Frozen Ingredients: Good, Bad, or Indifferent?

medtran49 said:
I don't mind frozen meat for the most part, especially chicken and the ground meats that we process ourselves.
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Oh, yes: I certainly do this. If I buy more than I plan to use, I freeze it. But, the difference there is that I know how long it's been in the freezer. Once, my daughter bought bags of frozen chicken breasts and frozen shrimp. The chicken breasts were a gnarled collection if mismatched hunks of meat. I chopped it up and made a stir-fry. Chicken breasts don't have a lot of flavor to begin with, so this wasn't a bad use for it.

But, I have to be honest: the shrimp was perfectly fine, except for one thing: it was already cooked. This removed any flexibility I might have had, so I decided to just thaw them and use them as an appetizer with cocktail sauce. I will have to try using frozen (raw) shrimp sometime in cold weather months when I can't get good quality fresh shrimp.
 
Timenspace said:
Walnuts and nuts? Brilliant. Never ocurred to me one could.
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Nuts will go rancid after a time, some pretty quickly, others longer. It depends on how much oil they contain. I either refrigerate or freeze them depending on quantity and how soon they are getting used.
 
we use frozen stuff that is 'not avail' out of season -

at peak (bicolor) sweet corn I freeze 5-6 dozen ears, kernels cut off the cob. it is seriously better than any of the frozen stuff. that much lasted thru last week . . . not local yet but fresh corn is coming from southern areas.

stuff broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc etc are 'always' available, but okra, brussel sprouts, lima beans, green beans, , , , come and go.

couldn't find any frozen limas, bought canned, DW gagged, tossed the left overs...
generally don't use canned stuff - exceptions artichokes, pickled beets, hominy.
 
CookieMonster said:
at peak (bicolor) sweet corn I freeze 5-6 dozen ears, kernels cut off the cob. it is seriously better than any of the frozen stuff. that much lasted thru last week . . . not local yet but fresh corn is coming from southern areas.
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I do this, too, but I normally don't think of it until the end of the season. I had a pound of corn that I found in the freezer in February, so I made a corn chowder. Awesome.

Thanks for the reminder: I will probably go 50/50, with half going into the freezer and half onto the dinner table.
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
the shrimp was perfectly fine, except for one thing: it was already cooked. This removed any flexibility I might have had, so I decided to just thaw them and use them as an appetizer with cocktail sauce.
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Oh splendid, so that actually works?
Was wondering...they went on discount, I was too affraid to buy and cook or eat those...
medtran49 said:
Nuts will go rancid after a time, some pretty quickly, others longer. It depends on how much oil they contain. I either refrigerate or freeze them depending on quantity and how soon they are getting used.
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So far I have bought small quantities and used the nuts up.

My freezer is very small, two shelves, so I usually keep meat and veges.

In my current daily or weekly schedule frozen at hand items are meal saving often enough for me to vaguely consider buying an extra freezer.

I need to figure out how to incorporate it in the small kitchen, but let us see.

I'd often buy discounted fresh meat(packed), and stick it in the freezer. At times I'd buy frozen veges, but not as often, I orefer them fresh, like carrots, zuchhini,cauliflower,broccoli, but they all freeze well.
I love having frozen yellow and green string beans and green peas at hand ...those I'd rarely buy fresh, so far...

Staple is Knoedel (potato dough knoedel filled with fresh plum halves) as kid adores those. Also fish sticks (the prebreaded ones), also for kid loves them.

Recently I froze butter that was on sale...

Frozen raspberries are gorgeous on cooked oats...or as pancake topping...

Leftovers are useful to freeze(soups, meatballs etc)...

Surviving is the motto😎😂so far...
 
medtran49 said:
Neither do i. It just happened to be next to something else I was buying.
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I have a great recipe for okra. heat a SS pan over med heat and add a combination of 50/50 EVOO & butter and when the butter starts to foam up add, some minced shallot, garlic and chili pepper, your choice and sautee for 1 minute. Add the okra and sautee for another 2 moving the okra around, a little blistering is fine. Then take the pan over to your garbage can, lift the lid and slide it in. :D j/k
 
Timenspace said:
Oh yes, what a good idea!
I usually buy tins. Sometimes precooked ones, vac sealed...

Frozen sound good!
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looks like
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I use frozen okrie mainly to make gumbos. I also buy frozen pie shells to make pies. I could make my own pie shells, but it's too much of a mess. :whistling:
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
Oh, yes: I certainly do this. If I buy more than I plan to use, I freeze it. But, the difference there is that I know how long it's been in the freezer. Once, my daughter bought bags of frozen chicken breasts and frozen shrimp. The chicken breasts were a gnarled collection if mismatched hunks of meat. I chopped it up and made a stir-fry. Chicken breasts don't have a lot of flavor to begin with, so this wasn't a bad use for it.

But, I have to be honest: the shrimp was perfectly fine, except for one thing: it was already cooked. This removed any flexibility I might have had, so I decided to just thaw them and use them as an appetizer with cocktail sauce. I will have to try using frozen (raw) shrimp sometime in cold weather months when I can't get good quality fresh shrimp.
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Buy raw shrimp shell on. The shell protects the meat from freezer burn. Also, look for the origins on the bag (required by law). Look for "Wild Caught USA." I am close enough to the Gulf coast that I can pretty much always find wild caught shrimp. It may be harder in Detroit.

CD
 
Frozen corn is handy to keep around..the stuff is indestructable and cooks up pretty good..we all know it can take a lot and come out looking pretty much the same...uhm....errr...:giggle:
 
garlichead said:
I have a great recipe for okra. heat a SS pan over med heat and add a combination of 50/50 EVOO & butter and when the butter starts to foam up add, some minced shallot, garlic and chili pepper, your choice and sautee for 1 minute. Add the okra and sautee for another 2 moving the okra around, a little blistering is fine. Then take the pan over to your garbage can, lift the lid and slide it in. :D j/k
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Breaded and deep fried okra is a Texas staple side dish. I love it. Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and fried okra with a blanket of white gravy -- YUM!

I but the breaded okra frozen, and it works great. You go straight into the hot oil with the frozen breaded okra.

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CD
 
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