things so I don't leave them in too long.

Cairnpapple

Out: 2 portions pork red curry, one plain mini naan and one coriander mini naan (each the last in its packet) and, joy of joys, the last pineapple ice lolly from last summer which has been bugging me (I dislike pineapple so had to wait for spouse to eat it).

I think we might be getting towards that 75% full across both freezers? At which point I will buy a meat pack from a local farm which will fill us up again.

oceandreamer

Yes that's them @Paspatur! Not really the texture you want for pastry.  Out today was what I hope was the last pack of sausages (hurray) I'm not even that fond of sausages so why I can never leave a reduced pack where it is I don't know!

Auntycaz

Cherryfudge said:

Auntycaz said:

Does anyone know if you can freeze Robinsons double concentrated squash please.? 

I haven't tried it but I'd imagine it would freeze really well. There might be considerations such as whether to divide it up (if there's a lot) if you aren't likely to use it all at once, and when it defrosts it might need a good shake because the water might separate from the 'solids'. I can't think of any safety reasons not to freeze it and if you aren't going to get through it in short order, what's to lose by freezing? Even freeze in an ice cube tray if you just want to get one drink's worth out at a time.

Most foods seem to freeze, but some don't freeze well because their texture changes (like humous, or bananas). They are still safe to eat. Things that are risky or dangerous are things that have been frozen before such as raw meat that's then been defrosted, but even that can be frozen again after it's been cooked. Sometimes things like New Zealand lamb have been commercially frozen and because that's a very quick process, the label may say they can be refrozen. Check the label on pre-frozen meats if you want to freeze them.

But squash - yes, I'd go for it, if you've got the freezer space. If it's just for a week or two, or even longer, the best before date is about optimum condition not safety: the product will go on being safe to drink but might loose quality - so in the short term don't feel it needs to be frozen by the date on the bottle.

Thank's @Cherryfudge. I don't drink squash myself but I got it in when DD and her partner came to stay. She usually takes it home with her but must have forgotten this time. I've put it in the freezer but didn't think to separate it into smaller portions and it was already frozen solid when I read your reply.