Freezer Discussion: I Need Your Advice & Tips!
As you may know, I just purchased a new freezer… and yes, I absolutely LOVE it! I need your help, though! You see, I’m not too knowledgeable in the freezer department and would greatly benefit from any advice and/or tips I can get!
Here are some questions I have:
- What items can you freeze?
- What are your favorite items to freeze?
- Can you freeze milk and cheese?
- If so, what are the best way to freeze these items?
- What kind of packaging materials should be used for freezing?
- What are some ways to prevent fruit from turning brown during freezing?
These are just a few questions to get ya thinkin’. If you have any other tips about freezing, then please feel free to let us know! I think this will be a great discussion. I’m hoping all the information provided in the comment section will not only help me, but lots of you too!
Thanks again for your help!
Happy Freezing!:)
I freeze just about everything also! I have found that using press n seal really helps with freezer burn. I seal it up really well with that and then put in a zip loc freezer bag. It’s strawberry time here, so that will be the next thing going in my freezer. I like to freeze them whole. Just wash them, let dry then put on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze, when frozen put in your freezer bags. I freeze cheese too, work out great. Never forze milk though…
PS. Bread can get hard after thawing. I freeze cookies and quiche and Costco muffins!
My very favorite freezer cookbook: Fix Freeze Feast. Using bulk shopping, you make several quick freezer dinners at one time. Mostly frozen in zip lock freezer bags, some items in tin trays, you slap a label on with cooking instructions, throw in the freezer, and pull it out the morning you will cook it. Delicious, and very easy!
Hi Julie!
You can definately freeze hot dogs. I generally buy all our hot dogs for a year during Memorial Day sales (I don’t care for them, but my kids do). Just throw the packages in the freezer… no prep. I don’t think that they would last a whole year in a fridge/freezer, but if you have a frost-free chest, I know that it works great!
:)dana
make sure the stuff you are freezing has been frozen the whole time or was never frozen. you don’t want to re-freeze something like fresh fish that was frozen for tranport then thawed in store.
I freeze leftover wine to use in cooking in small containers or icetrays then pop out and save in a freezer bag.
Also use your icetrays to freeze herbs (basil) and pesto, pop them out and into your favortie recipe.
peeled brownish bananas are great frozen for smoothies.
I will bake a whole chicken (I sell pampered chef and use my deep covered baker which I LOVE) shred it and freeze in single serving bags (that I then store in a larger bag) great to thaw for chicken salad, quesidallas, chef salad, baby’s lunch, etc. etc. buying the whole chicken saves us a lot of money.
Another pampered chef plug, but I use my scoop to freeze cookie dough on a cookie sheet then bag them for baking later, allows me to bake only the amount I need and saves over buying premade cookie dough of which you have to cook the whole package.
A few things that haven’t been mentioned:
Uncooked cookie dough: make a huge batch, scoop it out onto a tray & freeze. Once frozen, place cookie balls in zip lock bag. This is a must at Christmas time! When cooking, allow to sit 10 minutes on tray to thaw before you cook.
Broth: either in ice cube trays (freeze, then transfer to baggy) or in containers. I make a big batch when we have chicken/turkey bones, then feeze it in smaller portions.
Leftover veggies from dinner: If there is only 1/2 cup or so left, I save them up, keep ading to the bag & then make chicken pot pie.
Also, when freezing things (i.e chicken breast, sauces, ground meats, etc.) lay them flat in zip-lock bags. You will be able to load things better in your freezer without having all these different sizes bags/containers.
They also have stackable freezer containers. Look in the Canning Area of your local market. You should be able to get stackable ones that are square without taking up too much room.
Have fun experimenting!!!
A great way to save money is to buy meat when it is on sale and freeze it. A lot of meat goes on sale 2-3 days before the use or freeze by date. I buy steaks, hamburger, roasts, etc and take them out of the original packaging and wrap them in plastic wrap, foil and put in freezer bag.
Julie-
We freeze hot dogs and have never noticed a difference. I just take them out of the freezer the day before to thaw in the fridge
Veggies! I blanched and froze 60 pounds of asparagus last month. $1.50 a pound from a local farmer sounds way better than $3.99 a pound in the winter shipped in from another country. Hopefully I can do a bunch of beans, brocilli and cauilflower from the garden too.
