One of the best investments you can make with regard to food is an upright freezer. It may not be cheap initially but over many years it will save you time and money.
The freezer makes it possible to buy in bulk. If a side of beef or lamb or pork, is too much you can by a hind or a forequarter. Or you can arrange with a relative or friends to share win the cost of a side and split it between you. For years when we had family at home, we found it an inexpensive way to have cuts of meat like T bone or fillet steak which we would not have been able to afford otherwise. Because we’ve always had dogs the bones didn’t go to waster either.
Now there are only two of us, buying a side of meat is not such a good option. Also since we moved, we have found the price of bulk meat is not such a good buy. Instead, these days we take advantages of special. If chicken or chicken breasts are on special we buy several or several pounds and pack them into individual servings and freeze. The same when roasting beef, steak, legs of lamb, sausages, corned silverside etc goes on special. We also freeze bread so none is ever wasted by going stale.
When I was working, I mostly cooked a double amount of a casserole. One was for our dinner and the other went in the freezer. With our own vegetable garden we parboiled and froze a lot of the vegetables. When I cooked cakes or cookies, I invariably cooked more than was needed. It takes the same amount of electricity or gas whether you cook one cake or three at a time. One was to use the others went in the freezer. If unexpected guest arrive there was always something to feed them. I also froze baby food made in larger quantities from our vegetables. Most desserts can also be frozen.
If I could suggest one vital thing every married couple should aim to buy, it is an upright freezer. Why an upright? An upright freezer takes less time to defrost and is easier to find food in that a chest freezer where whatever you’re looking for always seems to be on the bottom.
I have no doubt the best investment we ever made was an upright freezer. Ours was bought 39 years ago.( No that is not a misprint) The outside of it may not look so great these days, which is one reason it lives in the garage, but it is still in perfect running order. I wouldn’t be without it.
Related blogs
Middle Eastern Chicken Aussie Style
Being Financially Strapped Can Be Good for a Marriage