how to stock a freezer

How to Stock your Freezer in Four Hours or Less

1. Schedule your freezer day. Pick a day and time and put it in your calendar. ...
2. Pick your recipes. Make your life easy and pick “no cook” freezer recipes.
3. Make a grocery list. A couple of days before the big freezer meal day with my mom, I made a grocery list. ...
4. Go grocery shopping. ...
5. Prep your freezer meals. ...
6. Clean up and marvel at your stocked freezer! ...

Full Answer

Do You stock your freezer with the right foods?

Solution: Turn 1-gallon resealable freezer bags into skinny storage. Fill the bags, lay them flat on a baking sheet and freeze, then store vertically in magazine files. Rack ‘Em Up

How to organize a chest freezer?

Aug 18, 2020 · Freezer essentials are your go-to items to make healthy eating realistic f0r your family. A well-stocked freezer is an insurance policy for last minute dinners and go-to healthy snacks. Learn about the must-haves from a family that loves to cook from scratch.

How do I make my freezer more efficient?

Mar 24, 2015 · Two Questions to Ask Before Stocking Your Freezer. Question 1: What does my family love to eat? Replace convenience freezer foods with freezer-friendly homemade alternatives. Focus on making and purchasing foods/ingredients your family is guaranteed to love! Question 2: How much freezer space do I have available? If limited space is available, focus on …

How do you store food in a small freezer?

May 09, 2020 · Freezer Essentials are things you can stock up on and store in the freezer for when you need a meal, side dish or extra ingredients you might not have in the pantry. They’re your go to of extra stock items, where you can store leftovers, meal prep ideas and items you stocked up on when they went on sale.

How do I stock my upright freezer?

3:164:05How to Organize Your Freezer Like a Pro | Epicurious - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo I've got your little things in the door. Then I made containers. For your bacon sausage chickenMoreSo I've got your little things in the door. Then I made containers. For your bacon sausage chicken livers your stock scraps oh they're nice and handy. Another important thing with the labeling.

What is the best way to pack a freezer?

0:071:55How to Pack Food Into a Freezer - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSafe containers and glass jars should be packed within a half inch of the rim to allow for expansionMoreSafe containers and glass jars should be packed within a half inch of the rim to allow for expansion when frozen freezer bags should be packed to the max squeeze.

What should I stock in my deep freezer?

13 Foods You Should Always Have Stocked In Your FreezerRice and other cooked grains. Sometimes grains take twice as long to cook than your entire meal. ... Really ripe bananas. You could make banana bread with these (and freeze it!) ... Nuts. ... Veggie scraps. ... Cookie dough. ... Ready-to-cook meals. ... Butter. ... Extra fresh herbs.More items...•Feb 16, 2016

Do you need drawers in a freezer?

Freezers are more energy efficient when they are full, so having the plastic drawer flap means you can fill right to the edge without an avalanche when you open the freezer door. I wouldn't go back to having shelves with or without flappy doors.Jun 16, 2015

Should you pack your freezer?

A full freezer retains cold better than an empty one. When you open the door, the mass of frozen food will help keep in the cold, and the unit won't have to work as hard to cool empty space. But don't jam pack the freezer either; you need air to circulate.Jun 6, 2014

What do you put in a freezer?

6 Things to Keep in Your Freezer at All TimesSpinach. Frozen spinach is packaged at peak ripeness, so you can have the leafy greens available even in the off-season. ... Bananas. Frozen fruits are a smoothie's best friend, and that magic begins with freezing bananas. ... Nuts and Seeds. ... Stock. ... Chiles. ... Grains and Flours.Feb 15, 2017

How long should you keep things in the freezer?

Generally speaking, most food should last 3-6 months without succumbing to freezer burn. But wrapping foods properly with freezer wrap (not plastic wrap, which lets a lot of air in), or using air-tight, freezer-safe containers can increase their “shelf” life.Apr 10, 2020

What food goes where in a freezer?

You should follow these general guidelines when stocking your stand-up freezerTop drawer – Ice cream, baked goods, frozen fruit, prepared foods.Middle drawer – vegetables, chips, soups etc.Bottom drawer – Meat, fish and poultry.

Tips for how to stock your freezer

Before diving into the list, here are some things to keep in mind as you’re stocking your freezer.

Freezers items to purchase

Buying from the frozen aisle? Throw those packages right in your freezer being mindful of use-by dates. Vacuum-packed items are also ideal for freezing. Meat in freezer-safe paper right from the butcher can be covered with a second layer of aluminum foil.

Foods to freeze for later

While you can buy all of these foods already pre-frozen, there is a benefit to also freezing your own food. It could be because you have an excess amount that you can’t use up all at once.

For more freezing resources

Some of the best resources on freezing food are classic, encyclopedic cookbooks. Two great ones include:

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Chill Out!

From storage and labeling tips to a frozen food timeline, here's everything you need to know about properly stocking your freezer.

Spare Your Pans

Problem: Your favorite baking pan is stuck in the freezer with a lasagna.

Put Up Produce

Problem: Where are the peas? Unwieldy bags of vegetables are crammed into every empty crevice.

Trade Trays

Problem: That T-bone you pulled out for dinner is dry and leathery and tastes a little funny.

