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Post by cmpeter on Mar 26, 2024 0:41:22 GMT
My mom never froze anything, I’m not even sure we had a freezer growing up and I feel I’ve never mastered or gotten comfortable with freezing things like leftovers, bread, cheese, lunch meat, etc. Basically if it didn’t come frozen, I don’t freeze it.
Now it’s just dh and I at home and I feel like we often have too many leftovers. I know I could make smaller portions, but if I’m going to the trouble of making something, it seems like a good idea to make the full batch and freeze some.
Care to share any freezing and defrosting tips?
A couple recent examples. Last night I made stuffed shells (9x13 pan). We had them for dinner and lunch and we won’t want them again this week. We both brought a loaf of sandwich bread and really didn’t need it.
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snyder
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Apr 26, 2017 6:14:47 GMT
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Post by snyder on Mar 26, 2024 1:08:08 GMT
Oh wow, that is wild you did not grow up around freezing food. That was a big thing back when I was a kid. Miracle machine for large families. lol
Air is your biggest culpret to freezing, so wrap well. Maybe plastic wrap and make sure the air is squished out, then also put in a freezer bag with air pressed out. OR Buy a Food Saver vacuum appliance.
Liquid items like broths or soup can be placed in freezer bags, then laid flat on like a cookie sheet and put in the freezer. Once frozen you can place/arange to your liking. THey stack well or now they have the bags that have the wide bottom so they stand up to help fill and or stand up in your freezer.
There are so many things you can freeze, but sometimes just aren't as good reheated, but now that I have an air fryer, that has helped make the food taste fresh compared to toughened up by the microwave. This like Pizza is excellent reheated in the air fryer.
As a family of 2 now, its difficult to cook in small portions. We always had just a little bit of veggies left over. Those can be frozen in small freezer bag or you can get a plastic type container, preferably a better brand so it doesn't crack in the freezer, and then put your left over veggie in it. Just keep adding to it and once its filled, make a pot of yummy veggie soup.
That's just a couple as my brain is kind of fried tonight, but if ther is a specific item you're interested in, just ask and the peas will have all kinds of tips for that particular food.
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Post by Linda on Mar 26, 2024 1:20:47 GMT
I picked up the Aldi version of Souper cubes when they were on the AOS a while back - perfect for soups, sauces, the rest of tomato paste (does anyone ever use the whole thing?) ...basically if it's liquid, that's what I use.
Something like the stuffed shells - I would make up to the putting in the oven step and then only cook what we'll eat. The rest I would put in an freezer and oven safe container (foil pan, pyrex with lid) and freeze in meal size portions. So if your recipe makes 12 shells and dinner is 4? Cook 4, freeze two sets of 4.
Cheese freezes - most cheese (Babybel, soft cheeses like brie don't) - but they're best shredded afterwards not for slicing for sandwiches. Leftover shredded cheese also freezes.
Lunchmeat - freeze in the portions you'll want to use. Tightly wrap in plastic wrap and/or ziploc bags. Leftover turkey, ham, roast beef, chicken...stuff like that from a big roast? I portion into ziploc bags to use in casseroles.
Potatoes don't freeze well in my experience.
Go ahead and freeze the bread - you can slip a square of wax paper in between slices to make it easier to just pull out the number you need. If that number is consistent and you'll have time to thaw before use (instead popping in the toaster frozen or making a sandwich with frozen bread to take for lunch (it'll thaw by lunch usually) then you can just slip the wax paper in say every 4th slice if you'll take out 4 at a time.
I just popped leftover cilantro in my freezer tonight - it went into snacksize ziplocs with the air squeezed out. You can also freeze fresh herbs in ice cube trays with olive oil.
Cookies freeze before or after baking.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Mar 26, 2024 1:37:25 GMT
I freeze potatoes, but they must be cooked first. I bake 5 or 10 pounds, cool, cube/chop freeze on cookie sheets, and then put in freezer bags. Because they are frozen cut, they stay loose. Take out what you need.
