About that freezer below the fridge...
Every other Friday, I post about my food waste. I started doing this back in 2008 to help motivate me, and I've kept up the habit ever since (mainly because I still need the accountability!)
You know how I did that freezer challenge last fall?
And remember how my freezer was looking AWESOME afterward?
Well, uh...
It's gotten a wee bit out of control again.
I haven't taken all the contents out and logged them yet, but I think it's gonna need to happen. More on that in the coming week.
(I know. Such a riveting promise. Try to be patient.)
On the upside, though, I didn't have anything to throw away this week.
(!!!!)
And my fridge isn't even in scary shape either.
I've got a few leftovers in there, but I think we'll get through those just fine.
And the vegetable situation isn't TOO dire, although I really, really do need to cook that broccoli rabe from my produce box.
So. Fridge is good, freezer is not so good.
But I'm gonna work on that.
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How'd things go on the food waste front at your house? Tell us! and/or link us up if you blogged about food waste.
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P.S. I'm gonna be back this afternoon for a fun giveaway that'll help you get your photos off your phone and into a little photo book. So, pop back in later!
I feel like the freezer is a lot harder to keep clean and organized . Or maybe that's just the excuse I tell myself. Last night I bought fish only to realize I already had two packs in there.
It makes sense that the freezer is harder - we spend less time in there and most of them aren't optimized for easy viewing. On the plus side, frozen food doesn't go bad very much.
It rarely takes me more than a few minutes to inventory and organize the fridge freezer. The chest freezer ... well, that's another matter. I have some things that are hard to eat up, too: a lot of weird smoked pig parts (ear, foot) to throw into beans, half a belly that may become something fancy or may become more bacon, 3 c. ham fat, cornmeal that was ground before my eyes but I don't eat much of,...
As we were on vacation we had a mostly empty fridge before and still mostly do. We just ate some eggs that were about a week past their date (eggs tend to dry out before they go rotten and almost never go rotten in the fridge unless you leave them there forever.)
I did have to throw out a dollop of cream cheese that molded while we were away, though.
Our freezer is out of control! In fact, instead of shopping next week, I think we're just going to raid the freezer until it's empty so I can clean it and restock with easy crock pot meals. That's my plan...No sense in buying more to fill it up further!
With our large family the freezer is so much more difficult to keep organized than the fridge. Mine is like a booby trap. You have to be prepared when you open the door to catch items that have a way of popping out at you. Not that things always do--only when you aren't expecting it. We have a chest freezer in the basement, but even with that, our small freezer over the fridge is always very full. Too much to put into too small and open of a space and too many people digging around and "reorganizing" when looking for something that is inevitably at the bottom, back of the freezer. It feels like a losing battle at times...
Yes. I'm so bad at this!
My plan is to do a freezer challenge and then to add a freezer photo as a regular feature on Food Waste Friday. I think that might help me to do better at maintaining a clean freezer.
Woo hoo! No food waste is awesome. I am impressed. Can't wait to hear about the freezer.
Here is how we did: http://wp.me/p4yT07-1lp
Looking on the positive side, the good thing about the freezer being unorganized is that the food isn't going to spoil while it's in there. If the fridge is all out of order, then there is a much bigger chance of having lots of food waste!
This is true. Although after some months, I find that food in a self-defrosting freezer starts to taste funky, so that's why I think I should get on this sooner rather than later.
How I wish for a no waste week! I was thwarted this week again, but I did manage to save some items, including sour milk, thanks to some of my readers' help! http://imperfectlyfrugally.blogspot.com/2015/04/food-waste-friday.html
About the freezer... what a coincidence! I rearranged mine this morning while looking for the pork chops that I'm planning on cooking for dinner and why is it that I always end up with LESS room after I rearrange it than when everything was just thrown in there pell-mell? I had inventoried my freezer 2 months ago (which led to my being able to spend only $50 a week on food for my family of 4 since early February) but, as I have been making menus 4 weeks out and buying more items that I froze without updating the inventory, I need to do it all over again.
Mercy... This week was absolutely horrible for food waste over here. I had SO MANY leftovers that didn't get eaten because I went to visit family for 5 days...and the husband went out to eat instead of eating them. Ugh...at least a new week means a new start. 🙂
Yes! I love that...clean out the fridge, start fresh, and try again.
Hi Kristen- broccoli rabe tends to be sandy and gritty; sometimes it needs a good rinse AND a brief soak in cold water!
Once thoroughly dried ( salad spinner or towel work well) we live it sautéed with fresh garlic and olive oil. I love leftovers on a crispy till with a little melted cheese.
Oy! Roll, not rill!!
I too have trouble keeping the freezer organized (should I say freezerS, since I have the above fridge + 2 chest freezers...). But you know what? This is a great problem to have, it means I actually have a lot of food in my house. If the freezer was bare and I did not have the money to fill it, this would be a problem. Gratitude, gratitude!
Have a great day!
Good luck on the freezer! We are going to eat mostly from our freezer this week - the only things I plan to buy are fresh fruits/veggies.
We had lots of food leftover from Easter dinner (I guess I thought I was cooking for 25 instead of 12!) and have eaten most everything. I had quite a bit of pea salad left, (the kind with peas, onions & cheese cubes) so I decided to make a casserole out of it. I put the salad in a colander and rinsed all the dressing off. Then I added some cream soup and heated it in the microwave for a few minutes to melt the cheese. Stirred it all up, topped it off with french-fried onions and popped it in the oven for a few minutes. We ate half of it and then I froze the other half. But no waste! 🙂
I had a clean out week and got rid of some old stuff! I've never heard of broccoli rabe... I love hearing about your produce box! I still think it's such a neat idea 🙂
http://thelauxhomestead.com/2015/04/10/food-waste-friday-41015/
Wasted: nothing. I think.
At Risk:
- Half a bouquet of cilantro, intended for kefke that I haven't made yet.
- Scallions, purchased by my roommate ... right before he left for 10 days vacation. (Yes, I made fun of him for this).
Save:
- Using the last of the french toast batter to make a sort-of crepe. The CI version has flour in it, otherwise it would have been a sort-of omelet.
Found a waste: 1 c. cottage cheese, that went bad.
I had to throw out two tomatoes with a few black mold spots. Leftovers are usually used up, but I really need to check the vegetables every week. Our freezer is fine. I really try to use up all leftovers because I know if I freeze them, I will forget about them/have to keep track of them. Great job on no food waste this week!
In case you need a recipe for your broccoli rabe, try this:
http://www.pappardellespasta.com/recipes/whole-wheat-garlic-fettuccine-broccoli-rabe-sauce
It is SO good! (With regular fettucine ... no need to buy the fancy stuff.) Quick, easy, delicious. Add some browned italian sausage or pan seared herbed chicken if you have diners in need of meat to complete the meal.
I had a terrible food week. Both my husband and I have been sick, me (aka the chef) for a full week. So much produce to throw away. I actually tried to eat some food out of the freezer, but it was so iced over I ended up tossing it out. It hadn't even been there for very long! The cheapie fridge/freezer at our apartment has the habit of eating our food much more quickly than our old fridge. Thankfully, we are both now starting to feel better. I'm ready for some home-cooked food again!
I'm suprised it took me so long to notice... but I have the same fridge ands requiring a bit of cleaning as well.