When you coupon sometimes you can end up with a lot of processed foods. We want to save money but we also need to keep our families eating healthy, freezing food is a great way to stock up. If you do a little prep in advance, it’s a great way to make your meal prep super easy and quick as well! It just takes a little forethought.
I can Freeze That!?
MILK:
*I freeze the entire unopened gallon in the freezer. It works great, I’ve never had any problems. The little circles on the side of the containers will push out, but once you thaw it, you can push them right back in. Best way to thaw a gallon is to take one out before you go to bed and leave it on the counter (on a towel to catch the frost drippings). It will be mostly thawed when you wake up in the morning and you can finish thawing in the fridge. Be sure to shake the gallon up (helps get the color back to normal & break up the last chunks of ice in the middle). Make sure to thaw it completely before using!
EGGS:
*I boil them. When they are cool I shell them and chop them up and put 2 eggs each in sandwich bag and freeze. When thawed great for topping lettuce salads and for tuna salad sandwiches. Very handy when in a rush.
*Spray an ice cube tray with oil. Beat the eggs. Pour into trays and freeze firm (One cube equals one egg). Store in airtight containers in freezer.
BUTTER:
Both tubs and sticks freeze fine!
CHEESE:
*I always stock up on shredded cheese when its on sale, it freezes great for several months.
*When it comes to a block of cheese, you'll want to slice or cube it before you freeze it, otherwise it will crumble when you try to cut it later.
CREAM CHEESE:
*Cream cheese in baked dishes if it has been frozen works just fine. If you are going to use it in a cheese ball or unbaked cheese cake – it will be grainy and watery, so just beat it with a mixer and it will beat back to normal consistency.
WHIPPING CREAM:
It wont whip into cream anymore but it still works to cook with.
COFFEE CREAMER:
This freezes well.
YOGURT:
I have found they tend to be grainy and watery after, but freezing them for later use in smoothies is great!
GO-GURTS:
* These are awesome frozen for the kiddos because they are refreshing, healthy and when they are frozen they are slightly less messy!
BABY FOOD:
*I freeze homemade baby food in ice cube trays then transfer them to freezer bags for easy to thaw portions.
BREAD/DOUGH:
*Pizza and other doughs freeze well either cooked or uncooked. I freeze it in individual pizza serving sizes and then thaw it in a microwave slowly when I want to use it.
*Bread & Bagels freeze well.
*Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls, Crescent Rolls, Pizza Dough, French Bread, and Biscuits:
I freeze these regularly. They freeze fine, just make sure to thaw completely in refrigerator prior to baking. The flaky biscuits were the only thing I had a problem with, they barely rose, the others all rose (maybe not as much as if they had never been frozen though).
*I haven’t bought store bread in a long time but you can make your own bread dough, shape into loaves or rolls and place on cookie sheet to freeze…then store frozen dough in gallon freezer bags and pull out when needed. Set out frozen dough in greased pan covered with greased plastic wrap until dough has risen about 1-inch over the top of the pan. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes!
*Tortillas are great to freeze, just let them defrost all the way before you try to take them apart or they will stick together in the middle and tear. (Do not freeze corn tortillas though.)
FLOUR:
*Freshly ground whole wheat flour spoils quickly, and so I keep mine in the freezer until I am ready to use it.
FRUITS:
*Flash freeze all types of fruit so they don't get all stuck together. I usually cut it however I want to use it in smoothies before I freeze it.
What is Flash freezing — the process of spacing items out on a tray, freezing them until they are firm and then storing them in more space-efficient freezer bags
*I buy flats of berries in the summer…I use raspberries and strawberries to make freezer jam…blueberries and blackberries I put in hard plastic containers, then can pick out what I need for muffins, pancakes, etc. NOT for out of hand eating…too mushy.
*Frozen Grapes are great for a hot summer day!
*Bananas for smoothies. Also the ripest ones make the BEST banana bread just freeze them until you are ready!
VEGGIES:
*Broccoli, cauliflower,tomato and green beans all types of seasonal veggies can be frozen, but you have to blanch them first.
Why is it necessary to blanch some vegetables before freezing?
The short answer: Because they actually taste better/fresher when blanched.
The looooong answer: When the water in food freezes, it stops much of the cellular activity that normally causes spoiling. But there are certain enzymes in vegetables that can continue their nefarious deeds in the quiet and dark of the freezer. Blanching — either steaming or boiling the food briefly — destroys the enzymes that cause the loss of nutritional value and flavor. (Boy does that sound smart - you know I cut and pasted that!)
*Onions, peppers, and herbs do not need to be blanched.
*Squash, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin should be fully cooked before freezing. All other vegetables should be blanched.
How to Blanch:
To blanch by boiling, use at least a gallon of water for a pound of vegetables. Put the vegetables in a wire basket, submerge them completely in the boiling water, cover with a lid, and begin timing.
