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Frozen peas and other assorted veggies are always in my freezer in addition to meatballs, pie crusts, nuts and flours. This is in addition to any leftovers and meat that I've purchased on sale to cook at a later date.

Leftovers packed in individual portions for lunches
Fresh pasta and gnocchi
Fish: sardines, sockeye salmon, mackerel
Veggies for the winter months: We're trying to eat more seasonally so I'm stocking up on seasonal veggies, blanching them (or roasting in the case of tomatoes and red peppers) and freezing them
Tofu
An assortment of nuts (they don't go rancid as quickly in the freezer)

I heart my chest freezer :)

oh! and fruit for smoothies!

I make a big batch of chicken stock and freeze it in ice cube trays, then pack it in plastic bags to use all year. Same with pesto. We also have lots of frozen veggies for quick dinners and fruits for smoothies. Also keep frozen pizza dough in there.

For produce I have frozen peas, spinach, corn, asparagus, and blueberries. I also have a limited amount of proteins that I like freezing, which includes most types of fish, chicken, and nuts. Other odds and ends in my freezer are pizza dough, veggie burgers, flax meal, and Haagen Dazs ice cream.

Our freezer gets SO full so fast. I always have nuts in there, and stock, and usually some frozen berries. Leftovers from many meals go in there—important to remember to eat them! We also keep bread in the freezer, and I like to keep homemade muffins frozen for quick breakfasts.

My freezer is where I have the basics for throwing together a quick meal. Chopped onions, celery, carrots, and peppers. Bags of assorted frozen vegetables. Cooked dried beans and brown rice. And an assortment of meats.

In my freezer, there is always a ton of veggies, meat (chicken breast, hamburger, roast), bagels and some sort of frozen pasta like ravioli.

We usually stock up on meat (italian sausage, chicken breasts, etc.) since the best grocer for it is a hike from where we live. I portion off a family pack (saves $$) into smaller baggies since there are just two of us.

Other than that:

Pizza dough
Freezer waffles
Broccoli florets
Ice cream
Meatballs
English muffins
Tomato paste
Pesto

I think it does depend on how you cook-- we eat a lot of pasta and sauces so my pantry is more full than my freezer (the freezer gets full though!).

Dairy products - cream, half & half, and milk frozen in 1/2 cup and cup portions, along with butter, shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Produce - red and green peppers, peas, spinach, roasted eggplant and green beans. Walnuts, whole, sliced, and slivered almonds, whole wheat flour, Italian rolls and bread. Chicken, turkey, pork and beef stock. Soup. Meat and/or poultry that was an especially good bargain. Venison if my FIL had a successful season.

Leftover soup and stew, jambalaya, etc portioned into meals
sausage
chicken
often chicken bones (for stock)
salmon or tuna burgers
berries
fruit of all sorts for smoothies
edamame
pesto
bread
No ice cream :(

Why do people keep nuts in the freezer? I keep them in a crock and they seem ok to me. I used to keep flour and rice in the freezer but I have no room.

I often keep things that often go to waste after we use a bit, since there's just two of us. Ginger is handy kept in the freezer, as is chiles in adobo. And there's always hamburger, hot dog, or hoagie buns in there, since we rarely use more than a few at a time. And I add frozen peas to everything - pasta, rice dishes, salads...

Invest in a Food Saver. It will save you $.

Buy meats on sale, label and freeze them for later use.

You will learn what you need.

How do you freeze pizza dough? I'd love to make a bunch a freeze it. Do you freeze it before or after it rises?

Tell me more about freezing dairy! (Milk, 1/2 and 1/2, really?!)

Freezing milk? I never thought of doing that but what a great idea! I freeze butter because I only use it for baking.

turkey stock (I make a big batch after Thanksgiving)
boneless chicken breasts, ground beef
ginger
grated parmesean cheese
coffee
pumpkin puree (to give to the cats when they have upset tummies - I freeze spoonfuls on a baking sheet, than transfer to a container)
bread/hamburger buns
walnuts, pecans
butter
usually some sort of vegetable, broccoli, peas or corn are common
ice cream
and a lot of ice for entertaining

I'll second Torlee on the food saver if and only if you eat a lot of meat. I was buying Costco packages and portioning them off but now they sell the Foster Farms chicken in a long package made of up 2 packs so I don't need it anymore.

I keep
chicken stock (frozen in ice cube trays and then bagged)
edamame
Trader Joe's potstickers for lazy nights
individually portioned leftovers for lunches
wheat bread (I won't eat it fast enough that it doesn't go bad otherwise)
The bowl of my ice cream machine
tablespoons of frozen tomato past (frozen on a plate then bagged)

I don't cook out of the freezer much so your needs might be different. You'll figure it out.

Also, tell me more about freezing milk! Is it the same texture and such after?

@jakelegs: Large quantities of nuts that aren't used on a regular basis are best kept in the freezer as their oils can go rancid quickly. This is particularly true during the summer months.

We have a tiny freezer and buying another one isn't an option. :( It's also generally stocked with at least 3-4 kinds of veggie burgers. Not a pantry staple, but really useful.

