Well, that's an improvement.
It's time for a freezer-challenge report!
(Here's the start of my challenge and the rules I made up for myself.)
The state of the freezer
Remember how crowded my freezer was initially?
Here's what it looks like as of this morning:
From a week and a half ago:
And now:
It is so, so, so nice to be able to open and close the drawer properly. And getting ice cubes is way simpler now. 😉
What did I use up this week?
I mixed thawed leftover taco meat in with freshly made sloppy joe filling (I made a little extra sauce).
Last night I made corn chowder to use the salt pork. It was a pretty fussy recipe and I thought bacon could have been used just as easily as salt pork.
So I don't think I will buy salt pork again, especially since I'm probably not making the soup again.
(The corn chowder also used up a jar of turkey bone broth from my chest freezer. Bonus points!)
We had fish cakes one night this week to use up some bread crumbs, but I had so many crumbs, even a double recipe of fish cakes didn't use them all up.
I'm ok with that, though, because I know I'll make fish cakes again in the not-too distant future, which means these crumbs are not going to go to waste.
Also used since my last report:
-chicken leg quarters
-leftover pulled chicken
-two hamburgers
-the lime juice (I put it on some Tex-Mex leftovers from our last date night!)
What I have left
-corn tortillas
-bratwurst
-two packages of breakfast sausage
-slow-cooked beef, which I think has some Mexican seasonings
-a small amount of bacon
-a package of broccoli
-a package of peas
-a partial package of Mexican cheese
The one package of breakfast sausage is unopened and pretty darn new, and I think I'm just gonna put it in the chest freezer for future usage. The other is partially used and I feel like I should just finish that one up.
I feel pretty good about my chances of using most of this up by my self-imposed Wednesday deadline.
Except for the peas.
I'm considering throwing a ziploc bag around the peas (the bag has a hole) and putting it in the chest freezer for use as a flexible ice pack.
None of us likes peas anyway (whyyyyy did I buy them???) and they've been sitting there with a hole in the package for who knows how long.
__________________
I'm really happy I decided to take on this freezer challenge and I'm also really glad I gave myself the freedom to buy new ingredients to help me use up the old ones.
This simple bit of grace has helped to make our freezer challenge significantly more delightful that it would have been otherwise.
Less stress, more deliciousness.
I highly recommend it.
I know some of you are doing this along with me, so, tell us! How's it going? Have you managed to make something good out of your freezer odds and ends?
My freezer odds n ends usually end up being my weekly lunches, so that works out well. I also keep magnetic lists on both my freezers otherwise I end up purchasing something I already have. This was another miracle week where I did not throw anything out in my fridge but I do have some yellow squash that is screaming to be used up.
Thoughts, in no particular order:
- It's not "chowda" unless it has salt pork. That said, if you don't like the recipe or you don't mind having mere "chowder-like soup," it makes sense not to have the added complication of yet another product.
- Bread crumbs can be used to thicken sauces and soups, and in meatloaf and hamburger.
- Peas as a cold pack seems very sensible, under the circumstances.
- You've got a nice Tex-Mex meal in them odds & ends.
I have declared myself done with my freezer challenge. I still have a handful of meals; the rest are long-term items such as smoked pig parts for beans. It's weird to see the bottom of the freezer! Clean and frost-free, too! Now I have the urge to buy half a cow, just to fill the darn thing up.
Wow! What a huge accomplishment!
I'll tackle my chest freezer sometime this fall, probably. It's going to be a much bigger job than my kitchen freezer, obviously.
(I think I do prefer chowder-like-soups. Because I distinctly remember trying clam chowder with bacon and I did not love it. I prefer my clam-chowder-like-soup with no bacon or salt pork.)
When I say I see the bottom, it's because half the remainder is in a friend's freezer. Once I'd used up almost of the "current" food, I took the "long term" food[1] elsewhere. After I bring that stuff back the floor will again be covered.
Ahem - clam chowder with bacon is chowder-like, not chowda. Me, I don't like the clams; I usually make corn chowda unless someone's blessed me with lobster.
[1] Side of pork belly, 6 lbs lard, 6-8 smoked pig parts, cornmeal, etc.
