Frozen Food Question

**Nishu** · 10-08-2011, 06:50 PM

My preschooler turned off my freezer.

Everything is thawed out to probably about fridge temperature. Frozen vegetables are all thawed out, my concentrated juice is all liquidy.

Can any of it be saved, or should I toss it all out? I had two whole chickens, a couple pounds of ground beef, a pound of bacon and probably about ten bags of frozen fruits and vegetables. I am so bummed.

**eclectictexan** · 10-08-2011, 06:57 PM

If you dehydrate get going on the fruits and veggies.
If you can get going on the meats.
Or toss it all together and make an awesome stew.
In any fashion start cooking a pressure cooker can make quick work of several different dishes.
Then duct tape that switch and freeze the meals.
Good luck.......you can do it.......waste not want not!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pam

**HappyMama** · 10-08-2011, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by eclectictexan

If you dehydrate get going on the fruits and veggies.
If you can get going on the meats.
Or toss it all together and make an awesome stew.
In any fashion start cooking a pressure cooker can make quick work of several different dishes.
Then duct tape that switch and freeze the meals.
Good luck.......you can do it.......waste not want not!!!!!!!!!!!!
Pam

+1

Exactly what I would recommend.

Make soup, big batches of soup or stews. Make up the juice for this week.

Good luck and hugs to you.

**Lindsey** · 10-08-2011, 09:00 PM

With the ground beef, I was always told if you thawed it in the fridge, you could refreeze it.

You can always cook the ground beef and then refreeze it. Use it for spaghetti, tacos, chilli, stuff like that.
You can also go ahead and fry the bacon and then freeze. Use the microwave to reheat in between papertowels. Like the precooked bacon you buy in the stores.
For the veggies, I would go ahead and make casseroles and then freeze. Shepherds pie, chicken and veggie casserole, etc.

Good luck!

**Debbie-cat** · 10-08-2011, 09:26 PM

Cook everything now. Make meals to freeze. It can be saved! Good luck. I agree with the OP, tape that switch!

**Nishu** · 10-09-2011, 06:42 PM

Thanks everyone! I dug in a little further and realized it wasn't nearly as bad as I had thought. The stuff on top was thawing but everything underneath was still good. The thawed hamburger was actually still too frozen to use in a meatloaf. Whew. We did tape the switch up. Hopefully this will be the last time it happens.

**shp1055** · 10-10-2011, 10:01 AM

Saw this on Yahoo just this morning & thought about your situation:

Myth: Once thawed, food cannot be refrozen without cooking it first.You can freeze and refreeze to your heart’s content as long as the food has not been left outside the fridge for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour in 90-degree heat). One point to be aware of is that refreezing anything uncooked, especially meat, will degrade the quality due to the loss of moisture in the thawing process. So although it is technically safe to eat, from a culinary standpoint, it’s best to avoid refreezing if at all possible.