A freezer bummer
I have a freezer loss to share this week, and it's the worst kind: meat.
Before we get to that, here's the group of freezer stuff I started with a week ago:
I'll get the loss outta the way first: the chicken.
I opened it and thought, "Hmm, the texture on the surface of the chicken feels a little weird."
I salted the thighs, though, and left them in the fridge overnight, just to see.
Well, I opened the container the next morning, and whew, the smell was strong enough for me to know the chicken was clearly bad.
I did not return it to the store; I bought the chicken a while back and had promptly thrown it in the freezer. So it's impossible to go back and say, "This was bad!"
I think in the future, when I buy meat markdowns, I'm going to open the package when I get home just to do a sniff test. That way I can bring it back if it's bad.
Anyway, this chicken hit the trash. Food poisoning is a terrible experience, and in my opinion, it is not worth the risk.
I did use the whole bag of cranberries by making some cranberry bread.
A friend saw this picture and said, "You should put 'oven door cleaning' on your to-do list." Ha.
Adequately shamed (ha!), I scrubbed it down with an SOS pad:
It's looking better now, but unfortunately, some of the funk is inside the panes of glass and is unreachable. So this is as good as it's gonna get.
Luckily bread still turns out fine, even if the door isn't perfectly clean. 😉
If you read Friday's post, you know I used the flatbread and the mozzarella for BBQ chicken pizza:
I used the gnocchi in a pot of soup; I based it loosely on this chicken gnocchi soup, but since my chicken was bad, I used some marked-down hot Italian sausage from my freezer.
I also used some of the broth I made last week (yay me!), and since some of those chicken carcasses were the mango habanero sort, the broth was a little spicy too.
The soup was so good! I had it for dinner one night and then also packed it in my lunch for two days. That was a solid freezer challenge win.
So, the only thing I didn't get to was the tomato sauce, and that's no big deal.
Next week's challenge foods
My chest freezer is looking gooooood. I might only need one more challenge week after this one!
Here's what I pulled out for this week:
I found more bread cubes, so, hmm, I can either make some croutons, or more baked French toast. Decisions, decisions.
The jerky is a bag from Sam's Club (I think), and it was at the very bottom of the freezer. I didn't even know it was there!
But now I do, so I will slowly chip away at it when I need a little protein-heavy pick-me-up.
I think I will make a chickpea salad for my work lunches this week so I can use the edamame.
The Ziploc bag holds frozen peaches (which I sliced and froze, using marked-down bruised peaches), and I will just use those in smoothies.
The marked-down ground meat...maybe I will use it to make some spaghetti and meatballs.
And then lastly, I have three pita breads, which I'm guessing are going to be pretty dry. My first inclination is to use them for some scrambled egg wraps, but if they're too dry even for that, maybe I will try making some pita chips.
How are your freezer efforts going?
Have you gotten inspired to join us? Let us know what you've been using up.
And as always...thank you for following along with my freezer challenge. Knowing I'm gonna report back to you guys is really keeping me on track. 🙂
Hey, at least the oven door was vaguely transparent. It was practically opaque before I cleaned mine recently!
I just have a freezer shelf but this has reminded me that I still need to buy and chop some ginger for the freezer. Also, sugar-free September is almost over so I can eat the cookies I put in there at the beginning of the month. Somehow I don't think that will be an issue;)
Few of us struggle to use up cookies. Ha.
Your soup looks good!
We have been chipping away at our stay too. I have pitched a few very freezer burnt things, but mostly have been using stuff that got buried. Thanks for the inspiration!
I've almost worked my way through our stock of frozen okra from LAST gardening season! Pro tip: One okra plant (it's self-fertile) produces plenty for two people. Last year, I in my excitement and ignorance planted two! Seven pounds down, three to go. 😛
N, I wish you could ship me some of your frozen okra. I love okra, but I quit growing it years ago because (a) the critters consider it the ultimate salad and (b) it doesn't do that well in Central NY anyway. So I'm reduced to buying it at the Regional Market during its eyeblink of a season here, and buying frozen "bhindi" at the India Bazaar the rest of the time.
