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Serious question.
If I am ever going to cook, I'm going to cook for one, which is pessimal from a purchasing and storage point of view. My freezer is perennially full.
Friends ask "Full of WHAT?" They have a point. Food! But it's not that simple.
What have I got in there? Seven servings of bean soup (and that's after I've eaten three), one serving of lentil soup, some meatballs, two servings of beef stew, four servings of meatloaf, one ancient serving of Dijon chicken I should really pitch, a couple of pounds of lean ground turkey, two frozen chicken breasts, a big honkin' pile of chopped onion, some chopped bell peppers, a bowl of walnuts, lots of frozen veggies of the Bird's Eye sort of genre, a handful of frozen taquitos, several ice packs, and a tiny Godiva chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream container I'd forgotten about.
I had to look in there to write that paragraph, and truth to tell, I'm surprised by some of it. I didn't remember the meatloaf, the Dijon chicken, or the ice cream. Some of these things were seriously buried, of course.
What would I like to put in there? Multiple kinds of flour. The half a lemon I didn't squeeze into a recipe or the half a can of tomato paste I didn't use. Most importantly, a large variety of finished products, so that I have a big choice of what to pull out of there.
So there's my question. What's in your freezer?
More later.
If I am ever going to cook, I'm going to cook for one, which is pessimal from a purchasing and storage point of view. My freezer is perennially full.
Friends ask "Full of WHAT?" They have a point. Food! But it's not that simple.
What have I got in there? Seven servings of bean soup (and that's after I've eaten three), one serving of lentil soup, some meatballs, two servings of beef stew, four servings of meatloaf, one ancient serving of Dijon chicken I should really pitch, a couple of pounds of lean ground turkey, two frozen chicken breasts, a big honkin' pile of chopped onion, some chopped bell peppers, a bowl of walnuts, lots of frozen veggies of the Bird's Eye sort of genre, a handful of frozen taquitos, several ice packs, and a tiny Godiva chocolate raspberry truffle ice cream container I'd forgotten about.
I had to look in there to write that paragraph, and truth to tell, I'm surprised by some of it. I didn't remember the meatloaf, the Dijon chicken, or the ice cream. Some of these things were seriously buried, of course.
What would I like to put in there? Multiple kinds of flour. The half a lemon I didn't squeeze into a recipe or the half a can of tomato paste I didn't use. Most importantly, a large variety of finished products, so that I have a big choice of what to pull out of there.
So there's my question. What's in your freezer?
More later.
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Oh, and two ziploc bags of chipotle peppers and one of mild green chiles from when I opened a can and only used one pepper and then forgot I had some frozen so opened a second can of chipotles. ;-)
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What are basic cubes and cilantro cubes?
Ziploc bags are a great idea. I put way too much stuff in tupperware-ish containers, which are not squishable.
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It shrivels up and turns black, if I have anything to do with it. I don't farm, I just cook.
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(Oh, and spider plants and golden pothos. Those are unkillable.)
I live in effing California. There's no excuse for me not to grow something yummy. *sigh*
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On the other hand, we can't keep rosemary growing for love or money.
What I can't figure out is how those tomatoes are even growing. The plants are supposed to have roots that go several feet in the ground, yet they're happily growing in 6" of soil in a window box. The neat part is that it stunts their growth; they're only about 2' tall, and easily supported by sticks.
She says to just water them every other day, don't get the soil too soggy or bone dry. Apparently, it works. Just not for the rosemary.
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(Now I'm grinning, thinking how he'll respond to the phrase "frozen wasteland".)
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I wonder if there are potted dwarf Meyer lemon trees.
Oh gosh, how will I ever move? *sigh*
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How to move? Yeah, that can be a BIG issue for gardeners. Especially if you are moving someplace cold. (Actually potted trees are hard to move too)
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Palo Alto). They have dwarf meyer lemon trees for $30, several of them.
Just mentioning it cuz I saw them.
Does it bother you to give the tree away in terms of $? Or is it more the
possibility that the new owners may chop it down?
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Mmm, bread. Yeah. I'd put bread in, too, if there were more room.
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That's without looking. I'm sure there's more.
I have a chest freezer, 3'x6', and my fridge does not have an attached freezer compartment. Much more energy efficient to not have self-defrosting, not to mention keeping your food longer. On the other hand, I'm cooking for 5 most of the time and like to be ready to cook for 10.
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Mmmmm, CHEST FREEZER. Heck, that's more energy efficient just because the door's on the top. No pouring out all the cold air every time you look at it!
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I want to learn to cook, but somehow it never happens.
(*) emergency = hungry at 1am, out of pizza.
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Frozen pizzas. I am now seriously jonesing for pizza. Fondue might work... I have one more unit of fondue in the fridge...
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In cooking for one, I often halve recipes and when I make soup/stew, I plan on freezing 3 portions and eating 2-3 within a day or two of cooking it. I generally eat the rest within a month of freezing, so that I generally have 2-3 different frozen things to choose from.
