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Freezing Leftovers

July 23, 2009

Leftover food in containers in the fridge.Saving the contents of a partially opened can; and other tips to use freezing certain condiments, spices and even garlic.

This one is really easy. Once you have opened a large jar of a product, usually it goes into the refrigerator, and sometimes spoils if you do not use it quickly enough. This applies to most canned goods, or other things that may only be used a certain amount of the time.

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Why waste opening another jar, or buying more of that item? Get out your ice cube trays! This is a great solution if you are saving something like pizza sauce, tomato sauce, broth, salsa, barbecue sauce and many other items. Even cheese dip seems to work as well. We've tested most possibilities over the years and the only poor outcome was potatoes; mashed or cubed.

This also works really well with garlic. If you are like me; you may like fresh garlic, but it's a pain to peel, chop, and sometimes goes bad if you leave it in the refrigerator too long.

For each liquid item, fill up the ice cube trays about 2/3 full (each "cube"). put in the freezer and when frozen, pop out and put in a ziplock bag and keep it in the freezer. Use as many cubes as you like, it's the perfect portion size and no chance of waste.

The garlic trick is to peel and wash the garlic, toss it into the blender with some water and then pour it into the ice cube trays. it's a wonderful way to have fresh garlic around at all times. Only one warning with the garlic, please make sure you put your frozen garlic cubes in a good container to prevent the garlic odor from mingling with the other foods. I don't recommend ziplock (odor still got out into the rest of the freezer). Now I use a glass jar, which seems to be working just fine.

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All those left over sauces and broths can be frozen as well, with the exception of flour-thickened gravy.

I believe over the last 15 years that I have been using this technique it has worked with all items with those exceptions: gravy, potatoes. Everything else comes out just fine. So easy to reach for the proper amount without opening a new can.

By Bella Swan from Forks, WA

 
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More Solutions

This page contains the following solutions.

May 14, 2010

Baggies are essential in your kitchen. When bringing home those large frozen meat "specials" divide them into meal portions as soon as you get home instead of putting the whole package of meat in the freezer.

 
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February 13, 2009

When TV dinners were on sale, I purchased a number of them. We used these dinners when we were in a hurry rather than eating fast food. When done, I washed and saved the "plate".

 
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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 418 Posts
October 6, 2014

This little 8 ounce container has really come in handy for me. Being flexible, rectangular shape and having a lid make it the perfect container for me to use for freezing turnip salad in a serving size for the two of us.

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I am so glad that I did not put these containers in the recycling bin.

Using Margarine Tubs for Leftovers

November 21, 2011

Sometimes a recipe calls for broth and you purchase a larger amount than needed. To avoid waste, you can pour the leftover amount into ice cube trays or a plastic container and freeze.

 
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Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 179 Feedbacks
October 10, 2017

If you put a plastic bag into a square container then freeze your leftovers in that, you can take out the bag, label it, and store it in your freezer. Square frozen bags take up less room and are easier to stack.

 
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Silver Post Medal for All Time! 267 Posts
August 26, 2009

I find that when I make a soup with pasta in it, the pasta gets very soft when trying to serve the soup as a leftover. When I have a lot of leftover soup, I will now put it directly into a casserole dish and freeze it.

 
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July 11, 2007

I purchased a set of 4 trays for $1 at my local discount store and have used them for all sorts of non-ice items. Cubes thaw faster than blocks of food in larger sizes, and store easily in zipper freezer bags.

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Just be sure to label the bags.

 
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February 26, 2011

When preparing soups or anything with leftovers to be frozen for later use, I save the excess in ziploc freezer bags. When the food is cooled enough for freezing, lay the bags flat in a baking pan until they are frozen.

 
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Bronze Tip Medal for All Time! 51 Tips
February 29, 2008

Experts say that the best way to SLASH your grocery bill is to eliminate the waste-stop throwing things out! Here is my way of salvaging the tablespoon of corn or green beans that is not enough to eat but I can't bear to throw out.

 
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July 15, 2011

I really think that the introduction of Clip Lock bags (Freezer Use) are the next best invention since sliced bread! I usually go over the top and make too much of a particular meal/soup sauce (all the kids have now left home and sadly I still cook for 6 rather than 2!).

 
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March 27, 2011

If a leftover food is good for a soup, wrap it, write on it what it is, and freeze it. Some things will need to be chopped fine before use, but add a lot of flavor.

 
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September 30, 2004

When making pizza, there always seems to be more sauce than we need, so I freeze leftovers in ice cube trays and take out one or two when needed. These are great for a quick tortilla pizza night. Just use tortilla shells instead of pizza dough.

 
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September 15, 2004

When you cook a chicken and have leftovers to put in the freezer, store the chunks of chicken in broth to keep it from drying out. Your chicken will be nice and moist when you need it for casseroles, etc. By Katz

 
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20 Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

March 18, 2009

I live alone, but when I cook I make recipes for a family, then put portions into small 1 or 2 cup containers and put them in the freezer. Then I take them out when I want them. However, often when I do, they are freezer burnt and I have to toss them!



I guess the containers I use don't do a good job of keeping the freezer burn out. I'm tired of throwing out food. How can I store these portions and not get freezer burn on them? Thanks in advance for your replies.

Answers

March 18, 20090 found this helpful

Try using zip lock bags, and double bagging the food. Put the first bag into the second upside down after squeezing out as much air as possible from both. I find that I have much less freezer burn when I do this.

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I wash and reuse all bags except those which held meat. By the way, we're neighbors as I'm on Grand Island.

 
March 18, 20090 found this helpful

I use a little thing called Handi-Vac by Reynolds (it is where the food bags are). I freeze the food in a cheep 1 quart bag then slip it into a Handi-Vac bag and use the Handi-Vac device to remove the air. No air no freezer burn. Since no food touches the Handi-Vac bag I reuse them. Glad has a product that does the same thing. I have had stuff in the freezer for 60 days with no burning. It is only 10 bucks but well worth it.

 
March 18, 20090 found this helpful

Those are great ideas, but what do I do with the small plastic containers I have? I guess I could put the food in them, then put them in one of those vaccuum bags or another plastic bag?

 
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April 20, 2015

Can you freeze sauerkraut and ribs and for how long?

By Donna

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