My favorite use of the freezer(besides the obvious of stocking up on sale items and fruit in season) is to freeze ready cooked meat, chicken, beef, ham, hamburger, turkey, in serving size zip lock bags. It’s so handy to grab a bag out and have that big step of cooking the meat, done! Here is one of my favorite recipes for a Mexican Meat, which we use in all our Mexican food. You can use the same recipe for either beef or chicken.
https://www.primeonadime.com/2009/03/recipes.html
Also, I never have any trouble with fruit turning brown. I just put it all in zip lock bags and freeze it.
I freeze chicken stock in ice cube trays and then put them in ziplocs-write on the outside how much is in the bag when thawed-ex- 1/2 cup etc. also freezing veggies- blanch them first and they will defrost perfectly. I saw someone put in the berries on a cookie sheet- freeze then ziploc them. When I see over ripe bananas on sale- I unpeel them slice them and do the same as the berries- Perfect for banana bread, muffins, or smoothies. I also have a list on the side of the freezer with the contents by shelf with the date I put it in– so much less waste.
You can freeze butter, which I did, and now I have enough to last years. I’m giving it away b/c it takes up the bottom compartment of the freezer (I have the same one as yours). I always freeze steaks and chicken w/ the marinade in the ziploc bag w/ them so I just throw them on the grill and we’re ready to go! I don’t recommend freezing cream cheese, it becomes grainy.
everyone always talks about how you can freeze milk. i have done it & like others before me said here, it really doesn’t taste good. it has a strange texture & bad taste. we also don’t like how there are always little ice chips in the milk after thawing. just talking though. 🙂
i have always frozen shredded cheese & that works just fine. no idea about block cheese.
and i am excited about reading about solutions to browning fruit. i always have that problem with fruit unless it is storebought frozen fruit…
hope that helps a tad!
I just read an artile in America’s Test Kitchen magazine, “Cook’s Illustrated” about freezing/thawing bread and after much testing they said frozen bread tastes best/freshest if a slice is zapped for a few seconds in the microwave.
I freeze cheese and milk the same way that most of these other people do. One thing that I do that is different is that I cook 1 pound of meat and then put 1/2 of it in a regular sandwich bag (we only eat 1/2 a pound in each meal). Then, I put that sandwich bag in a big freezer bag and fill it up. This way I use fewer of the more expensive freezer bags because I just need one to put all the little packages in. I don’t freeze casseroles because I do not know ahead of time if I am going to have a rushed day or not and casseroles take a long time to thaw in my experience. So I just pull out a sandwich bag of cooked meat and pop it in the microwave for 1 minute before adding my other stuff to it to make a quick meal. Good luck!
I freeze EVERYTHING!! I recently upgraded to a stand up freezer and love it!! When I make casseroles, I try to make an extra one in a foil pan and then cover with foil and write the cooking directions right on the foil with a permanent marker. That way the hubby can throw in dinner too!! (Lasagna and enchiladas freeze great) Also, flash freeze things that you will only use portions of. I buy brick cheese, shred it all up and spread out on a cookie sheet. Pop it in the freezer for about 20 minutes and then it won’t stick together when you put it in a large ziploc bag!! Then you can just grab a handful as you need it.
I love your site and hope you get lots of freezer tips!!
My tip for freezing fish: If you don’t have a vacuum sealer, freeze fish in a ziploc bag full of water to prevent freezer burn. I live on the FL coast and we go deep sea fishing, it really is the best way to keep all that fish fresh.
I freeze toilet paper, It’s cool on the buns, yah
oh other things we freeze…
butter, homemade hamburger patties, hotdogs, berries, seasonings (that are not open), coffee, candles (they take longer to burn that way!), chopped up veggies (all but onions, that was a disaster :)), flour, etc.
i coo ground beef & put 1 lb in each baggy. Then i put all the little baggies into a big bag to double bag.
i freeze chicken & pork, however i don’t cook it first, although i suppose you could.
coffee always keeps better if it is frozen. i don’t keep our open coffee in there (we keep that in the fridge), but any stockpiled coffee goes in the freezer.
making your own hamburger patties is so less expensive too. we bought a $5 hamburger patty maker that is amazing. you don’t need one of those to do it, but it sure has been fun. and it is so nice to pull those out of the freezer, set & ready to go on the grill.
think that is all i can think of right now. i love the yogurt idea others had. i have never done that, but it sounds GOOD!
