Fit more into your freezer.
Buy meat and chicken at the store when it goes on sale or is marked down. I have been known to buy 50 lbs of chicken at a time if I find it at the right price. When you get home from the grocery store, rinse your chicken pieces and place them into a freezer bag big enough to feed your family for one meal. Don’t use a bag that is too big. Have on hand some pint, quart, and gallon sized bags and use the appropriate size. I usually use the quart sized bags and put 4 or 5 pieces of chicken in them. Lay the chicken pieces flat. Zip your bag almost closed and insert a straw into the corner of the bag. Suck out the air from inside the bag. Once all the air is out of the bag, close immediately as you pull out the straw. This will preserve the chicken for a longer amount of time and works almost as well as a Seal-A-Meal.
Ground Beef- I usually pack ground beef into 1 pound increments. Pack what you will use for one meal. Place beef in the freezer bag and zip the bag till it is almost closed. Lay the bag on the kitchen counter and flatten the meat through out the entire bag, making sure you press it into all the corners. As you are doing this, gently press the air out of the opening on the top corner of the bag. Insert your straw and suck out any excess air. Close immediately as you pull out the straw. You now have a flattened bag of ground beef. You will be surprised how little space it takes up in the freezer. When you are ready to thaw your meat it will thaw quickly because the surface of the meat is so thin.
You may use this method with any number of items that you want to freeze. Give it a try and just see how much you can fit into the freezer. Email me if you have any questions.
posted by Lucy Stern @ 12:38 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Lucy, do you have any good recies for make/freeze ahead meals? I usually only have about 30 minutes in the evening to get dinner ready.
Hugs,
Linda
I meant "recipes".
I must learn to preview!
:)
--L.
Linda, Check out my Real Food 4 Real People link. Kaylin has a whole section of make ahead freezer meals. You can also sign up for a daily recipe email. She will have her recipe of the day and then people can email in with questions or ask if anyone has a certain recipe. Two years ago when I wrote the "Bean Book" I got a lot of recipes from people on her website.
There are only a couple that I know of; but they are tried and tested. Pizza, Peanut Butter and Jelly on toast, and What-a-burger followed by Subway sandwich. These work for guys, you do what you need to do.
This is the kind of blog Lucy will be great at. Now you know why its hard for me to stay thin.
Brad, My dad had a chest freezer and I have notice that with that type of freezer things get buried in the bottom. You'll end up having to throw out meats that have been in the freezer too long simple because it was buried and harder to get at. When TF and I when an bought our first freezer we got an upright just because of that. I find it easier to find things. Our second and current freezer, I got at a garage sale. It was larger and in terrific shape. It was a real fluke that I got that freezer for $ 75.00. The family was moving and at the last minute decided to sell the freezer. She told me that if I would take it that day that I could have it for the $ 75.00. I called my brother and he came over after work and hauled it home for me. I gave him my old freezer and he was a happy camper also. It's amazing what you can find at a garage sale.
Lucy,
Chest freezers take more management but are three times as efficient use of power.
Randy
Randy, I guess it is a matter of personal preference. I would rather have the upright and know where everything is than have to worry about meat getting buried and then have to throw it out. It probably comes out the same.
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