DH bought me a freezer! A HUGE upright!! What should I put in it?!?!

[cin]

It was last years model, and cheaper than the smaller one right next to it! And, to my intense pleasure, it won't fit through the basment door, so it's in the garage, on the MAIN floor!!!!!

 

Now, I need all your favorite freezer recipes! I have to fill it up, or he'll be really upset. I already warned him that it would empty out towards summer, cuz that's when we BUY the fruits, and that's when I do most of the baking.

 

I also have a seal-a-meal, so I can freeze stuff for a LONG time! it's BEE-U-TIFUL!

[5LittleMonkeys]

A cow...processed of coarse. We get one every February.

[LauraGB]

Apples and pumpkins are in season! Pies, muffins, quick breads, cakes, applesauce and pumpkin puree - enough to get you through the winter :).

[The Girls' Mom]

Here's what's in mine right now:

 

 

Breakfast burritos (homemade)

Pre cooked ground turkey, bacon, and sausages. (I buy them in bulk and cook it all at once.)

Big bags of frozen grapes. (My kids love these as snacks, and so I stocked up when they were 99 cents a pound)

Pre-sliced homemade chocolate chip cookie dough

Cinnamon Rolls (unbaked and flash frozen so I can get out a few at a time)

Big bags of boneless chicken breasts.

Frozen veggies.

Misc. meat I've bought on sale.

3/4 filled water bottles to grab quickly before a bike ride.

[Food4Thought]

A cow...processed of coarse. We get one every February.

 

That's the first thing I thought of. We just filled our freezer with a 1/4 side of organic, grass-fed locally raised beef. It's really good stuff!

[Quad Shot Academy]

Soups are great to fill it with:

 

Carib Black Bean Soup

 

Pasta E. Fagioli

 

Hamburger Soup

 

I also keep:

pre browned hamburger meat

pre browned meat for stew

variety of cooked dried beans

uncooked lasagna

shrd chicken w/ taco seasoning

shrd chicken w/ BBQ sauce

[MamaAkins]

Could you make some chili in a crockpot and then freeze it in gallon sized ziploc bags?

 

Soups, stews & chilis are great frozen. I would also pre-cook some hamburger meat (to be used for spaghetti sauce, taco filling, etc). You can buy extra when meats go on sale, then repackage and freeze.

I would definitely double recipes as I bake so I could freeze half.

[Farrar]

If I had a freezer, the first thing I'd do would be get half a cow. The cost... the quality! I once did a share of a cow and it was so worth it, but our tiny freezer couldn't even take that hardly!

 

I would also just keep more soup on hand. Especially butternet squash soup. Yum.

[Zoo Keeper]

What's in our freezer:

 

1/2 a cow

 

a couple turkeys, bought last Thanksgiving (time to get those out...)

 

a few hams, bought last Easter

 

quart bags of blackberries and blueberries

 

loves of bread, english muffins, and bagels from the day old bread store--I buy a month's worth at a time

 

loaves of chocolate zucchini bread

[pqr]

Sounds like the perfect excuse to fill the deer and turkey quota during hunting season.

[justasque]

I like ingredients and home-made items.

 

--Buy cheese in bulk, shred it for use on chili, pizza, and so on. I like to make my own pizza cheese mix.

 

--frozen berries for smoothies and parfaits.

 

--Pie dough, homemade in the food processor - so easy.

 

--chicken pot pie mixture - defrost and top with pie dough, biscuits, or potatoes

 

--Herb ice cubes to add to soups and sauces

 

--Pizza dough - great to feed a crowd

 

--good hummus - perfect for outings or lunch boxes

 

--home made chicken broth - freeze in one or two cup containers - i use old yogurt tubs

 

--pesto!

 

--store-bought favorites like ravioli

 

--frozen shrimp - ideal for a quick fancy meal

 

--butter - buy it cheap during the holidays and stock up

 

--cupcakes

 

--muffins for lunch boxes and entertaining

 

--pepperoni

 

--already-cooked cubes of ham and chicken - perfect for quick meals

 

--meatballs! perfect when dad's away

 

--cookies and/or cookie dough

[My3Boys]

Well, this time of year, my freezer is stuffed with corn!

 

I also buy bulk lg quantities of ground beef, skinless chicken breasts, pork chops, and stew meat and re-package them in recipe-sized portions. I also buy cheese, shred it in the food processor and freeze it in 1 and 2 cup portions.

 

Also have roasts, London broil, shrimp, hot dogs and whole chickens all bought when on sale.

 

At Christmas time, there are containers upon containers of cookies in there. I also make breads and cakes and freeze them ahead of time.

 

I also freeze ham that I buy on sale and slice for the grill or chop for recipes, but ham can only be frozen for a month so I don't buy too much.

 

For dh's lunches, I freeze leftover soups, stews, spaghetti mixed with sauce, casseroles, you name it. I buy those ziploc containers with the blue twist on lids. He picks out what he wants the night before and sticks it in the fridge. The next morning it is defrosted or nearly so.