Keep the peas! Put them in a Ziploc bag and use them as an ice pack for sore muscles or injuries. I have a bag of green peas in my freezer on which I wrote "DO NOT USE" in big letters because I have used it many times when I hurt my knee. The small peas conform themselves to the shape of you knee (or shoulder or what not) much easier than a stiff ice pack.
Good job on using up what is in your freezer! I've been working on using up what is in my fridge and doing a good job but suddenly we have TONS of leftovers and everyone but me is going to be gone this weekend so I'm considering having soup for breakfast and beef stew for snack 🙂 I would freeze them but my freezers are full... I keep on finding super deals that I can't pass up!
I did use a frozen beef chuck roast that I had bought and frozen over a year ago (beef stew in the crockpot and I also used frozen veggies from my garden from last year and a pack of frozen snowpeas that I had gotten on clearance back in 2012). Everything tasted great and no one died (always a good thing).
As you know I cannot participate in the freezer challenge due to lack of anything in it really! You've done a fab job!
Sloppy Joes - not something we have in the UK. But they sound amazing (Maybe this is psychological - because does anything with your name in it sound amazing? I've heard that subconsciously your name is the sweetest word you ever hear)
Anyhow I digress! Happy #foodwastefriday Kristen - I'm talking joining in and hashtags over at mine today. And ofcourse using stuff up. I have a banana to deal with. I'm so for buying extra to use up what you have, when you need to. I'm hashtagging all over - even changed my FB cover for the day. Normal service resumes tomorrow though.
Food Waste Friday Happy Dance: I wasted NO food on my business trip!
Niiice!
I would expect nothing less 😉 Thanks for popping over earlier!
I pulled some chicken out last night and cooked it. Granted, chicken isn't exactly a strange ingredient. But it had been sitting in there for a while, so that's a wee bit more space opened up.
Wonderful! I'm so glad you were able to use up so much and get your freezer more organized all at once. I have a suggestion for the corn tortillas (though you probably don't need one, LOL). I recently tried a new recipe and I love. It's called Texas King Ranch Casserole. It's yummy and very easy. My daughter's boyfriend called it Southwestern Chicken Pot Pie. I'd say that sums it up beautifully.
Texas King Ranch Casserole
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups shredded cooked chicken (can be canned chicken)
1 can cream of chicken soup*
1 can cream of mushroom soup*
4 ounce can diced green chilies
15 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
(I used a can of Rotel in place of the 2 previous ingredients because I had it already)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
12 - 14 corn tortillas (six inch)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
Place oil in large skillet. Add onions and saute over medium heat until onions are lightly browned. Add chicken, cream soups, chilies, tomatoes, and all seasonings. Stir and cook over medium heat until bubbly.
Tear tortillas into small pieces. Place half of pieces in 9x13 inch dish. Top with 1/2 of chicken mixture and 1/2 of cheese. Top with remaining tortilla pieces, remaining chicken mixture, and remaining cheese. bake at 350 for thirty minutes, or until bubbly and lightly browned around the edges.
(I doubled the recipe and fixed it in my big roasting pan because I was feeding a crowd)
That sounds yummy Kim. What are the asterisks for after the soup items?
You can disguise the peas (and use them up slowly) by throwing a handful in a soup. A small amount does not really affect the taste and will up the veggie factor!
We LOVE English peas/green peas, whatever you call them. Since you don't (goodness!), I'd suggest adding them to pureed soups in small amounts, adding a few to pot pie or casserole ingredients, and adding some (mashed) in meatloaf. Our ways to eat them are: in cream sauce with new potatoes, in 7-layer salad, sprinkled over a bed of lettuce topped with salmon croquettes, and just plain old lightly cooked peas! Of course, they do make good ice packs, too.
Good job on the freezer. I need to tackle mine again. It's messed back up.
Keeping the "clutter" in my freezer -- is essential because we are prone to power outages esp. in the winter when ICE storms hit.
A couple of years ago, all the money I saved on specials and sale went into two large garbage sacks when the power was off -- and on -- for 2 1/2 days!
Also, cooking for two has meant waking up to the sad fact, I am not cooking dinners for kids, and kids' friends . . . or visiting midshipman.
I agree with buying new to help with using up the old; it may take longer but eventually you get to the same place and it's more enjoyable in the meantime.