Would that I could! Okra is fairly critter proof in our zone, and it thrives in our armpit/hot/humid summers.
A very successful week!
Does the glass not come out of the door? I never knew they did this but many do, or on some you can swiff up the inside from the bottom. (I know this and have not cleaned mine at all, now that I own my flat and no longer need to have landlord inspections!)
I went through my freezer and mainly tidied it. Chucked some potstickers of dubious antiquity and established we own a lot of frozen strawberries. Also my partner has eaten all the mini icecreams!
I don't actually know! It's several layers of glass and I've assumed that it's pretty sealed. Hmm. Maybe I should investigate.
If you find out how to clean between the glass layers (without performing oven surgery) let me know since ours looks the same way.
This looks similar to the door shown, so you may need the swiffer up from the bottom method.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzdRBcXFhsc
You may be able to find the manual online. Whenever we get a new appliance, we check online and dowload the manual. And then discard the paper one. We used to keep a very large box of manuals, so frustrating to look through.
You can Google how to clean between the glass door panes - I have done it. It takes 2 sets of hands to avoid dropping/breaking the glass. It’s not difficult really.
I am always amazed at how it gets so nasty.
My 4 month old son chose the moment I was stirring at the stove to spit up, and it landed directly in the vents at the top of the oven door. Hence, a spit up streak in between the two glass panes. I had to perform oven surgery to clean it, and it was certainly not my preferred deep cleaning task.
This week I used up a bag of figs for jam, a bag of prebrowned italian sausage and some frozen tortellini for soup, a few bell peppers and sausage for jambalaya, and some hamburger meat.
I consider my freezer situation to be pretty much under control, now that FE (my younger friend who is my future executor) has come over and claimed his first installment on my 1/4 steer. He's my main man for soup bones and short ribs, and he also took this year's brisket (the biggest I've ever seen), with which he intends to try making pastrami!
So I'm working now on using up produce before I have to add it to the compost bucket--something I've been doing too often lately. Even after 5+ years of living alone, I still haven't quite gotten the hang of this shopping-for-one thing--and I also tend to buy what our dear late Lindsey called "aspirational produce" (stuff I think I ought to be eating but don't).
“Aspirational produce”. I too am guilty of purchasing this.
Is it the same jerky as from this post a few years ago?
https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/chest-freezer-update-the-flank-steak-story/
I have a few ideas for the pitas:
- pan-fried sandwiches, such as for grilled cheese;
- soak in sauce then heat/broil/grill/pan-fry, as done for chaquilles; or
- soften by getting them a bit wet them microwaving them under close supervision, removing them when they puff up.
Oh man, I got nervous that it was, but I clicked on the link and no, it's different jerky. Whew. lol
A pita grilled cheese is an interesting idea! Would you split them first?
I would, yes. Moisten and nuke so they're soft enough to split, then fill and grill.
Pizza crust is also an option.
With friends like those, who needs enemies? 🤣 (re: oven door).
We definitely need a freezer challenge, but hubby is in charge of all the cooking (yes, I'm extremely lucky). We will see when I can get around to helping with it. With a 6yo, 3yo, and 1yo, we have a lot on our plate!
I was thinking the same thing about the friend and the oven door, Carla. Heaven help me if she, or someone similar, ever looks at mine--which is a proudly grimy testament to the sign on my kitchen wall: "Martha Stewart doesn't live here." 😛
"I'm sorry, I actually use my oven" lol
My better half does all the cooking and grocery shopping too. The total sum of what he has for us re: eating up the freezer is a whopping six small containers of leftovers.
This was my second week of not making a solid meal plan and not going grocery shopping. I made a list of all the meals I could make using what we have in the freezer. It worked well last week and has chipped away at our upstairs freezer (our basement freezer is only for our 1/4 cow). Our CSA has ensured we have some fresh fruit and veggies for balance.
