So I've cleaned out and organized both stand alone freezers. I had to do those because they needed defrosting. But I also have 2 freezer compartments of fridge/freezer combination units, the kitchen one and our old kitchen one (now in the garage). Neither of these need defrosting, but they do need cleaning out and organizing. So I am slowly going through both as I have a few minutes here and there.
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it's dark because the lightbulb burned out several years ago -- the absolute only thing that has ever failed in this fridge/freezer |
Here's what the freezer section of the old fridge/freezer looks like now after about 6 weeks. Goodness! This is about as empty as I've seen it in years. And this photo was taken right after I put 2 new loaves of bread in there. It was emptier than this when I opened the door. And yes, it is avocado green. How very 1970s!
And here's the kitchen fridge/freezer's freezer after 6 weeks of trying to use up its contents. It's getting there. It's still a jumble of stuff, but at least there's room in the freezer basket now, and I can find foods. These lower basket freezers are difficult to keep organized, as the basket slopes, so you can't easily stack containers.
Here's what I found this week:
- more chicken stock
- pumpkin stock (the liquid that I strain off of cooked, pureed fresh pumpkin)
- 2 containers of unknown contents, likely someone's leftovers. One looks like it might be baked beans. I'll need to thaw them just to find out what they are.
- ground cumin
- phyllo dough (very old, but I may try doing something with it)
- grape juice concentrate
- a partial can of apple-raspberry concentrate
- 2 1/2 burritos, homemade
- 1/2 eggroll, homemade
- multiple ice cream containers (5) with about 1 scoop left in each
- whipped cream
- 2 cups of sour milk
- 1/2 cup chicken gravy
- 1 cup of ham drippings
- candied orange peel scones, several
What I did with our finds:
- I used 1 quart of chicken stock divided between some chicken gravy to go with roasted chicken and a small pot of chicken noodle soup.
- 1 quart of pumpkin stock has been used as the liquid in my breakfast smoothies.
- cumin was used to refill the kitchen spice jar
- 1/2 burrito was part of my lunch yesterday.
- the sour milk went into a large batch of pancakes for my family this week for breakfasts and snacks
- the 1/2 cup of chicken gravy was mixed with the fresh homemade gravy this week, allowing us to get 3 dinners of roast chicken and gravy from one whole chicken.
What's left? And what I plan for these items:
- the 2 containers of unknown contents, perhaps one is baked beans -- I plan on thawing at least one of them at lunch one day this week, getting my family's approval, and seeing if a family member recalls freezing it. Then it will become part of their lunch for that day. I'll do the same with the second container the following week.
- phyllo dough -- I don't want to waste other good ingredients on something that is old, so I may just layer the sheets with butter, sugar, and cinnamon and bake. Any other suggestions?
- The juices will be beverages at a picnic or cookout in the next month.
- 2 burritos -- these will be used in lunches this next week.
- 1/2 egg roll -- this is my daughter's. I'll encourage her to eat it.
- ice cream -- this is easy. We'll have an ice cream moment on Saturday afternoon when the warm weather returns.
- the whipped cream is a few years old -- I'll use it in a batch of scones or pancakes, thinned with some water. Or do you have any suggestions?
- ham drippings -- I saved these drippings for making gravy. Do you have any suggestions on using the drippings or for what to use a gravy made with them?
- no one remembers baking the scones. So I'm guessing I baked them. Using candied orange peel sounds like something I'd bake. (My daughters thought so, too.) They likely have dairy milk in them, so I can't eat any. I think I'll thaw a few at a time and set them out for breakfast choices.
What are your suggestions for the foods I haven't used yet?
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