What am I not freezing that I should be?

[Born2BRiiiled]

On two threads tonight, I have read of things I would not think to freeze. Namely, brie and celery.
A whole world of freezing could be out there. Please amaze me!

My friend many years ago used to get a loaf of bread and packet ham and make all his sandwiches for month - obv didn't put salad on them but put pickle etc - he then froze them in packs of 3 halves. Just grabbed a packet each morning and added to his lunchbox - by dinner they had defrosted and the bread was always fresh. Also helped keep his yoghurt cool till lunch. disclaimer I have never tried this*

Wow! A whole new world out there!

notapizzaeater - yup I used to do that with my older three DC's packed lunch sandwiches.

Yogurt defrosts absolutely fine, just needs a stir. I also freeze bananas that are past their best and then fling them in the blender for an instant ice cream with a bit of buttermilk or cream.

I freeze sliced apples, strawberries, lemon, blueberries and mint and leave them in a bag in the freezer for Pimms.

Ooh and I always freeze leftover carcasses and bones from chicken etc and make stock when I have enough to do a big batch. I then freeze the stock in ice cube bags.

I freeze raw scone mixture cut into rounds or triangles ( cheese one and fruit ones) to bung on the oven for soup nights. Also raw Cheese straws freeze great too, so does raw topped mini pizzas....

Loving the banana idea! Sounds delicious. I have a new larger freezer being delivered tomorrow!

Frozen bananas sliced into bits (drizzled with chocolate) are a delicious alternative to ice cream :)

Wow there really is a whole new world opening up for me

Some of the things on here are amazing!!

Mushrooms? Seriously? I hate throwing fresh food and things away when they've not been eaten so to discover this thread is great. Love what someone said about instead of spring cleaning now spring freezing! and cake mixture in the cases frozen the cook when wanted love it!

Sorry don't have any tips of my own but just wondering on the rules of defrosting, read that alot can be cooked from frozen but surely there are some big do's and don't?

Thank you

I need a bigger freezer now! Not sure I shouldn't have stayed ignorant.

Frozen Pimms mix!!!

"You cannot freeze raw potatoes."

I discovered that last winter when I put a bag of potatoes into the garage. The resulting mess after temperatures of minus 10 at night was utterly disgusting.

If you parboil potatoes and freeze them they are ideal for roast potatoes straight from the freezer. Just toss them in hot fat and roast as normal.

There are some brilliant ideas on here.

When we have fajitas, we usually buy a jar of salsa, but only ever use half. I tried freezing it in the jar, and it works fine!

Have also frozen half a bottle of those mini wines, for cooking with.

I love the onion tip as hate am rubbish at chopping them

I freeze packets of sliced cooked meat if they are about to go out of date. It usually says on the packet, whether you can or not.

Salsa?? Your kidding me?

Nope, it works! So glad, as we used to waste loads of it.

Me too and I'm the only one that likes it and almost cry if I have to throw it out thanks for that

I like to freeze a mixture of fresh bread crumbs, grated parmesan and finely chopped flat leaf parsley. I then grab a handful to top macaroni cheese etc - just use it frozen, as it soon thaws in the oven.

Fat and water freeze at different rates so they seperated is all.

If you gave it a good shake or whizzed it up it might re-emulsify.

You can't freeze lettuce. Or cucumbers, and frozen strawberries are vile. But on the other hand I have a bag full of peeled very over-ripe frozen bananas ready to become banana bread one day soon.

I read somewhere on here that pesto was ok to freeze so I've just frozen half a jar in an ice cube tray. I'm always throwing half a jar of pesto out so that works.

Someone up thread said rice - I thought cooked rice was dodgy to freeze?

I whizz leftover plain yoghurt with fruit and put it in some ice lolly moulds for me DS to have.

I have successfully frozen cooked rice lots of times - as risotto or just tomato rice. I spread it all on a plate to cool it as fast as possible, then away we go!
It does go a bit stodgy but DCs have never complained.

I'd forgotten about risotto - even though I froze some tonight!

Cooked rice is fine to freeze if cooled quickly and reheated until piping hot.

What a fabulous thread. If only I had a larger freezer :(

wrt coconut milk - I never buy tinned if I can help it. The solid blocks of creamed cocnut are far better - one block costs under a pound and does for three curries (I chop a third of a pack, put it into a measureing jug and top that up to 400ml, use in exactly the same way as tinned). It lasts forever, too. And I actually prefer it as it contains no emulsifiers, which make canned cocnut milk too smooth imo.

Only problem is that not everyone stocks it - not even Waitrose. Sainsburys do, and sometimes Morrisons.