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pantsonfire
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Post by pantsonfire on Mar 26, 2024 1:58:40 GMT
We aren't fans of pre cooked meals that are then frozen. It's a texture thing for myself and dd. I only freeze a few things.
I freeze is homemade pancakes and waffles. I do a big batch of both as they are allergy friendly. I store in gallon zip lock bags with wax between the layers and press all air out.
I also freeze baked muffins. I remove the paper muffin tin before freezing.
I bought Soupers to freeze left over soup and homemade stock. Once frozen, I use my Food Saver to freeze the blocks. I have 1 cup and 4 cup Soupers. I freeze in 1 cup, 2 cup , and 4 cup bags. For soup I freeze and food saver 2 cups.
Of course fresh meat. I use my Food Saver for this. Best tip is to flatten the ground meat very thin. Helps tp defrost the meat quickly.
I do freeze meatballs. That is the only cooked meat dd and dh don't mind frozen and reheated.
Freeze handmade patties of turkey or beef for burgers. I find flash freezing them as pucks and then using the food saver works best.
I used to freeze fresh peach slices towards the end of the season and those held up well. Great for cobblers. I woukd cut an X, boil for 30-60 seconds, dunk in ice bath then the skin peels right off. Slice and add to food saver or ziplock bag.
I also freeze extra tomato paste and sauce. I never need the entire can.
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pantsonfire
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Post by pantsonfire on Mar 26, 2024 2:00:56 GMT
You can also keep a bag of vegetable scraps going to use for making stock.
Carrot ends, carrot peels, skin and first layer of onion, onion ends, dark green parts of leeks, celery that is near its end and the top parts with the leaves, mushrooms (if you use them), the small garlic oves too small to use.
Really helps cut down on waste.
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Post by lisae on Mar 26, 2024 2:17:53 GMT
I love my Foodsaver. I use it mostly for freezing meat but sometimes for things that have already been cooked. Not only do things take up less space but the thaw more quickly. Another advantage for thawing is that the bag is completely sealed so you just put it in tap water. Change the water frequently and your item will be defrosted quickly. Or you can thaw in the refrigerator depending on what it is. But you never have to worry about what you are defrosting thawing and leaking out.
The cooked foods I'm most likely to freeze are: chili, cashew chicken, chicken breasts to use in salads and in other recipes, baked salmon. I never freeze just cooked vegetables. I prefer to make those fresh.
When I made homemade pizza dough, I make enough for 4 pizzas and freeze the dough for 3.
I also freeze a lot of fruit for smoothies. I spread out the fruit on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper and freeze. Then I transfer the fruit to zipper freezer bags so it is easy to just pull out enough fruit for one smoothie.
We always had a freezer. Some families even have more than one! My grandmother and several of my aunts gardened and froze corn and some fruits. It was common here - and still is with some families - to buy beef in bulk from the butcher and freeze it. I prefer to select my meat and freeze in the Foodsaver bags in the portions I want and I can easily see what I have.
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Post by tenacious on Mar 26, 2024 4:37:11 GMT
I make double batches of cookie dough, directly scoop onto cookie trays with a cookie scoop, freeze, pop them in ziplock bags, and bake a few at a time when we want warm cookies. They come out perfect.
Just this week I bought a large bag of peeled garlic at Costco, put it in the food processor, scooped it with a small cookie scoop onto a tray, froze, put them in double ziplock bags in the freezer. Keep in mind, we are of Italian decent and use LOTS of garlic, and it may make your freezer smell a bit like garlic, but, it’s super convenient to throw in my daily cooking.
I chop and freeze onions, herbs, green onions, peppers, etc.
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Post by tenacious on Mar 26, 2024 4:40:07 GMT
Oh! Also, this is crazy…but, I freeze sandwiches for my kids to take to school. I use ciabatta rolls, a thin layer of pesto mayo, provolone and turkey, ziplock bag it, and into the freezer. Or, I do Hawaiian rolls, thin layer of honey mustard/mayo, cheddar and ham. Wrap/freeze. Kids grab them in the morning, and they are thawed by lunch and not soggy. It has been an absolute game changer for lunches for us!
