Yeah. There was a lot of stuff in that freezer.
I didn't realize quite how much until I put it all out on the counter.
Good heavens. No wonder it was hard to close the freezer drawer.
I found two frozen whole bananas, so I thawed those, mushed them up with some overripe bananas I had in the fridge, and made a double batch of banana chocolate chip muffins.
My kids were more than ok with this type of freezer-stash-usage.
I also found a shocking number of bread odds and ends.
I made French toast with some of them.
The others, which were a little too ratty even for French toast, might go into bread pudding. Or maybe some stuffing.
I also found a large-ish container of whole wheat flour.
I grind my own flour and I rarely have any sitting around, but what with the lice issue and Joshua's room project and such, I hadn't made whole wheat bread in ages.
(I freeze the flour if I'm not going to use it soon, because whole wheat flour can tend to get a little rancid if it sits out for long.)
So I made three loaves yesterday.
Are we surprised that I tackled all the bread/baking-centric freezer items first??
(no.)
What else do I have in my freezer?
Meats
-2 chicken leg quarters
-a partial package of bacon
-a package of salt pork (!!) and (??)
-a partial package of breakfast sausage
-a whole package of breakfast sausage
-leftover taco meat
-a partial package of pepperoni (I have this in my freezer at all times and am not worried about using it up)
-2 hamburger patties
-a partial package of bratwurst
-leftover pulled chicken
-some kind of slow-cooked beef (I should have labeled it!)
Other Stuff
-a partial bag of shredded cheese
-a partial bag of corn tortillas
-2 bags of frozen broccoli (for broccoli noodle soup)
-a container of homemade bread crumbs (I need to make some fish cakes!)
-random frozen fruit (which can easily be put into a smoothie)
-2 containers of OJ concentrate (I use these for orange julius and for smoothies, so they're not on my use-up list)
-a small container of frozen lime juice
-frozen chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (I never use a whole can in a recipe, so I just freeze what's left for future use)
coffee beans (these are Joshua's and he stores them in the freezer)
I also found some things that really did need to be thrown away, but I'll tell you about those in tomorrow's Food Waste Friday post.
I feel fairly optimistic about my chances of using this stuff up, especially because it's mostly raw ingredients rather than already-prepared foods.
And my freezer already looks way better now that things are a bit more organized.
I see either a jumbalaya getting rid of almost everything in one fell swoop, or lots of smaller mostly veggie dishes with added meat accents for excitement.
I see burritos in there: chix (simmer in salsa, then mince or shred), taco meat, cheese, tortillas, chipotles. Add to that chopped lettuce or cabbage, salsa, chopped tomatoes, maybe rice. That covers the protein and the veggies.
What did you have the salt pork for? I use it for proper New England Chowder (no other fat tastes right), it's required for classic baked beans, and it is one of many fatty pork products that can be used to lard or bard roasted meat.
I think I bought it to make corn chowder, but it was before corn was really in season. Maybe I should make the chowder now, while the weather is a bit cool but good corn is still available.
I've made chicken corn chowder before - so tasty!
Sounds like taco night at your house tonight. You can use up the taco meat, pulled chicken, chipotle peppers (add to the chicken), shredded cheese and corn tortillas.
I buy corn tortillas by the zillions at Costco and keep them in my bread drawer. They last for at least a month. The only time I freeze tortillas is if I buy the uncooked kind (yum). How is the texture of the cooked type once they're defrosted? I just figured they'd lose their pliability once frozen, so I've never tried it.
Well, I use corn tortillas SO irregularly (mostly when a recipe calls for frying a few strips to top a salad), I store them in the freezer. They're not super pliable once thawed, but since I'm generally frying them, it's no problem.
Frozen corn tortillas last a long time, and easy to warm into fresh. Take each tortilla quickly pass it under running water, or quickly dunk it in a bowl of water. Place inside a clean tea towel, closing the towel like a book. put into microwave for about 20-40 seconds or see how long your microwave needs. They will come out steamy and soft. yum! This also works for tortillas that are a few days old, just will need less time in the microwave.
