"emergency" freezer food

[Plantsandpuddlesuits]

I'm planning on trying to keep a stash of food in the freezer that can be called upon in an "emergency" if we can't get out to the shops eg when self isolating. Preferably can be cooked from frozen

Has anyone got any ideas?

So far I've thought of Quorn tacos as we always have frozen Quorn mince in the freezer and usually a taco kit and kidney beans in cupboard

Spaghetti carbonara usually have bacon eggs cream in fridge and spaghetti in cupboard

Fried rice usually have eggs in fridge, peas in freezer and rice and soy sauce in cupboard

Any more ideas please?

Also those long life potato rosti packs you fry up are really handy and I've got frozen ready chopped greens mix in freezer to add in. Poached egg on top

Veggie burgers and bagels. Frozen veg like peas and sweet corn. A couple of tins of fruit

Red lentils and a tin of coconut milk, for dhal or soup.
Richmond veggie sausages and a bag of oven chips!

Cook some usual favourites and freeze 7 days worth? Bolognese, chili, paprika pork etc

You need the preppers board.

We have frozen
Milk
Bread
Peas
Fruit
Meals - spag bol, curry
Things that could make meals - chicken, sausages
Other bits - sliced ham, grated cheese, butter

Tinned - sweetcorn, soup, fruit, tomatoes

Dried - rice, pasta

Other - spare one of most store choosers essentials - jam, tea, cereal etc etc

DH laughed when I bought tinned new potatoes. I’d read about them on a brexit prepped thread - maybe search some of those.

He was very glad of them when the shelves were bare. They were lovely sautéed.

Off to Google long life potato rosti packs…

Oh I forgot, we also have a spare soap, washing up liquid, toothpaste, shampoo and loo roll.

I have found a good stash of tins to be really useful too. I got Jack Monroes Tin Can Cook book and tried out quite a few of the recipes. Not all are quite right but several are now firm favourites which has been handy when packing for self catering holidays- no worrying about food going off, but can still cook some simple tasty grub pretty quickly.

Don't waste freezer space on bread. Store it as flour and yeast.

Make sure to have spare cooking oil, a really comprehensive store of spices and butter, flour, sugar and eggs for home baking in case you need to cheer everyone up.

Classic staples are tinned tomatoes/passata, coconut milk, beans and pulses, rice, pasta, noodles. Stock cubes are handy to have in. I also have tinned fruit and tinned custard

Best vegetables for the freezer are spinach and frozen peas.

In our freezer for emergency meals we have chips, sausages, pizzas, a few kids meals from Cook, frozen stir fry mix, salmon fillets, onions, garlic, a couple of loaves of bread, steaks, a whole chicken, potato waffles, green beans and milk.

If you’re thinking of freezer items, pizza would work. Perhaps fish fingers and sausages?

For the store cupboard
Tins of mixed beans for casseroles or bean salad (also chickpeas)
Powdered potatoes such as Idahoan
Sardines & tuna
Lentils
Stock cubes
Packs of microwave rice

We have a few things like meatballs / jars of tomato sauce, pasta bake sauce, and a few frozen ready meals / prev batch cooks - in case I’ll and need an easy meal to prepare or actually just can’t be bothered cooking

Other useful things we would get in advance of another isolation though would be more cereal - seem to go through a frightening amount when all home for breakfast / snacks / supper, tinned fruit, yoghurt, crisps / biscuits / cakes and also things like cordial, tea and coffee. As well as the usual bread, milk and fresh fruit

Worth keeping some ready meals you will enjoy eating in case you are actual unwell. You don’t want be stuck struggling get out bed and only thing involves meal parts that takes effort. I’m just recovering covid last few days I’ve managed throw some oven chips in that’s it. Couldn’t face a meal or anything more effort.

God my emergency freezer stash is a bag of 100 fish fingers and a huge bag of home fries.

My DP have a brexit (rebanded to Covid) box. It's largely made up of biscuits and sweets.

As well as the usual veg, frozen fruit etc i always tend to have stashed in the freezer:
Ready made pastry (amazing what paltry ingredients can be bulked out into pasties/pies/tarts
Wraps
Falafels
Mash
Chicken goujons
White fish fillets
Extra portions of chilli/ bolognaise etc that can be bulked out.

Do you not usually use your freezer? Your post seems to regard it as somewhat of a novelty as you'd just put in food like you normally eat wouldn't you?

We always have meat, usually chicken breasts and thighs, bought in bulk and frozen in meal sized packs, plus mince. Also prawns and other fish and seafood, eg calamari, scallops. Smoked salmon wrapped in foil in small amounts to defrost quickly to go with eggs or in sandwich with cream cheese.

Frozen veg like green beans, spinach. I also chop and freeze peppers if they're starting to go a bit wrinkly and celery because we only really use it for cooking with so never use it raw. Then the big packs of prepared garlic and ginger.

Potato waffles and oven chips. We also have falafels and batch cooked chilli/bolognese/soup/curry etc. Just make extra of what you're normally having and freeze some.

We then have a range of spices, usually cheap Asian brands, canned and dried pulses and usually parsley and coriander at least in growing pots.

Veg like potatoes, carrots, onions and peppers keeps for at least a week or two, so with all that, we can almost always cook a few meals without having to go out.

My freezer stash is geared up slightly more towards being too tired/ill to cook from scratch, but I generally keep:

Fishcakes (can be cooked from frozen)

Bolognese sauce

Chilli

Freezer bags with chopped carrots, leek, celery and a couple of chicken breasts - empty the bag into a saucepan, add waters and stock cubes and cook for 20 minutes for chicken soup

Cauliflower and spinach - use with chickpeas, curry paste and tinned tomatoes from the cupboard to make a curry

Cooked meatballs which can be added to a quick tomato sauce.

Frozen fish fillets
Fish pie mix
Frozen mash
Green beans
Sausages
Pitta bread
Grated mozzarella
Oven chips
Balls of cookie dough ready to bake.

Also blueberries and vanilla ice cream. And, if I can be bothered to make double, crumble topping.

Tins of tuna plus tins of Campbell’s condensed mushroom soup, plus pasta and frozen peas, for a virtually effortless dinner. One tin of each is loads for me and dh.