First of all- sorry. I wasn't sure where to post this. But this is something I've thought about before, and the frozen meals post made me think of it again.

Well... I'd like to freeze a couple meals if I could. Also if I found really good deals on some meats, stock up on them. But... how do you do any of that when you only have the little freezer above the fridge??

At the moment, we have some frozen veggies, ham steak, a chicken, frozen waffles, and frozen french toast stick (the last two are courtesy of DH), a small thing of sausage, and 2 things of frozen juice, and then of course an ice cube tray. We still have room but, even with that stuff (and some is in the door) we really seem to have limited space. Would it even be possible for me to freeze -one- meal?

I make stuff and freeze in ziploc bags, so everything can lay flat. I have also raised the shelf in the freezer and added another wire coated shelf (like this Storage Solutions Stacking Shelves Set of 6 - White (Medium) : Target )

I will ladel soup into a ziploc and lay it flat on it's side to freeze. Likewise have carefully loaded lasagna, baked spagetti, enchildas, casseroles, etc, etc into ziploc bags. When I get a good deal on chicken I've been known to freeze it on a cookie sheet and then once frozen load into ziploc bags. I've also flatted chicken, seasoned it and frozen so that prep time is less when I use it. I cook great deals of hamburger meat and then freeze on a cookie sheet, then load into ziploc bag so I can pull out a single cup of alredy cooked ground beef for whatever receipe. Likewise I do this with chicken so I can always pull soem out to put shredded chicken into quesodillas or top off a salad or it's ready to go to make chicken salad sandwhiches, etc.

I almost never keep anything in it's orginal packaging before it goes into my freezer, almost a full 90% of everything has been repackaged. I also then use my ice cube bucket thing to sort and organize seeing that two trays of ice cubes are more than enough for this family.


We do have another small freezer, but it's a small one, like the size of a dorm refroigerator it's just all freezer thou. Can you find a place to stash a small freezer like that? ( like this - GE - 5.0 Cu. Ft. Upright Freezer - White - FUM5SNWW ) We got ours on freecycle and it's not nearly as nice btu I see these on Craigslist from time to time for like $50.

I mainly use this one to store and freeze excess from the garden, things that we can not can, but do freeze well, or if I get an amazing sale on something. But mainly most everything fits into the freezer atop the fridgerator.


Good luck

I buy the 5lb roll of meat at Walmart. I can get them on sale for less that $5.00. If we are having meatloaf I will use most of it for that and then put a little bit into two different baggies for spaghetti later on and freeze it. I also will cook the whole thing and use it for spaghetti or tacos, then freeze the rest. When I use it for that I have enough to freeze three or four baggies. I have also boiled chicken breasts and frozen them in individual baggies. Makes a quick yummy lunch forme. Just make sure you cool the meat all the way before putting it in the freezer, otherwise it will cause freezer burn.

__________________
Jenifer
Proud wife to one amazing man
Proud mom to four awesome kids

Fall is my favorite season!
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your path straight." Proverbs 3:5-6