Challenge: Cook your way through your freezer (part 2)

[Anna N]

OK so I have a huge confession to make. In my basement is a large upright freezer. There was food in it that had been there in so long it's a wonder it wasn't desiccated. I used to wake most mornings  fearing that due to its age it had finally given up the ghost and I would be faced with a totally melted down freezer and all it entails. (I knew exactly what it would smell like and how impossible it would be to get rid of the smell – – been there done that.)  And because I live in a townhouse I was equally afraid that my neighbors would smell it before I did.  Further I knew that I would be unable to deal with it and would have to lean on somebody else to take over the disgusting task. 

So before that could happen, I asked my cleaning angel to take care of things while I was away for five weeks.  I returned to a clean and defrosted upright freezer. 

 Yeah, I know how tempting it looks. But it isn't going to happen. I don't know what the future holds but it doesn't hold an upright freezer full of food! 

 

 Whew. So glad I got that off my conscience.  Now to bring order to the freezer drawer upstairs which at least I can keep an eye on!  

 

[rotuts]

@Anna N  

 

Im fairly sure I have that same freezer.

 

F_A 

 

It was purchased on sale  of course 

 

at a local Discount ,  sort of place , called Lechmere.  

 

they had one store , then a few in the 'Burbs.

 

defunk'd now of course

 

"' energy efficient "  it was 

 

1982.   still going strong.

 

I can tell you understand that 

 

Freezers are Black Holes for Sale Items !

 

I not have F_B to help defrost  F_A  

 

on sale of course , w Free Delivery !

 

its going to take some time to enjoy the contents of F_A

 

SV'd and vacuum sealed 

 

and F_B  is sort of full.

 

two 24 LBS turkeys  @  $ 0.49 an lbs  

 

[Anna N]

Yeah.   It was like a ticking time bomb!   I dreaded going downstairs even to do my laundry for fear of what I might find.   I can no longer justify pounds and pounds of animal protein just waiting to ambush me!   Nor do I feel comfortable should that protein go to waste.

 

 In my dreams I live within walking distance of the St. Lawrence market and just restock each day. 

[rotuts]

@Anna N 

 

however , should you SV  1 item , 2 - 3 are not much more work.

 

after the RapidChill

 

( free in the Winter if there is SnowAbout ! )

 

an easy dinner to Re-Therm

 

Just Saying 

 

[lindag]

1 hour ago, robirdstx said:

Several weeks ago, I got serious about the old stuff in my freezer and tossed the lot of it, most of which had expiration dates in 2014. So, here is my current inventory (highlighted items are staples that I am currently out of):

 

 

 

 

That's exactly what i need to do.  There's just one of me here and I have two full-size uprights and they're stuffed full...it makes no sense and I need to empty both, defrost them and start over.

[Anna N]

18 minutes ago, rotuts said:

@Anna N 

 

however , should you SV  1 item , 2 - 3 are not much more work.

 

after the RapidChill

 

( free in the Winter if there is SnowAbout ! )

 

an easy dinner to Re-Therm

 

Just Saying 

 

 I do that. Given how much animal protein I actually consume in a week I could manage a very long time on 5 pounds! 

[Anna N]

3 minutes ago, lindag said:

That's exactly what i need to do.  There's just one of me here and I have two full-size uprights and they're stuffed full...it makes no sense and I need to empty both, defrost them and start over.

All good right up to "start over". 

[rotuts]

@Anna N 

 

too bad Al.G

 

who invented the internet

 

didn't figure out how I might send you 

 

as an attachment  

 

a 24 l;bs Fz Turkey !

 

rats , Ive forgotten

 

you did not grow up

 

enjoying a Turkey dinner w all the trimmings

 

that being said

 

the trimmings would be up to you

 

via the Email attachment

 

only the Fz turkey please !~

[scubadoo97]

Pulled a couple pounds of chuck from the freezer and ground it up.  Hummus and spiced ground meat for dinner

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@Anna N 

 

too bad Al.G

 

who invented the internet

 

didn't figure out how I might send you 

 

as an attachment  

 

a 24 l;bs Fz Turkey !

 

rats , Ive forgotten

 

you did not grow up

 

enjoying a Turkey dinner w all the trimmings

 

that being said

 

the trimmings would be up to you

 

via the Email attachment

 

only the Fz turkey please !~

 Friends don't send friends animal tofu.   

 

[chromedome]

Just got back from moving my mom. We got everything from her two chest freezers (one gigantic, one moderate) condensed down into the smaller one. Once she has eaten her way through that, it will get passed along to my younger cousin and her husband. 

 

Alas, a large reason why she can now fit all of her food into one freezer (flush with the top edge, may I add) is that a large proportion of her frozen food now resides in my upright, which in consequence is now also chock a block once again. It's all good stuff, mind you...vegetables from my Dad's final gardening season, berries from their bushes, venison from their backyard, and cod/moose/bear from my relatives in Newfoundland. 

