I had to do this a month of so ago..but I haven't totally stocked it back up yet. I did move somethings from the kitchen freezer out there..extra kielbasa/smoked sausage rings, all of my freezer jams are out there. Some extra packages of frozen broccoli too. I have some flours in the house one..I guess I could move those out to the garage as well...
I'm glad to hear you got some replacement money for the food out of it..I just had to throw everything away...(kids fault)

I usually have a couple of pkg of frozen shrimp, burger patties (that I make up), Orange Juice, chopped peppers. When I think of the stuff in there right now that I need to pitch..... I also have many of the things you listed.

Nancy

Shrimp, salmon, scallops and some cod fillets.
And several bags of frozen veggies and some of my own home nade breads and muffins.
Linda C

In additon to what has already been mentioned; I buy unsalted butter by the case and freeze it. I also usually have 10 lbs of flour and several bags of different types of rice, lots of varieties of nuts and seeds.

Bags of cranberries and those bags of frozen mixed berries - great for smoothies, yogurt parfait, quick cobblers, and a sauce for ice cream. I keep extra bags of brown rice in the frig, not the freezer, but containers of cooked brown rice in the freezer. Single pieces of smoked ham hock and smoked turkey wings to use in making soup, split pea, Senate Bean; also the packages of ends of country ham.

I keep all my nuts in the freezer, walnuts, pine, cashews, peanuts, almonds (sliced and whole)nd macadamia. I usually keep at least 1 package of puff pastry in my freezer. I also keep all my beef and chicken bones and chicken pieces for my stocks and of course the stock is frozen in 2 c. ziplock bags.

Michelle

chicken stock & vegetable stock, chopped onions, bellpeppers...still thinking.

Thank you all! It's fun to see what other people store and like to have on hand. Also, your ''must haves'' sparked some new ideas for me, which I appreciate. I'm reorganizing the contents and not putting quite so much back in, so I can see where everything is that I need to use.

I'm thinking some nice petite filet mignon could fit in very well; I may just have to check that out!

A whole pig and half a cow, LOL, along with a bunch of frozen sweet cherries and some locally caught salmon!

What a pain, sorry about your freezer. Hey, it's one way to defrost, I suppose!

Annie

a few flavors of stoli.
a few flavors of ice cream.
shrimp.
a batch of meat sauce.
a batch of chicken stock.

and after that i'd just be happy that i have extra room in the freezer. that never happens by me!

Annie, back in my early married years on the farm, it would have been half a cow and 200 chickens! I'm still shaking my head at the size of our freezer, but I never had to run to town.

fenworth, I can see your priorities are completely in order.

Yesterday, I spent the day freezing and packaging items to go back in. It's almost full and not running quite so much now that there's something in there. What's nice is I got to reorganize the shelves and figure out a better system for finding things in the future. The other thing that's great is I know what's in there! I have a brisket cooking this morning, so I'll be putting that back in soon. Guess what's for dinner?

Well after the help I received last week on asking about staple items, I did a big shopping trip at several stores and restocked and becoming more organized to make special dinners.

On to your question, I stocked mine with:

Beef: NY strip steaks, Ribeye Steaks, Top Sirloin, Chuck Roasts, Ground Beef and Flank Steak (all on sale at super prices because all my grocers are really competing now).
Chicken: Whole, boneless/skinless and bone-in breasts.
Seafood: Large Gulf Shrimp, Salmon, Tilipia and scallops.
Pork: Boneless, Bone-in loins and pork tenderloins.
Ham steaks.
1 large butterball turkey.
Fresh vegetables from my farmers market that I came home cut-up and froze (squash, zucchini, onions, peppers, etc.)
Fruit that I already have that I pick throughout the year at my berry farms, etc.
Pasta/Ravioli (frozen)
Tater Tots, french fries, etc.
Texas Toast
Cream Puffs
Asian Mixed Vegetables
Frozen mixed fruit
Frozen mixed vegetables
Phyllo sheets
Chopped spinach
Chopped Brocolli
Nuts

That's all I can think of right now. My freezer upstairs is packed solid and so is the one in my basement.

Claire,

I meant to ask you how do you make your twice stuffed potatoes and freeze them?

Homemade pie crust

Hey dixiedog, your list is helpful as it reminded me I'm looking for a decent chuck roast. I also want to get some boneless chicken breast and cut it into pieces to freeze for spidini. After I cook the brisket, I'm going to find a picnic shoulder for some pulled pork. It's fun to peek into your freezer!

I make my twice stuff potatoes by cleaning them within an inch of their life; prick the skins and bake them on convection about 35 minutes. I scoop the insides and mash that into a big bowl. I saute (a lot of) onions in butter until golden brown and add those. I almost always deglaze the pan with a little chicken broth, milk or cream, whatever I have handy. In goes sour cream, crisp bacon, lots of pepper. Sometimes I throw in some sharp cheddar, and always a big bunch of broccoli chopped, cooked about 2/3rd the way through (since it also cooks when you reheat). Mix it all together, and stuff the skins, which have been lightly oiled and crisped again in the oven for about 10 minutes (before stuffing). Once they've been stuffed, they are frozen individually and vacuum sealed. To reheat, it usually takes about 35 minutes from frozen on convection, and they are baked until golden brown.

