Did you know that your freezer can save you time...
...while achieving considerable savings?
It's not just WHAT foods you can freeze.
You also need to know HOW to freeze them to better preserve them.
Here are 27 foods that you can freeze to save time and money :
Yes, you had to know:cheese can be stored in the freezer.
You just have to remember one small thing:thaw it completely before putting it in the fridge. Otherwise, it will crumble.
You can also grate your cheese before freezing it. To prevent lumps from forming, add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the freezer bag.
One more great trick for cheese:buy a piece of good parmesan and put it in the blender. Then, keep it in the freezer in a bag. You will be able to keep it for several months.
In addition, it is convenient to use the exact amount you need. Just open the bag and take 2 or 3 tablespoons!
When you're making pancakes and waffles, always make extra for quick meals during the week.
Freeze pancakes and waffles on a baking sheet. Once frozen, put them in freezer bags.
To reheat them, a little microwave (or even the toaster for waffles) and voila!
The best way to freeze the pre-cut pieces of fruit is to spread them on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Then put them in a freezer bag. By freezing the fruit individually, it's easier to choose the quantity you need.
If you are addicted to smoothies, prepare "smoothie sachets". Cut chunks of apples, peaches, pears, bananas, melons, whatever you prefer. And keep them in the freezer to make smoothies whenever you want!
If you're like me and don't like to handle soft bananas, put them straight in the freezer, skin on.
When you need them for a recipe, just take the bananas out of the freezer and pop them in the microwave for a few seconds. Then, cut off the top of the banana and squeeze the skin so the flesh slides into your bowl on its own!
Prepare a large quantity of rice and spread it on baking paper on a baking sheet.
When the rice is frozen, put it in freezer bags or even in plastic boxes.
There you go, you have rice available whenever you want!
It is also a good trick to prepare whole grain rice, which takes a long time to cook. Use it for casseroles, soups and fried rice.
In autumn, when it's apple season, it's a pleasure to bake pies.
Once cooled, wrap your pie in cling film. Then put it in the freezer.
To reheat, remove the paper and bake the pie for 2 hours at 90°.
Another tip for pies:you can also cut and freeze individual PARTS :-)
An EASY way to freeze corn on the cob is to put them directly in the freezer, but DO NOT remove the leaves around the cob.
When you want to eat them, put them directly in the microwave (5 min at maximum power for 2 ears of corn, 4 min for 1 ear of corn).
The silky leaves that surround the corn serve as a layer of insulation and protect the corn while it cooks. It REALLY tastes like it was just picked!
Roast the tomatoes in the oven at low temperature (100°) with garlic, Provencal herbs and a drizzle of olive oil for 4 or 5 hours.
Once cooled, put them in a freezer bag. You can use them in all your tomato-based preparations!
When making pasta, get into the habit of cooking the whole package.
Why ? That's because you can freeze leftover pasta! They are a very good addition to your dishes in sauce or even in a soup.
You can also freeze individual portions in freezer bags. But you have to evacuate the air from the bag by flattening it as much as possible.
To warm up, you can pour hot water over the bag for a few minutes. But a less energy-intensive way is to leave the bag to thaw in the open air.
Do you know food moths? To prevent the eggs of these unwanted "guests" from hatching, keep the flour (or other grains) for 3 days in the freezer.
Freezing flour is also a good way to store it longer. You just have to make sure to wrap it twice in stretch film. This prevents condensation and the absorption of odors from other foods.
Make (or buy) and freeze pesto in ice cube trays.
Once frozen, you can take the cubes out of the tray and keep them in a freezer bag.
It's not bad to have a little bit of pesto when you want, right? Practical for improvised pasta evenings. :-)
With an ice cream scoop, prepare beautiful balls of puree on parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Once frozen, put the puree in a freezer bag. These balls are not only practical, but in addition they are preserved for at least 2 months.
Prepare a generous amount of cookie dough.
As for the mash, use an ice cream scoop. Prepare nice balls of dough on parchment paper on a baking sheet. Once frozen, put them in a freezer bag.
The ball format allows you to prepare the EXACT amount of cookies you want. No more waste, no more guilt.
You just need to add 1-2 min to the cooking time of your usual recipe.
You can also roll your cookie dough into a cylinder shape. Cut slices from this cylinder to get ready-to-bake cookies. For storage, wrap the cylinder in aluminum foil.
Once your soup has cooled, put it in a plastic box designed for freezing.
Attention:you need to provide a small empty space (the equivalent of about 250 ml) for the expansion of the liquid when it freezes!
To thaw the soup, simply put it in the fridge the night before. Then reheat and serve!