That happened to me -- the gunk inside the panes of glass. I dismantled the door and then dropped the glass shattering it into a thousand pieces. I ended up getting a new stove, because this one was too old to be worth repairing.
So don't do that. I probably couldn't have continued to use that stove for quite a while with a dirty door.
My freezer challenge has stalled. I did cook two chicken patties, but they were relatively new. I need to get to stuff deeper down.
I mean, I probably COULD have continued to use the stove....
Bahahaha, yes, this is exactly what I would be terrified of. And it's a wall oven, and I think I remember those are pretty pricey to replace. Plus I'm in a rental so I'd have to pay for an oven and then not even own it!
Ugh. That happened to me once with a glass refrigerator shelf I took out to clean. Expensive to replace!
My oven door has dust between the glass panes but I have no desire to try to take it apart 🫤
Got through some frozen chicken tenders, random frozen veggies, and a French toast ban of bread odds & ends. And I also added several containers of homemade chili sauce (from fresh garden tomatoes) to the freezer for winter.
I used to follow an appliance repair tech on socials and she extremely strongly advised against dismantling / removing the over door to clean the glass panes because putting them back is actually a very precise task that requires proper training, despite what people on YouTube would show you. And even if it looks like the door has been put back perfectly, the risk of fire or the glass slipping and breaking is really high.
PS : I’m not blaming frugal DIYers on YouTube/socials at all here, they’re a very helpful resource, but when it comes to some appliances that can set your kitchen on fire, caution should prevail.
Well, that's even more reason for me not to add this to my to-do list. Ha.
Ok, you've twisted my arm to leave our oven door "seasoned". Thanks!! 🙂
Wth many oven doors, the glass can be removed and cleaned on all sides. But, and it's a BIG but, it is not a one person job. I have done it one time and decided to live with a not perfectly clean glass forever more.
My big freezer challenge dish this week was a batch of Jamie Oliver's Freezer Raid Fish Pie that used up a bag of fish filets that had been lingering in the freezer and making next month's batch of wet food for my little dog with the delicate digestion. Her food used up the last of a bag each of frozen green beans, frozen carrots, and a chunk of frozen pumpkin puree, along with two pound of diced very lean pork bought for her and the last of some rice from the pantry.
The Jamie Oliver recipes called for a leek, so I subbed in a chopped large green onion from the garden that was in the freezer.
While the dog food was cooling down before putting it into freezer cartons, I defrosted the freezer. When it was ready to be reloaded, I put all the opened bags of vegetables in one basket so that I can find them and use them up.
That is good to know. Zoe and I will not tackle this project, then, especially since my oven is in a rather dark corner of the kitchen and we barely look through the window anyway!
your oven window is a lot larger than mine. But i use magic eraser on my tiny window. sorry about your chicken but no one immune from mistakes. my poor hubby spent 5 hours with me at bellevue emergency and then another few hours with buddy at emergency vet care with our cockapoo buddy. he had his usual vomiting and diarrhea with blood. turns out cockapoos are known for these issues. thank g-d we both all good now. but hubby has a worrisome thing on his nose. it has been biopsied, but we don't find out what is for two weeks.
have had vertigo for two weeks and bellevue thinks it is related to my heart. so now i have to add a cardiologist to my crew. not happy about that at all. i know it is stress related.
Putting you + hubby on my list. Hope this week is smoother.
thanks so much. could you add buddy, please? today he looks half dead and he hasn't eaten anything. last night the first thing he did was head to his dish but the vet said not to feed him.
Best wishes to all of you for better times ahead, Anita--including Buddy. And I also hope that you all weren't affected by the nor'easter.
Thanks. We cancelled plans and it was not so bad. I spent Sunday at Bellevue in the ER for myself. Terrible vertigo for 2 whole weeks even with meds. I so wish we could meet irl. you write so well, have such a great view of life and you ae the bestesd (I know that is not a word) neighbor in the universe. Anyway, your greetings are much appreciated.
Goodness, you guys have had a rough week! I'm glad you all are ok now.
Thank you. Is Lisey coming to visit?
