October Freezer Cooking Days: Cooking list

Time once again for October Freezer Cooking Days, hosted by FishMama at Life as MOM (Crystal at Money Saving Mom is taking a break for a few months).

Advice for the month: Clean out your freezer!

I wasn't planning on participating this month; after all, my freezer was completely full!  Or was it?

I decided to remove everything and take inventory.  I found these things taking up space that could have been used for nutritious, convenient food for my family:

• Bananas.  Lots and lots of bananas.  I guess each time some bananas were going black, I'd throw them in, figuring that I'd make Banana Cinnamon Oatmeal or Oven-Baked Banana French Toast with them.  Didn't happen.  So out they went.  I'm sure there will be plenty more to replace them in the coming weeks.
• Old beef broth I had made... hmmm.... quite a few years ago.  I dumped that as well.  (A secret to dump frozen liquids out of a container quick: take the lid off, turn it upside down, put it in the sink, turn on the hot water and aim it at the bottom of the container.  If you want to save the frozen liquid, put the upside-down container in a large bowl first.)
• Some sauces from some meals that I didn't label.  (Label everything, and use it up in a reasonable amount of time!)
• A rather ancient cake of some sort, covered only with aluminum foil.  (Protect the food you're saving!)

So, once I had removed all those space-wasters, and consolidated like items, there was... well, I won't say that it's spacious in there, but there's enough room to add a few more useful items.

So this weekend I'll be making:

• 4 quarts chicken soup, from chicken carcasses saved in the freezer
• 1 bag dried black beans, soaked and then cooked in the crockpot
• 2 loaves Whole Wheat French Bread
• 4 rolls Chewy Chocolatey Freezer Cookies
  

...and maybe more, depending on how much time I end up having.

Please follow me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook to follow my progress throughout the weekend!