Scraping the Bottom of the Freezer

This year, I'm off my Christmas decorating game. Normally, I decorate the day after Thanksgiving (I'm firmly in the one holiday at a time camp). As I type, however, there are boxes all over my den, with none opened. There is also an artificial tree in the living room. Bare as the day as the day it was created. Meanwhile I sit here, looking at said boxes with no move (as of yet) to attack.

Both of our trees have a bad light strand right in the middle (I am diametrically opposed to pre-lit trees), and I don't want to make a special trip, so they remain on hold. I have managed to pull out the quilts that go on the various tables and some small pieces of decor, but I have yet to pull out all the nutcrackers and put them on the mantle, or any of the other fun stuff. Never mind the tree ornaments. I suspect this early Thanksgiving thing-because the first fell on the Thursday-has affected my Christmas spirit. I'm used to the weekend after Thanksgiving being the beginning of December. Have no fear though. Buy this weekend (and the first Sunday of Advent), I'll be in the zone.

Our dinners for the last few days have been interesting but mainly free, and they will continue to be for the next few days again as I slowly dig out the freezer. I've had to get a few things to go with the freezer meats (yesterday I got small carrots, celery and canned tomatoes to make an Italian pot roast) but mainly I have been doing my darndest to use what we have on hand. This week we will be having country ribs cooked in the oven, frozen salmon fillets and a beef and bean casserole for starts-needing very little. After that, I'm not sure what I will find at the bottom of said chest freezer. I do know there is a single frozen lamb chop and some calves liver (yes, we love liver).

I'd like to be able to say that the purpose of this digging is to clean and defrost the freezer (ha!) or that my goal here was to purely to save money. Obviously saving money is my go to strategy, so on some level, yes. But the true reason for my forays to the bottom of the deep freeze is simply.........to make more room in the deep freeze. For more stuff. And to clean out those few things that have passed us by and need to make friends with the trash can (I do try not to waste but the frozen tamales given and forgotten by those who eat them since last Christmas probably need to leave my freezer). 

Some day, I may actually organize my freezer as well as this blogger does

What's going in said freezer?  All the cool meats that are on sale in this season seem to be larger cuts. Hams (I try not to eat too much cured meat, but we don't eat ham at Easter so this is our time-and ham and bean soup, people!), pork shoulders, chucks, bottom rounds, small turkeys, whole chickens. Almost all of which can be easily turned into slow cooker meals, but take a little bit more room than the flat packages of hamburger or boneless breasts or pork chops.

Tis also baking season. I'm actually behind on that front, thanks to the cold and strep situation and my desire to share no germs with any cookie recipients. Now, though, it's time to begin the cooking process, which involves making four or five dozen of each kind, and then freezing at least the beginning forays in that direction so they are still fresh and good on Christmas. I also want to get some other baking in as I have time. That will definitely take up some room.

My freezer is usually filled mainly with meats and baked goods and other stuff) rather than cooked food except for soups (frozen casseroles from Schwan's or the Mart being the exception). I expect we would do this more if we were just one or two, but right now we are three people who all like eating leftovers either the second day and/or for lunches.

This week, I'm going to experiment with those orange cranberry chocolate chip cookies-and decide if I need to add some oatmeal or not. I will try to get pictures this time before the testers dig in. And this afternoon I'm off to target to get those ever loving lights!