She was here for a very brief visit over the weekend but now she's back at training. 🙂
how wonderful was that. Is it private or will it appear here in some form? my tremor is pretty awful these days. Sorry for the million error in my posts. I am so glad you have this corner of the web.
Wishing you all good reults, and improved health!
thanks, most of all our budster. he is only four and a half years old.
I'm not doing great with it but your posts are inspiring me to keep trying. This week I commit to:
-make two smoothies to use up some frozen produce
-make edamame for a snack
That’s too bad about the chicken. I had the experience of buying a bad turkey and figuring out it was bad on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving! I’m so happy I checked before the day of.
I always repackage meat before I freeze it, since we are empty nesters and it’s nice to be able to pull a few chicken thighs, or half a pound of ground beef out of the freezer. Less food waste that way.
several YouTube videos on how to clean that inside glass!
https://youtube.com/shorts/3R1R138WKuw?is=7dvYl9eWMrujmn8u
Well you've encouraged me to tackle the freezers. I've managed to get the inside one down to a manageable level, but the outside one still needs some work. Its where I store all my meat, so that one will take a bit more time. I did spend sunday processing all the summer tomatoes I froze and made sauce. It did end up back in the freezer, but I'm much more likely to use it that way then in its whole frozen form!
In the veg & fruit freezer I found a spatchcock turkey, vacuum packed, from last year. So the breast and thighs are brining, the rest is roasting for tetrazzini for community dinner Wednesday. The breast & thighs will be smoked and sliced for the sandwich station we are planning for a funeral this week.
I use Dawn power wash + a magic eraser for oven doors.
Found three bitty bags of nuts, added to the granola that is baking right now.
I also have some gnocchi to use up and had already decided to try the same recipe. I just need to pick up some celery before I can make it. Fall has arrived here in the PNW and a bowl of soup for dinner is in order.
I have 3 frigerator-freezers full of food! My partner and I keep a spreadsheet for the inventory, but we also do mystery shops and get a free CSA box weekly, so we often just need to eat the food that we are getting weekly, and the stuff in the freezer gets left. BUT, between you and Non-Consumer Advocate, I've been trying to consciously use some things from the freezers:
1. Chicken pozole: used from freezer: pack of chicken thighs, 2 quarts of homemade chicken, a handful of chopped onions, and 2 bags of shredded zucchini (this last one is a break from the recipe, but I think it will be fine).
2. A lemon juice cube for making a batch of strawberry jam
3. A pound of ground pork, for pork banh mi burgers.
------------
At the same time, INTO the freezer:
1. a large batch of caramelized onions, including 2 bags of chopped onions that I had in the freezer. These will all be used for a Christmas Eve French onion soup lunch for 20.
2. A quart of tomato sauce that I tried to can but did not seal
3. A bag of chopped poblano peppers; peppers came in CSA and we will not use before going bad.
I believe you can remove the screws from the inside door front and lift the glass to clean the outside glass, if you are really into it🥴
With your oven turned off, you might want to try cleaning your oven with a long-handle brush and using a washcloth to cover the bristles.
Too bad about the chicken, but better thrown out. I hope it did not leave a smell in the fridge?
We restocked after our trip, and made sure to eat eldest sausages first. Also we took ginger and lemon juice from the freezer, as I will make chutney this week.
Last week I made turkey broth with a turkey carcass and celery from the freezer, plus some herb and vegetable odds and ends. We had frozen meatballs with spaghetti. I ate the last serving of some old peppermint ice cream. And, I made raspberry crumble bars with some frozen raspberries. I still have plenty of odds and ends left.
This week I'm planning to make soup with the broth I made last week; make muffins with the rest of the frozen, mashed sweet potato; make a quiche with some diced ham; eat a lonely hot pocket; eat the serving of wintermint ice cream that's been there a while; and make meatball subs to use up some more frozen meatballs.
We're on day 4 of cool and rainy so soup is sounding appealing.
