Sarah Nicholson from London said:
Inspirational website. I learned to be a thrifty cook at my mother's side. I hope my boys will leave home knowing... More
The freezer is a food lover's hero because there's not much that can't be frozen until its needed: homemade ready meals (see Timesavers); veg and wonderful herbs; grated cheese for toppings and meat cut in strips for quick stir-frying. This section has a few surprises for us all. Visit the freezer often to keep tabs on what's inside.
I like to make a big batch of cauliflower cheese and then put it into individual portions and freeze it. It's great if the cauliflower isn't going to last much longer and you have a large amount left. It's really great with garlic in the cheese sauce and topped with breadcrumbs and parsley!
If you have roasted a chicken, freeze the carcass. Once you have two or three, boil them up for a couple of hours with two or three pints of water, a few chopped celery stalks, onions, carrots, a bunch of parsley and bay leaf to make chicken stock. Measure into pint portions and freeze them to be used whenever you need it.
Even tiny amounts of left-over sauce/spaghetti bolognese/casserole etc. are worth freezing. They can be extended for an emergency pasta sauce (add tomatoes, mushrooms...) or added as a flavour booster to soup.
After roasting meat or chicken pour liquid off into small margarine tubs, leave to cool and allow the fat to rise to the top, then freeze until needed. Microwave for 30 seconds and the layer of fat can then be easily lifted off.
I freeze left over mashed potato in bags and use it for bubble and squeak or shephards pie topping.
Instead of letting them curl up and be thrown away, freeze them whilst they are still fresh. Sandwiches can often be frozen (as long as they are something suitable that you could normally freeze - eg cheese and pickle or ham and mustard is ok but not salad!). If you freeze in lunch size sandwich bags, you have ready made packed lunches to grab when in a hurry before work. They will have thawed by lunchtime!
Mix yoghurt with any over ripe fruit such as banana and strawberries. Pour into lolly moulds and freeze.
When I buy a block of cheese I grate the whole lot and freeze it. I can use it from frozen or defrost what I need. It saves time, I never throw any away, and I only have to wash the grater once!
When bananas become ripe, throw them in the freezer and defrost when needed to make banana bread/muffins etc, you hardly even need to mash them as they are so runny!
In planning my 2-week menus, I incorporate any ingredients that are already in my fridge/freezer/cupboards to ensure they are used and not just sitting there.