Linda is absolutely right about losing moisture in food by letting it sit in a freezer. That's why you'd never freeze anything for a few hours; that will form ice crystals which you don't want. The question had to do with vacuum sealing, and I've found it's best to only leave food in the freezer for as long as it takes to firm. For some foods that's 10 minutes; others could take 30 minutes if they have a lot of moisture. Some moisture is lost, which is what allows you to vacuum seal without pulling too much moisture from the food, since that is often what prevents the bag from sealing. There's a fine line; you'll have to figure out where that is for your particular freezer. The less time you leave it in the freezer, the better off your food. To maintain freshness it is best to allow as little air around the item as possible. Of course; that's exactly what the vacuum sealer is for. I freeze hamburger patties first, because beef that has turned dark just looks nasty to me (not fresh). I've personally never had a loss of moisture in the meat by doing this to the point I can vacuum seal it (15-20 minutes in the freezer). Again, I just don't want the juices to run into the machine. When I throw them on the grill after they've been thawed, at least they look appetizing enough to eat! No one I know wants to eat a grey, nasty looking hamburger patty. Again, with cookies, because they are vacuum sealed there is no moisture loss as there is no oxygen for ice crystals to form. Even if you cut the end off the bag to allow a little air into it, then simply fold it under the food while it thaws, there's no moisture loss. Opening the bag first keeps the food from being compressed as it thaws, so instead of a dense compact cookie due to lack of oxygen, you'll have one that expands a little and becomes more...uh, ''normal'', for lack of a better word, because of the air. I've eaten things from my freezer that were vacuum sealed as long as a year before and experienced no losses of flavor/color/moisture. That's why my vacuum sealer has paid for itself in a short amount of time; it's in the cost of food that's no longer thrown away. They're especially great for small households, just for that reason. In fact, I'm on my second one in 7 years, since I wore the first one completely out. When I was designing my kitchen, I realized the vacuum sealer was one of my most used appliances. Because it gets used at least 4-6 times a day, we never throw out food any more!

I think it's pretty much about responsible disposal... It's been a lot of years since I have wandered a beach. But even 30 years or so ago, there were flip flops, broken plastic toys, take out containers and such. I learned as a teen ( and that was a looong time ago!) that if you find a piece of mono filament....to follow it as far as you can because there is usually a hook on the end waiting to imbed itself into your foot! Somewhere I have a picture of a beach on one of the Comoros Islands in the Indian ocean....at low tide.....a reef of trash....and as primitive as that place is, there was lots and lots of plastic. From their earliest memory, the people of Anjouan have tossed their garbage into the ocean to be washed away by the tides.....but in the past 30 or so years, that trash has become largely plastic.....and their reef is dying. I wish wh could go back to paper bags....trees are a renewable resource and a crop to be farmed....not so plastic.

arkansas_girl, I don't recall exactly where I got the slide out cutting board/shelf but I'm sure it was one of the discount stores. Probably Kmart considering the time frame in which I got it. But wait a second, unless I ordered it from somewhere??? No I think I bought it in a store. I looked for some a year or two ago for a gift but didn't see them. I don't even know what you'd actually call it either. I'll try to take a picture of it, maybe someone else would know the "technical" name. And yes mustangs, I have a jarpop. I bought it at the grocery store for about $3 as I recall. I gave some as gifts after trying it out. It hangs on the frig along with my other gadgets like the strap wrench, putty knife, instant read thermometer and what not. Steamed TV dinners, huh? Hmmm. No, I think I'll have to pass! Back to tricks... Freezer bags make great ice packs. Fill with water, remove most air, freeze flat and as they melt they keep things from getting wet. A block of ice lasts quite a while too. I use them at summertime picnics and don't care if they get lost or damaged. An envelope or pouch set up by the door where you bring in mail (for me, it's the kitchen) is a great spot to stuff things you'll need for income taxes. As soon as it comes in, put it in the envelope and you know where everything is come tax prep time. I bought a fabric one that looks a little nicer than a plain envelope. Now I just have to put it up! I have a steel back door (firewall requirement by code for attached garage) so a magnet clip is perfect for holding outgoing letters and other things I need to remember. I put a little shelf on there to put gloves, hold some change, car keys, extra garage door opener (that I use when I'm blowing snow or mowing grass, or blowing grass and mowing snow...)

I've owned 3 FoodSavers over the last 26-years and I've always gotten a jar attachment with my machines. I've had to replace a couple of them and I found one at Target and got the other one at a good price on Amazon.com. I've ordered my Universal Lids from Amazon.com. I really love them. I've purchased any number of canisters over the years. Some of those came with the FoodSaver and I found a bunch at Tuesday Morning. I especially like one tall enough to put Romaine lettuce in, and a chubby one I put a head of leaf lettuce in and they store for a long period of time. I buy a box of bags (2 rolls of 8" and 4 rolls of 11") at Kohl's when I get a $10 off card in the mail, or from Sam's Club. Sam's Club had a special purchase price for the box of bags a couple years ago and I stocked-up big time. I also found the pre-cut bags at a salvage store one time and bought all of them they had. -Grainlady