Thursday 10 May 2012

Do you know what's in your freezer

My freezer is not very big, I don't need lots of space. These three drawers are fine for me, it has the fridge bit above it, and sits in the corner of my kitchen. It's handy to find things in a jiffy, no searching through piles of rock hard packets, boxes, and bags. No cussing as the item you want is buried underneath mounds of food. No losing things down at the bottom never to be seen again. The best part about having limited space is that you always know what is in there.

I can understand how a family would need to store more food in a bigger freezer. Not everyone likes the same kind of food, so a lot more variety needs to be kept in. Some people do a lot of batch cooking, a good idea to cook several meals at the same time, and freeze some for later. I don't feel the need to do that, I am happy to cook my simple meals daily. No need for me to freeze left overs, I eat all I cook, so no left overs.

I read somewhere that a woman needed to buy another freezer because she was freezing that much stuff for later, she ran out of space in the one she had. Surely there comes a time when you have got to stop cooking and freezing, and start eating. Besides, my freezer only needs to contain about 4 - 6 weeks supply of food, any more than that and there are freezers in shops to keep it for me. When I need something I go and buy it. I am not going to pay for the electricity needed to have a second freezer somewhere else in the house.

I'l let you have a rummage through my drawers. In the first one there is.....
Reduced price organic yogurt 75p
Reduced price small Hovis loaf 10p
Value garden peas.
Value Sweetcorn.
8 Fish fingers. I don't normally buy these, got them for a change. £1. Added to plates of steamed veg I can get three meals out of these.
2 Portions of salmon. These are from a 6 portion pack for £5, I had a voucher for £2.75p off. More cheap meals with steamed veg.
Mushy peas. This bag was reduced to 50p, found it in Asda, I think they were having a clear out as it wasn't listed as a special offer.

2 Hovis Granary loaves, 20p each.
Bag of mixed fruit. I bought last week to try in my smoothies. Not reduced price, about £1.30 something.
Odd slices of frozen bread. If I have bought a lot of bread and have difficulty fitting it all in, I seperate some of the slices into smaller bags.

Two more loaves 20p each.
2 and a half packs of Quorn Fillets. Bought these when they were on offer at £1 per bag. 6 in a bag, again cheap meals with steamed veg. Sometimes I put them in a stew, or chop them up into pieces and cook in oil with onions.
6 Linda Mac veggie sausages. On offer at £1. Three meals with steamed veg.
3 portions of salmon.

There you go, one sorted freezer, dead simple.

14 comments:

  1. The strangest thing I ever had in my freezer, was a poor dead hamster. We were looking after it for my cousin when it died. We kept it as we knew her children would want a proper "burial service".

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have a large chest freezer in the garage, I also had a smaller one in my kitchen. I do a lot of batch cooking and have to have somewhere for all the free foraged food I get.
    Also, it depends on where you live, your proximity to shops, transport etc.,
    I used to live in the middle of nowhere with no shops for miles so it was a necessity to have food in store. Most country people do this.

    Now I'm in smaller accommodation, I only run one freezer, that is packed to the hilt like yours , I know if they are kept full they are cheaper to run.
    I like the feeling of having food stored.
    I'm still getting used to being able to walk to the nearest shop or jump on a bus !
    Also bargains are not regular at all, as you know, for instance I can go several days without getting any reduced bread, then it all comes at once, so I buy several loaves at 10p each, I have to have somewhere to keep them. You have to get the bargains when you can.
    I can barely remember the days before freezers !

    ReplyDelete
  3. First of all, I cracked up at "a rummage through my drawers!" Of course I am in the Heartland of America, and that has a little different meaning..so cute! I am writing to say that I did not know you could freeze yogurt. I love yogurt! Does it freeze hard, and do you thaw it in some cold water? Hope you are having a great week! We are sunny and windy, and I cannot wait to get outside and work in the yard.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do have a huge chest freezer.....and yes I hate rummaging through it, whatever you want is ALWAYS at the bottom. We had to get it to freeze all our Summer crops as we try to be as self sufficient as possible all year round, even now there are things in there that we grew last year, and about half of one of our pigs (in the form of sausages, joints and bacon), so it is a necessary evil.

