Mystery dinner

[FriedClamFanatic]

OK.we are now empty-nesters. Every now and then something we make is "too much". The leftovers sneak their way into the freezer, forget to be marked and forgotten for a few months. mostly Stews and soups. They get pulled out and when we can determine what it is, it gets heated and served....usually along with bread and/or rice. Had some great surprises ( often beef stew) along with some duds. Soups seem to be ok and often we add a grilled cheese sandwich.

Someday, I'll find that dinosaur meat we packed up in 30,000 BC

anyone else this crazy?

[juliejulez]

After my grandmother (who was a teenager during the depression) passed away, we were cleaning out her house. While everything was labeled pretty well, cleaning out the freezer unearthed stuff that was dated 8 years prior. We suspected she was defrosting long frozen stuff... her famous cinnamon rolls started tasting like freezer burn there in her last few years... she wasn't making them fresh, but just pulling from the freezer.

[FriedClamFanatic]

Only 8 years??? That's nothing.....except frugal. Unless of course she had several power outtages over the years

And those of you who use McCormick spices in cans....well they gotta be close to 20 yrs old!

[juliejulez]

Well, she moved into her condo 8 years before she passed, so that's why only 8 years :)

[Querencia]

That is so easy to do, with the spices. I've started sticking a piece of tape on the bottom of a spice when I buy it, with the date of purchase.

[Felila]

Labelling much more consistent since I stored a sharpie and a roll of masking tape in the kitchen. Unroll some tape, write with sharpie, tear off tape and apply. My labels aren't as pretty as real stick-on labels, but they're a lot cheaper and I don't run out as fast.

[greygarious]

The little frozen container assumed to be enough condensed cream of mushroom soup to make gravy from the meatloaf drippings went into the pan undefrosted. It was KMR - kitten milk replacer. Fortunately the meatloaf wasn't in the pan and was eaten without the gravy which the pets happily slurped.

[LindaWhit]

Whoops!! LOL

[Harters]

Brwon gloop meals are commonplace in this house. Most times, we've labelled but not always. A sniff and a poke about when its defrosted usually gives a clue as to what's in it.

[LindaWhit]

I'm a labeler. Except when I'm not.

This past Wednesday was a prime example...It was Prince Spaghetti Day and *five* of the small containers I pulled out of the freezer weren't meat sauce. They were chili, which I couldn't discover until they'd been semi-defrosted so I could see the beans. Finally, I just went for a larger container that *was* labeled "meat sauce". :-/

[FriedClamFanatic]

Antoneeeeeee! You must be a New Englander! I remember those commercials growing up( "how do you KNOW the pilgrims had Turkey?")

I've had the same thing happen, but just keep going and serve it non-challantly saying I was trying a new recipe

[LindaWhit]

I'm a New Englander *now* but grew up in northern NJ - Prince Spaghetti was popular in the NYC area as well, so yes, I remember those commercials. :-)

And the thing was - I *wanted* spaghetti and meat sauce - not chili! So I was determined to defrost the right container. :-)

[sandylc]

We have strict labeling laws in our house. And a particular shelf in the freezer where they belong. Sometimes have to correct the hubby on both procedures ;-).

[BobB]

I find that it's been easier to remember to label things since I started using my wife's collection of refrigerator magnets to keep a couple of sheets of stick-on labels attached to the front of the fridge.

[Cherylptw]

Me...Me!! I know I have a cooked pork steak that I'm saving for fried rice and some brunswick stew (I think) but I made a bunch of lemon ice cream some time ago and put them in individual containers so the bf pulled out a container and started eating it when he said there was something wrong with the texture of the ice cream and it melted slow.

Come to find out it was buttercream frosting I forgot to label....I have to get better about this!

[jammy]

I learned to always label my freezer items after I defrosted and dumped into a pot of vegetables what I thought was chicken stock. It was lemon sorbet. Dinner was sandwiches that night.

[FriedClamFanatic]

well you might have been able to squeak out a lemon chicken dish!.LOL