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Post by peasapie on Mar 26, 2024 10:20:31 GMT
I always freeze leftover chopped onion and celery. So easy when I need a quick mirepoix for sauces and soups.
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Post by dewryce on Mar 26, 2024 15:55:43 GMT
It’s the same for the 2 of us. We have several recipes that we make 4 servings or more of, eat one that evening and freeze the rest. This weekend we made a batch of spaghetti and so we have 11 more servings ready to go, but only took the time to cook and clean a mess once. We also like doing the same with meat for some recipes. For example, we have a Tex-Mex Cabbage Stir-Fry that we like, so we make enough meat and onion mixture for at least 4 servings and freeze the extra. Then the night we want to eat it we just have to quickly cook the cabbage and heat the meat with it. And hamburgers, because we never eat the full pound of ground meat that week so we make at least 4 burgers at a time so as not to waste the meat. And when we need liquids like orange or pineapple juice, stock or broth, cream, etc. we never need the full amount. So we have many different sizes of the super cubes and freeze the extra in serving sizes we generally need. These labels are great, large and easy to write on, sticks to the glass but comes off so easy, even after going in the oven for reheating. We buy proteins when they are on sale and freeze a lot of them individually because they’re the perfect size for us to share for one meal. For example, chicken breasts, fish, and pork ribeye. These bins are a great width for single pieces like that, newest frozen goes in the back so the oldest is always at the front and we can easily look and see what proteins need to be eaten soonest. Be sure and measure the depth of each of your freezer shelves, all of ours are not the same. Before we got our food saver we froze them in Perfect Portions Freezer Bags, which help you get out the air, and then in a Ziplock freezer bag, pint size is great for these single serving sizes. We actually had quite a stash of both so are still using them occasionally. I like that the end result is a smaller package due to the thick edge needed for food saver bags. I like using these Pyrex glass storage containers because the food can be thawed and reheated in the same container, less dishes to wash. And they stack really neatly in the freezer. Also we can put hot food into them without worrying about the plastics leaching into the food. The 3-cup is rectangle and would probably be good for casserole type dishes. We use the 2-cup for one meal of spaghetti sauce and a vegan peanut stew we really like. 1-cup is perfect for individual servings of soup, chili, etc. We usually take them out of the freezer a night or two before and heat in the oven. But we have gone many times straight from the freezer to the oven. I’m not sure if we’ve done that with the microwave. Resized_Resized_20230909_180037 by Carie (Dewryce) T, on Flickr You can see the way I keep the freezer organized. See how the chicken is in a wider container as compared to the salmon? It is much easier to keep the newest easily viewed in the salmon container. Also, some of them are off the shelves cause DH doesn’t push them all the way back in, but on the shelf with the chicken and turkey they stick out because that shelf isn’t as deep as the others. The top shelf holds all of the food we pre-prepare. The bin on the left is the meat mixtures I was mentioning above. And in the door I keep extra butter, cheese, spices, etc.
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Mar 26, 2024 16:02:18 GMT
I regularly freeze meals.
I use deli containers, they are 1.5(H) x 4.5(W). I find using shorter and wider containers, helps food defrost and thaw faster because of less density. The container lids are more pliable, so I am able to push down on the center of the lid and squeeze some of the air out. I also place the containers in bigger two gallon baggies(that I wash and reuse over and over).
I think it's trial and error, figuring out which foods one likes to freeze or not. I don't like freezing lunch meat (honey ham sliced at the deli counter). I love freezing roasted vegetable assortments, but prefer to re-heat in the toaster oven as opposed to the microwave.
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compeateropeator
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Jun 26, 2014 23:10:56 GMT
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Post by compeateropeator on Mar 26, 2024 16:08:31 GMT
What I have started doing with leftovers that I want to freeze is to put them in a container the shape and size I want them frozen in. I put them into the freezer until they are frozen. Then take them out and pop out the frozen portion and food seal it in a bag. I do it with stews, slices of pizza, etc. I’ve done stuffed shells, meat pie and other weird items.