Don't throw away your leftover vegetables! Even keep onion skins, celery sticks, potato skins, etc. Put them in a large freezer bag.
When you have accumulated a sufficient quantity, use them to prepare your homemade vegetable broth!
It's simple, put your vegetables in a pot with 3 liters of water. Add a little salt, 10 peppercorns, parsley and spices (2 bay leaves, thyme, rosemary). Then, bring everything to a boil and cover for 1 hour (or more for a more concentrated broth). Taste and season to taste for a homemade vegetable broth.
Instead of preparing your lunch box every morning, save time by having your sandwich straight from the freezer.
Put it in your satchel before you go to work and it will be perfectly thawed by lunchtime. In addition, the meat stays fresh.
Butter and mustard freeze well. On the other hand, not the tomato, the salad and the mayonnaise - they must be added in the morning.
Shop for crisps, crackers and pretzels when they're on sale.
It may sound weird to you, but you can keep them in the freezer!
In fact, FROZEN chips taste BETTER! Eat them without defrosting them, they are crispier and have a more pronounced taste.
Freeze your milk when you know you won't be able to finish it.
After thawing, shake the bottle well to remove any crystals that may form.
If you are a fan of buttermilk (milk butter) like me, know that it can also be frozen! No need to throw away the whole brick when you've only had one drink!
Like soup, the only precaution to take is to allow some space in the container. This is because the volume will increase when it freezes. As a general rule, allow the equivalent of 230 ml of space for 500 ml of juice.
With this trick, you can stock up on fruit juice when you find it on sale!
Stock up on bread in your freezer.
If you're baking a cake, make a little extra and freeze it for later. It saves you having to do it again!
A little tip for defrosting bread and pastries:place them in your microwave the night before (without turning it on). This way, you avoid drying them out by leaving them in the open air.
Have you noticed the number of recipes for which you need tomato paste?
The problem is that for most of these recipes, only 1 teaspoon is needed. As a result, the rest of the box is wasted!
Here's the solution to this unnecessary waste:keep the rest of your concentrate in a small freezer bag. Just take care to flatten it well so that it takes the shape of a plate when frozen.
That way, when you need tomato paste, just break off a small piece of that plaque. Then, add the piece to the dish you are preparing!
And now, not only will you keep your tomato paste for a long time, but you will also save money!
Dice the vegetables you use most often. For me, it's onions, garlic, and peppers.
Then, put them in a freezer bag and keep them in the freezer.
A little extra tip:flatten the freezer bag that contains the vegetables. When they begin to freeze, squeeze the bag to create "grids". This allows you to choose the quantity you need when you take the bags out of the freezer!
When you make a pie or a pizza, there is often extra dough left over.
Why not keep it in the freezer to reuse?
Make a ball with the dough. Then, wrap it in stretch film:it can be used next time!
Yes, you read that right ! Eggs keep perfectly in the freezer.
Here's how:
Break the eggs directly into a freezer bag and put them in the freezer.
Or, even better, you can also break them up in an ice cube tray to better separate them.
To thaw them, just leave them in the fridge and use them as you normally would.
It's as simple as that.
Buying a squeeze of lemon sometimes saves money.
But it's useless if we let them rot! Here is a tip that will allow you to avoid this waste.
Squeeze your lemons and pour the juice into ice cube trays. Once frozen, keep the "lemon ice cubes" in a freezer bag. Voila, they are ready to be used whenever you want! Especially since lemon water has many benefits.
Lemon zest can also be stored in the freezer - so don't forget to zest your lemons before squeezing them!
After chopping them, put your aromatic herbs in an ice cube tray.
Then pour a little water (or leftover broth) over it. Finally, put the tray in the freezer.
With this trick, you have small pods to enhance your sauces throughout the year.
With the freezer, you can marinate your meat AND store it.
Place the meat in a freezer bag. Then pour a marinade into the bag and freeze it. Once thawed, the meat will be marinated and ready for cooking!
Here is a good tip for preparing a meal for a surprise guest or in anticipation of a particularly busy week.
When you take the time to prepare lasagna or gratin dauphinois, why not take the opportunity to prepare twice as much? That's some dishes in the freezer to help you out.
It's easy, too. Just cut individual portions and keep them in freezer bags. When the time comes, a little microwave and you're done!
Be careful, these are not the tasteless fish croquettes you find in the supermarket. This trick is a real homemade recipe!
When the fish is on sale, buy a good quantity. Cut it across its width so as to make sticks. Then, dip these sticks in egg and breadcrumbs.
Then, place the sticks on parchment paper on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, put the sticks in a freezer bag.
The result is 100 times tastier than what you can buy at the supermarket. You will tell me about it!
If you don't have freezer bags, you can find them here on the Internet.
