One of the places I believe that I could save money on is food, I think our household averages around $150 a week for Groceries. That is for 3 adults and 1 cat. So I will be starting the year off with an empty upright Freezer similar to the one above.So friends I would love to have some of your filling a freezer hints and recipes, how do you cope with leftovers, how do you best store things and in what kind of containers, how long do you keep them in there.
I was given this Freezer and at first I thought it was a white Elephant as it kept tripping the circuit and defrosting anything I had inside, so I stopped using it. While having a huge Garage clearout a couple of weeks ago we moved it to a different power point and low and behold a working freezer. So now I want to use it to it,s full potential, and hopefully save some money.
So please help me get the best use out of what has been up to now a large empty white box.Today was almost a no spend day, until I decided to apply for my credit report, so I have sent off all my details and $36.95 to an Agency which will post me out a report. My credit rating has been in tatters for a few years now, and although I cheerfully boast about not having a CC the simple truth is that I have been declined by my bank and I want to know who has black marked me. I,m hoping it is one of the two Debts I am paying off, but if it should be someone else then I will have to make arrangements to also start making payments. I don,t want credit at all but I don,t like the idea of this hanging over my head either.
Clean slate for the New Year, no more Ostrich tactics for me.
Only 11 hours until I return to work after the Christmas break, but it,s a short week and then another 3 day break, love all these days off.
Clean slate for the New Year, no more Ostrich tactics for me.
Only 11 hours until I return to work after the Christmas break, but it,s a short week and then another 3 day break, love all these days off.
I had a large stand up freezer for years. About two months ago, it gave up the ghost. So now I have been planning meals and shopping using my freezer above the fridge.
ReplyDeleteI miss buying in bulk items that are on sale. It was a great help financially, especially when the kids were little.
ooohhh, I am jealous. I have wanted a stand up freezer for forever.
ReplyDeleteI freeze mostly pastas, meats and soups. I use mostly glass containers, but I do use ziplock bags and plastic containers too. There are a ton of websites dedicated solely to freezing your food and techniques. Google is sometimes my best friend.
Keep a list of everything you put in that freezer and post it on the front. Cross off what you use and add to the list what you are putting in the freezer. Otherwise food tends to go to "freezer land" and are forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI freeze a lot of things flat in ziploc bags. I double bag them to prevent freezer burn. Label the outside of the bag. As an example, freeze ground beef in 1 lb. portions and freeze it flat in a ziploc bag. You get more in the freezer by doing this with other things such as chili, sloppy joe mix and so on. I repackage a lot of things not only for space, but to prevent freezer burn.
Before we moved into our house we didn't have a deep freeze, now that we do, I love it!! I try to stock up on meat when it's on sale, i'll buy 2-3 pkgs, more if it's a killer sale! I agree with Martha about keeping a "freezer inventory".. that makes life much easier!!
ReplyDeleteMartha has a fantastic idea about a freezer inventory... I tend to buy things like shrimp and chicken on sale and it gets lost in there for many months at a time.
ReplyDeleteFruit is also very easy to freeze, and super healthy! Enjoy all the things you can now freeze!
We don't eat a ton of meat but we do buy it in large packages when on sale and repackage it into freezer bags for individual use. Michael makes big pots of soup and we freeze a lot of that in small plastic containers so I can just grab one to take for lunch - so handy. Freeze leftovers, you'll be thankful for them some night when you work late and your feet hurt:)He also cooks up lots of veggies and we put them in small freezer bags too - I add them to omlettes or stirfrys - that way no veggies get old or wilty, less food loss = less $$ spent each week on groceries:)
ReplyDeleteThere is a really good website called once a month mom... They help you to fill your freezer once a month with pre-preped meals. You should definately check it out. it is onceamonthmom.com
ReplyDeletethere is also a few books for prepared meals. a good one is 'Fix Freeze Take and Bake' Check out the library - they usually have great recipe books i you want to go that route in having stuff prepared already in your freezer (which in some evenings is always AMAZING!)
Hi Maureen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments on my blog.
I have a small chest freezer. I keep things like bread, chicken breasts, tortellini, etc in it. I'm not much for freezing meals and reheating later.
I think if you do an internet search you can find a printable freezer inventory. You could keep it on the freezer and update it as you take or add items.
My mom puts everything in the freezer! I love it we have lots of left overs and things that we use later on. We just put the last 1/2 of the turkey to make a soup with in a few weeks. We use plastic zip locks and plastic containers
ReplyDeleteSell this thing and use that money to pay off debt. The only things that should be frozen are your meats- chicken, ground beef or turkey meat. You don't need anything else frozen. Buy all your vegetables fresh and cook them. If there's anything else you want make it from scratch, frozen foods are usually processed foods, stay away from them, nothing beats fresh.
ReplyDeleteI go to the grocery store twice a week and everything I eat I make at home.
HS