The Freezer

Aside from the obvious inclusion of ice and ice cream, you can keep a variety of things in your freezer for making last minute meals. You can freeze just about everything except for lettuce.

 Ice

 Ice cream

 Bread and rolls – you can avoid running out of bread

 Chicken: whole chicken and parts

 Ground beef – shape into patties before you freeze them. You don’t have to use them as hamburgers, but it gives you the flexibility to do so

 Other meat – you can freeze steaks, chops, stew beef, any meat really

 Cold cuts: sliced turkey, ham or other meats from the delicatessen – you can divide into portion size piles, separated with pieces of wax paper, and freeze in plastic bags or containers for last minute sandwiches

 Shrimp – usually is sold frozen anyway, and makes a great last minute meal as well as a planned one

 Vegetables – many vegetables that you buy frozen are fairly respectable, although of course not as good as they are fresh; peas, corn, string beans, French fries are some suggestions to keep on hand

 Yeast – regular active dry yeast for baking breads and pizza

 Chicken carcasses – when you roast a whole chicken, save the bones in a plastic bag for making soup

 Leftovers – freeze leftovers if there are enough to make another meal

 Homemade pasta sauce – when you make tomato or meat sauce, make enough to save for another time

Thawing food

The most important factor is safety when thawing uncooked meat, because the exterior warms up enough to allow bacteria to become active while the interior is still frozen. For this reason, the ideal way to thaw meat is in the refrigerator which should be kept at no higher than 40˚F. Depending on the thickness of the meat, move it to the refrigerator either the night before or the morning of the day you will cook it.

If you need to thaw meat more quickly, you can enclose it in a leak-proof plastic bag and submerge it in cold water. You’ll need to change the water every 30 minutes to ensure it stays cold. Hamburgers may thaw in less than an hour, and a whole chicken could take 2 to 3 hours. If you use this method you should cook the meat as soon as it is thawed.

Never thaw meat by leaving it out on the counter. However, other products such as baked goods and vegetables that do not contain any meat can be quickly thawed by setting out on your counter.