    In the kitchen I have a tall fridge freezer with 2 normal sized drawers and a small one in the freezer part. I try to move things into this so they get used more frequently. So in effect one freezer fills the other.

    Your contents will make for a good few very nourishing meals.

    Does yogurt thaw out okay, I always thought it separated on thawing, if it does I will be freezing some myself, we always seem to have a bit that goes off before getting used!

    Sue xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Let's see - we have one packet of frozen prawns (were on BOGOF offer), three tubs of home-made fish pie filling (smoked haddock on special offer, spinach reduced to 10p a bag), four tubs of homemade soup (using up slightly elderly veggies), a bag of oven chips and some chicken and vegetable pies (BOGOF offer) for evenings when the little'un won't stop feeding for long enough for me to cook anything decent, half a bag of frozen peas (reduced price), a bag of beef shin (cheap from the butchers as no-one seems to want to buy it), half a tub of vanilla ice cream.

    Usually there are frozen rodents in there as food for the snakes we have taken in as rescues as well, but as we're hoping they won't be with us for too much longer we haven't stocked up with 'frodents' (or micicles)!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ooh I love rummaging through other peoples drawers! My freezer is just like your but ours is for a family of 4. It does get frustrating when I have to walk past the stickers because I haven't got room. But like you say its an opportunity to run my stockpile down. I thought about getting a freezer for the garage but they are so expensive it negates any savings I make. I keep looking out of freecycle. I didn't know you could freeze yoghurt. Does it freeze well? Loved seeing your yellow stickers - makes me want to pop out later and have a nosey around Morrisons.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I could do with an upright freezer in my garage (grr) I would love one indoors but no space at all to put it. I have a chest freezer I've had for about 25 years, it's only small and I put things in little baskets in it. It's still a nuisance and I keep looking in the Heart Foundation shop which sells lots of furniture, electrical goods etc. for a cheap upright, just the size that would go under worktop though, as they start getting more expensive. I would then donate mine to them.

    I tend to forget what I have because I don't like rushing from front door, opening garage door in the pouring rain!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'd tell what was in my freezer but I can't stop giggling at Kaths hamster popsicle LOL You've put the picture in my head now ! :oD
    KKWF

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm with the others- yogurt freezes. Who knew! I have a small 2 drawer freezer above my fridge for ice cream, ice cubes and leftovers. My small chest freezer lives in the garage and is a pain losing things at the bottom but I understand they are more energy efficient as temperature drops less when opened than uprights.
    My freezer is chocka with last years soft fruit. Must get jam-making again.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I agree Ilona. too many people end up throwing away food they have stored for years in the freezer. Less is more as they say.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I only have the freezer that is attached to my fridge. It's not that big but things still get lost in it. I recently had a clear out and had to throw out some old food in there that got forgotten about and it looked really freezer burned so I threw it out. What a waste. I can't imagine having a chest freezer. I would probably put stuff in there and never use it. I felt so bad about throwing away the frozen food and swore I would never do that again. From now on, I will only buy food that will get used quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  12. My sister gave me her old freezer because I couldn't afford a new one of my choice, but it is of the old fashioned chest type, not the massive one, regular small size but with just an empty hollow inside. Now I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I hate it, can't find anything and have to take 20 items out to find the one I am looking for. Give me drawers any day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I was just thinking it was time to thaw out my freezer, (which is attached to the fridge.) Not that there is a lot of old stuff in there it's just that i take things out to use and then stuff them back in a disorderly manner because i'm in the midst of making dinner or something. Any way, it definitely needs sorting!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I have no space for a freezer, the fridge is shoe-horned into the kitchen!

    ReplyDelete

Some comments will be accepted. I decide which are published.

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.