Then when I take them out I can either thaw them as is or in an appropriate dish. Some things are just put on a plate and microwaved.
The same concept as the Souper things but I like flatter bags as they stack better and take up less room. I also just use a sharpie and mark what it is and the date made/froze.
ETA- the short version 😆. Flash freeze and then food saver seal them in bags.
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ellen
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Post by ellen on Mar 26, 2024 16:17:39 GMT
Use the food that you put in your freezer - it is too easy for things to get lost in it.
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iowgirl
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Jun 25, 2014 22:52:46 GMT
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Post by iowgirl on Mar 26, 2024 16:24:09 GMT
If you are using your refrigerator freezer - it is most likely a 'frost free' freezer. That means frost doesn't build up an don't have to defrost it. It goes through a daily cycle of warming up to melt the frost and then refreezing. You might hear your fridge gurgle every once in a while - that is the melted frost leaving the freezer. But this is hard on frozen food too. That's what causes freezer burn. If you only freeze it for short term a month or two, no problems! But it is not good for long storage. So eat up what you freeze within a month or two at the most. A deep freeze could be frost free - you really want to avoid that. If you are keeping for long term storage, more than a month or two, get a regular deep freeze that is NOT frost free. You really have to double check to make sure
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Post by dewryce on Mar 26, 2024 16:38:46 GMT
If you are using your refrigerator freezer - it is most likely a 'frost free' freezer. That means frost doesn't build up an don't have to defrost it. It goes through a daily cycle of warming up to melt the frost and then refreezing. You might hear your fridge gurgle every once in a while - that is the melted frost leaving the freezer. But this is hard on frozen food too. That's what causes freezer burn. If you only freeze it for short term a month or two, no problems! But it is not good for long storage. So eat up what you freeze within a month or two at the most. A deep freeze could be frost free - you really want to avoid that. If you are keeping for long term storage, more than a month or two, get a regular deep freeze that is NOT frost free. You really have to double check to make sure I’ve read that in a lot of,places, but have run into very few issues with our frost-free freezer. And it was for items not frozen as well (like in ziplock alone) and in there for a very long time, I think like 9 months - 1 year. And we’ve had tons of other food that long with zero issues.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Mar 26, 2024 16:52:11 GMT
I’ve read that in a lot of,places, but have run into very few issues with our frost-free freezer. And it was for items not frozen as well (like in ziplock alone) and in there for a very long time, I think like 9 months - 1 year. And we’ve had tons of other food that long with zero issues. I think the newer freezers might be better, but I had an entire season of frozen garden produce ruined in one. In 6 months it was all tasting terrible. I had frozen SO much sweet corn. Probably close to 300 quarts. I was so frustrated! Bought a chest regular deep freeze (not frost free) and I can store things for a very long time! I have found beef that is 2 or 3 years old buried in there and is fresh and good! I try to rotate better than that though! LOL I have come up with a better system for me. I bought the more rigid, but collapsible, grocery totes that can fold down. They have handles. I fill those and stack them in my deep freeze. I keep them sorted by beef, pork, chicken, veggies, treats, etc. That way I can lift out a tote or several totes to get to what I need. Things don't slide and collapse on each other. It works so well, and when I need to dig deep - no mess!