Pack Like a Pro

Want to keep freezer burn at bay? We've got tones of tips for wrapping your food up safe.

Ice Ages

Frozen foods don't last forever. Eliminate waste with the following freezer timeline.

12 Months

Raw whole chicken, steaks, butter, egg whites, breadcrumbs and fishsticks.

Resources for Affordable Freezer Essentials

In addition to local stores, I use and love these online resources for stocking our freezer at affordable prices:

Frozen Vegetables

People often discount the nutritional value of frozen veggies, but my goal in life is to change that. And to eventually have a good hair day. We’ll see.

Frozen Fruit

Frozen fruit has endless possibilities! You can use it to make and prep smoothies (related: Make and Freeze Smoothie Packs ), add it to yogurt (related: Easy Instant Pot Yogurt ), or even make a dessert (related: Gluten-Free Blackberry Crisp ).

Meat

We have a local butcher that we love, but we also supplement their selection with a monthly box from Butcher Box. Butcher Box sources only organic and free-range meat for their customers and ships them to your home once a month.

Herbs

Next time you shell out $2.50 for a small package of fresh herbs, don’t let the excess go to waste. You can totally freeze the leftovers for quick additions to future meals.

Freezer Essentials – Sauces

Sauces ready to thaw and serve are an amazing freezer essential. I keep canning jars full of Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce for quick and healthy homemade dinners.

Freezer Essentials – Soup

My brief love letter to soup: Oh, soup. I love you so much! You’re easy to make, affordable, and so nourishing. You also freeze like a dream.

Two Questions to Ask Before Stocking Your Freezer

Question 1: What does my family love to eat? Replace convenience freezer foods with freezer-friendly homemade alternatives. Focus on making and purchasing foods/ingredients your family is guaranteed to love!

How to Stock a Real Food Freezer

Pastured Meats and Wild-Caught Seafood: Pastured/grass-fed meat should take high priority within a real food budget. My family purchases half a cow (and/or a pig) and whole chickens from a local farm. This requires planning and budgeting, but saves money and time from buying individual cuts of meat.

Helpful Tips And Tricks

Know your freezer storage space availability and what’s worth freezing versus keeping fresh or stored in the pantry.

Benefits Of Stocking Your Freezer

Less Stress. Once you’ve stocked your freezer with the essentials, it’s less stressful when it comes to time to make a meal for the family. You’ll be more prepared for emergencies and times when you’ve got an unexpected crowded house.

What Are Freezer Essentials?

Freezer Essentials are things you can stock up on and store in the freezer for when you need a meal, side dish or extra ingredients you might not have in the pantry. They’re your go to of extra stock items, where you can store leftovers, meal prep ideas and items you stocked up on when they went on sale.

How To Meal Plan With Freezer Essentials

Meal Planning is something I LOOOOOVE doing. It’s such a time saver, a money saver, well, an overall life saver. Already having your meals planned out for the week (or month for some families) helps when making your grocery list.

Tips for Stocking your Freezer

Knowing your freezer space availability is CRUCIAL. Before you start stocking the freezer, know what kind of space you have available. While checking on this, take inventory of what freezer essentials you already have first. See what you can make with these ingredients as you meal plan BEFORE you make your list to go to the market.

Freezer Essentials Ingredient Checklist

These are almost the first thing people think of freezing and rightfully so.

Labeling, Packaging and Storing Properly

In order to stay organized and well stocked with our freezer essentials, it’s important to label, package and store all of our freezer staple ingredients and meals properly.

Salt

I use Redmond Real Salt, Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt and Maldon sea salt. And yes, I have all three out on my counter when cooking. Pepper is good to have on hand, but I would also be totally fine without it. Salt? Not so much, it’s the top of my list!

Seasonings and Spices

The spices I use the most often are red pepper flakes, paprika, cumin, cayenne, bay leaves, garlic and onion powder. For baking, I always have cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla extract. Those are just the basics!

Condiments

Hot sauce has a long shelf life and adds a punch of flavor to soups and tacos. Mayonnaise, ketchup, BBQ sauce and mustards are a good idea to keep on hand. Soy sauce, tamari, hoisin and sriracha can also be used to punch up the flavor in a ton of recipes.

Oils, Vinegar and Cooking Fats

Extra virgin olive oil and avocado oil are musts in my kitchen. I store extra Kerrygold unsalted butter in my freezer and transfer it to the fridge as needed, and nut oils like sesame or walnut go in my refrigerator since they spoil quickly.

Stock and Broth

Cartons of organic chicken stock line my pantry shelves; homemade chicken bone broth and beef stock are stored in Souper Cubes in my freezer. Stocks can be used for vegetable or minestrone soup and sauces.

Canned Beans

I stock everything from organic refried beans to black beans, white beans, pinto beans and kidney beans. Add drained and rinsed beans to soups or chili, mash white beans with sautéd garlic as a side dish or add black beans to quesadillas or tacos. I also make dried beans in my Instant Pot, and they are delicious!

Rice & Grains

The rice I use most often is Cal Rose short grain white rice. I also stock basmati, jasmine and arborio. I keep a couple boxes of pre-made frozen brown and jasmine rice in my freezer for grab-and-go servings. Other grains I keep stocked for side dishes and soups are polenta, farro, barley, quinoa and oats.