Freezer Challenge, Week 6 | the squash is ALL gone.
Geez. I can't believe I'm in week 6 of this already! Thanks for following along on my freezer adventures and giving me lots of great use-it-up ideas.
You all are the best.
Last Week's Food
Alrighty! Here's what I started with last week.
I used the bananas to make banana bread.
We had the breakfast sausage for dinner last night along with pancakes and orange juice.
On your suggestions, I steamed the butternut squash and pureed it.
And then I used it to make pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, subbing the butternut for the pumpkin.
I'd say these taste fairly similar to muffins made with pumpkin, but not quite as good.
My kids are still eating them, though, so I guess it's fine.
And I think I am all done finding bags of squash in my freezer now. Phew.
I used the cooked Italian sausage in a pan of stuffed shells, and I used the bread cubes to make a half batch of overnight French toast.
And lastly, I used the tomatoes to make a small batch of tomato sauce, which I will use in some way or another, maybe to top pizza.
I did not find a new home for the coffee creamer yet, and the tilapia fillets are still in the freezer.
But I'm very pleased that I used up almost everything from last week's list. Yay me!
This Week's Food
Here's what's facing me this week!
From left to right, we have:
- two partial packages of salmon (maybe I'll combine them with last week's tilapia!)
- the filling for Asian chicken wraps (easy to eat for lunch)
- a bag of whole wheat rolls and a partial bag of hot dog rolls (croutons? More French toast?)
- two big bags of beef bones (if we get a cool enough day, I can make broth)
- frozen collard greens (for smoothies)
- a jar of chicken broth
The freezer challenge is especially helpful for making me get through odds and ends I would otherwise ignore.
Like the salmon.
But the chicken broth and the beef bones? I know I'd get around to those eventually, especially in the colder months of the year.
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After this week, I think I really just have one more compartment to get through, but it's kind of a big one so it may take two weeks.
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Aaaaand after that, I may stretch this challenge out a little more because my kitchen freezer is stupid crowded right now and I know there are tons of odds and ends in there that should be used.
The squash is gone. Woot woot!
I can't believe it's been almost 6 weeks since you started the challenge, and there seems to be lots of food left. Do you think the challenge has helped cut down your grocery budget significantly? I know it definitely helped us do that 😉
Well, there hasn't been a huge different and I think that's largely because a lot of the food in my freezer was not main dish stuff. If I'd had a freezer chock full of meat, that would be one thing. But squash cubes and bananas and buns don't cut down on your bill a whole lot!
Good job - I love those kinds of personal challenges and I hate food waste!! Salmon will be easy to cook and eat up. The broth you could use as a base for some kind of soup? I feel like I should stop what I'm doing and go see whats in my own freezer to make menus for next week!
Use the chicken broth to make rice, instead of using water. Cut the hotdog buns in 1/2 and either use as mini slider rolls for whatever sandwich filling you desire (chicken salad/egg salad/tuna/sloppy joes?) or cut in half and then separate the bottom from the top, ending up with 4 squarish bits of bread. Now turn these into garlic buttered toast to accompany a meal. Use that tomato sauce and make a pasta dish, the garlic bread would go alongside nicely. You can cook all of that Salmon and use it in a variety of ways (I'd poach it, flake it): dilled Salmon salad, in quiche, in a pasta dish, Salmon stuffed shells in an alfredo sauce, Salmon cakes. or just cook one piece per person for fish supper night this week.
I use the hot dog rolls to make garlic bread by splitting into 2 (lengthwise), smother with garlic butter andsprinkle with parmesan, then broil.
We sometimes give our dogs frozen bones when it gwts very hot out. Perhaps a neighbors pet wpuld enjoy the treat?
So. I was doing a freezer challenge along with you intending to get seriously underway upon our return from vacation, during which we defrosted our refrigerator/freezer. We got back to a beautifully defrosted fridge/freezer in the kitchen, and once it was cooled we went to move some stuff from the chest freezer back to the kitchen freezer. I opened the lid, and it smelled different. Then I touched the meat. It was warm. And squishy. My freezer challenge is over. And I lost. I had so many plans for the meat and butter and cream and almond flour and whatever other unknown items were in there. But alas, they are headed to the dump now.
Ah well. Life happens. And we pick up and start again because that's all there is to do. No point in crying over spilled milk.
Oh my gosh, that's awful! I'm so sorry your chest freezer died on you...that is the worst.
You have my deepest sympathies. I know how much that hurts.
(A friend of mine lost breast milk in her freezer failure, long after she stopped nursing. That was spilt milk worth crying over.)