I am not taking part in the freezer challenge, because the only freezer I have is the small one above the fridge. My HB says he would buy me a chest freezer for the basement, but I know that all food I put in that freezer would die a slow death. Meaning I will never go down to the basement to check in the freezer, I am visual, the freezer has to be where I am cooking (main floor). The small one above the fridge suits me fine; due to space limits, I limit what I put in said freezer. It works well for me. I keep a running list of contents on the side of my fridge, and cross off as I use up items.
As for the glass in the oven door: my sisters housekeeper comes and cleans my house when she has a cancellation. She is very popular and has a waiting list. For the glass in the oven door, I see her using an (old style) razor blade to scrape off the gunk. I think she sprays the glass with a cleaner first and lets it sit for a while to soften the gunk, and then uses the razor blade to scrape the gunk off. It works well. (p.s. To explain: I am the worlds worst housekeeper, and so this is one luxury I splurge for; like Kristen splurges for a yard mowing service. Needs must.)
As a household of 2, I usually either put entire pkg of meat in a vacuum sealer bag with extra length (will reuse after opening since never directly touched raw meat) or divide larger packages into meal size packets and vacuum seal. The divided packages are less bulky that original and more efficient for two. I can always take out multiples if needed.
I buy generic sealer film online in large rolls and do not fret about not recycling the ones that touch raw meat.
My shameful dirty oven story: After we’d had the oven about 10 years, we got in a specialist cleaner that my mother-in-law recommended. I remember him, a few minutes in, saying “you haven’t got a light, that’s unusual”. Several minutes later, after some serious scrubbing, he said “oh … you do have a light after all”. Cue me cringing and exiting the kitchen for some made-up reason (but really to find him a chunky cash tip, cos he was there a long time).
Much of my focus has been on using up fresh produce this week but the freezer was involved in a few things. Whenever I have brown bananas, I peel them, cut them into chunks, and stash in a mason jar in the freezer. When it's time to make a smoothie or banana bread, I just need to thaw. Made smoothies with the bananas and other frozen fruit from the store. I store walnuts in the freezer so they don't go rancid, and I transferred some of those to another mason jar on an open shelf above where we prep food and use them in oatmeal, salads, baked items, etc. I also grab a handful to snack on now and then. (I figure since a walnut half looks like a brain, then they must be good for my brain.) Thawed a bun and heated up a frozen veggie burger for lunch one day. Thawed two quarts of veggie broth that I made a week or so ago; used that as the water for brown rice. Cooked some frozen broccoli to use in a pasta dish. Love-love-love reading everyone's comments and getting inspiration!
I figured out how to open the oven door to clean between the glass panels, but I was scared of breaking something the whole time! I admired my work and then thought "well I'll never do that again".
When we have leftover tomato sauce, I freeze it in the big ice cube trays--we have 1/3 and 1/2 cup sizes. A single cube can be used for a small pizza (even English Muffin Pizzas), added to broth for a single serving of tomato soup, or just added to enrich a soup, part of another sauce that contains tomatoes, etc. Also the cubes thaw faster than the larger amount in a jar if you're going to put it on pasta.
I don't know...I just used up some cookies this week that I made last Christmas. They were still good!
Oops, this was supposed to be a reply to Kristen's comment about cookies.
Oh yikes, that chicken story is sad! Proteins are definitely a spendy item to have to go to waste, huh. (And sounds pretty gross as well) Welp, you definitely inspired me to put the chicken breasts I *just* bought with the rapidly upcoming "Sell-By" date STRAIGHT INTO MY FREEZER!! But hang in there, though - you're doing pretty awesome at your freezer challenges!
Haha, yes, chicken is not to be played with. I take meat safety pretty seriously!
I've been inspired to continue my own little freezer challenge. I ate all the banana slices in my freezer. I made smoothies with avocado and spinach, also from the freezer. I'm happy to know this is an easy way to use bananas and so I'll always be able to make smoothies. I now have 2 sweet bananas that I'm going to freeze later today. So, a new routine is born!
Yay you! It's so satisfying to use up what you already have on hand.
Thank you, it is! 🙂