To blanch by steaming, put the vegetables in a steamer basket and suspend it above an inch or two of boiling water. Cover the pot, and begin timing as soon as steam starts to escape from under the lid. With either method, shake the basket a couple of times to ensure that all vegetable surfaces are exposed to the heat. After the allotted time, remove the basket, and plunge the vegetables into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Once cool, remove them, drain thoroughly, and package for freezing.
*Twice Baked Potatoes work great if you freeze them after the first baking (mix all ingredients together and put on a cookie sheet. Once they’re flash frozen then put them into a ziploc to save space. Reheat in the oven or microwave for the second baking.
*Corn on the Cob (and not on the cob!)
CAKE:
My favorite thing to freeze Cake. I slice it and then freeze it and pull it out by each slice. It’s great for summer when I don’t want to heat up my kitchen.
COOKIE DOUGH:
* Flash freeze cookie dough -Freeze individual dough scoops on a cookie sheet then store. You can then pull out as many as you want.
NUTS:
I stock up on nuts around the holidays. I freeze them because the oils in them don’t last long and I use them to bake with a lot.
MEAT:
:)
*I buy pork chops, chicken and red meat in large quantities (usually at Sam's or B.J.s) when I get home I season them half the pork chops one way and the other half another (same with chicken and red meat). Flash freeze. Label the ziplocs with a sharpy so if I'm in the mood for Brown Sugar or Lemon herb I know what I'm grabbing. It makes meal preparation later in the busy work/school weak a no brainer!
*Lunch meat - I stock up when our favorite brand goes on sale (we are "brand snobs" with our lunch meat!) If you buy the fresh deli cut kind it sometimes tends to be very watery, but the prepackaged kind does really well. I just like to write the date I took it out of the freezer so it doesn’t go bad.
*Chicken Breast - Wash with salt, and then I usually cut my chicken breasts in half because they’re easier to thaw/cook if they’re 1/2 inch thick rather than 1″. Season them and flash freeze.
*Ground Beef - I cook it all at once, usually 10lbs at a time. I drain it and put the cooked meat into ziplock bags in 2 cup portions. When I am ready to use it I thaw it in the microwave and it makes VERY fast meals. Sure beats taking frozen blocks of raw hamburger out of the freezer and trying to defrost the block. GREAT time saver!!! I have also done the same thing with rotisserie chickens.
*Here's another handy trick for ground beef or turkey, when you put the meat in a freezer bag, press it as flat as possible (squeezing out all the air). When it is sealed, gently score it with a chopstick or other long, flat utensil so that it's easy to break off pieces without defrosting the whole thing. This also works well with thick sauces.
CROCKPOT MEALS:
*Crockpot type meals often freeze really well. Freeze in a crockpot bag and it’s a cinch to pull out and drop in the crockpot with easy cleanup at the end.
SOUPS:
*My mother-in-law makes some great homemade soups -Lentil, Chicken, Bean, etc. She makes a huge pot and then fills large Ziploc freezer bags for quick meals!
SPICES:
*I keep all my spices in the freezer, they stay fresh forever.
CANDLES:
*I have heard that freezing them contracts and sets the wax so they drip less. They also burn slower making them last longer!
BATTERIES:
*I freeze batteries because I heard it makes them last longer -myth or reality!? Here's my research on this:
Alkaline batteries stored at "room temperature" self discharge at a rate of less than two percent per year. So normally refrigerating or freezing them will only help maintain their charge by a tiny amount. Hardly worth the effort of chilling them. However, if alkaline batteries are stored at higher temperatures they will start to lose capacity much quicker. At 85 degrees F they only lose about 5% per year, but at 100 degrees they lose 25% per year. So if you live in a very hot climate or are storing your batteries in a very hot location, it may be worthwhile for you to store your alkaline batteries in a refrigerator instead.
NiMH and NiCd batteries self discharge at a MUCH faster rate than alkaline batteries. In fact, at "room temperature" (about 70 degrees F) NiMH and NiCD batteries will self discharge a few percent PER DAY. Storing them at lower temperatures will slow their self discharge rate dramatically. NiMH batteries stored at freezing will retain over 90% of their charge for full month. So it might make sense to store them in a freezer. If you do, it's best to bring them back to room temperature before using them. Even if you don't freeze your NiMH batteries after charging them, you should store them in a cool place to minimize their self discharge. (thanks greenbatteries)
DON'T FREEZE:
*CORN tortillas…they turn into mush. Gross!
*Sour Cream ...grainy and watery! Yuck!
*Raw Potatoes...they’ll turn black!
*Scalloped potatoes ... came out as a big glob of goo and tasted really funny.
*Cans of Soda ... surprise!
There are many books on the market or sites on the internet that can tell you how to store food. My favorite book to use is “Keeping Food Fresh” by Janet Bailey. It not only tells you how to store all kinds of foods but what it should (and shouldn’t)look like at the store.
Hope this Helps!
~Tina
(Thanks Karen, Kim, Nonna, frugalliving, athriftymom, fsis, greenbatteries, fugalmummy, thriftyfun, slashfood)
Cute and informative post!! Thanks! :)
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