Reader Question: What can you freeze?

I get a lot of questions about what you can and can't freeze, and let me tell you- I freeze just about everything. Being able to stock my freezer when I've found a bargain has made a significant difference in my grocery bill!

I did a little bit of research on the issue and found this USDA list on freezing and food safety. Check it out!

Here's a very short list of things I have frozen with success:

• Cheese (shredded freezes best- the texture of block cheese gets weird, but if you're going to shred it anyway, it's not a problem.)
• Cream cheese (texture gets odd, but if you're using it in something like a dip or cheesecake, it's fine.)
• Sour cream (stir it up really well once it's thawed)
• yogurt
• Milk
• Tomatoes
• Zucchini
• Bananas
• Meat of all types
• homemade broth
• bread dough
• homemade muffins
• homemade pancakes
• homemade waffles
• store bought bread
• flour
• sugar
• fresh strawberries
• fresh cantelope
• fresh grapes

This is an extremely short list of what I have frozen. I'll stick just about anything in the freezer. If I've never frozen it before I'll just start with one thing.

The worst that's ever happened is that the texture has changed, but if I use the item as part of a recipe instead of eating it alone (like cream cheese) it usually does not make a difference.

When I know we won't be using it in the next month or so, I'll seal it with my handy food saver. I remember being suspicious of the food saver claims, but mine has been worth every penny.

How has your freezer saved you money? What is the most unusual thing you've frozen? Share in the comments or e-mail me at Frugal.Homemaker.Plus (at) gmail (dot) com!

Are you a freezer rebel?

Amy K asks:

I'm very curious: what are you going to do with all that cheese? Google says it doesn't freeze well, but it should stay just fine in the fridge and age nicely because it's cheddar...Could you do a post about what you're actually going to do, so I have ideas if I hit such a great deal?

Great question, Amy! Ask and you shall receive.

I chucked my .29 cent organic cheddar right in my freezer. I'm a freezer rebel, and I freeze all kinds of things that traditional wisdom say do not freeze well. I find that it is true that block cheese does not freeze all that well, but it depends on what you are using it for. If you want to slice it, I would not recommend freezing it. It will crumble when you try to slice it. However, if you are using it grated, go right ahead and freeze it. I pull one out to thaw in the fridge a day or two before I use it, and grate it in my food processor. I use it in all kinds of things.

Tonight we're having leftover salad with Tuna Cheddar Chowder. It melts just fine, even after it has been frozen.

Quesedillas, burritos, and tacos are good ways to use cheese, as are casseroles. I use this basic build a casserole recipe to use up leftovers and odd ingredients I get on super bargain.

We usually eat homemade pizza on Fridays. I'll use cheddar in place of mozzarella if that's all I have.

A little grated cheddar on eggs with toast is a yummy breakfast.

Other dairy products I freeze that I've been told does not freeze well- cottage cheese, sour cream, and cream cheese. The texture does change, but when I've these things in recipes, like casserole, quiche, or cheesecake, I've never noticed a difference. It all depends on what you are using the item for.

There must be other freezer rebels out there! What "do not freeze" items have you frozen? How has it turned out? Let me know in the comments or e-mail me at Frugal.Homemaker.Plus (at) gmail (dot) com!

How long would you survive?

Created by OnePlusYou

I don't typically go for quiz things like this on my blog, but I thought that this one raised an interesting question. If you could not leave your home for whatever reason, how long could you survive? According to this horribly unscientific quiz, we could go 112 days.

I think it's good to have at least a vague idea of what you have on hand. I try to keep extra food, shampoo, soap, etc on hand in case of things like job loss or unexpected expenses. We could not go to the grocery store for quite awhile if needed, thanks to our pantry/freezer stockpile. We'd be getting mighty tired of pantry meals, but it's nice to know that it is there. We also have several gallons of water on hand, but we would run out of that in a few days if something truly catastrophic happened.

We're hardly survivalists, but being somewhat prepared can't hurt.

Treasure Hunting...in your freezer

Ahhh...the joys of having a freezer. It's a great money saving tool to be able to buy up large quantities of bargain foods, near expiration foods, veggies that you froze because you just had to many to eat fresh...I love my freezer.

One of the tricks to cutting your grocery bill is actually *using* your freezer. By using it, I don't mean simply buying stuff at the lowest cost and putting it in the freezer, never to seen again. If it's anything like mine, it's stuffed to the brim. I'm not sure that I can fit one more thing in it, even with some juggling. I have a chest style freezer, and I'm not even completely sure what's at the bottom. It's a treasure chest of bargains- let's go hunting! I'm spending the next few weeks planning my menu out of the freezer.

Here's a map of my menu for this week:

Sunday: Popeye Pie (using bargain spinach, the free ham I was given for Christmas at my workplace, organic eggs that I snagged on about to expire special, and organic cottage cheese I got for .25 cents about to expire and froze.)

Monday: Baked eggplant Parmesan (everything, from eggplant to cheese, is from my freezer. Well, everything except the eggs.)

Tuesday: Buffalo style chicken wings, sauteed zucchini with Parmesan and walnuts - all from my freezer, with the exception of Frank's Red Hot for the wing sauce.

Wednesday: chili (to utilize the tons and tons of tomatoes I bought up for next to nothing, then froze. Thanks for the tip, Crystal!)

Thursday: Marinated chicken breasts, green beans

Friday: Shrimp scampi, (made with buy one get one free shrimp and cheap cheap cheap butter from Target)

What treasures will you uncover in your freezer and pantry?