I am lucky enough to have a chest freezer. Not a huge one, but one large enough to allow me to shop smarter, cook ahead, and freeze lots of goodies from my garden. In the long run, it saves us a TON of money.
I had no idea today what I wanted to make for dinner. After the whole NOLA weekend, yesterday was ring bologna, potatoes and corn. Just wanted something simple. So I had NO idea today. So I took laundry down to the basement, and stopped at the freezer on the way. Frozen turkey left from Christmas dinner! Perfect start for Turkey Tetrazzini... dinner dilema solved. Pulled a container of frozen strawberries out too, just for a treat. On a cold day like today, with the snow blowing, a little taste of spring/summer is just what the doctor ordered.
I recieved an amazing Taste of Home cookbook from my big sister this Christmas, and looked there for a recipe, finding a traditional from scratch tetrazzini. The recipe called to make a 9x13 pan, but when I got done, I realized that it was WAY more than my family of three could eat, so I prepped 3 smaller pans, one for tonight, and two.. you guessed it - went into the freezer!
There are SO many benefits to having a chest freezer. I can shop sales. It is an outreach of my pantry. I can buy in bulk, and separate. ALL saving me money. I can cook ahead for my family, again saving money, but also providing REAL food - even on those crazy weeks - simply by pulling a prepped dinner up from the freezer to thaw and cook.
So today - is my "ode to my freezer". One of my most important appliances!
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