I think one of my most favourite parts of this post was to find out there are other people who don't care for peas. And if you don't like 'em, putting them in other stuff, even if it's just a small amount, ruins the good meals 🙂
Yeah, I feel like that. I personally can handle them in small amounts in something like pot pie, but Mr. FG and the kids are pretty much vehemently opposed to peas.
On the other hand, we all enjoy them as an ice pack, so there's that. 😉
I don't mind the taste of peas (but don't love them either). What I don't like is that they seem to flavor the whole dish, especially when leftover for a day or two. I'll eat a small pile of peas on my plate, but I don't want a whole pea-flavored plate of pot pie or fried rice. Since your family doesn't like them, I wouldn't suggest putting small amounts of them in anything.
If you want to cook them up for yourself in small amounts, just pour however many you want in a small glass dish, and add a splash of water. Microwave until they are heated through (time depends on how many) and drain. Then you can either add butter and salt to eat them, or just stir them into your own plate of food.
Lately I have been keeping an eye on my freezer and using things up. I do not have a chest freezer, I just gave one back to my Dad because we did not use it. Now I wonder if I could have tried more bulk cooking and using the chest for storage for those. Oh well.
Nothing worse than zip lock bags with holes. One of my waste reduction projects is not buying them but they still show up. I like the pea ice pack idea.
Here is my week. I identified some food storage habits leading to fridge food waste.
http://www.veeseasyvegan.com/stuffed-roasted-pumpkin-with-quinoa-gardens-cheap-thrifty-home-made-goodies-food-waste-friday/:
When I saw your brats and cheese the first thing I thought of was one of my favorite winter soups, Cheesy Beer Brat Potato Soup, similar to this one:
http://www.food.com/recipe/cheesy-beer-brat-soup-402765
Of course you wouldn't have to use beer in it, Cheesy Brat Potato Soup would be about as good. 🙂
In our upstairs freezer, we keep "ingredients": frozen veggies, frozen raw chicken, raw ground beef etc. In our chest freezer in the basement, we keep "meals": lasagnas, casseroles, ziploc bags full of soups, etc. About once every 6-8 weeks or so, I have a freezer-cooking day and completely fill the basement freezer, then we eat til it's empty and it's time for another freezer-cooking day.
Bits of leftovers (that one piece of lasagna, etc..) get packed for lunches the next day, but not refrozen.
A lingering challenge: bits of condiments. What to do with bits of bottles of fish sauce, a smidge of dressing, a bit of keffir lime paste. Stuff that was bought for a recipe but I only used a bit? My fridge door is jam-packed.
There are a few different things you can do with bits of condiments.
1. Assuming you didn't like the recipe you tried, look for other recipes - likely from the same cuisine - that would use it as well.
2. Give them to someone else.
3. Use them as a topping or marinade. Salad dressing can go on a small bit of salad, or to marinate a bit of meat. Fish sauce can be added to many stir fries to make them of SE Asia rather than East Asia. Maybe the lime paste could be used to flavor a baked good or like jam?
4. Decide that keeping it is excessively burdensome, and throw it out. (Compost pile? And of course recycle the contain if possible.)
Desperately need a good inventory and plan to use up freezer, fridge , and pantry. I'm focusing on a simpler and more focused way to live and am ashamed at the state of my garbage bin due to food waste. Love your ideas and thanks for sharing.
http://newframereference.blogspot.com
The beef, cheese, and tortillas is just screaming for enchiladas :).
You know I didn't know you could freeze cheese?
I just recently learned you can freeze butter. Which is good because there was a great deal and I snatched some up.
I guess you can freeze anything but not all things will be amazing after the fact. I'd be interested in a post about what you freeze and don't and when. I know it's good to freeze fruits when you'd rather have them in a smoothie because they're almost not desired texture for regular eating. I've seen you talk about freezing peaches. Anyway just an idea - Things which freeze well which you might not think would. I hope you're well. Keep up the great posts =)
I don't really have much in my freezer, although I am constantly thinking of buying meals that will end up with leftovers that I CAN freeze and use as a meal later on
Freezer right now: lima beans, okra, bag of broccoli cuts (just bought), bag of mixed vegetables (just bought), rice, small bags of freen pepper and onions (birds eye recipe ready) and 1 piece of Salmon. These are left overs...not my actual meals I buy each week.