Here are some pictures of the damage on the aloes. It is so mind boggleing to me that these aloes suffered the most damage even when I have blue potato bushes are still flowering and sustained minimal damage despite being out in the open. The melted leaves (or portions of leaves) are definate and will likely dry up once we get some warm weather. Mafreda "Spot" This one must be much more sensitive to frost than its counterpart "Mocha Macho" which wasn't affected at all. Aloe Hardyii- only the leaf tips seem damaged. The rest of the plant seems ok. It's these dark blotches that I'm concerned about. Aloe Marlothii Aloe Cameronii x Maculata Aloe Maculata - the flower spike melted so I cut it off Surprisingly, Aloe Speciosa shows no damage whatsoever.

I think my wisteria died. It had new growth only about an inch or so and they froze. And it hasn't sprouted anything else. New Dawn on an arbor seems to be ok and has since set a lot of buds. I lost a lot of foliage on my bigger hostas, but they will come back. It didn't bother the iris at all, but a lot of lilies totally froze, while others only wilted slightly. Pam

I make a huge pot of chili and freeze it. I get 6 or 7 of those packets of McCormick chili spice, a #10 can of sauce, a #10 can of beans, 7 lbs of ground meat (beef or turkey), some chopped onions (prechopped found in the frozen food section). Brown the onions with the meat and prepare the rest just as it says on the spice packet. This makes something like 15 - 20 mason jars of chili which tastes great even after being in the freezer for months. I also make large quantities of chicken soup and freeze it in mason jars. One more suggestion: make the largest turkey or turkey breast you can find and then slice it up and wrap in individual sized servings. Take out for sandwiches or to throw in salads. You might also be able to make your own "healthy choice" style meals if you have dishes with separate compartments. You can make some kind of flavored rice or pasta (I haven't had good luck freezing potatoes), in another compartment put your choice of vegetable combo, and in the main compartment put whatever meat/gravy you have handy.

I wrap (homemade) loaves of bread tightly with plastic wrap, then wrap in foil. This tight-fitting wrap prevents ice crystals from forming (the famous sticky bottom of a thawed loaf of bread) as well as freezer burn - which is caused by evaporation of moisture in the bread because it's in a loose-fiting plastic bag - which causes the ice crystals. Air-tight is always the trick to better freezing. Never leave things loose in a plastic bag - that's an invitation to freezer burn. I also make all our burger and hot dog buns, and they are best wrapped individually in pop-up foil (I get boxes of it at Sam's). Once again, if you use a close-fitting, air-tight wrap, it will prevent freezer burn. You can't place a whole bag of commercial hamburger buns loosely in the bag you purchase them in, in the freezer and not expect anything else but a formation of ice crystals and freezer burn. Grainlady