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Post by dewryce on Mar 26, 2024 16:59:59 GMT
I’ve read that in a lot of,places, but have run into very few issues with our frost-free freezer. And it was for items not frozen as well (like in ziplock alone) and in there for a very long time, I think like 9 months - 1 year. And we’ve had tons of other food that long with zero issues. I think the newer freezers might be better, but I had an entire season of frozen garden produce ruined in one. In 6 months it was all tasting terrible. I had frozen SO much sweet corn. Probably close to 300 quarts. I was so frustrated! Bought a chest regular deep freeze (not frost free) and I can store things for a very long time! I have found beef that is 2 or 3 years old buried in there and is fresh and good! I try to rotate better than that though! LOL I have come up with a better system for me. I bought the more rigid, but collapsible, grocery totes that can fold down. They have handles. I fill those and stack them in my deep freeze. I keep them sorted by beef, pork, chicken, veggies, treats, etc. That way I can lift out a tote or several totes to get to what I need. Things don't slide and collapse on each other. It works so well, and when I need to dig deep - no mess! Oh that’s painful, how awful! It may have been that it was vegetables and not proteins and not your freezer. We don’t freeze many vegetables because I have texture issues. We’ve tried all sorts of frozen veggies and I haven’t cared for almost any of them. The only fresh vegetable that I have tried to freeze was green beans but they were mushy too. I’m not sure if they would have been better in the food saver packaging or not. We need to try it because I can get the French cut green beans I like much cheaper if I buy larger quantities. And while we usually do our shopping weekly, I’d still like to have good vegetables as an option if we have to miss a week for whatever reason, it’s rare that we buy more produce than we will eat in 8 or so days. I just read that cabbage could be frozen though, so we are testing that out right now. I use grocery tote bags in our big yeti when we go camping to keep meal ingredients together, works really well!
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Post by papersilly on Mar 26, 2024 17:18:53 GMT
i was never much for freezing leftovers because of issues with freezer burn. i bought a FoodSaver machine at Costco and that was the game changer. no more freezer burn. i freeze a variety of soups and leftovers with no problem. my raw meats don't get freezer burn anymore and last longer. the clear, compressed bags make finding things easier and allows for more room in the freezer.
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iowgirl
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Post by iowgirl on Mar 26, 2024 20:49:12 GMT
We’ve tried all sorts of frozen veggies and I haven’t cared for almost any of them. I pretty much only freeze sweet corn now. A few bell peppers, but I much prefer them fresh. Sometimes I chop up some and freeze them on a cookie sheet and then crumble into a bag to freeze. But, like you said, the texture isn't great for me. Frozen home grown sweet corn seems to freeze the best though! I used to do SO much! We had corn almost every day! Now I don't freeze nearly that much. I didn't hardly do any last summer, and I missed it. I also like the Food Saver! I bought mine for Sous Vide, but I do like to seal a few things up that I am not going to get used. I did a few bags of sweet corn last year. It wasn't as efficient as using freezer bags, but it was sealed up nice! It's just a little slow (and expensive) when you do a couple hundred bags!
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Post by katiekaty on Mar 26, 2024 21:49:18 GMT
I use my leftovers and maker freezer frozen dinners in the black prep containers that you can buy cheap off Amazon. I fill with whatever I cooked, pasta dish, meat and sides, etc. I will cover with the lid and freeze. After it is frozen I then slip the bottom black portion iwith he food in it in a Foodsaver bag and suck it down. I will label it with what the meal is and keep the lid in the cabinet. When we want to eat lunch or need one for work, we choose from the selection, grab a lid and utensils and drop in the lunch bag. The meal will usually be defrosted or mostly defrosted by lunch and easily microwaved and ready to eat.the frozen meal also helps keep any other items cool in the lunch bag until lunch time. DH like a fruit yoghurt as a dessert and it stays well until time to eat. My small salad and dressing stays cool too.
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Post by sideways on Mar 27, 2024 0:03:34 GMT
I have what is basically large ice cube trays that hold 1 cup in each compartment. I freeze broth (both homemade and any leftover from a carton I won’t use right away), Greek yogurt that I’ll be using for cooking (like Tikka Masala), leftover juice, etc. When frozen, I take out of the trays and store in double freezer bags. I also have liquified aloe gel and froze it in ice cube trays and transferred to bags. Works great for burns. I keep fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro) in short glasses of water (like cut flowers) in the fridge. If I don’t use them fast enough, I’ll chop up and freeze with olive oil in an ice cube tray, bag, and store.
