Freezer Challenge Days 12 - 14

The past few days I have focused more on using up items that have been in the freezer longer than I intended. 

Day 12 - I made cherry tarts using half a package of phyllo dough.  I am experimenting with pre-making the tarts and baking them at a later date.  I also used a package of ground venison to make sloppy joes.

Day 13 - I cooked a frozen homemade hamburger helper type meal, squash, and butterbeans.  It was nice to eat a meal entirely from the freezer.

Day 14 - Lunch today is fish fillets, whole kernel corn, and roasted potatoes.  The potatoes were a convenience food that was free as a trial item.  I baked them, smashed them, and then baked a little longer.  The potatoes were definitely an item that needed to be used up. 

The Goodyear Blimp & Freezer Challenge Day 11

Freezer Challenge First..... 

Yesterday we had a bacon cheeseburger pizza.  I cooked a pack of turkey bacon from the freezer and also used pizza dough which I had frozen a couple of weeks ago.  The bacon needed to be used.  I, of course, did not use all of it on the pizza.  The remainder will be eaten with waffles (from the freezer as a future meal).

Last Sunday I was only in the church service long enough to play the piano.  Then I went back over to the social hall to finish cooking crescent rolls.  My parents always cook the chicken tenders for church meals.  When they drove up with those, my dad pointed to the sky.  What a surprise to see the Goodyear blimp flying overhead.

We live in an extremely small town so this was quite a treat.  In small towns odd things become major excitement.  Still it was fun to see it flying  by. 

Freezer Challenge Days 6-10

Have you ever felt like you were taking one step forward and two steps back?  That is what it has felt like here recently.  Sunday was Homecoming at our church.  I was busy with various things related to that.  Then it was a matter of catching up on things at home after it was over.  I did still manage to use a few freezer items along the way. 

Saturday the 6th - I took out two packages of whole kernel corn to thaw for Sunday's meal.  I also used some pecans.

Sunday the 7th - I took 160 frozen crescent rolls out of the freezer.  I am thankful for a warming oven which allowed them to rise quickly.

Monday the 8th - I used the last two frozen turkey burgers and two homemade hamburger buns.  I also cooked some frozen french fries.

Tuesday the 9th - I used a package of ground venison and half a package of frozen mixed vegetables to make soup.

Today - Sadly the only thing eaten from the freezer has been ice cream.  We spent longer than planned in town today and had take out for lunch.  We have enough leftovers for supper.  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. 

It feels good to be caught up and have life back to normal - for a little while!

Freezer Challenge - Day 5

Yesterday I used two homemade pie crusts and one package of chicken pot pie filling.  The pie crusts were definitely on the must use list.  They had almost been in the freezer too long.  That is the main purpose of this challenge.  I know I have items lanquishing in the freezer that just keep getting pushed to the side.  I hope to use up some of these items over the next few weeks.


I apologize for the rather dull posts this week.  I have had other things going on that took up too much of my time.  I have some more interesting stuff to share along with the freezer challenge updates next week.

Freezer Challenge - Day 4

Another quiet day for the freezer challenge.  I used a package of ground venison to make taco salads for lunch.  I used two of the homemade tortillas I froze earlier in the week to make tortilla bowls.  I had a homemade frozen meal for supper as W was working late.  I did make vanilla ice cream which went into the freezer.  W has already started working on that.  I think I should have better luck using over the weekend.

Freezer Challenge - Day 3

Yesterday was not an especially great day for the freezer challenge.  I did reach my goal of using up one item.  I had a small bit of sliced ham in the refrigerator freezer.  This was an item that definitely needed to be used.  I thawed it slightly and W diced it to go on our homemade pizza. 

Grocery shopping yesterday was minimal.  I spent $19 on four boxes of cereal, two packages of grapes, sausage, and Goldfish crackers.  I guess even my shopping yesterday was a bit dull. 

Freezing Challenge - Day 2

Yesterday was another good day for using items from the freezer.  I also added something to the freezer though - homemade tortillas.  I tried making them once before and they did not turn out well.  I recently saw a recipe for homemade tortillas from Mom on a Mission.   I prefer whole wheat tortillas.  Since we began cutting back on processed foods, I found that the ones we still ate tasted awful.  I have not tasted these tortillas yet.  However, they rolled out much easier and cooked up better than my previous attempt.  I will be using them to make taco bowls later this week.

Here is what I took out of the freezer yesterday:

From the refrigerator freezer
~two homemade English muffins for W's breakfast
~chocolate chips for lava cakes
~cornbread

From the big inside freezer
~peas
~macaroni and cheese
~jalapeno poppers

I also put dough for a pizza crust in the freezer.  That will be used next week though. 

Freezer Challenge - Day 1

Yesterday was the first day of my freezer challenge.  I was able to use several items since I made a serious effort. Here is a quick rundown of what I used on day 1.

From the refrigerator freezer
~For breakfast I ate the last biscuit
~I also took out two bags of homemade bread ends/pieces.  Those only half count since I turned them into bread crumbs and put them back in the freezer. Now they are usable.
~My lunch was one of my homemade frozen meals.
~I removed a container of chickpeas to roast.
~I used shredded zucchini to make muffins.

From the outside freezer
~A container of half and half is thawing in the fridge and will become vanilla ice cream.
~I needed a pound of butter and pulled one from the freezer.

From the inside freezer
~I used cranberries in the zucchini muffins.  Those went back in the freezer but will be my breakfasts over the coming week. 
~Homemade burritos were our supper last night.

I am certain every day will not be that good.  It proves that I have plenty of useful items on hand already.  I just need to be proactive about making use of what I have.