Talk to me about your freezer.

pixie76

Do you just use the one with your fridge or do you have another one for stock piling food?

If you have another unit, do you have a stand up or the box kind with a lid? (sorry my brain is still off )  What made you choose the type you have?

How do you store your meat? Do you use zip locks or a freezer sealing system.  If you have an auto sealer, what kind do you have and would you recommend? 

What kind of foods do you keep on hand for your kiddo's meal wise? Do you make it, buy it or both?  

I am asking because we are going to be getting a freezer for the garage in the future.  I do freeze things, but I usually do not have a large on hand supply of meats as I like to eat those as fresh as possible, but DW has been cooking so much and would like to have larger portions on hand for entertaining.

At the store today, I bought a few quick things from Trader Joes' for the kiddo's.  Meatless corn dogs, mini pizza's, basically, healthy crap food.  With it being summer we do a ton of entertaining and have kids of all ages over and I want to be able to just have things on hand.  We have PLENTY of fresh fruit and veggies, make most of our own baby food, and popsicles.   I have plenty of freezable tupper wear and would love to be able to freeze small portions.  I have not really frozen casserols too much in the past, so that I am learning.  Are there foods that just don't do well being frozen then defrosted?  I know with fruit and veggies the cellular wall that holds the juices in gets weakened during the freeze and thaw process so those things can get mushy at times if you don't defrost with care, even still, they are kinda mushy.

Does anyone make their own chicken tenders?  If so would panko freeze well as a crust? or freeze well in general I guess?  Fish sticks?

Anyone freeze burritos or enchilada's?  

What other types of simple yummy foods do you freeze for those times you just don't feel like cooking every meal at the stove or grill? (or when the adults are eating something too advanced for young. palates

If you got through all that thank you!  

 

pixie76

So sorry this was posted here. 

I tried to delete, but no dice.  If any of you lovely ladies would like to post a suggestion or tip, that would be appreciated.  If not and your MOD would like to delete, no hard feelings=)

I do lurk here as I have a DD from a past relationship and find your advice very helpful.  Sorry I have never introduced myself.

Thank you again. 

Ilumine

if you are looking for advice - I have had both types of freezers and I hate our reach in.  You cannot organize it well.

With an upright freezer, I organize by premade meals, then by meat type (chicken, vs beef, vs fish) and then veggies. 

I am the queen of frozen meals (dump chicken, casseroles, freezing crockpot ingredients, and soups).  I use freezer bags that I actually will double bag. 

I then write the date, recipe and any added ingredients (especially for crockpot meals) that are needed on the outside of the 2nd bag.

For soups, I freeze the bag on its side and then stand them up once frozen, saves ton of space.

Wahoo

I have an extra refrigerator in our basement that we use for storing drinks, etc. but I use the freezer to store things like meat, pasta sauce, etc.

Currently I wrap meat with freezer paper and put it in a freezer zip-lock bag, but if I really wanted to buy a freezer for storage (like you are suggesting) I'd invest in a air-tight system - my house and kitchen is very small (NJ col = high) so I don't have the room for it.  There have been times when my meat has gotten freezer burn, so I do think the system is a good investment (even if I don't use it!).

I buy the TJ chicken tenders for the freezer, but my kids prefer homemade much better!  I have never tried freezing panko, but that is what I use for homemade tenders (I just don't freeze them after making them).  I also have the TJ dumplings/pot stickers, hambergers, and their pot roast in my freezer (the pot roast I make in the crock pot).  I also keep frozen shrimp from my grocery store whenever that goes on sale, and frozen veggies (corn, peas).  Some veggies freeze better than others. 

I have a list of freezer recipes that I can forward to you.  It is from theknot/thenest when I was pregnant and they had a collection of freezer recipes for women who wanted to freeze meals beforehand.  You can PM me with your email or post it here.  I am on and off thenest, so I might not get back to you right away, but eventually I'll get it to you!   I only tried a couple (b/c my freezer was not that big!) but they are "tried and true" from other nesties.

10-4LilBuddy

Cam you send it to me as well?  I'm going to PM you my address.  I am trying to prep for SD's summer visit and I know I'll end up with a houseful of kids several times.  Thanks!

hterry85

We only have the freezer with our fridge, but getting a chest freezer for our garage is on my short list. Our grocery store has awesome sales on meat and frozen veggies, but it's so hard to stock up because there is only so much room. I've really wanted to try some freezer meals, but the space is full already. Our freezer usually has maybe one thing of ice cream, some tator tots, a pizza or two, and the rest is all meat and veggies.

juliettodd

I hated our freezer and got rid of it last weekend at our yard sale.  Having an extra stand alone freezer just gave my DH a reason to spend WAY too much money on meat, then forget to defrost it, and I would still end up going to the store to get meat that isn't frozen so we could eat dinner.  He would not use up all the meat before he bought more.  Then I got to watch our hard earned money go in the trash with freezer burn on it a year later.  Get only what you need for a week at a time and live within the boundaries of your current freezer.  Save the space in your garage and electricity for something useful.  Just my opinion.

SWmama

We have 2 reach ins. One is for freezer stuff one we "southern engineered" and turned into a beer cooler for DH's homebrew.

Honestly, my freezer is the most unorganzied thing in my house. I really need to get in there and throw stuff out. Burritos and enchiladas are really easy to freeze, I do that all the time. Also lasagna and stews/soups freeze well. I also make a double batch of homemade marinara in the summer and will freeze most of it for later.

FutureMrsWittig

pixie76:

Do you just use the one with your fridge or do you have another one for stock piling food?  We have a second one in our garage.

If you have another unit, do you have a stand up or the box kind with a lid? (sorry my brain is still off )  What made you choose the type you have?  We have a chest freezer (box with a lid)

How do you store your meat? Do you use zip locks or a freezer sealing system.  If you have an auto sealer, what kind do you have and would you recommend? I wrap meat in freezer paper and write on the outside what it is and when I stored it.  That way I don't end up with old stuff on the bottom, that never gets used.

What kind of foods do you keep on hand for your kiddo's meal wise? Do you make it, buy it or both?  I freeze individual portions of lasagna that I make.  I freeze individual and family size portions of soup in freezer bags (lay them flat so they stack up).  I sometimes buy the little frozen chicken pot pies, but not often because they're so salty.

I have not really frozen casserols too much in the past, so that I am learning.  Are there foods that just don't do well being frozen then defrosted?  Certain pastas don't reheat well.  Stuffed pastas do the best.  

If so would panko freeze well as a crust? or freeze well in general I guess?  Fish sticks?  Panko holds up fine in the freezer, it's just not AS crispy.

Anyone freeze burritos or enchilada's?  I freeze enchiladas in a 9x13 pan lined with foil.  Once they're frozen through I pull out the foil and wrap it around them and throw them in a giant ziploc.

What other types of simple yummy foods do you freeze for those times you just don't feel like cooking every meal at the stove or grill? (or when the adults are eating something too advanced for young. palates Meatloaf, jambalya, soup, stuffed shells (chicken and broccoli), lasagna... cookie dough (that counts, right?)

WickedCoolSM

We have a separate freezer in the basement that is a stand up one vs. a chest freezer.  I like that I can see what I have in there vs. digging around.

I store meats-butcher/freezer paper/bag.  Frozen pizzas, veggies, ice (that I start stockpiling before we go away camping), leftovers (esp ones I make in the crock pot like soups), bread, quick meals (those meals for 2 for when the skids aren't with us and we're too lazy to cook) and stuff the others mentioned.