(I'm sorry I don't have amounts, I do it by feel. I like the potato texture to be creamy and rich, usually with lots of small vegetables and crunchy crisp bacon. Other times I'll just add onions and herbs like dill weed, chives, maybe some fine herbs or tarragon with a lot of pepper and sour cream or peppercorn dressing, for a side instead of main dish.)

People go mad for my twice baked potatoes, probably because they're full of fat, dairy and have lots of flavor. I figured out a long time ago that if I add a huge bunch of chopped broccoli, they make a full meal. I usually make 5 lbs. of potatoes at a time, and like to use medium small spuds.

eileen, you're obviously a pie baker! I never did finesse pie, but i DO like to make cookie balls that are ready to bake from my freezer. I can see I'll have to add that to my list of things to make. I usually make double of whatever I'm cooking so I'll have it to freeze for a quick meal later on when I don't want to cook!

Thank you Claire for telling me about the stuffed potatoes. I am going to give those a try.

dixiedog, I just made these today, and while I was thinking about it, wrote down a more specific recipe. If you'd like it, let me know!

Stocking my freezer with bunches of tomatoes.... roma, rutgers, beefsteaks, low acid yellow, and a few little red & yellow cherries. Real pride of the freezer is my hot pepper collection. Jalapenos, serrenos, cayenne, hungarian, habeneras of every color, and some unidentified little green guys. Munching on a bowl of primo to die for chili as I write this. Burn baby burn! Even frozen peppers are better then anything I can buy. Must be the bunny carp I grow them in.

I really like my chunks of smoked eye of round. Bought whole on sale and smoked on the grill. Chunked up and frozen in zip lock bags. Excellent chili meat and I've filled some tacos with it. Good alternative to ground beef and cheaper to boot.

Can't imagine a freezer without one frozen pizza. What do you do when you are drunk and hungry? And ice cream.. why have a freezer without ice cream? Should I confess to a bottle of peppermint schnapps? Seldom drink it but when the mood hits that ice cold 100 proof minty syrup is so... um... refreshing.

Ice cubes. No ice maker so I have to work on having ice cubes.

Enough before I get myself in trouble...

: )
lyra

Gosh, when I tried freezing pesto it came out very bitter. What did I do wrong?
I keep ice packs in the freezer, in addition to food. I also keep frozen cubes of brewed tea that we can use in ice tea so that it doesn't get diluted when the ice melts.

Claire - please post away. I would love the detailed recipe. Thank you!

Me too Claire.

lyra, sounds good! I love the idea of keeping peppermint schnapps in the freezer. I'm going to have to try it when the weather heats up again. I don't usually like frozen pizza, but you make me think I should try freezing one of my own partially prebaked crusts. Thanks for a good idea.

kitchendetective, I personally haven't made a lot of pesto and frozen it. That would be a good question for the rest of the cooking forum! Start a new post, and you'll get some answers as I know there are a lot of pesto makers here.

Here you go terri and dixiedog; I hope they turn out well for you. Note: I cook the broccoli part way as it finishes cooking in the oven. I'll use salted butter to cook the onions in, and because the bacon is also salty, I don't use any extra salt in the mixture. If I don't use peppered bacon, I'll throw in some Penzey's Creamy Peppercorn seasoning.

Twice Baked Potatoes

5 lb. bag of russet potatoes
(approximately 11 potatoes)
1 (16 oz.) carton sour cream
1 package sharp cheddar cheese (2 cups)
1 package Hormel Peppered Bacon
½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
2 large onions, diced
2 cartons frozen chopped broccoli
Broccoli water for deglazing pan

Bake potatoes at 380 degrees F on convection, about 35-40 minutes. Let potatoes cool for about 15 minutes, then slice in half. Scoop the pulp from the potato and reserve in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, chop the potato pulp until fluffy.

Put the skins on a wire rack and return to the oven for 10 minutes (on convection) until dried and crispy. Put aside to cool.

Add 2-3 Tablespoons water to each package of frozen chopped broccoli and cook broccoli in the microwave for 3 to 3-1/2 minutes. Add to the potato mixture, reserving the water for deglazing the pan that had the onions.

Dice the onions and sauté in the butter until golden brown. Add these to the potato pulp. Deglaze the pan with the water from the broccoli, and add to the potato mixture. Add the sour cream, peppered bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, and a light sprinkling of salt to the mix, and stir together well.

Stuff the cooled potato skins with potato mixture, until all has been used. Freeze the stuffed potatoes and vacuum seal.

Preheat the oven to 380 degrees F, convection. Put the frozen potatoes into the oven and bake until golden brown, about 40 minutes from frozen.

Thank you.. why 380F at convection?

Terri, that's my own quirky conversion for my particular oven. Normally, I would have baked potatoes at 400 degrees (without convection) and 375 on convection. Since my oven temperature doesn't set to 375, (it only sets in increments of 10, so that's why 380; it's a Gaggenau) the temperature is a personal reference, that's all.