Today’s Tuesday Tip is to make the most out of your freezer. As busy moms, we need all the help we can get! And the freezer can be one of your best friends!

First thing you need to do is organize your freezer space. You can’t use it, if you can’t fit anything in there. If all you have is an above fridge freezer, don’t fear – you can make great use out of that space too! If you are blessed to have added freezer space in the form of a chest or upright, be thankful! I’m gonna focus mostly on the above fridge freezer since that is what most have. My freezer didn’t have any shelves in it for whatever reason, so I bought plastic shelves from Wal-Mart and placed a large one that was the same length as my freezer space. This gave me double room instantly! The next best thing you can do to conserve freezer space is the containers you use. I have never been a fan of buying matching square containers, but if that is in your budget or you already have some – enjoy! I actually use freezer bags. I fill them up, then lay them flat to freeze. They remain in a flat, stackable form. And you are using only the space you need. If you fill a square container half-full, you still have to use the whole space of the container.

Now that your freezer is looking better, what do you put in it other than frozen pizzas? Here are some of my suggestions:

Spaghetti Sauce – I make a large batch in the crock pot and then freeze meal portions in quart sized freezer bags. Stack and freeze.

Pizza Crust – Make the dough and roll out the pizza crusts. Bake at 400 for about 10-15 min. Then freeze flat. Once frozen you will need to package them in something. This can be tricky, but I found crock pot liners work pretty good!

Bread Rolls – I make a large batch of rolls, then set them on a cookie sheet to freeze. Once frozen solid, I place a meal portion in quart size bags. Obviously these won’t freeze flat, so they usually stack on the very top or in the door.

Veggie Stock – I take the ends of my celery, onions and carrots and turn it into yummy soup stock. Boil water with these leftover veggies with a little chicken boullion and salt and pepper for a few hours. Drain the liquid off the veggies and let cool before placing in gallon size bags. Freeze flat.

Taco or Sloppy Joe Meat – I try to make a double batch of these whenever I make them. Then take and store the extra meat in a labeled quart bag and freeze. It will be ready for a quick meal.

That list should get you started. Think up your own ideas and share!