That is indeed something to cry about. I just realized I lost all of my yeast. We had purchased a bunch in bulk before our bulk store membership expired because making bread is my love language. I was going to make bread for my son's teachers tonight, and I'm yeastless!! Until this, I was okay with what we lost. But yeast? It is a sad day.
Ugh! Do you have a friend with a membership? Maybe they could pick you up some yeast.
Ooooh the remainder is a breeze compare to previous weeks!! Can't wait to see next week's update. You are a real pro at these clean outs - I love banana bread.
Beef bones belong with soup. Depending on the cut, although left unsure I wouldn't risk giving it to my dog.
Actually, canned pumpkin is often a blend of winter squashes. (Mind - blown!)
https://www.thekitchn.com/whats-actually-in-your-canned-pumpkin-puree-ingredient-intelligence-69123
I suppose the advantage of canned "pumpkin" is that the flavor has been balanced by the company putting it together.
I think that coffee creamer is shelf stable. I use it in my morning coffee every day. The best price I can find is at a store outside my frequently traveled stomping grounds. Once a year I go there and pick up creamer and other products I like from that store. I just store the creamer in my pantry.
I make bread pudding with frozen hot dog buns mixed with other types of frozen bread often. It's kinda nice to have different bread textures in there. My favorite has diced apples and pecans in it with a caramel sauce over top.
Bone broth idea — fill a crock pot or roaster oven and place it outside to cook so that it doesn't heat up the house.
Hot dog buns idea — this is something my husband's grandma used to do, so it's a sentimental favorite of ours, though not even remotely healthy. Thaw the buns, generously slather them with butter and cinnamon sugar, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, then turn the oven off. When everything is cool (don't accidentally preheat with them in there, ha), they are crisp and lovely pseudo rusks, perfect for dipping in coffee or tea.
The coffee creamer *might* be a substitute for sugar and milk in a cookie recipe. Or next time you're making french toast, add some of that into the liquid for sweetness. Or add to some hot chocolate?
I'm in week two of a freezer challenge right alongside of you and truly learning to be creative and whittling away at everything. No take-out or restarants for 2 weeks as well, so total win! Thanks for the motivation. Instead of photos, I just inventoried everything and look at the list everyday and before I do my weekly grocery shop. Love this!
I was shocked at how many bags of frozen organic green beans we have. I guess every time we go into the city, I buy a bag (along with peas and mixed veggies), and I just never noticed we weren't using them like we do the other veggies. We still haven't used them, but eating down our (on top of the fridge) freezer allowed me enough space to actually see what was in there. We also had two mostly used up bags of frozen spinach and two opened bags of peas. The peas have been finished! I should make an omelet or something with the spinach since there really isn't much of it. The kids don't like my standard green bean recipes (almondine, casserole) so I'll have to start putting them in as parts of other meals.
They're good in stir-fries, friend rice, pad thai, and soup as well. Or browned and seasoned; Alton Brown has nice techniques for this.
I steam green beans, let them cool, and sprinkle with a little salt and use balsamic vinegar as a dressing. Sometimes I use red vinegar and olive oil as a dressing.
Sadly, that is a no go for DC2, even without the almonds. And today I discovered DH bought a big bag of fresh green beans (but pre plastic bagged, so not really fresh—they’re actually a little icky), even though he’s sworn off snacking. (Why would he DO that?). I (washed, trimmed, and) cut some up for his salad today and tomorrow he can have them instead of chips for dipping queso. If they were better quality I would have vinaigretted them with the beets I did tonight, but I’m the only one who would eat them then.
Cinnamon toast baked is another idea. Just look up cinnamon toast on the pioneer woman’s website. Can you get freezer burned broth? It looked like that’s what happened to mine. I’m not sure though. The dog liked it!
I have so enjoyed this challenge even though I haven't done nearly as well as you with cleaning out my freeze. But I'm thankful for what I HAVE done. I think I'll keep going back again and again to your weekly posts of this challenge for inspiration. Thank you so very much.
I'm so glad it's been helpful!
This won't help with your freezer challenge, but I noticed you have some Martin's potato rolls. I love Martin's rolls (I think they're mostly an east coast thing.) But they're pretty pricy and I discovered that Dollar Tree sells potato rolls which are a pretty good substitute for about a third of the price of Martin's. In fact, DT has a great selection of bread which I never paid attention to but I now buy regularly.
Who knew? I'd never have thought to check, but I will if I am at a Dollar Tree soon. Thanks!
Thanks for the fantastic inspiration! I've gotten motivation to use up stuff from my own freezer, although not nearly to the professional frugal level you model! Also (joking but not) you reminded me not to buy butternut squash. It's one of the few healthy veggies I don't like, and neither does anyone in my household. But sometimes in a fit of over-optimism I convince myself I ought to try it again, and perhaps learn to like it. Nope! I end up tossing it and feeling guilty. So my frugal lesson is don't buy stuff you don't like to eat.