Love your page! I freeze everything. I have a lay down and a upright so tons of stuff in my house comes from my freezer. For berries I freeze individually on cookie sheets and then transfer to ziplocs. I do the same for all fruits. It doesn’t matter if you dip them in lemon juice first to freeze them because they don’t turn brown as they freeze it’s when you thaw them. I only use for smoothies, cobblers, pies, cookies or fruit salad for the family if you don’t mind lots of juice. They won’t stay firm after being froze so would never serve at a party. Cheese is great to freeze. I portion out meat when bought in big packages and use freezer paper. In a lay down I have kept meat for 18-24 months if near the bottom. Cookies, cheese and bread are my biggest thing to freeze. We use so much of these items. Cookies can be frozen as dough (roll it to slice it or I freeze indviduals on a cookie sheet and then put into a bag) or you can freeze already cooked ones in a ziploc. I have froze bread in the bag you buy at the store for up to six months no problem. Sour cream freezes but will seperate so mix good. I use a lot of tubberware containers for my stuff. It’s great to buy onions, vegis on sale and then I portion out into half cups or cup servings depending on what it is. Pull them out and it’s already measured. With onions though I freeze how your going to use them. They can get a little mushy but in soups and casseroles you will never know. Have fun filling that freezer up and until it’s full FREEZE WATER. Your electricty bill will thank you. An empty freezer runs MORE than a full one.
I send a couple days a month cooking and making meals I can just take out and heat. I buy meat on sale and only have a big clean up once. I have many freezeable meal recipes that I think your family would love and for a busy mom these are great. Let me know if you would like some of my recipes. cpetersonp@gmail.com
what an awesome topic — I can’t wait to read these posts.
Cheese is totally fine to freeze, milk not so much. 🙂 Also I would invest in those vacuum sealer. They are awesome and allow you to freeze all kinds of things. I love my freezer, best money I ever spent!!
I freeze milk both regular and lactose free, I think it tastes great and if seperates a little we just shake it really well my kids love it when there is still a few ice crystals left in the milk. cheese is hard to slice after frosen but tastes the same, i freese yougurt when getting it on last chance markdowns in huge amounts, we then eat it frosen like icecream or you can thaw it and sometimes depending on the brand it is just like before it was frosen but sometimes it seperates and looks nasty eventhough it tastes just fine so we usually stick to it frozen. If i find a great deal on fresh fruit or veggies we have a chopping party and freese ready to go produce.
just about anything can be frozen.
I freeze cheese but you must shred it first. Or you can buy shredded cheese and throw it in there. My family used to freeze gallons of milk b/c we went through so much. It separates but we just shook it up again.
We freeze jalapenos, green peppers, onions, tomatoes…pretty much any veggie that you will COOK when you thaw. It is easier if you dice them ahead of time. I like to dice them in the size I will normally cook with. Like an onion, green pepper, and jalapeno all together to make chili with some time.
Since it’s just me and my husband and it’s cheaper to buy things in bulk I often dice all my onions when I notice they are starting to turn so that I don’t end up throwing them all away. But realize…it’s a PAIN if you freeze them all together. I suggest 1 onion per bag.
You can do the same with sliced potatoes.
Beware freezer burn. Don’t freeze so much that you won’t use it before it dehaydrates! I hate throwing away stuff for that reason. Of course I only have a little freezer and those aren’t as nice.
A couple of suggestions I did not see:
Make two meals; 1 for supper and one to freeze. After a week of cooking you have 5-7 meals stocked up. Another tip is to let dishes cool down for quite awhile before you freeze, don’t stick them in the freezer too soon and I will freeze items in the fridge freezer before I put it into the deep freeze. Our deep freezer works hard enough as it is. One last suggestion is to keep your freezer as full as possible, they say your freezer does not have to work as hard when it is full.
We go to the farms and pick fruit eat summer. We freeze tons of blueberries, blackberries & peaches. I wash my berries and lay on towels to dry. Then, I freeze in Ziploc quart-sized bags. We have tried Hefty, but they don’t seem to do as well.