 

Big freezers are also handy for storing large bags of ice for picnics, etc. You don't have to take the time to stop the day of the event.

 

Lastly, I will run the breadmaker all day (usually get about 3-4 loaves), slice them and freeze them. Ds and dh will just take out what they want, and once it defrosts its just as good as fresh. To them anyway.

[Pippen]

a couple turkeys, bought last Thanksgiving (time to get those out...)

 

a few hams, bought last Easter

 

 

I stock up on meat like this too. I have several hams bought after Christmas and a number of turkey breasts that were mismarked (around $3) at a store that honors marked prices.

 

Pork or beef cube steaks, which I make into a fast, cheap, meal my kids really like (hash).

 

Ground round, both in original packaging and precooked

 

2 cups bags of cooked, shredded chicken

 

Taco meat, packaged in meal size portions

 

Uncooked Italian sausage, in portions we need for homemade pizza. Also I buy a restraunt size can of sauce and freeze that up the same way.

 

Peaches that I froze a few weeks ago for eating.

 

Jars of pumpkin and apricot butter

 

Bags of 5 cups of mashed strawberries, to make jam throughout the winter.

 

Sweet corn :) we picked and froze this past summer

 

Butter, margerine, and cheese purchased when they hit bottom prices for my area.

 

Uncooked lasagna and turkey meat loaf. I usually freeze the uncooked meat loaf on a piece of parchment paper so I can transfer it to the roaster pan I prefer to cook it in. When it was just my husband and I I'd often freeze leftovers but my kids have such a strong preference for fresh that I mostly go with that now, or with precooked meals that defrost well.

 

Chili and spaghetti sauce, and today I'm making chicken soup. I always double or triple the batches. I also cook up a big box of spaghetti noodles and drain well, then package in meal size portions. It's not quite as nice as freshly cooked but sometimes that makes the difference between doing carryout and eating at home. The kids don't notice when it's drenched in sauce.

 

If I were you, I'd focus on sale and seasonal items. It looks like there was a good apple crop this year and I'm planning on making and freezing applesauce when I see a good price.

 

The other day I found two bags of peaches I froze in 2005 and missed during the last cleanout. :001_huh:

[Annie G]

Pippin's freezer sounds just like mine! Last November butter went on sale for 99 cents a pound. We bought a LOT and didn't have to buy butter again for about 8 months. It hurt today- I paid $2.58 for a pound of butter.

 

Like Pippin, I use our freezer to stock up on things ready to make into meals and also things that are on sale at a great price. Using it that way, we've cut our grocery cost AND been able to fix a meal more quickly when needed, so we're not relying on takeout when we have a busy day.

 

The fullness level of our freezer varies- and that's a good thing. You need to have room to stock up when sales are great and also have room to store long term, like corn, which we only buy once a year and process/freeze.

[MotherGoose]

A cow...processed of coarse. We get one every February.

I agree!

[ChristusG]

In our garage freezer....

 

meats (not a lot, but enough for several meals)

a lot of organic frozen veggies from Whole Foods. I usually stock up so I don't have to worry about getting more for a while.

a few frozen organic pizzas

things like biscuits, tater tots, frozen french fries, etc

one thing of ice cream

DH's pancakes

[Pippen]

Pippin's freezer sounds just like mine! .

 

Yours need defrosting, too? ;)

 

Ours is 20 years old and recently the door has started to droop. Steve my appliance repair guy was here last week and exchanged the nylon bolts for metal. I need to get back in there and defrost it again--hopefully this will do the job.

[LauraGB]

Yours need defrosting, too? ;)

 

Ours is 20 years old and recently the door has started to droop. Steve my appliance repair guy was here last week and exchanged the nylon bolts for metal. I need to get back in there and defrost it again--hopefully this will do the job.

 

Mine too! It's absolutely ancient. It's so time to defrost - it's so thick, I have to actually chip the ice off to shut the door, which even has an added exterior latch (and it's necessary right about now or I wouldn't be able to close it). Shame on me. Maybe I'll get after that this aft.

[Annie G]

Yours need defrosting, too? ;)

 

Ours is 20 years old and recently the door has started to droop. Steve my appliance repair guy was here last week and exchanged the nylon bolts for metal. I need to get back in there and defrost it again--hopefully this will do the job.

 

Thankfully, no! It's a self defrosting upright with a door that is nice and tight. I bet you used a good bit of extra electricity before it was repaired. Hope this is your last defrost for a long time.

[sewpeaceful]

What's in our freezer:

 

1/2 a cow

 

/QUOTE]

 

Okay, I give. How does one buy 1/2 a cow?

[Quad Shot Academy]

What's in our freezer:

 

1/2 a cow

 

/QUOTE]

 

Okay, I give. How does one buy 1/2 a cow?

 

Very carefully! Our last 1/2 a cow was gross. :ack2: We had to eat the whole thing. I finally gave up chewing. To make matters worse the lady called me a year later and told me that they switched slaughter houses because they found out they were switching out their meat. So what I thought I was choking down for health, was not even just gross but also not grass fed. Never again will I get 1/2 a cow.