[Growster...]

I've just boiled a fabulous Tesco smoked gammon joint in the slow cooker. It's been on 'low' for several hours, and I plonked it up to 'high' for a couple of hours to make sure! It's now cooling down in the conservatory, and tomorrow, it'll be carved up for the freezer!

But there's one problem...

The freezers are just chock-a-block!

There's so much in there from the summer crops, with the additional loads of half-used casseroles, soups etc., and I really don't know how I'll fit everything in!

Perhaps Google will one day invent a way that you can upload all your foodstuff, then download it to the kitchen when you want it!

I despair, but will find a way - er - I'm sure...;(~

[mumofstig]

 
Mine's about 3/4 full I've been using stuff up, and not putting leftovers in there. Sometimes eating the same thing 2 days in a row is a bit boring, but it is working 

[snowdrops]

  Mr G, do a freezer audit & then work those casseroles in to your weekly menu’s. Plus when you do put something in put it on the calendar when you’re going to pull it back out. It’s the only way, you know it makes sense 

[Yorkie]

Mr G, do a freezer audit & then work those casseroles in to your weekly menu’s. Plus when you do put something in put it on the calendar when you’re going to pull it back out. It’s the only way, you know it makes sense 

That would never have occurred to me! 

[snowdrops]

Mr G, do a freezer audit & then work those casseroles in to your weekly menu’s. Plus when you do put something in put it on the calendar when you’re going to pull it back out. It’s the only way, you know it makes sense 

That would never have occurred to me! 

If I only followed my own advice  every week. I do actually do it sometimes & it is very effective 

[Growster...]

That makes a lot of sense, Snows!

Here's another quandary...

Last week, I bought a Tesco 'Finest' chicken for just over a tenner. On Sunday, the bird was well-roasted, and served up as it deserved, and all was as expected, (except that I roasted it the wrong way up for a while, but no matter)!

The next day was spent stripping down the meat, getting the bones in the slow cooker for soup and making the casseroles for the freezer. The dog also had two meals from the sort of stuff you'd rather not look at...

So, for the outlay of about £10.50, we had a hot serving on Sunday, a cold one on Monday, soup yesterday, and now have four casseroles and three soups in the freezer! So that's about a quid a meal for the two of us!

That's another reason why the two freezers are just stuffed at the moment, but there are some days when you need a break for a Shepherd's Pie or a Spag Bol, aren't there!

(4 oz of mince takes up about the size of a small tin of baked beans...)!

[Goosegirl]

My two (one fridge-freezer in the kitchen and one big freezer in the garage) are still about 3/4 full and was hoping my niece was coming today to take some larger items but her son is poorly so this is cancelled yet again - BUM! I know a whole chicken is lurking in there somewhere in one of the lower drawers, but part of my latest inventory has disappeared (told you our place is haunted) so I'll have to do another one which I will photocopy twice - ha - gotcha! Various large ham and other joints of meat and a large salmon I won't use will be distributed amongst friends for a forthcoming festive season. My husband used to do exactly what Growster has done with his chicken and, by heck, they didn't half taste good! 

[Growster...]

Well, I got the gammon carved and into ten bags, the whole of which equates to about fifteen meals for the pair of us, for the price of £13.51! Can't be bad...

So the bags are all pretty flat, and can be laid on the tops of other flat items to freeze, then I can move them about more freely - 'so he says...'

But Snows, they did go in the same drawer where I always keep the other gammon, so your superb system is already working!

[GraciesGran]

Mine are stuffed!  As fast as I take things out to eat the yellow sticker king comes home with more goodies - this week we've had chicken breasts, mince salmon and plums at stupidly low prices. 

I have however now got a list of the contents of both freezers and am dutifully keeping it up to date so at least I know what we've got. 

[AndyRVTR]

We have a fridge freezer in the house plus a tall 7 drawer freezer up in my shed at the top of the garden & we are lucky enough that both are just about full. Don't ask me what's in the one in my shed we just tend to take stuff out as & when we think of what to have for meals as neither me or Mrs R have any sort of organisation in place.
There's probably a few things in there that's a couple of years old (maybe older) 

[Growster...]

I've just taken some lamb chops out of the freezer, (Haze's - it's the one we collected when Mrs Growster's Mum popped off), and I'm making an Irish stew for tomorrow.

The trouble is, we won't get through all of it, so the rest will have to go back, probably into exactly the same hole it came out of...

...and the same size...

[snowdrops]

Put it in the fridge and have it Tuesday or Wednesday 

[Goosegirl]

Thinking about all of the various comments on here, what about getting a vacuum-packer? NO, YOUR HOOVER IS NOT THE IDEAL THING TO USE! Just my thoughts. 

[Growster...]

Put it in the fridge and have it Tuesday or Wednesday 

Great idea!

Already OK'd by Mrs Growster - thank you Snows!

[mrs bouquet]

Well, now have have defrosted the chest freezer and thrown out suspicious items that I haven't like, there is more room.  Some things have been moved into the upright freezer, both are in the garage.
I defrosted the chest freezer, by taking everything out, and then gently hitting the ice with a muffled hammer.
Swept out the ice from the bottom with  dustpan.    Job done - probably took about 20 mins, I didn't even turn it off.