Freezing - tips & questions

Wow! It must feel so good to be that organized. That is a fantastic idea. I've been buying the big packages during our grocers 10 lb meat sale and breaking them down into meal sizes, but other than labeling I never thought about a list. Duh. Thanks!

I use Tupperware Freeze Smarts. I like them because they are clear and the food is easy to identify. However, sometimes, I don't know what is in the container, so it is good idea to identify it somehow. Freezer tape works good, but so does medical tape. It seems to come off pretty well. I have had that problem before with freezer tape. That's the only thing I don't like.

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What great tips. I am out of labels so I will get the painters tape instead and will make a list of what is in the freezer now.

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Great tape idea.

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Painter's tape is a GREAT idea. I spend too much time getting the masking tape sticky stuff off every time.

I have been using the blue painters tape to label my frozen foods instead of the masking tape. Works great stays on and doesn't leave a gummy mess on my containers.

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yes!

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I agree. there seem to be very good tips.

Some greats tips here, thanks all!

ok

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right!

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upright freezers do not hold as well as chest freezers

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My, there are a lot of intelligent things going on with freezing.I thought I was doing pretty good with my methods but have discovered other folks are much better than I am about freezing foods.We are selling our stand up freezer because there are only two of us and that freezer full of food was way to much for us.Now I use two small refrigerator freezers and still have plenty of room for all my freezing.We lost a lot of food when we had a major power outage in our area around christmastime.We live way out in the boonies so feeding the wild critters was a must when a lot of food thawed out.The critters cleaned it all up and didn't leave a mess.Anyway we do use our existing freezers in fact I am thawing out dinner as I write this note.My hubby loves meat so will reheat some ribs for him and I will make some soup for me.I am not so good at lableing but since we have just the two freezers now I am marking all my bags, no more "what is this"? and if it starts getting to old I toss it.Wonder how folks in the citys deal with unwanted meat and foods from the freezer or fridge?

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Thanks

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I keep a list of stuff in my freezer. The stuff is labeled and listed with its expiry date. I print the list then cross out things as I use them. When I buy more, it doesn't go in the freezer until its been broken into meal portions and hand written on the list. Every so often I update and re-print the list.

Every 3 months or so I pull everything out and re-inventory.

I have a separate list for my pantry.

Since everything is broken into meal portions before freezing, I have few leftovers. When I have meat/poultry leftovers I throw it all in one freezer bag. Ditto left over veggies. Every once in a while, I make soup or stew with all of it.

We use a vacuum sealer for creating single portions of meat, chicken, and fish (lasts much longer in the freezer especially after I forget what I've stashed in the freezer). When making casseroles, I line several casserole dishes (sized for two or three portions) with foil, add the casserole to the dish, freeze, then remove the foil package. This gives me the container back until I need it, and the frozen food fits the container perfectly when I do use it.

Oh, and to help with the "I've forgotten what's in the freezer" dealio, when I'm in an organized mood, I'll stick a post-it note for each item in the freezer on the freezer door. Makes it easy to "see" what's in there and helps with menu planning.

I do this also... Works great...

Total SparkPoints: 8,716

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SparkPoints Level 10

Right on

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If I have frozen something in glass, I don't microwave thaw it to ensure the container doesn't crack. Instead I either defrost it in the fridge or - if my meal planning sucked - I set it in a bowl of tepid water until the food next to the glass has defrosted enough (5 minutes) that I can tip the frozen block into something else that can be zapped.

We shouldn't be zapping food in plastic - the nasty plastic chemicals leach into the food.

my my

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and tasty!

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Dehydrating foods is really nice especially if freezer space is limited.
Also the dried fruits make wonderful gifts.

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I have never thought about freezing anything in glass. I thought it would break. I have frozen some casseroles and stuff in corning ware so guess other types glass would work. I'll have to look into dehydrating some fruits and vegetables.

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Freezer bags are great. You can see what is in them and you can write on them with any information you need to know about what is in the bag.

Have been dehydrating instead of freezing because of limited freezer space.
Just made a protein shake with dehydrated banana and strawberries.
It is the best ever!

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I bought a bunch of glass containers in different sizes so I don't use as much plastic wrap and zip lock. Meats I break into desired portions, wrap once with plastic wrap and then wrap with freezer paper. I use different colored inks so that when I'm looking for pork or chicken or meat it's easier to grab the right one.

I cook lots of rice at once and break it down into meal size portions and freeze in my glass thingys.

I buy a bunch of different onions. Some I dice fine, some chopped, some shredded. I put them in quart freezer bags and then flatten the bag evenly so the onions are only about 1/2 in thick. I end up with a stack of onion filled zip lock bags. I also make onion with the garlic mixed in. Then, I can break off a chunk of the type I want.

I cook chickens down for broth and store 2 cup portions in glass thingys for bigger cooking projects, but I also put some in zip lock bags flattened so that when I need a bit of liquid I can break off a small portion.

Instead of packaging and freezing all the vegetables I tried to dehydrate some of them.
Am thrilled with the results. Also doesn't take up much needed space in freezer.

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oops

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WILL TRY

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I don't bake many sweets but I did see a recipe for muffins on The Chew that sounded good so I made some. After they were cooled I wrapped each one in Cling wrap and then put them in a large baggie. I all so do that with burgers beef or chicken. If they have a sale on the meat I will buy extra and then weigh it out for the size I want. Then wrap each in Cling wrap and put them in a large baggie.

If I make soups or chili I always make to much so I have a bunch of plastic containers. I just put enough in each container for 2 servings and freeze. I also lable everything so I know what is in them and the date I put them in the freezer.

I don't freeze a lot of veggies but when I do I put them in plastic baggies. Sometimes I have bought to many peppers hot & sweet. When I do that I will chop them up and freeze them in baggies and then they are ready for soups, stews & chili. you don't need to use all of them just break off what you need and put the rest back in the freezer.

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SO DO I

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I have never been too good at freezing food. I tend to forget it's there. =)

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I don't bake as much as I used to -- oh-so-tempting, those treats! -- when I do make a (large) loaf of bread, I tend to freeze half of it. I just wrap it tightly in aluminum foil and put it in the freezer. It usualy just stays there about a week before I thaw it and use the rest. Perhaps for long-term storage I'd want a plastic bag or plastic wrap, but for short-term I've had no problem that way.

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good tips!

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Depends upon what I am freezing
If it is cooked turkey or chicken (don't eat beef) I use the snack size freezer bags.
Veggie or turkey burgers go in sandwich bags.
Anything that is liquidy is put in plastic containers.
The things in Ziplocs are then put into a larger freezer bag.
Have been doing this for many years with great success.

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How do you freeze them? Baggies, plastic containers?

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I no longer bake because of my addiction to sweets.
I do, however, portion control foods and freeze them.
This makes my life much easier and is also budget friendly.

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I've recently had a discussion that brought up freezing and how best to do it. I mostly freeze baked goods - muffins, breads, etc. For muffins, I just cool them and throw them in freezer baggie. For breads (i.e. banana bread, etc), I wrap in Saran wrap and freeze. Lately, for something similar to coffee cake, I've been wrapping in wax paper (after cooling) and freezing in a freezer bag.

So, share your tips or questions for freezing. Do you have tried and true go to methods for creating your own frozen meals? For freezing vegetables? For freezing meats?

Do you have questions about freezing?

Share them here.

Please keep this thread to questions and tips on Freezing. For other topics or other discussion, please visit the forums or create a new topic. Thanks!

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