We toast ours on the open gas flame, how different, we LOVE the toasted taste of the tortilla. Put it on the burner support, flip it over every few seconds. It will bubble a little, and get a few dark spots (or a lot if you get distracted) and smell heavenly!
Wow, look at all those treasures you found! Sounds like fun to me! 🙂 The one thing about a full freezer is that they say that it is more energy efficient full than empty (mainly because when you open it, it doesn't have to recool all the warm air that's let in). So at least there is one restitution! 🙂
That is so true. But I find that a super-full fridge or freezer makes me more prone to wasting food, which wastes money. So I'm really not sure which is the more money-efficient option!
You can use up that extra space by freezing mostly-full jugs of water. That said, I want to see data on that bit of wisdom - see if it's actually true and how the savings compare to the energy used to freeze the water.
Use the corn tortillas to make migas for breakfast! Cut them into long strips, then saute them in a bit of butter until browning and crispy. Add whatever veg you like (I like peppers, onions, mushrooms, kale, etc) and then once that is cooked, add a few eggs and scramble. Serve with guac or salsa. : )
Oooh, that sounds good. This might need to be my breakfast tomorrow - it even sounds good enough to justify getting up earlier to cook (I'm not a morning person!).
I feel so good when my freezer is clean and organized too. I should try this...using things up before buying anything new...great idea! Sometimes when I have to things out, I give them to my chickens. Not if they're spoiled, but if I really don't know how to use them up in a timely manner. They'll eat almost anything, and I figure it's not truly going to waste, since I get eggs in return! Is this good thinking...or perhaps a way to justify my waste?! 🙂
That's great thinking in my opinion! An even better option than composting, since the food you feed to the chickens turns into eggs for you.
I don't know how you fit all that in there! We have a fridge-top freezer and it is mostly taken up with bread from the "used bread" store (we buy a few loaves at at a time and freeze), then the giant bags of frozen peas and frozen chicken nuggets (kids are 2 and 3--please don't judge!) that I buy at Costco. The rest of the space is Mr. FP's ice cream and leftover beans and rice--I like to cook a lot at once and freeze. I would love to have a chest freezer someday when we're homeowners again so I would have more room to freeze things like stale bread ends and vegetable ends for making broth with.
We just went and did that too...so glad I'm not the only one that forgets to label things and then is like what could this possibly be. LOL
Thanks for the complete list! I also never use a whole can of chipotles in adobo... I have tried saving them in the fridge before, but never tried the freezer. I will do that going forward!!
Have you ever made homemade croutons with leftover bread? I cut the bread into cubes, toss with olive oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper mixture, and bake for 30-45 minutes at 350 (turning them occasionally). My family loves these on salads. Great idea about the freezer! I should do this too!
The chicken legs are really good--fantastic even!--in a dish my daughter makes called "Funeral Chicken," I'm assuming because you assemble it and put it on to cook before you go off to a funeral and then when you get back, it's ready. Take 4 thighs and legs, remove the skin, brown in a neutral oil (like canola), add chopped tomatoes (good with a large can of San Marzanos), chopped garlic (about 3 cloves), either some fresh or a small can of mushrooms, and about 4 cups of chicken stock. I like to put this in the oven on low in the morning and let it cook all day till dinnertime and serve over white rice that I've also cooked in chicken stock. I normally don't like chicken in tomato sauce, but this is SO GOOD!
I did not know you can freeze flour or cheese. How will I know if my flour has gone bad (how long does it last)? I do write the purchase date on a slip of paper and tape it on the container. When you freeze cheese, is the consistency the same when you thaw it out?
White flour lasts eons, but whole wheat flour doesn't last as long. Check the best by date on the bag.
Cheese can only be successfully frozen if it's shredded. For some reason, a block of cheese doesn't fare well.
Sliced cheese freezes just fine too. I like to buy the big packs of sliced cheese at Costco for sandwiches. I keep a reasonable amount in the fridge and freeze the rest of it.
Good to know! Are you talking about American style cheese or something like cheddar?
I've successfully done it with cheddar, swiss, and colby jack. I'm not a fan of American style cheese so I've never tried that.