Peaches are sliced and froze on a cookie sheet before putting into bags. If not, they will really stick together much worse.
Our fruit keeps for well over a year. There have been times that we do not use it all for up to 2 years.
We have also froze peas from the garden. They were not all eaten for like 3-4 years (it was a huge crop that year). We couldn’t believe how the last bags still tasted so fresh when cooked.
Meals we like to freeze are:
Enchiladas of several kind…just as the comment above, I make extra pans when I make them. They are kind of messy to make, so it is a one time mess.
Lasagna is great to freeze. It has kept for us almost a year with no change in taste.
Chicken spaghetti is another great one.
You can also make extras of your marinades and sauces like: fajita marinade, pesto sauce, etc. and freeze in those very small plastic containers. Or, go ahead and freeze your meat in the marinade.
I know lots of people confirmed you can freeze cheese, but didn’t see mentioned that you can freeze butter really well. I would also suggest labeling everything w/ a date so nothing stays in too long and get freezer burn. Have fun!
one of my favorite things to freeze is onions, they do lose about 50% of the flavor in the frezer but i love having them chopped and ready to go when i through together a casserole or something in the crockpot.
same goes for celery, sweetpotatoes, carrots, brocoly and any other veggie we use often.
cookie dough or finished cookies are great as well. If i make them from scratch i make about 8 times as much and freese what ever i do not bake, and i freeze what i do not want the family to inhaile right away.
I didn’t read all of the comments but I have a great suggestion for remembering WHAT you froze and put in there…we have had many things get “lost” in the freezer because we forgot we had it! We use a dry erase board and write the item down. Then we just place “tick” marks for however many of the item we have. Each time we take something out we just use our finger to wipe away one of the tick marks. Once we are running low on something it is very easy to tell just by looking at the board. I hope this is helpful!
I am wondering about the Kraft Deli Meat? My coupons expire tomorrow and I was debating wether to stock up- has anyone tried to freeze this item?
I have a deep freezer too and LOVE it. I freeze: milk, cheese, meat, butter, bread, bagels, english muffins, yogurt, any baked goods (stock up on good sales on Entemanns coffee cake, soups. I usually buy bigger amounts of meat like ground beef b/c its cheaper that way and then split it up into smaller portions in freezer bags. I will also buy those pre-made dinners and sides sometimes when they are on sale (tyson, hormel, etc) and freeze those for up to 3 months- they are great when you are in a hurry.
Laura E.
Regarding the rice…I cook a large amount all the way, then freeze it in ziplock bags in 1-2 cup batches. Thaw in microwave & drain any water if necessary or if you are using it in soup etc. just toss it in frozen.
I freeze cheese all of the time (even slices). You don’t want to freeze sour cream or anything with mayonaise because they separate. Since you have a freezer now, you should do that once a month cooking. Especially since you have small ones at home. More time to spend with them! I use my vacumn sealer and sometimes zipoc or Hefty. One thing I used to do all of the time when my kids were little was make a batch of cookie dough and get a small ice cream scoop and scoop it out on a cookie sheet until they got hard then I would transfer them to a ziploc bag. When my kids wanted hot cookies I would just take out what I needed. Yum!!
oh…and…
batteries are supposed to last longer if you store them in the freezer, so keep that in mind next time the big sale comes up. Also rubber bands.
quiche freezes well too.
Freeze chicken broth, coconut milk, tomato sauce, and other liquids in an ice cub tray then transfer to a ziplock for easy individual servings later. Also fun to use toothpicks and freeze juice for popsicles.
Freeze any leftover fruits or veggies before they go bad. Make great additions as ice cream toppings, smoothies, and in stir fry or soup. Blanch leafy veggies before freezing.
I also make cookie dough, roll it into a log, and freeze it. When you want to have fresh baked cookies, slice desired quantity off the log and place on the cookie sheet to defrost. Ready to bake after sitting out for about 15 minutes.
And make sure to date and label items. I use a Sharpie on masking tape.
CH&E- I freeze deli meat all the time. Best if it’s still sealed by the manufactuer, but if it’s fresh, at the least, make sure to double wrap and discard the tissue paper the deli workers weigh the meat on. Lunch meat will release liquid as it defrosts, so it’s a good idea to switch containers or dump the liquid to prolong it.