Unfortunately, and getting back to your original question, most of what I currently have in my freezer is commercially frozen foods that seemed like a good idea at the time. I should eat some of that stuff.
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I need to get better about halving recipes. That's good thinking. Half a pound of dried beans stores just as well as the whole pound did.
All those frozen veggies of mine (except the bell peppers and the onion) are commercially frozen stuff. This topic has inspired me to start eating them. Duhhhh, CJ. Eat what ya got. :)
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In my freezer
In the small freezer that part of the fridge:
(door:) chocolate & chocolate chips (in a container); pecans; cashews; organic coffee, baking soda;
(not in the door, all crammed in:) sliced almonds, whole almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, brown rice (a couple different kinds, one with wild rice), edemame (half used bag), various prepared food (TJ lasagna, some other kind lasagna, TJ meatless meatballs, pad thai), cold packs (for injuries), boca burgers, TJ frozen garlic cubes (tiny)(see prior comments on TJ frozen stuff)(however, I never remember these are THERE and to use them), various bits of frozen blueberries, artichokes, green beans and maybe some other veggies (this stuff may be in the "throw out" category).
In chest freezer: about 8 boxes of Tofukey *roast* (it is sold in this area ONLY pre-Thanksgiving, I've checked extensively -- the last 2 years I have bought several); 6 or 8 bags of edemame; 6 or 8 bags of corn tortillas (these are from when I broke down and bought a giant size bag, much more than I needed, and I repackaged 90% of it in small bags in the freezer); frozen ravioli; large size prepared lasagna (TJ); a ziplock bag with chunks of frozen banana -- left over from last summer (should probably be tossed) (I use frozen banana chunks to make blender stuff, but only when it is hot out); 2 trays of teensy ice cubes
One other thought on freezer storage: have you considered putting a shelf (or something) in there? I have one little rack-thingie -- it helps some. Not that this is "enough", but it does help. And the container (in the door) that holds chocolate has been there for years. (More order would definitely be a good thing in both my freezer and fridge. The chest freezer is pretty orderly.)
Re: In my freezer
Isn't it frustrating when stuff is only sold at a particular time of year? Grr! There's a kind of cookie Rob loves that is sold only around Christmas. I've tried to duplicate it, but I'll need WAY more effort to get even close; I'm starting from nothing.
Frozen banana! Hmm, now I'm thinking that if we had an industrial-size blender, we could make smoothies for Rob. Frozen fruit, some ice...
I'm also getting chest freezer envy. Rob is going to murder me. :) :)
Re: In my freezer
What about a 2nd whole fridge w/freezer compartment? Some people have 2 and I think you have the space?? Or if you are really into freezing, a fridge-size freezer -- don't they have those? -- with a door that opens out (rather than a chest). The chest freezer is okay, but it really is a hassle if there's much variety of stuff -- it is all just piled in. Think it over. This is one of the reasons mind has only a few things in it. (Remember you may need to reserve a shelf just for cookies...)
I make smoothies in a regular blender all the time. Well, all summer anyway. Please don't tell me you didn't think you could do this, I'll like cry or something -- I am a fruit fanatic and I have several actual BLENDER cookbooks (some old). Blender handles ice and such just fine. Or frozen fruit.
Re: In my freezer
My mom has a fridge-size freezer and I admit the ability to reach everything more quickly is tempting. I may have to make another post asking people how they organize their chest freezers. It's so much more energy-efficient that I'd like to see if there are good ways to manage it.
Wimpy blenders do have problems with ice, though (I vaguely almost remember that we've even ruined one in the far past), and I'm afraid ours is probably the cheapest thing money can buy. A decent one should have no problem.
Re: In my freezer
wow, I really didn't know that! So, I'm the one who didn't know. My blenders have done fine -- and I think they are cheap and/or garage sale findings.... I've sometimes had problems getting things to blend if there is not enough liquid -- but I've never, say, burned out the motor or anything like that. I can see where ruining one might make you a little more hesitant than I am!
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- way too much stouffer's frozen macaroni and cheese (and yet not enough)
- amy's frozen broccoli pot pies
- frozen pesto-filled gnocchi
- frozen packaged veggie risotto
- many frozen veggies, most of which have been there way too long
- one serving of that shephard's pie
- bocha burgers
- fish sticks
- frozen fish fillets
- a bottle of vodka and a bag of coffee neither of which i drink
- very old veggie bacon and potato pancakes which need to be tossed
- lemon sorbet
- dregs of butter pecan haagen dazs
- blue ice and ice packs
and yet, i can't find anything to eat. my fridge is even worse...
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Ain't that the truth? I'm always like this! "Oh, look, there's nothing to eat" -- and just the list of what I've forgotten is in there is enough to feed me for a week!
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I decline to answer this question on the grounds that it might incriminate me.
:)
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