I love the fruits and their prices you can get in the summer, and I like to freeze them and save them for smoothies, desserts, snacks, etc. in the winter.
It takes a little more work, but I like to individually freeze the fruit first and then put them into bags.
Example 1:
After I hull and chop strawberries to bit size pieces, I lay them on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. I put the sheet in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Then, I put the newly frozen strawberries in the freezer bag/container I'd like to store them in.
I've done this with mangoes, pineapple, peaches, and blueberries as well.
The risk I run into is if the power goes out this summer for any period of time for hurricanes, but (I might be mad, but...) it's a gamble I'm willing to take. That's why I store dried fruits, too!
Example 2:
I know green and red peppers aren't fruit, but I like freezing them as well. They're not always on sale, but when they are, they're at least half their regular prices. As with strawberries, I chop them up, but I don't need to individually freeze them. I've been able to just pop them all in a freezer bag and pull out what I need when I need peppers.
Example 3:
Sour Cream...
My family isn't filled with big sour cream eaters, but we do eat meals that call for sour cream occasionally. To work around that, after I open a container of sour cream, I divide the rest into little tupperware/ziplock containers that hold about a 1/2 cup each. Then, I freeze them. I usually use all of them in about two to three months.
I hope this gives you more ideas on foods you can have in storage.
Happy Freezing!!!
One thing I learned AGAIN this week is that it's better to make a 9 x 13 dish in two 9 x 9's and freeze one of the 9 x 9 for a rainy day. My forgetfulness this week led to waisting a lot of chicken and pasta.
ReplyDeleteBetween your freezer tip and my typing down my new way to approach 9 x 13 dishes, who knows? Maybe I'll remember next time.
(Now I know I could cut the 9 x 13 recipes in half like you often do. But, the times I have made the two 9 x 9 and froze one, the freezer meal did come in very handy later.)