Also works fine to make lunch meat sandwiches complete with cheese and conditments ahead of time. Keep the lettuce and tomatos in the fridge, though.
You can freeze Gogurt for a frozen yogurt treat for the kids.
I bake, frost, and freeze cupcakes. I have a Cupacake (from Williams Sonoma) that you can put cupcakes in for lunchtime treats. Having them made ahead of time has been a lifesaver for school lunches.
I freeze everything! I always double whatever I’m making for dinner and freeze half for a busy day.
For a fun treat, freeze capri suns and eat frozen or slushy!
Flour! Keep those ishy bug away
Milk I wouldn’t, cheese I always do, butter…um veggies you should drop in boiling water to blanch for 60 sec before to keep them from getting mushy or browning. Fruits clean good and like strawberries remove the green part…I freeze bread I haven’t bought bread for 4-5 months now and have enough to last me 3-4 more…(caught a GOOD deal) You can freeze chopped up onions…those DONT blanch…I put those in the ziplock twist n lock so the smell/flavor doesnt get into the other foods. Make up pie crusts n freeze in zip lock baggies…You are gonna need a labeler next…lol to label all your goodies. I made about 30 twice baked potatoes and through them in little zipper bags and froze them. We LOVE those…make up extra bread n freeze…you can do LOTS! I am planning on getting LOTS of corn this summer and freezing it…my mom has a garden too and we r freezin a lot of the veggies n fruit so we are stocked for winter…OH when you thaw the fruit add a little sugar and it will make a juice (I do this will all of the berries) and it is great for all kinds of treats, waffles, french toast etc…you are gonna have LOTS of fun!!
I have froze the Kraft deli meat and it is FINE 😀 Just thawed some more yesterday! 😀
I freeze hot dogs all of the time 🙂
I mistakenly froze dips when I sold a very popular in-home party plan. Mayo (any kind) has never been a good freezing item in my experiences. It separates and even if you mix it, it never goes back the same.
A few things I have not seen-
We make homemade pizza every week and I buy the 5 pound bag of pepperoni at Sam’s. We just keep the whole bag in the freezer and remove what we need every week. It has so much fat in it that it does not stick together and it thaws in a minute after putting it on the pizza. We buy the case of 20 dough balls from them too.
Blueberries can be frozen right in the Ziploc freezr bag if you don’t wash them. They don’t stick together and you have a bag of “marbles” after they are frozen. When you go to use them put your measured amount in a strainer and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear.
I put my fresh fruit into salt water as I cut it up and it won’t brown. You can cut up apples and put them in salt water and store them in the fridge for many days in ziploc without any loss of quality. Great for kids.
I don’t like milk thawed, the fat and water separates a bit usually and make for an odd freeze. I do know many others do. Also I’ve heard of many freezing bread but I’m not a fan.
Cheese – I will freeze and use shredded cheese that way. Usually I’ll be cooking the cheese that I freeze, and that tastes fine. I don’t like freezing and unfreezing cheese to use uncooked.
Fruit and veggies – I’ve done a lot where I’ll freeze first on a sheet pan and then put into a bag (so individually) Since I like diced pineapple, I’ll spray a muffin tin first with cooking spray, pop the pineapple in and freeze as a batch. I’ve also done that for shredded carrots. (use later in cakes or bread)
I run a restaurant, and when we have leftovers, I do a lot of these things to help keep things usable.
I’ve also done “Salmonsicles” lol – freeze in muffin tin to use in place of tuna in salad or sandwiches.
When freezing items for cooking, I find it helpful to freeze in 1/2 cup or cup increments and then bag all together, labeled.
I’ll try to list some of the other ideas, but I do like doing things individually or else I find i never use the item b/c it takes tons of space to thaw and then we’re stuck eating that item for days. Even chicken breasts, when I buy a family pack, I’ll freeze on a tray first and then pop into a single bag, sometimes wrapped in freezer paper too.
BeccaCKyria…love your idea of the tic marks. I’m gonna do this.
I always buy a few gallons of milk at a time, and freeze two. It takes a while to thaw, so we thaw it on the counter for around 24 hours. The more watery part of the milk thaws first, so it’s in your best interest to thaw it completely, then shake it up. Always tastes fine to us.
what is “flash freezing?”