Many of you will be taking some wonderful vacations this summer and will be contemplating what to do with what is left in your fridge and pantry. With summer vacation right around the corner, you will all be stuck with some extras in your fridge and pantry when it’s time to leave. DON’T THROW EVERYTHING AWAY and waste all that food and money!
Maybe, at some point, you just bought too much and are wondering what to do with the excess? Then there are times we intentionally cook extra to plan for the freezer leftover convenience. Whatever the scenario in your house, check out these nine wonderful ideas below to help cut down on waste, have frozen ingredients on hand, and increase efficiency in YOUR kitchen this summer and year around!
There are 9 Twisty Tips below that will put your freezer to good use and some money in your pocket (to enjoy on vacation)! The extra bonus is that you will have a significant amount of “go to” ingredients and maybe even save an extra trip to the grocery store when you get home! I have even included recipe ideas for your frozen “packets of gold”, for you to consider when you get back into the cooking groove.
-Here are nine items that you may find “leftover” in your fridge or pantry, that all freeze VERY well-
- Milk, Half & Half, Cream – When I get an overabundance, or before I go on a trip, I freeze liquid dairy products flat in Ziploc® bags. Measure the quantity and mark the amount on the bag (this is a HUGE twisty tip!). You can’t measure it once it’s frozen and you will want to know how much you have in that Ziploc®! I thaw flat bags of milk in a bowl of warm water. Really comes in handy when I want to make something like yummy mac and cheese, biscuits & gravy, chowder or a cream soup. It may look a little “separated”. Just stir it a bit and it works in recipes just fine. I have not tried to drink the milk, so cannot comment on the drinking quality, but it works great for recipes
- Cottage cheese – Freeze flat in Ziploc® bags until ready use. Thaw in a bowl of warm water, and put in a fine mesh strainer to strain off extra liquid. Great used in Terry’s Crustless Vegetable Quiche, stuffed shells, pierogies, crepes, or lasagna.
- Beer – Sometimes we fall asleep with a beer half full! Freeze remaining beer flat in Ziploc® bag and use later in Chili with Beans or Kielbasa Stew. Beer is a great liquid to use for many recipes and marinades. Rather than use a fresh, delicious beer why not use one that is already flat?
- Green Pepper – It’s a shame to let this tasty and sometimes expensive vegetable go to waste. Cut the green pepper in half, remove seeds and freeze. Add pepper half to meat sauce, stews, paprikash, and casseroles, for increased flavor. You may want to toss the chunk of pepper before serving your dish, but it really helps to pack a flavorful punch!
- Chopped, Halved or Whole Nuts- Store in your freezer to keep from turning rancid, especially in the warm months, and use in cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins, or anything that needs a little nutty crunch! Nuts last for months in the freezer. I make baked goods like my Peach & Blueberry Oat Bran Muffins all the time with frozen nuts that I chop before putting in the recipe. The great part is you can take them right from the freezer and chop them, no thawing necessary!
- Bread- Bread stored in the freezer for a few months is still great to use for stuffing, croutons, and homemade breadcrumbs.
- Cooked Sausage Patties, Sausage Links & Bacon- I Intentionally cook extras! – Why make a mess more than once frying up sausage and bacon? Fry a whole package (or two) and freeze the extras. This can be easily thawed to accompany your breakfast next weekend or throw on a BLT for lunch! Leftover cooked sausage is also great in bread stuffing, baked beans or sausage gravy. Package in Ziploc® bags, freeze and use as needed.
- Ham Bones- Freeze the bone for later use (that first chilly day in the fall!), in Terry’s Crockpot Bean or Crockpot Split Pea Soup.
- Apple, Lime or Orange Juice- Freeze flat in Ziploc® bags. Use apple juice in marinades and recipes like Apple Thyme & Garlic Marinated Pork Chops. Leftover lime and orange juice can be used in Tequila Lime Chicken.
Terry, these are handy tips and I never really thought about freezing some of the stuff you mention. Now I am money-saving wiser!
Thank you Amanda, I am so happy these tips will enable you to save money and have the convenience of having the ingredients on hand!!
Terry, I had no idea about freezing milk. I will have to show this to my wife. I especially like the tip about the nuts. We have problems keeping nuts fresh. My wife loves to bake, and uses nuts a lot.
Roy, thanks for your comments! I am glad you will be able to use them. Regarding the nuts – I rarely leave mine in the pantry anymore. When I come home from the store they go directly into the freezer!
Some great tips! I have frozen milk to drink later when I was on wic. It’s a great way to be able to use the wic and not worry about having milk go to waste. I love the idea of measuring it and freezing in portions to use later. You’ve included a number of great tips that I’d never thought of. Thanks so much!
Robin, you are welcome and thanks for commenting! I’ll have more useful tips down the road so STAY TUNED!
Leftover corn on the cob is great in soups, hashes and stews! I cut mine off the cob and save. Leftover baked potatoes make a great hash and leftover mashed potatoes I like to freeze to thicken loaded baked potato soup!
Allyson, thanks for commenting and for your wonderful ideas! I especialy love the idea of putting the leftover potatoes into loaded baked potato soup as a thickening agent!
I really like the beer tip Terry! We are forever having a half full bottle lying around!
Colleen, isn’t that the truth? And beer isn’t cheap, right? Flavors chili and other dishes and makes a great marinade as well! Thanks for the comment!
These are awesome ideas for leftovers and reducing that food waste in the summer, Terry! Thanks for sharing 🙂 Will be trying a few of them!
Joan, thanks for your comment! Glad to hear you will be able to incorporate some of the tips into your household!
Hi Terry,
In our house, we freeze all sort of leftovers quite often, but I never thought of freezing beer to use it later on. That’s a great idea!
You put a great list together here, Terry. Thanks for sharing this with us! 🙂
~Nataly
Nataly, thanks for your appreciative comments and glad you like the tip about freezing beer!
This was a great post with lots of really unique ideas. I never thought of freezing beer but I do freeze my green peppers. Thank you for sharing.
Your welcome Jen, thanks for your comment! Glad you liked the reducing food waste ideas! Check out today’s post about how to save money on your vacation food bill!