Your recipe box/app/notebook? Maybe. Your price book? Perhaps. Your car? Probably not. Your fridge? Could be. What this post will highlight is one of my favorites – the freezer!

Your freezer is a great place to store so many items. Yes, frozen foods which you purchase chopped, and already frozen but your freezer can hold so much more! Here are a few of my favorite items to stash in the freezer…

1. Meat at sale price. This one rocks! Watch your favorite stores for your choice of meat and when it hits the sale price, that is the time to stock up. Buy whatever amount your freezer can store. I prefer to freeze meal size portions in gallon size bags. If you want to get fancy, throw a sauce in there to marinate the meat while it thaws.
2. Local produce. Where I live we have amazing produce in the summer and I am sure that there are farms or farm stands near you which do the same. Although this may not be the best deal price-wise, it the best deal taste-wise. Very little beats a muffin made with local strawberries in January. 🙂 This goes for nearly anything local that you may be able to find. My favorites are local berries, peppers, and tomatoes.
3. Meal shortcuts. This is one of my favorites which is often overlooked by others. Dried beans are a steal compared to canned, with the price per serving comparison at times is around 8 to 1. (An example being that the price per serving of canned beans is 24 cents as opposed to the price of dried beans at 3 cents.) Cook the beans on the stovetop or slow cooker, then freeze on a cookie sheet so they do not stick together. Once frozen, remove with a spatula and put into a freezer bag. The same goes for dried grains: cook and freeze flat then add to a freezer bag. The quick reheat on the stovetop for each is an amazing savings of time and money over par-boiled grains or canned beans. This also allows you to keep the amount of salt and seasonings to your preference or needs.
4. Leftovers. When you only have one serving, or two, of a great soup left and do not want to use space in your fridge for it? Stash it in the freezer for the day when you would like soup but not taking the time to cook it. Now that’s a quick meal!
5. Premade dinners. I did this when expecting my second child and it helped our family during the first few weeks when I didn’t have the time or energy to make dinner. And, I venture to guess that many of you have a night or two a week when you would rather not make dinner as well. (Takeout/delivery anyone?) Don’t order out, instead grab your premade dinner from the freezer. Honestly this is a big thing now. Check out the boards on Pinterest for ideas. Here is one site I like for freezer to crockpot dinners.

Any more ideas? Let me know! I’d love to see how you use your freezer to save.