I use leftover bread pieces for strata. Throw in your pieces, plus savory things like sausage and cheese. Mix well. Add enough egg/milk mixture (1/4 cup of milk for each egg) to cover, and set it aside for an hour (or over night in fridge) so the egg mixture gets soaked up by the bread. Bake at 350 until done. I don't like sweet bread type deserts, but I love savory versions.
Yay for squash muffins!
My freezer challenge was actually this spring, to make room for the half-pig. We only have a small upright freezer, so it's now FULL and it would be quite the challenge to use it up now -- we would be eating pork 24/7.
This was a fun series, though. I think of it as "What can I do with....?" This gives me ideas for when I run across items that I don't remember putting up in the freezer.
I'm with others on making bone broth from the bones -- I have my crockpot making some now. I cook them for 24 hours, and the broth is nice and flavorful. I mix already cooked and uncooked bones that I've saved in the freezer, plus the meat clinging to the uncooked bones, some garlic, salt, spices of choice, and a touch of vinegar because they say that draws out the minerals into the broth. It's always good.
I also like bread pudding made from leftover rolls and such, or I did while I was still eating wheat. A little whiskey sauce on top, and yum.
When I was a kid, people in my area ate something called stewed tomatoes that was tomatoes cooked somehow with bread in a sort of soupy mixture. I don't know what the recipe was, but I remember it was considered a special dish. I suppose that would solve the issue of frozen bread and tomatoes, but personally, I'd just make tomato sauce and either garlic bread or bread pudding.
Were the people who made the stewed tomatoes with bread from Northern Italy? I lived in Tuscany for a short while and they make a very particular dish called pappa al pomodoro of tomatoes and bread.
No, they were mid-westerners of mostly German and some Irish descent. Maybe they picked it up from the German ancestors who got it from Italy?
You inspired me to do my own freezer challenge as well!
Kaitlin, any chance that your home insurance would help to cover the cost of the foodstuffs that you lost?
Maybe use some of the bread as binder for salmon/tilapia cakes?
While I was following along with your freezer challenge, I did not intend to join in.... until our frig died, and when I went downstairs to the upright freezer, I realized I had over shopped last fall and still had a 1/2 full freezer. In my defense, I have a bad leg, and only go down there a couple of times a year, and my husband is the silent type. So I have started cooking down. I don't have as many odds and ends as you do, more main meal options. So far I used up the ham steaks, a pork loin, and a turkey breast in the crockpot. It is really too hot for any baking or heating up the oven, but there is plenty of ice cream for floats, and baked goods for breakfast. Thanks for the inspiration.
Okay, so the squash is gone...but if you ever need to use up more squash, or another bag or two creep out at you, make this: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/special-dietary-needs/tomato-butternut-squash-soup-vegan/ It's one of my family's favorites (and I have it in the crockpot right now!). It's fantastic. I use the immersion blender and blend mine smooth, and it goes really well with grilled cheese.
This is so inspiring. I'm kind of trying to do the same thing, eating down my shelves and freezer in order to rotate stock. Groceries this week was basically just fresh stuff. Once it cools down, I'll make a list of stuff out in the garage freezer and work from there. 🙂
Oh man, those muffins look SO good! I'll have to remember that for when I'm overrun with pumpkin in the fall. 🙂 For the coffee creamer, is it a flavored one? Sometimes creamer can be used as a sub for milk in baking.
This week we're reaaally buckling down on expenses. We adjusted our student loan payoff to happen more quickly, which means we can't spend willy nilly.
Kristen
You can make an orange Julius with:
2 cups of Orange Juice
1/2 cup Coffee Mate powdered Creamer
2tsp vanilla
2 tbsp sugar
5-7 ice cubes
Mix together in blender
Love your freezer challenge! Motivates me to clean up our freezer too. It is just my husband and so it takes a little longer...but it forces me to be creative.
I just turned my chest freezer back on as we are heading into the summer freezing season. I think I’m going to take advantage of the fact that it is mostly empty right now and clean out the upstairs freezer. I think there are two packages of frozen corn from last summer lurking in there, and possibly some other odds and ends. Maybe I’ll make corn bread. My kids won’t eat it, but I’ll eat it for breakfast with cafe latte.
In my freezer:
2 trays of ice cubes
2 portions of pork mince
2 portions of beef cuts
Less than a half bag of shredded spinach
Small container of dill.
Were trying to lose a bit of weight with the husband and i'm amazed of how little food we go through