"I didn't know you could freeze that!" is something I've exclaimed an uncountable number of times in the past five years or so. You see, it wasn't until Mr. N and I moved into our first apartment that I knew that meat could be frozen. Due to my mother's inexplicable freezerphobia, I could only envision peas, ice, and possibly vegetarian "chick'n" dwelling in the frosty cave. I dreamed of a kitchen with no freezer and a double refrigerator--though I still don't know what, exactly, I intended to refrigerate given the fact that all we ever had was lettuce, eggs, and maybe-not-sour milk.
Less than a year after I started cooking for my husband, however, I learned that we were the sort of people that actually "need" animal protein, which meant we were in need of drastic changes to our vegetarian-out-of-poorness diet. Since our change in diet didn't come with an increase in food budget, I found myself looking for an inexpensive way to satisfy our bodies' nutritional needs. Then I discovered the "reduced for quick sale" section.
We were able to eat meat several times a week, so long as we didn't care what kind of meat, and so long as I was able to cook said meat the day it was purchased. With how given I am to whims and random food cravings, that obviously didn't go very well and led to unnecessary waste--that is, until I discovered frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts for less than $1 a pound. All of a sudden, I felt like I had a whole new world of convenience that fit squarely into the freezer I had once had the audacity to complain about!
I'm sure you can guess where this is heading, so I'll just cut to the chase: I got sick of pre-frozen chicken, moved to an area with better prices on meat, oh, and did I mention that I was officially "over" chicken? I went back to buying the reduced price meat, but I still couldn't shake my longing for the convenience of the freezer. Then, one day, it hit me: meat could be frozen, (duh) but it had to be frozen the right way. Once I made that realization, I found myself wondering what else I had missed by eschewing the convenience of the freezer.
Today, I freeze over half of the meat that I buy, along with breads, vegetables, broth, and leftovers--just as I assume the rest of you do. What's that, you say? You don't know the best way to freeze *insert item here*? Sit at my feet, and in the weeks that follow I'll teach you in a mini-series I'm calling: "You Can Freeze That??" Already know that you can freeze that? Chime in on the posts with tips of your own. I'd love to hear them!
P.S. Still sick and still brain dead. Sorry for any typos or stupidness.
People say that you can freeze milk. I've only ever tried it by accident in my dorm room once, and it didn't turn out well. I couldn't get over the hunks of iciness floating in my cereal bowl, even after it had been thawed out.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm glad that you no longer have the need for a double refrigerator :)
That's a dirty lie made up by the freezer industry, in my oh so humble opinion. ;-) My mother used to accidentally freeze the milk all the time and it never tasted "right" once it thawed.
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