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

LotsOfTea

I've finally got to the stage where I can defrost the freezer! It's not empty but everything fits in the cool box so I've started that process this morning. Getting everything out to put in the coolbox also made me see exactly what was left to use up so that's good. I've taken out a bag of broccoli and will be making some soup for lunch with it and I also took out a pack of sausages, a pack of butter, some banana and chocolate cake and 3 packs of cheese. I think I can easily find uses for all of those things in the near future! 

We used up some burgers from the freezer over the weekend and the veggie ones had gone a bit dry from being in the freezer too long. I know there's a few more packs left in there so I might start chopping them up and adding them to stir fries as I think it won't matter so much then. I'm going to continue using up all the old stuff after the defrost and restock after that.

Cherryfudge

Well done for that @LotsOfTea! Good idea to try veggie burger bits in a stir fry - waste not, want not.

I've taken a pack of onion bhajis out of our freezer to have with some gammon on the basis that onion and gammon work together, though we'll have to see about the spices. Unfortunately I have to fill some of the resulting space as we're almost out of peas.

Rebelle333

Cherryfudge said:

Hi @Rebelle333 and welcome! You definitely have the basis for a good few meals in your freezer! If I were you and depending on your circumstances, I'd leave the easy wins (batch cooked meals) in there for busy days and focus on the more complex things on less pressured days. Are you feeding your self or several people?

Hi @Cherryfudge, thanks for the welcome!

I've been eating out of the freezer since Christmas! I'm amazed I've got this far & there's still so much in it. 

I have added more meals to the freezer as I batch cooked yesterday- I did use 1kg mince beef, 9 sausages & a bag of mixed chillies from the freezer... but back into the freezer went 8 portions of spicy ragu & 6 portions of sausage & mixed bean chilli!

I work full time & am doing night school too until May, so easy meals will come in handy! The majority of the time it's just me at home, I have a friend who works away a lot but stays here an odd night or weekend when he's home. He'll often buy takeaway for dinner, which I don't mind at all!

Tonight it's breakfast for dinner. 1/2 pack of potato cakes out of the freezer, 2 slices of black pudding & 2 slices of bacon back in.

I'm thinking I need to do a cupboard inventory to go with the freezer one.. it'll help me plan meals better & I need to clear out my cupboards anyway ready for moving.

Cherryfudge

How are you all doing or are the freezers gaining weight again? Mind is about static, with some small wind by me.

We are both recovering from some virus that's depleted our energy, then yesterday we had new flooring put into the kitchen, so it's been chaotic. Such a relief that most of the appliances are now back in place! We are currently checking that electricity and water are going where they should. It's all a very tight fit (1930s galley kitchen) so this isn't easy.

Meanwhile the fridge freezer is still in the lounge, where the carpet has dulled the sound so much we thought it had broken. Pulling it out showed me we have lots of jars in there which need to be eaten or binned. I'm very tempted to throw out a batch of homemade jam that didn't go well and has virtually no merit. DH won't eat it and I don't enjoy it and the set, even with added pectin, is so poor that I can't very well give it away!

Having the freezer out also gives prime access to the larder shelves which are normally partly obscured so I think I need to take the opportunity to pull all the contents out, clean and assess. The emergency cupboard (upstairs) is more or less full and the tins cupboard (kitchen) is a mess, while the upper cupboards aren't too bad but I don't really know what's in there.

I've come to the conclusion I have food clutter.

We won't make many inroads today as we're getting fish and chips: tradition, ease and the cooker isn't yet back in place.

I've probably explained before that DH is (medically) intolerant of certain foods and both of us have our preferences. He also buys things that we eat often, whereas I buy because something looks interesting or is a bargain, hence my food clutter problem. I've learned that yellow stickers aren't often my friend as I buy too much. However, that leaves me with the issue of reducing it and the first step is awareness of what I have.

Wish me luck, and if I don't emerge in a reasonable time, please send coffee.

rtandon27

OK - you've been at it for 3 hours now - * hands @Cherryfudge a large steaming coffee * - hope the stock take has gone well.

I've had a tidy of our stores and pitched some sad oranges which had turned into penicillin.  I'm not heartbroken over them as they were a freebie & now I know why!  The stock up of dried fruit and nuts have been decanted into glass jars with the dregs of the old ones brought to the front for OH to use up in his porridge.

Have you thought of using the failed jam as an ice cream sundae topping?  A bit of runny jam over plain ice cream, sliced bananas and crushed nuts.  It's decadent without being too unhealthy!

Cherryfudge

Thanks for the coffee - most welcome.

The ice cream sundae is a lovely idea thanks! It will be all mine unless I get DH some vegan ice cream but that won't stop me. (I might even get some for DH too). I will try to remember on Monday as by then there will be a tiny bit more room in the freezer as I'm doing chicken chasseur again tomorrow using frozen chicken and mushrooms. I finished up some cauliflower the other day too.

The stock take hasn't really got anywhere so far, oops. After lunch I got as far as changing my jumper and putting laundry on, then allowed myself to be side tracked.

I will see what I can do.

Cherryfudge

1) Yes, we have enough cups thanks. 
2) A few items were shoved in here to make moving other things possible so it's not 100% as full as it looks. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Cherryfudge

Re-emerging with an update: today I finished a small jar of sauce and some coffee. The fridge freezer is still in the lounge as I'm making slow progress on those larder shelves. Still recovering from a busy day yesterday, so energy needs lots of topping up but two larder shelves are done and a third is on the way. There's less OOD than I thought, which is good news, but it's possible more will emerge. I had some inspiration about using a lower shelf for spare water bottles which will make the upper cupboards easier to use.

I have a feeling that when future archaeologists dig down to this layer of history, they will dub it the water bottle layer and speculate that they must have had ritual significance.

LotsOfTea

I like your mug hooks @Cherryfudge - that's a really good use of space! Well done for all the sorting out, it takes ages but it really helps to know what you've actually got. 

After defrosting my freezer (yes!) I'm carrying on trying to use up the old stuff from there and yesterday we had something that was just labelled 'curry' for lunch with some hm naan. It was ok but nothing to write home about. Today I've taken out some puff pastry as I'm making a pea, mozzarella and lemon tart for lunch with some sweet potato wedges and broccoli on the side. I've made it before and so far DS has not liked it but apparently it can take 10 tries for a kid to start liking a new dish so I'm having another go! 

I'm also still on a mission to use up the old tins in the pantry and DH has been helping by having a tuna salad for his lunch a couple of times while I've been at work. I've been using up the tinned fruit with Greek yogurt, oats and seeds for my breakfast. I started a tin of cherry pie filling this week and stirred into the yoghurt it tasted just like the Ski black cherry yoghurts we had as kids. I mean, I say Ski, it was the Tesco version but you know what I mean! 

Cherryfudge

Thank you @LotsOfTea, I have to be creative with space (and I just found another two mugs!!) but the hooks work well on such deep shelves. I've also decided to look at kitchen turntables for the areas that are hard to reach when the fridge freezer is in place.

You seem to be making good use of the tins (and well done for defrosting): the breakfasts sound really nice. I love cherry pie filling but I never thought of adding it to yogurt.