Using Your Freezer to Save Money on Groceries
Apr 24 '03
The Bottom Line Your freezer can help you save time and money.
Using Your Freezer to Save Money on Groceries
I use the freezer mostly for large quantity-buying of foods on sale. My family
goes through a lot of bread (mostly my DH for toast), and I find it best to buy
several loaves whenever it goes on sale and pop them in the freezer. The loaves
thaw very quickly at room temperature, in there unopened bags, and taste just
as good as freshly bought.
Other things I buy in quantity on sale then freeze:
Flour tortillas; Meats & poultry (I find it is best to fry up the hamburger and
divide it up before freezing.); Lunch Meat & Hot dogs; Overripe peeled bananas
to use in smoothies, bread, cakes, etc.; Miniature marshmallows; Fruits &
Vegetables; Chocolate chips; Nuts; Rice; Pasta; Wheat Flour.
When I cook meats or poultry, I save the leftover scraps and bones to make
homemade broth. I save the scraps in the freezer 'til ready to use, and also
store the homemade broth in the freezer.
I save the juice from cans of fruit and vegetables and freeze it in the freezer
to use later in syrups or smoothies (in the case of the fruits), or in soups
(vegetables).
When I make pancakes and waffles, I always make enough to freeze so my I can
have a quick breakfast in the morning before going to work. I also find it easy
to sometimes double a recipe I am making for dinner and freeze the extra
dinner. If a recipe makes a big batch, I freeze some of that.
For another example of how I bulk freeze, when the local grocery store had a
10-cent sale. I bought 30 large baking potatoes for $3.00 and 50 large Red
Delicious apples for $5.00. When I figure it at home I spent approximately
20-cents per pound!
The apples I peeled with a vegetable peeler, cored, cut up in large chunks,
then "steamed" in my electric skillet coated with nonstick cooking spray. I
cooled these in the refrigerator on cookie sheets, then packed in freezer bags
and tossed them in the freezer. Now I have apples for glazed apples, apples 'n'
yams, applesauce, pancake topping, pies, etc.! (As I cut the apples, I put them
in a bowl of lemon-lime soda to keep them from browning. I saved the "apple
soda" to use in beverages.)
I boiled up some of the potatoes in their skins. I threw them in the pot
without scrubbing them to save time. After they were cooked through, but not
"mushy," I put them in the refrigerator to get cold; once cold, I peeled them,
rinsed them, dried them, cut them in large chunks, and froze them. It was very
easy. I realized though, I had to throw out the water, so I decided to take
more time and peel the potatoes first.
TOO KEEP POTATOES FROM TURNING BROWN: put cut and peeled potatoes in cold SALT
water as I was working, peeling and cutting 1 potato at a time and them putting
it in the water.
I boiled these drained them, cooled them on a cookie sheet in the refrigerator,
then packed in freezer bags and froze. I can make pan-fried potatoes (I use
butter-flavor nonstick cooking spray so there is no fat), mashed potatoes, use
them in casseroles, etc. I reserved the potato water, cooled it, then pour it
into freezer bags to use in soups, potato breads, potato rolls, etc.
Meat is probably the one most expensive category on your grocery list, if
you're not a vegetarian. If it seems like you're being held a helpless hostage
in the land of fluctuating prices, you're not alone. It seems like meat prices
go up and down at the whim of some mystical market that's totally out of touch
with reality or sanity.
Is the price of chicken up or down this week? Seafood is higher, you say? Oh,
but ground beef is on sale! So are pork ribs, but they cost more than they did
this time last year. Forget it. It all makes as much sense as reading alphabet
soup.
YOU take control. Protect yourself from these wild and unsettled meat prices by
watching the market and doing some creative shopping. WHEN you buy is
important:
~~ Buy several pieces of corned beef just before Saint Patrick's Day.
~~ Fill your freezer with hotdogs just before Independence Day (in the US).
~~ Turkey goes on sale just before Thanksgiving (Canadian & US), if you like
them, buy several.
~~ Ham is at a good price just before Christmas and Easter.
~~ Pay attention to the time of day and week that meats are marked down and
shop then. Pay special attention to these times just before (or after) a major
holiday, to get even better mark downs.
~~ Don't be fooled by the meat department: Did you know that a frying chicken
is designated a roasting chicken simply because of the size? There is no
difference between the chickens otherwise - well, unless you count the cost per
pound.
~~ If you wait until pork shoulder roasts are on sale and ask the butcher to
slice it for you - magic. Shoulder blade steaks for much less.
~~ Buy by the serving, not by the pound. Look at the amount of fat, gristle
and bone to determine how much of a piece is actually edible. Some meats go
farther because of the way they are served.
~~ Chuck steak is usually a very good buy when it's on sale, so stock up when
you find it, but don't buy it otherwise. It can be used for many, many recipes:
Tenderize it with a mallet and cook it like cube steak. Make swiss steak from
it. Cut it in strips, dip in egg and cracker crumbs and fry quickly for steak
fingers. Cut it up for stir fry and stew meat. Fold it over and roast it with
vegetables.
Cook it slowly with garlic and butter and a little water in a covered skillet.
~~ Use one (on sale) meat purchase to plan several meals:
Bake a ham, then slice, chop, package and freeze leftover ham for soups, salads
and sandwiches. Use the bone for pea and bean soup. Chop scraps finely (a food
processor works wonders here!), add mayonnaise, pickles, onions, cheese or
whatever you enjoy, to make a sandwich spread. Cook bits with broccoli and/or
cauliflower as a main dish.
~~ When you make a pot roast, plan on having old fashioned hash with the
leftovers. Make gravy when you make the roast, then when you're ready for hash,
cut up leftover vegetables and meat, add the gravy and simmer for a half hour
or so. If you don't have enough leftovers for this, make a soup by adding a
little tomato sauce, juice or paste with water. Add any other leftover
vegetables you may have. Or make open faced sandwiches with gravy ladled over
thinly
sliced roast on a piece of bread.
~~ Got a good buy on chicken leg quarters? Before you toss them in the
freezer, cook them and pull the meat off the bone. Boiling works well for this
because you can get more of the meat off. Package the chicken in meal size
portions for chicken soup, chicken and dumplings, chicken sandwiches, salads,
stir frys or however you'd use those very expensive small cans of chicken.
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