Freezer essentials

[soloula]

I got a new upright freezer at the weekend for the garage as we were struggling for storage with our existing fridge freezer in the kitchen. I've got a few drawers set aside for our usual stuff like meat and bread but I'm hoping to tap into the collective wisdom of Mumsnet to see what I can keep in my freezer to make my life easier or my meals more delicious. So far I've got portions of tomato sauce for pasta, pizza etc and portions of my favourite soups, cookie dough and some tubs of fancy ice cream for a wee treat but that's a far as I got. What are your freezer must haves?

I usually store large frozen deserts in there or melt in the middle puds for if we have surprise guests or I forget to pick up a pudding for a BBQ etc.

Milk, frozen herbs (in olive oil) frozen towels (we have pets though)

Frozen herbs and puds on the list now too - thanks!

Frozen peas, add easily to so many meals for a bit of colour/extra veg.

I've never done it but chopped up onions, garlic and celery as a cheat soffrito is supposed to be time saving.

Frozen berries for including in porridge and smoothies.

If your recipe needs lots of fresh herbs you know you might not use in the days to come, you can freeze them for later. Use an ice cube tray and put some cut herbs into each section. Top with water, and freeze. They're great for throwing into soups, stews and other dishes to add flavour.
Next time you buy a bunch of grapes, put some into a freezer bag and pop them into your freezer. They'll chill your glass of wine without diluting it. They're also pretty tasty.
We usually get too many chips when ordering fish and chips from the fish and chip shop, so I freeze the surplus, reheat in oven, often better second time !!
Freeze a whole block of butter – then, when you’re making flaky pastry, it’s easy to grate the cold butter into the flour.
Crumble topping
Gravy
Yorkshire pudding/pancake batter
Stock in ice cube trays
Freeze leftover wine for cooking

Batch cooking or just make twice as much. Store in bags upright.

Frozen garlic and ginger. Look out for Asian brands in supermarkets, I've seen them in Morrisons, Asda and Tesco at least, massive packs for about a pound, no additives, just pure and crushed and prepared in cubes, so much easier and far cheaper than buying fresh.

Frozen chipped onions, peppers and chilli, can be cooked from frozen and save time. I usually just chop Extra then put into ziplock bags.

Mashed potato freezes brilliantly. I make a huge pot of mash at a time, then freeze individual portions. I have one child who likes mash with her sausages, the other doesn't - this way I don't have to make a small amount fresh each time. It tastes just as good once heated.

Along similar lines, pancakes - I made some for the kids this morning but the recipe makes an enormous batch, so I've frozen the leftovers. Easy to reheat.

I love frozen veg - garlic, chilli, ginger and my latest find is Italian herbs. Brilliant for adding to sauces / curries etc

Frozen veg - broccoli, not cauliflower.
Frozen chopped onions are a game changer.
Chips
Pizza
Milk
Chopped garlic
Chopped ginger

@Ricekrispie22 love the frozen grapes for wine idea!

I make batches of burgers then freeze individually so we can cook from frozen.

Chop fresh herbs and freeze in red wine in ice cubes for bolognese etc just chuck them in the sauce.

When I make cookies, I double the mix and keep one batch in the freezer rolled up like a sausage. Quick to defrost and slice and chuck in the oven.

Freeze soups and sauces in freezer bags flat to save space.

Loving the idea of frozen grapes!

You can freeze sliced lemon and lime then use then straight from the freezer. Put a bit if greaseproof paper between each slice otherwise you get one big frozen clump.

I also freeze the dogs' kongs once I've stuffed them with leftover rice.

Frozen spinach - a hangover from when dd lived here. She's not a fan of green left veg but also doesn't eat red meat so I always worried about anaemia. This is easy to "sneak in" for fussy eaters and to bulk out dishes generally with something healthy.

Frozen diced onions! So much easier than being blinded while chopping plus I live alone so I don't use a whole onion at once so this saves waste. Definitely agree with frozen herbs too.

Also because of living alone - great for batch cooking and storing leftovers. Curries, casseroles, ratatouille all freeze well

I also have frozen grapes in there - they're like mini bite size sorbets, loving the idea of them in wine though!

Not quite what you were meaning but I also always have bread in the freezer just in case. That way I always have bread in if I fancy toast, plus frozen bread can be easily grated to make breadcrumbs.

Personally I'm not a fan of frozen peppers as I find them a bit watery and tasteless but think they'd be fine in soups and casseroles.

Some brilliant ideas here that I’m shamelessly stealing once our kitchen is done and our lovely big freezer space materialises.

Don’t forget to leave room for being able to put leftovers etc in - also gives you the freedom of doing some batch cooking!

Ooh I always have a few Ice packs on the go as well as you never know when they’ll come in handy - either for injuries or a last minute bbq/picnic!

We'll always have breaded chicken to make a wrap for lunch, frozen fish for an easy tea, and a couple of COOK things - like a lasagne or a pie for an easy dinner.

Tried frozen mash over lock down - not bad.

Freeze fruit that's going mushy to use in cakes or puddings.

Freeze ends of celery for stock. Or chopped celery for a stew. I freeze lots of odds and ends for soup, stock or easy lunches.

Milk, pour a little out and freeze. Defrosts perfectly. Just needs a shake. I live in the middle of nowhere so always have a few bottles in the freezer.
Bread.
Mash.
Cooked Rice.
Sugo.
Batch cooked meals.
Home made Yorkshire Puds. Cook from frozen in minutes.
Pizza dough.
Petit Pois.
Nuts.
Fresh coffee.

Frozen fruit (mango/raspberries/mixed berries) For the kids to make smoothies with.

Not to pour (iced) water on your plan but is your garage reasonably warm in the winter or did you get a freezer that is designed for a semi-outdoor existence?

I didn't and find if our garage gets very cold the freezer stops freezing and when it restarts I end up with a lot of frost inside. I suppose on balance it works reliably considerably longer than when it doesn't. At least global warming will have one benefit for me.

Go shopping in Costco, you will fill it quickly !
I freeze milk , cheese , bread , tomatoes that are past there best ( to be made into sauces) as well as batch cooked and leftovers

+1 to chopped onions. I've also survived greatly during lockdown due to embracing frozen veg. I finally came to grips with the fact that I didn't feel like chopping and processing lots of veg. Some other things I like to stock:

Haricots verts / string beans
Edamame
Mushroom mixes
Pepper mix
Potstickers / Chinese dumplings
Bacon
Meat & fish
Puff pastry
Pitas and bread
Cheese and deli meats
Butter
Soup/stock veg (large chunks of celery, carrot and onion that I chop when I want to use up first two veg)

You can also freeze things like hummus, avocados out of their skin, mozzarella, etc.

Chicken nuggets, oven chips and frozen peas for emergency dinners for the dc when I'm busy or have nothing else in.

Frozen Yorkshire puds? I need to know more about this! Forgot pizza dough. Used to freeze that till I ran out of space so thank you

Frozen veg - usually spinach for smoothies & pasta dishes, onions & red onions, peppers, peas & sweetcorn
Frozen fruit - cherries, blueberries, summer berries, smoothie mix
Ginger
Bread
Pint of milk
Meats - sausages, chicken, gammon joint
Batch cooked - macaroni pie, chilli, pizza sauce, pasta sauce, lasagne (veg & normal), curry sauce, soups, chicken pie, cheese & onion pie
Pizza bases
Pizza, oven chips, fish fingers, Kiev's
Ice cream, lollies