Empty the Freezer Challenge: Week 2

It’s only the end of Week Two of the Empty the Freezer Challenge, but we seem to be flying through our list of food that needs to be used up to make some space in the freezer.

The first meal (above) used up the last of the frozen prawns, and a handful of the frozen soya beans. I added some black rice noodles, red pepper, cucumber sticks and soy sauce for a speedy supper.

The next dinner used up the frozen pies, the last of the broad beans and a big handful of peas. It wasn’t exactly the most imaginative of dinners, but it was just right for a cold, sleety evening when you Just Want Pie.

The third meal was veggie cheeseburgers, which only used up two frozen burger buns (above) but I suppose it still counts. Or maybe it’s cheating? You decide.

We had the frozen fish a couple of days later, with some more frozen peas (above). We added home made potato wedges, sweetcorn and tartare sauce. Again, it wasn’t the most imaginative dinner, but I’m not sure there’s much you can do with a meal based around a couple of portions of breaded frozen fish. Still, it tasted pretty good in spite of having been at the back of the freezer for a good long while.

After the fish and chips we had some dessert, with the ancient lemon sorbet on top of some pink grapefruit slices. So at least the sorbet went out in a classy way, it’s what it would have wanted I’m sure.

The frozen gnocchi were used up as a side dish to a home made aubergine and tomato bake, which was eaten so quickly I forgot to take a photo. Sorry about that. It was just some boiled plain gnocchi with a bit of olive oil and black pepper, so trust me, you didn’t miss much.

Other things we’ve crossed off the to-scoff list include four muffins, 80g of spinach (with spicy lentils for a lunch), two croissants, the Chelsea buns (lots of breakfast in bed over the long weekend), half a loaf of bread in some cheese toasties, another serving of peas with a roast lunch, and the rest of the frozen berries in smoothies and breakfast bowls.

Turns out emptying the freezer can be done a lot quicker than emptying a store cupboard. We’re making some very good progress as we go into Week Three of the challenge.

Next week’s meals

I’m going to try to find a way to use up the casserole base in something that isn’t too hearty or stodgy, and I’m going to use a big chunk of the frozen spinach in a couple of main meals as well. There might also be pizza but let’s see how we go with that. Spinach pizza? No idea yet…

Still too scared to find out what’s in the ‘mystery bag’ of unidentifiable weirdness where the label fell off though. Maybe next time.

See you next week with another load of freezer meals. How are you getting on cooking everything up on your list?