Have you looked in the crisper of your refrigerator lately? Last week it was definitely time for a little fridge clean out at my house. When I got to the crisper I found some *aging* bell peppers and celery.
You see how the peppers aren't bad yet, but they're starting to get that *wrinkled* look. And the celery is getting sort of *soft*. This means that they don't work so well for salads or snacking, etc. and if you don't use them quickly they'll definitely go bad and you'll have to throw them out. Don't let that happen!
Go ahead and chop them up, getting them ready for all of those soups, casseroles and whatever other dishes you like to use them in. Then pop them in the freezer and they'll be ready whenever you need them! I always keep frozen peppers and celery in my freezer and I can't even tell you how handy they are. I just take out what I need and put the rest back for another time.
If you have items that you like to keep handy in the freezer I'd love to hear about them!
Visit 5 Minutes for Moms for more ideas on Tackle It Tuesday!
You see how the peppers aren't bad yet, but they're starting to get that *wrinkled* look. And the celery is getting sort of *soft*. This means that they don't work so well for salads or snacking, etc. and if you don't use them quickly they'll definitely go bad and you'll have to throw them out. Don't let that happen!
Go ahead and chop them up, getting them ready for all of those soups, casseroles and whatever other dishes you like to use them in. Then pop them in the freezer and they'll be ready whenever you need them! I always keep frozen peppers and celery in my freezer and I can't even tell you how handy they are. I just take out what I need and put the rest back for another time.
If you have items that you like to keep handy in the freezer I'd love to hear about them!Visit 5 Minutes for Moms for more ideas on Tackle It Tuesday!
Comments
That is a great thrifty idea. I always feel so bad when I have to throw food out. I have a student from Brazil staying with us for 6months so it is a bit of a challenge to come up with new meals. She only eats chicken and fish but not spicy food. I will have to check out some of your recipes and others and get organized.She is doing year 12 here and today was the first day of school for the year and I spent the day with her at school and so I am very tired.(All that concentrating) Blessings Sharon
Roberta Anne
I have leftover (Christmas) ham in my freezer right now, too, just for that very purpose!:)
Kari~
I definitely remember those poor shrivled peppers. You can tell Mom doesn't cook quite as often anymore. lol!!
I've heard that about onions...I just never have leftover onions, instead I'm always running out of them:)
I'd love to know how the bananas turn out. I'm terrible about letting bananas ruin--this could be my solution!
At Christmas, I used bananas that had been in the freezer for several months to make banana bread and they tasted fine. It wasn't quite as flavorful as they would be if I hadn't waited so long, but they were still good.
It's really easy to use them-just let them sit out for a little bit to thaw out some. You then just cut the top off the skin and squeeze the banana out of it. I just put them in the mixer since they are pretty well mashed already after being squeezed out.
So, don't trash the bananas, freeze them and use them for banana bread, smoothies, whatever.
Anything that is about to "go" in our house gets put in a freezer bag and gets tossed right into the chest freezer.
:)
I also freeze anything that's about to go bad, like you. We get a CSA (crate of random produce every week from a local farm) each summer, and if we're busy it's hard to eat all the veggies in time! When I'm REALLY organized, I freeze them as soon as we get them, to maximize vitamins. I love being able to eat things in winter that aren't in season, like zucchini, without paying high prices.
I also keep orange peels in the freezer for use in cranberry bread and such. Whenever we get a batch of oranges that have nice thick peels, I wash the outside of one of them before peeling and then save the peels.