Me neither. I actively dislike American cheese, actually. The texture and flavor are just...bleh.
I freeze almost all of my cheese, except for cream cheese. I tried that once, and it was terrible when it defrosted. I've never frozen cottage cheese either. I freeze block or sliced mozzarella, block or sliced cheddar, sliced american, provolone, swiss, colby-jack, to name a few. I keep frozen sliced cheese (and a loaf of frozen potato bread) on hand because sometimes grilled cheese with a side dish is my go-to meal when I'm short on time or find myself without a meal plan. I have to defrost the cheese before I make grilled cheese but not the bread because frozen bread is easier to spread butter on.
Ooh, really? I remember my mom trying to freeze blocks of cheese and they fell apart when thawed. Huh.
I've not tried to freeze blocks. But I've heard it crumbles when thawed and can be used like shredded...??
I've made a mixture for manicotti, using cottage cheese and ricotta w eggs, shredded mozzarella, parmesan, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian spices. There is always more than what's needed for recipe. I've used for lasagna too. You can freeze it by itself, or stuff cooked pasta, and top w sauce before freezing.
Does the bottom drawer of your freezer come out? We have a similar model and I've not tried it yet, but mine certainly needs to be cleaned as mysterious items have fallen down there never to be seen again.
Pepperoni can freeze without changing texture? Wow, that will change how I buy pepperoni. I wait until I am sure I will get through it all pretty quickly, but I'd love to have it around all the time.
thanks!
Hmmm.... this is post just reminded me I should go pull some chicken out of the freezer for dinner. Who knows what else I'll find in there??
When I cleaned out our freezer a while back,I barely bought anything at the grocery store that week.It's really interesting to see what you've got when you organize the freezer.And I freeze mashed bananas too but until now I haven't made anything out of it yet.Maybe this weekend.
Ok, you have totally motivated me to do the same with my freezer(s). Sunday will be The Day. I have three freezers: kitchen, and two in the garage. All three are fridge/freezers; my little chest type freezer died this year, after 16 years of service. I do some catering and the extra fridge was quite necessary, then we replaced ours in the kitchen and moved the old one out there too. Sooo....I have three freezers to lose items among. The refrigerators stay very organized. So why the freezers don't is beyond me.
We have an above the fridge freezer for odds and ends an partial bags of fruit for smoothies.
A 6 ft full size chest freezer for meat (hunt/raise it all)
A half size for fruit and veg that's been frozen in season, as well as a half size that's at my moms in use there. But I need to get back cause I have fruit in my meat freezer!
I go through my big freezers every 2-3 months and make an inventory. This helps me use it evenly as we get all our smoothie fruit and meat for te whole year within a couple months. I do really need to go through fridge freezer. Not a lot in there but judging by what you pulled out...may be more than I think!!
Yes! It's amazing how much can hide in there.
Have you tried chipotle mayo? It adds an interesting kick to sandwiches!
It is always amazing how much food we really do have when we think we have nothing. Money has been tight this year due to medical expenses and we have often spent $50/fortnight for 4 of us and not gone hungry.
A-Mazing job Kristen (I had no doubt!).
Ref freezing flour - I think I may start doing this. I have a slight phobia of foreign objects in food. And bread can breed unwanted visitors if not used quickly. In fact (I don't grind my own - would have no idea where to start - will look at your post) some shop-bought flours have previously had the added ingredient of little black crawly things upon purchase.
I'm also talking using up food this Friday. Need ideas on what to do with Avocados. This isn't my specialised subject!
Just so you can save space in your freezer: I believe that if you freezer grains/flours, etc for 24 hours, any tiny eggs in the flour will not hatch.
Inspired by you, we've had 2 different kinds of sausages, strawberry fruity dream and wraps for lunches.
Treating it more as a pot luck - tonight my hubby and I had some kind of chicken and spring onion dish with rice.
Last week I made "Cowboy Chili" and used small chops of all the leftover meat I had in the freezer and fridge.....turkey loin, pork chops, ground beef, chicken, and beef. It was delicious and devoured to the last drop!