[Thanks for the Crepes]

The other day I took one of the vegetable stuffed pepper halves I couldn't find for the life of me a month ago out of the freezer and cooked it in the microwave. I added freshly shredded cheddar to the top after defrosting and mostly heating it. It was almost fine, almost. It had a bit of "freezer taste" but was not unpalatable. My fridge freezer only holds stuff at quality for 3 months at most, and this pepper was probably on the verge.

 

I swear I am going to clear out the freezers with the stuff I will never eat and probably never be motivated to cook for the raccoons on Tuesday for garbage pick up on Wednesday. I wanted some $1.97 Breyer's ice cream for a 48 oz. container on sale the other day and had no way to store it, even if I could have carried it two miles on foot in near 95 F/35 C heat. That was a loss leader and less than half the price it usually goes for. I do have a Trader Joe's insulated shopping bag, so ice cream is in my immediate future.

[ElsieD]

The best laid schemes of mice and men

Gang aft a-gley

 

Robert Burns "To a Mouse"

 

Edited to add:  those lists only bear passing resemblance to what's actually in the freezer.

Edited August 21, 2017 by ElsieD (log)

[lindag]

Still better than NOTHING, which is what many of us have.

Edited August 21, 2017 by lindag
Grammar (log)

[Anna N]

 So it begins again that effort to bring my freezer under control. 

 

 A small sirloin steak that I sous vided  and served over radicchio that was sautéed with some bacon ends.  Horseradish on the side.  Didn't make much of a dent in the freezer drawer.  

[Thanks for the Crepes]

Surprisingly, I actually followed through and cleaned out the freezers today. There are three boxes of Trader Joe's puff pastry, along with a lot of other stuff that has been in the freezers too long to be edible, down by the curb waiting for tomorrow's scheduled pick up. I did keep some stuff in one freezer that can be fed to the coons after thawing, but doesn't need to be cooked. I'll dole it out to them over the next few weeks. Now I have plenty of room for ice cream and I can actually find my frozen foods now without removing everything in there. 

 

Tonight's dinner used the last of the ultra thin pork chops I bought a while back, plus a little of the ginger that had been in the freezer.

 

Now I just have to remember that my low quality fridge freezers only hold most things about three months well, and that if it didn't taste good the first time, freezing it won't make it taste better.

[Martin Fisher]

Another chicken leg quarter and some green beans today. 

Boring, but it needs to go!!! 

[Martin Fisher]

Another chicken leg quarter down!

This time with creamed spinach!

 

[Anna N]

 I raise you one eggroll and three chicken wings.  

[scubadoo97]

I suspect you are a good freeze maven when you want to be Anna

[Anna N]

6 hours ago, scubadoo97 said:

I suspect you are a good freeze maven when you want to be Anna

 Not quite sure what you mean.

 

My relationship with my freezer is very dysfunctional.  Instead of being a potential source of meals, ingredients, condiments etc., it is a place where food goes to die.  It is an alternate compost  heap. It allows me to postpone the guilt that I am ultimately going to feel  about wasted food.

 

 Eventually perhaps there will be such a thing as a smart freezer which will ask you a series of questions before you are allowed to store anything in there. Questions such as, "Did you like it the first time?" If the answer is no the freezer will refuse to make space for whatever it is. If the answer is yes it will come back with, "Then when are you going to use it? " I could go on, but you get the general idea. 

 

A freezer inventory that might work for me would be more than just a list of what goes in and what comes out. It would include a dated plan and purpose for every item. And it would then be smart enough to remind me and nag me  to comply. 

 

But I did use a pork chop from there last night. 

[chromedome]

44 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Eventually perhaps there will be such a thing as a smart freezer which will ask you a series of questions before you are allowed to store anything in there. Questions such as, "Did you like it the first time?" If the answer is no the freezer will refuse to make space for whatever it is. If the answer is yes it will come back with, "Then when are you going to use it? " I could go on, but you get the general idea. 

 

That smacks of Harry Potter, more than technology.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

6 hours ago, chromedome said:

That smacks of Harry Potter, more than technology.

 

You don't talk to your vacuum cleaner??

 

[chromedome]

I cuss it frequently, if that counts. 

[Anna N]

2 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

You don't talk to your vacuum cleaner??

 

 I not only talk to them they have been named.  The white one in the front room is Ruby and black one in the great room is Ronnie. This is not racist. They are inanimate plastic objects for crying out loud.    Ruby refuses to clean the carpet  and Ronnie refuses to obey the invisible wall and so goes wandering off where ever he feels like.  You have to talk to them with some authority in your voice. 

 

Edited August 26, 2017 by Anna N (log)