We've been making our way through the pork in the freezer (and we're down to just sausage now...I want to cry!) and each supper brings something new from its frozen depths. Don't get me wrong, I love having a huge chest freezer, but that does mean that there is stuff (what is in that package anyhow??) that gets buried, no matter how organized we try to be.
One of those packages turned out to be a young deer that Harley decided to chew on. I had originally thought that it was goat, but since we didn't have any wethers to butcher last year or this year, I figured it was the deer. Guess that's what I get for not properly labeling freezer items. Regardless what it was, it was coming out of the freezer and I was going to eat it.
I put the deer/goat/whatever in the sink to defrost for the day and then popped it in the oven at 300 degrees for four hours. It was a late night because of the defrosting, cooking time and the subsequent picking apart of the meat, but well worth it. I was snacking on some tender, delicious, lip-smacking venison at 1:15 in the morning. We'll have the venison for supper for a few days (BBQ sandwiches, dumplings & gravy or maybe a "shepherds" pie) and I put some back in the freezer for last minute heat & eat meals.
Then on Sunday I had to deal with two overripe bananas, three not-as-crispy-as-they-should-be apples and two zippy bags filled with frozen carrot pulp left over from a juicing kick. I made some impromptu whole wheat banana apple muffins and carrot sunflower seed muffins. Stuck most of them in the freezer for quick "Mommy, I'm hungry" snacks and to put in Paul's lunches during the week. Which kind of defeated the purpose of cleaning out the freezer now that I think about it.
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| One of three batches of "Whatever I got to get rid of" muffins. |
Nothing like clean out a freezer the good way.
ReplyDeleteLovely muffins, one would be mighty tasty with my tea right about now. :) I have been working on cleaning out the freezer too, mostly of vegetables from last year.
ReplyDeleteBut now you have muffins, and the meat is now in a heat and eat form vs. a large frozen club. Much better organization of freezer space.
ReplyDeleteNice job with the meat and muffins! We are doing the same thing here - one freezer is empty and unplugged and the other one is almost there. Looking forward to filling it back up again. :)
ReplyDeleteCarolyn,
ReplyDeleteI so hear you on the chest freezer. We have one and it doesn't matter how I organize it, things get lost.
Then other people(nameless ones) will go through and dig in the chest screwing everything up. So I give up, each and every time I have to dig through pulling things out before I can find what it is that I need.
Can I come to dinner at your place venison YUM!
We did that recently too, but we have a smaller one. It's easy to forget what's in there!
ReplyDeleteI saw on Pintrest using plastic milk crates to help organize. This is my first year with a chest freezer. We got it when the pig was processed and now we'll need it this fall for last year's Jersey steer. I'm already finding stuff in the bottom of the fridge I didn't remember I had. Maybe a white board. Hang it next to the fridge and write on it what's in there and wipe it off as you take it off. It might help with meal planning that way too.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't label every package that goes into my freezer because...of course I'll know what it is a year from now. Great use of leftovers! Those muffins look wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI'm contemplating on what type of freezer to buy in the future. It sounds like a stand up would be easier to use than the big deep freezer.
ReplyDelete