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Post by cmpeter on Mar 27, 2024 0:22:10 GMT
You guys are seriously a wealth of information. Thank you to everyone who shared. I’m excited to digest it all and start using my freezer!
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AmandaA
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Post by AmandaA on Mar 27, 2024 1:28:45 GMT
I am in a different season of life with 3 school age kids but these ideas might still be helpful… I am a lazy cook- so if I am going to dirty a pan and go to the effort of browning meat or making chicken to cube/shred, I always do at least double of what I need and freeze the extra. It is a win-win since I only have to clean the pan once and it speeds up cooking for another night.
Same goes for some recipes like my homemade pot pie. If I am going to clean and dice all of the veggies, I will prep double and then package up the meat/veggies/pie crust together in freezer bags to make it a simple homemade dinner for another day. Sometimes I will assemble and freeze a meal but for others it works better to prep and then freeze
If I have a recipe that calls for partial containers of things like a condensed soup, canned vegetable, or broth. I will go ahead and measure out the exact amount and freeze (and label for the recipe) rather than putting the extras in the fridge to be forgotten.
I also like having a slow cooker dump meal or two assembled in a freezer bag. There are soooo many recipes out there for these but I love the option of just transferring to my slow cooker in the morning and having a meal waiting for us on a busy day.
I am another one that will freeze leftovers in individual portions to have for myself for lunch during the week when DH is working and the kids are at school. I am always trying to find ways to reduce our food waste and the freezer is my best tool.
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Mar 27, 2024 2:14:32 GMT
If we run out of our home made pesto sauce in the freezer we buy a jar of pesto from Costco then freeze in ice cube trays. When they are frozen they go into ziploc bags in the freezer. We will buy a big bag of lemons at Costco. We wash them then roll on the counter. Cut them in half then use a hand held lemon juicer and each half of the lemon get squeezed into ice cube trays and into the freezer. A day later the cubes go into freezer bags. We sometimes take a cube out to have with a teaspoon of honey and boiling water when we have sore throats.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Mar 27, 2024 4:25:07 GMT
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Post by librarylady on Mar 27, 2024 14:07:14 GMT
dewryceThanks for the information on the labels. I have put some in my amazon cart. For OP: Don't try to freeze ham. It does not do well in the freezer. Pork chops will do well, but not for extended freezer time. Potatoes do not freeze well. Only 2 of us here. We purchase large quantity of ground beef at Sam's and then portion it out in sizes for meat loaf or "ground beef for recipe" and then freeze it. We freeze bread loaves and then take out what we need so the bread does not mold before we use it. Some casseroles I make - we freeze the leftovers. As mentioned, if whatever you are freezing is something that will crumple up, lie it flat on a cookie sheet and then when it is frozen the packages will stack up nicely. I freeze pecans so they won't get rancid.
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Post by calgaryscrapper on Mar 27, 2024 14:18:11 GMT
Right now our Costco has fresh parsley in a bag for around five dollars. You could wash,rinse then dry it a little. Use some now then freeze some in a freezer bag that you squeeze the air out of. We grow parsley and other herbs in the summer. We use them fresh, de-hydrate some and freeze the rest. It is nice to bring out sprigs of parsley, oregano etc for in soups
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Post by lily on Mar 27, 2024 15:30:55 GMT
I personally find that freezer paper keeps things nicer than plastic wrap or plastic bags. Less or no ice crystals inside when using freezer paper. No freezer burn.
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Post by dewryce on Mar 27, 2024 19:34:48 GMT
Right now our Costco has fresh parsley in a bag for around five dollars. You could wash,rinse then dry it a little. Use some now then freeze some in a freezer bag that you squeeze the air out of. We grow parsley and other herbs in the summer. We use them fresh, de-hydrate some and freeze the rest. It is nice to bring out sprigs of parsley, oregano etc for in soups Does this affect the texture? Would flat-leaf parsley be limp when it thaws? Fresh herbs are so expensive, we don’t often need them in oil and I’m always looking for ways to extend their life!
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