I miss our old refrigerator. More specifically, the freezer part of the refrigerator.
Warning - cold, dark secrets follow. I'd call it a spoiler-warning, but the whole purpose of a freezer is to prevent spoilage.
Here's a partial inventory because I don't want to dig back there.
Strawberries were $1/lb at Randalls (limit 4 lbs with $10 additional purchase - luckily they had diapers on the clearance table). These are chpped up to freeze individually on a platter before I put them in a bag.
Bananas - freeze to go with the strawberries in future smoothies. Closeout item. Bought a huge bag for $1.00.
Nighthawk frozen dinners. High class item. Closeout.
Fajita seasoned Ore-Ida fries. Closeout item. Bought one. Liked them so much we had to buy 3 more because they won't be available in days.
Instant Oatmeal packets. Closeout item. Gross-out warning: Last time we bought these for 72-hr kits they had bugs when we opened them to eat at food rotation time. Discovered this when I opened the microwave and they had crawled up the edge of the bowl. So my latest grain tip is to freeze them for 48 hours to kill any uh, eggs.
Cheese - When it's on sale for $3/lb or less I buy at least 3 lbs.
Hot dog buns - we went off nitrates about a year ago, but hot dogs are something Samuel will actually eat, so...
Bulgar Wheat - Saw this called for in the recipe so I bought it. But there's no telling when I will find that recipe or if I will ever see it again.
Hamburgers - Yellow squash and green peppers were in the produce close-out bin way cheap. Chopped them up and mixed with hamburger - made about 12 patties for all our summer grilling.
Whole wheat flour - When I grind wheat I fill a gallon size bag and store it in the freezer. Fresh ground wheat flour can go rancid, or so I hear. I don't want to risk it.
Chocolate fudge bars - it's summertime, and the 24-pack seemed more economical at the time. We have about 8 left.
Frozen vegetarian casserole for Mumsie - she left it here in February and she'll eat it when she comes again in June.
Bell peppers - when these are in produce clearance (but still look good) I get them for $.25 each usually- chop up and freeze immediately for kabobs, pizza, stir fry etc. There's 1.5 gallons in there right now.
Behind the front layer you'll find pork chops, chicken breasts, 3 lbs of hamburger, 2 lbs steak, 1 lb. catfish, 1/2 gallon milk (close out for $1 - 3 days until expiration - freezes just fine), frozen peas, large bag of spinach and who knows what else.
In the door: frozen cubes of buttermilk (close-out $1), walnuts, fresh (well frozen) cranberries (only available at holiday season, so you have to stock up), yeast, gluten, butter, almonds, pepperoni, chopped green onions, cilantro, and a freezer-burned orange popsicle. (Samuel always wanted green in the pre-fudgesicle era).
So I have a weakness for closeout items like meat, dairy, and produce. If there's a website that says it will freeze well, I will freeze it.
