A Well Stocked Freezer

This is a continuation of my "A Well Stocked..." entries.  I can't stress enough the importance of being prepared so that you aren't tempted to run out and go out to eat or eat junk, because of the fact that your pantry, fridge and freezer aren't properly stocked.  Or, how many times have you started a recipe just sure that you have all of the ingredients and then it turns out that you are missing one of the main components.  Frustrating for sure!

Let's go nuts!  Nuts are one of those items that are actually better if you keep in your freezer so that they do not go rancid on you.  You can store them in your freezer and pull them out as needed.  If you are so inclined, toasting them for a minute or two in a dry skillet will bring back their "freshness".  I have many varieties in my freezer and some are whole, chopped and others are actually ground.  Here's a look:

Here I have peanuts (that I keep in my pantry, not freezer), soy nuts, walnuts, pecans (from Texas!!), sunflower seeds, raw almonds, slivered almonds, and pine nuts.  I also like to make my own trail mix using a variety of nuts and seeds, that recipe will show up in a future post.

I usually put some sort of nut on  my salad and this particular week it was hazelnuts and so those are kept in my refrigerator.  Here they are.  I chopped them already so that they are ready to go!

Fruit is also a great addition to your freezer.  I always buy fruit, especially berries, when they are in season and at their cheapest.  That way I have fruit all year round.  Frozen fruit is great for things like pancakes, muffins, smoothies, crisps, etc.  Here is just a sample of what I have.  I currently have strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, bananas and pomegranate seeds in my freezer.  Not all of them made the photo shoot, but for some reason my ginger root did! Ha!  Yes, the freezer is a great place to store your fresh ginger root, it will last forever!

Of course I have plenty of vegetables, too.  Currently, I have frozen peas, corn, butternut squash, sugar snap peas, green beans, diced sweet potatoes, sweet potato fries.. I think you get the picture.

Also, cooking a bunch at one time and freezing is also a great way to save time on those rushed weeknights or days when you have unexpected company.  I don't have a lot of things in there right now, but I do have some tortilla soup, marinara sauce, vegetable samosas, taquitos, taco meat, chili, pesto... I think that is it.  OH... I do have fresh/frozen lemon and lime juice.  When lemons or limes go on sale, or when you buy too many that you aren't going to use, juice them all up and freeze them in icecube trays.  Once frozen, pop the cube out and put them all in a freezer bag.  Whenever you need lemon or lime juice pull one or two cubes out and defrost in the microwave for about twenty seconds or leave at room temperature for a little while.

All of these tips really do add up to great time and money savers!