Cooking Basics: The Freezer

Having a freezer is pretty common place in the United States. They're typically attached right to our refrigerator. Some of us are fortunate enough to own a larger freezer too. But are you taking yours to full advantage?

Keeping frozen juice, peas, and ice cubes isn't all a freezer can do. If you plan appropriately, it can be a staple to your food storage and keep you away from the grocery store (or fast food) every other day. Here's a few tips:

-Store a few entrees you have prepared, big enough to feed your family. On this blog I have put a few meals that freeze very well, and will continue to put more.
-Keep a variety of frozen vegetables and fruits. Frozen are much healthier than canned, and tastier too. You can either buy when the fruits and vegetables are in season and on sale and freeze yourself, or you can do what I do and buy pre-frozen.
-Meats, when properly wrapped and marked, freeze very well too. I save money when I buy ground beef and ground turkey on sale, in large bulk (5 pounds ore more). I portion it into meal-sized portions, wrap and mark, and freeze for later. It will last several months in my freezer. Same goes for roasts and turkeys--wait for those really good prices and take advantage!
-Cookie dough freezes fabulously! Have you ever made a batch of cookies that winds up with six dozen cookies and two people to eat them? If you freeze them in dough balls on a tray, then transfer to zip-lock bags in quantities of a dozen, you can cook off a few at a time and enjoy them over the course of a month or two. Plus, frozen dough balls make a great gift.

Remember to keep a list on the side of the fridge or freezer of what is in there, and cross it off when you use it. You really don't want to forget that you put in beautiful thick-cut pork chops that were $.99/lb , and find them three years later with two inches of frostbite on the outside. So sad. :(

Keep an eye out for all kinds of freezer meals and ideas, coming soon to a-dash-of-Lisa near you!