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?

@soloula

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

I'm always surprised at the huge amount of freezer space dedicated to Yorkshire puddings either raw or cooked in the supermarket so it's definitely a thing, despite them costing next to nothing to make at home from storecupboard ingredients. So definitely worth doing your own if you have the space.

We don't really eat fresh celery so I chop it finely and freeze it so I can just drop some in ragu, soups etc. I've never actually looked at ready frozen, probably because I assumed it would cost more than fresh, which is very cheap, but maybe not?

The freezing of sliced citrus fruits for G&Ts is something I've done for ages after seeing a tip on here years ago. If l see bags of lemons or limes on offer, eg you could get 5 of either for about 50p in Morrisons last week, I get them and put some or all in the freezer sliced up. Instant garnish, ice cube and flavouring for your drinks. I was amused to see that this revolutionary idea was being reported as a 'genius hack' by Jamie Oliver in the media last week.

I can not for my life make Yorkshires so I buy the frozen ones , they take about 4 mins to cook

Frozen peppers and onions, I can always whip up a quick family meal using these!

Mini sausage rolls, snack type food, samosa/pakora etc

extra loaf of bread, sandwich thins etc for when we run out mid week

I would like to know what dogs' kongs are? They sound a bit dubious.....

Vodka, margarita buckets, face masks. Fudge (who knew) and, because all that might make me sound more interesting than I really am; bread, milk and vegan hotdogs.

I'm usually staring in despair at a freezer full of things I forgot to take out in time for dinner. How/ what do you cook from frozen please ?

Rice? Mash? Burgers? Is it always in the microwave?

Grated garlic and ginger
herbs
pastry - I make this in batches and freeze
butter cream
crème patisserie
soup
fruit - berries mainly for pies & crumbles
Spring rolls / pakora/dumplings / samosa - can be cooked from frozen
curry paste - batch made

Loving the frozen lemons/ lime slices.... it gives me the rage to throw out the unused halfs

halfs = halves..... I am not yet awake

A wee tub of frozen lime and lemon slices is on the list too now.

@sproutsandparsnips
Dogs kongs are a cone shaped toys for dogs that you can fill with treats or left overs to keep them occupied, freezing them with food in means it's even harder for pooch to get the food out and so keep him occupied for even longer.

Left over cooked rice, packed in bags and flattened freezes well and reheats very quickly by dropping it stright into boiling water and boiking for a few mins.

With any thing you freeze that is homemade make sure you label it in the biggest letters you can fit on the bag / box.
Brown surprise dinner losses it's appeal after a while

Batch cooking, bread, fruit from the garden, stuff on offer when I buy more than one

If you like curry google onion masala recipe. Its the basic base for most curry. I made an amazing chicken bhuna in 10 minutes last night.

@ItsNotAboutTheChocolate. Salmon cooks really well from frozen. With couscous and frozen peppers stir fried.

Nice breaded chicken with salad and wraps, or breaded fish and same.

You can cook a whole chicken from frozen. Slightly lower heat and a bit longer.

imayhavelostmymarbles does the onion masala smell? I've got a brilliant curry base recipe that I batch cook but it stinks the whole house out for days after. Wondering if this would be a better option...

Bought frozen mash is fine, comes in cubes or similar, so it’s very easy to measure portions.
I usually keep paella or risotto for a quick no fuss meal.
And I always have a pack of seafood mix so I can make a fish pie or fish chowder.

Frozen cherries.
Part baked bread
Bagels (sliced)
Chopped onions and spinach
Croissants and pains au chocolat

I buy the frozen mash in blocks and top fish pie and shepherds pie with the frozen blocks in rows before I put in oven. So much easier than making mash

We have a garage freezer (half for dog food )and holds ice-cream maker bowl, frozen fruits/veg, meat joints, homemade dishes such as lasagne etc. Kitchen freezer (small) has ice, wine ice cubes, citrus fruit slices, raspberries/bananas for smoothies, fish fingers, peas, single leftover portions and some bread
Watermelon freezes fab and is lovely whizzed up in a daiquiri

frozen towels ????

Why has no-one else asked why you are freezing towels ???

How don you make a name bold?
SOLOULA
I make mine in my other mumsnet fave, my instantpot. It is quite strong smelling but if I double the recipe it makes about 5 curries for 4 people so worth it. I find using my instantpot is much less smelly, whatever I am cooking!

@imayhavelostmymarbles
Put @ then start typing the name, the names will appear below the box and you can select the one you want.
OR
Type the name like this Susan but without any spaces!

Hope that helps!

I'm a batch cooker and lover of the slow cooker so I get zip and seal bags and fill them with ingredients but frozen for example everything for a bolognese sauce but frozen so
I can literally grab the bag dump it in the instance pot with stock cube and go to work when I get back it's cooked but not mushy. Best tip ever fresh meat and frozen veg in the slow cooker

Frozen vegetables, onions and peppers great for chilli's, stews etc.
Bread, crumpets etc,
Milk,
Frozen herbs,
Dessert for unexpected guests,
Cooked meats for sandwich fillings,
Extra portions of meals for quick meals,
Pitta bread for quick pizzas.

Something in meaning to try is lightly beaten eggs. There was a good chunk of lockdown I couldn't get eggs and we're huge bakers and omelette-eaters so it was dreadful. Am planning on freezing them in twos to use as and when.