Six Foods You Should Always Have in Your Freezer
Most people’s freezers are stocked with frozen pizza and tons of ice cream, and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, if used right, your freezer could do so much more and save you money at the same time. In this blog, you’ll find quite a few items that you should keep in your freezer at all times to not only save you money but make you look like the perfect host when dinner party time rolls around.
Quick Breads
Nothing is better than pulling banana, pumpkin, or carrot bread out of the freezer to serve with breakfast or just as a quick dessert. Many people are grabbing bread mixes these days and making their own, instead of buying loaves at the store. You can bake several loaves, leave one out to eat and freeze the others in tightly wrapped plastic, then slip into a freezer bag for extra protection against freezer burn.
Chicken Stock
This isn’t the chicken stock that you get in a can or container at the grocery store, this is true chicken stock from a chicken that you’ve cooked. Roast chicken leftovers are ideal for making stock: just add onion, garlic, carrots, peppercorn, bayleaf, and water and leave to simmer for an hour or two. There are tons of recipes that call for chicken stock and it’s much cheaper to pull it out of your freezer than pay almost $5 for it at the local market.
Peas
Keeping a stock of peas in your freezer serves a dual purpose. You can use them in your cooking, of course, but they also work to soothe an injury. While ice packs do work, peas mold themselves around the injury easier and provide more relief. Of course, there’s the fact that you can use peas in many different ways in your cooking as well. Just make sure that you freeze them properly and they should last at least 12 months.
Cookies
The next batch of cookie dough you whip up, resist the urge to eat all of it and instead freeze some for later use. Make sure you scoop the dough just as you would to form a single cookie, then freeze it in an airtight plastic bag. In this way, you always have cookie dough ready to go when cravings strike. You can also bake the cookies and then freeze a batch so all you have to do is pull out a few and stick them in the microwave for a few seconds.
Herbs
If you’ve seen the prices of fresh herbs in the grocery store lately, then you might have already thought of this one. If not, then you should. You can have fresh herbs all year round by freezing them instead of using them all at once, or worse having to trash them. Buy the herbs from your local farmer’s market when they’re in season, freeze and then pull out and use what you need as the need arises.
Crumble Topping
Crumble topping is delicious and can be used in many different foods. The problem is that making your own crumble topping can be time-consuming and a little aggravating every time you need it for a recipe. Instead, make the topping ahead of time and freeze it. Crumble topping can be used for cakes, pies, cobbler or even ice cream. If you have it in the freezer at all times, you don’t have to take the time to make it and can enjoy it whenever you feel the need.
These are just a few of the top foods you should keep in your freezer all year long. From crumble topping to quick breads, freezing ahead is convenient and ensures you have these foods whenever you need them.
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