Home Cooking: Freezer Challenge
I love a good challenge! Don’t you? So join me on this one and help me with some inspiration.
I often cook for one or two mouths, and I don’t really love eating leftovers the next day for work .. so I have a freezer full of odds and sods, bits and pieces, and “that’ll come in handy for later”. Also, I shop at Farmers’s Markets a lot, and you can’t always plan your meals in advance, nor buy the exact amount you need. You have to “go with the flow” somewhat.
So … I’m getting a pretty full freezer. I’m about to stuff a kilo of chestnuts into it, so I need to clean it out and use the food.
Here’s what I’ve got:
- 1
/2 pack chow mein noodles - 4 slices fruit toast
- 12 small fetta filo pastries
- 9 chicken and ginger dumplings
- 5 sheets shortcrust pastry
- 1 pack Careme sweet shortcrust pastry
- Organic Oats
- 800g of shredded cheese (lord knows!)
- 1 punnet organic blueberries
- 3 punnets mixed raspberries, strawberries and blueberries
- 250g Fernleigh Farms eye bacon
- 100g short cut bacon
- 250g Fernleigh Farms ham
- 2 x serves pumpkin lasagne
- 3 x serves spinach and ricotta cannelloni
- 2 vegie burgers
- 1.1 litre’s of chicken stock (with another 2 litres in the fridge)
- 1 serve of moroccan chicken stew
1 home made pork and fennel sausage roll- 6 Pacdon English Pork Sausages
- couple of dozen egg whites (macarons?)
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- lime zest
- pulp of 12 passionfruit
- 300 ml pork stock.
- 200ml Chang’s Pork Liqueur
- Butter, various
- Herbs, kaffir lime leaves etc, various
- 500g lamb fillet
- 500g beef mince
So, give me inspiration – make a combination, randomly or with some thought attached. Help me to plough through this list, and this freezer.
(thanks but no, I don’t need any help “using up” the bottle of Grey Goose hiding in there… ta)
Tell us what’s in there Nola! Is it a pantry challenge too? (and w00t!)
Comment from: essjayeats
I feel your pain. I’m trying to eat anything that I can’t move to Melbourne so needless to say I’ve been having some strange meals!
Comment from: Nola
Organic oats were on special so I bought two packs. They don’t freeze solid, but it keeps them from going rancid.
Comment from: essjayeats
No suggestions, but a question – oats keep in the freezer? I’ve never considered that. Do they freeze hard (in a block) or stay separate?
Comment from: Injera
[…] post is wholly inspired by the lovely @essjayeff, who over at her blog essjayeats, threw out a challenge to delve into the depths of ones freezer to see what treasures can be found […]
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Mellie: A truckers quiche? What is that!
(my freezer is very full…)
Yes – soup and dumplings (I’ve just added 1 litre of chicken soup to the freezer, will update post)
I think I need to make passionfruit, lime and coconut macarons.
I stopped by La Latteria today and bought some lovely ricotta, so the fruit toast is DONE.
Comment from: essjayeats
Is all that stuff in your lil’ freezer?!? How does it fit?
Well, there is definitely a truckers quiche in there with the pastry, bacon, shredded cheese. And a dumpling soup with one of your stocks.
There is definitely the makings of macarons, or even a passionfruit and berry topped pavlova there.
Fruit toast bread pudding?!
Comment from: mellie
Hello there Sefie! I think the berries will go with the Rhubarb from the Farmers’ Market last week, to make Breakfast crumble.
I took your advice and had Fetta triangles with Spicy Plum Sauce from Mellie at Tummyrumbles for dinner tonight.
Comment from: essjayeats
Hey there, blog name twin!
With the berries, lime juice and zest, I’d make sorbet or frozen yoghurt. Or at least a smoothie. Or, stew them with simple syrup to make a fruit compote for the fruit toast.
I also have all manner of small dumplings and pastries for when I can’t be bothered cooking, and I just have hors d’oeuvres for dinner 🙂
Comment from: Sefie