Frozen veggies are the #1 staple, though. Broccoli, spinach, and stir fry mix. Leftover tomato paste or crushed tomatoes, if I have. Trader Joe's vegetarian meatballs. Dried chiles, because they came in a bag way too big to fit into the spice jar. Coffee grounds, sometimes bread. And that's about all the space I've got.

My freezer staples are:
Trader Joes Green Beans
Jumbo shrimp uncooked for quick meals
ginger root - keeps a long time and grates beautifully frozen
pizza dough
spinach
shredded mozzarella
the above 3 for a quick calzone anytime
phyllo dough for baking
extra homemade pasta sauce
leftover pumpkin puree for quick muffins
Enjoy your new place!

I always have:

Bags of frozen veggies (beans, mixed, brussel sprouts)
Individually packed trimmed chicken breasts
Individually packed pork chops
1-2 person sized pieces of flank steak
1-2 person sized chunks of ground beef (for tacos mostly)
Shredded parmesan
Liquor
Some frozen meals

Peas/corn/edemame
Homemade chicken stock
Homemade tomato sauce
Shredded cheese
Bread and bread ends ground to crumbs
Bacon
Blueberries/Rhubarb/Cranberries (for baking)

I also have a bag that slowly fills with parsley stems, carrot and celery bits, green onion tops and chicken bones. When it's full I dump it in a pot, cover with water and make stock.

Keeping ginger in the freezer is genius. Thanks for the tip!

I keep blocks of frozen butter because I like to buy a lot whenever I find it on sale. Also frozen (homemade) pizza, biscuit, and cookie dough. I love to buy parbaked loaves of bread (Fresh Direct and Whole Foods have wonderful ones) and rolls, croissants, and keep them frozen. Whenever I want fresh bread, i pull one out and bake for 15 minutes and it's perfect.

I also keep flax seeds, coconut flour, leftovers from old meals (fried things especially do well when frozen and then reheated in a hot oven).

Meat: chicken thighs and cutlets, italian sausage, steak, sometimes bags of frozen shrimp.

And the basics: peas, carrots, spinach, green beans, cranberries. I freeze my ginger to make it easier to grate. Overripe bananas that have been peeled and placed in freezer bags for future banana bread projects.

Oh and lemon juice frozen in cube form. And frozen lemon/orange/lime zest.

We always keep:

- frozen veggies
- meat my husband has bought on sale
- raw nuts and seeds
- loaves of bread and bagels
- leftover homemade soup for use in lunches
- odds and ends like chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, frozen fruit for smoothies or lunches, other lunch stuff for my bento lunches, etc.

Oh and Pesto!! Make it fresh in the summer and use all year long!

O! Whenever I buy a pound of bacon I lay it out individually on pieces of plastic wrap (~4 slices per piece) and layer it like that, then freeze in a freezer bag so I can take out just what I need!

Small firey hot peppers. They're usually cheap in bunches, but most of my recipes rarely use more than 2... They freeze/thaw fine.

A couple of chicken carcasses and a tupperware full of shrimp shells waiting to be made into stock.

An old ice cream container filled with veggie trimmings destined for the composter.

Peas are always in my freezer.
Another great basic is individual meat portions. I always separate any hamburger, chicken or fish I buy into single serving wrapping so I can fix a meal for as many or as few as possible without having to thaw the whole package of meat.
A great tip I learned is freezing single servings of potatoes. When you make mashed potatoes, yogurt containers make great storage for a single portion of potato goodness you can enjoy later

My boyfriend's grandmother freezes everything! I asked her about milk and it does come out the same texture. She freezes gallons at a time. She even freezes popcorn, which I find strange since it's so cheap, but she calls it thrifty.

alejandraramos - I second the pesto...use the freeze in ice cube tray method and then place in a freezer bag.


CBrown9758 - I've heard of freezing pizza dough at different stages. I've frozen mine before and after rising without problems...Just make sure to give the dough plenty of time to come back to room tempature and rise (or second rise) again.

There's something called "Seasoning Blend" that's sold in the frozen vegetable section. It's just a mix of onions and peppers, but it's a great way to add instant extra flavor to things. Since I think I'd die without it, I make my own, in a marathon chopping session every couple of months or so, and fill up a gallon ziploc with it. If you can't be bothered to chop, it's fairly cheap to buy it premade.

Other freezer staples:
Bread, cut into individual portions
Shelled Edamame
Cooked rice
Leftovers that we just couldn't get to in time

ABreadADay.com

I try to always have bread, peas, ginger and some kind of fruit in the freezer. Edamame is good to keep around too. I also freeze herbs (double wrapped in foil) and the wax wrappers from butter sticks so I can use them later to grease pans (learned that trick from AT!). A lot of leftovers end up in there too. A full freezer is an efficient freezer!

Frozen veggies - I hate eating them plain, but they're great additions to things like soup when you realize you're short on fresh carrots or something.

Lots of meat and fish - I'm a singleton but want to save money by buying in bulk, so I buy family packs and freeze it.

Muffins and cookies - I bake in large batches and freeze in small portions so I don't have to bake as often or try to bake in tiny amounts, since I live alone.

Frozen soup - I make large pots of soup and then freeze it so I can heat it up for a day when I don't feel like cooking.

Overripe bananas that will one day find their way into banana bread.

Ham bones for soup.

Trader Joe's frozen entrees.

Bags of frozen stir-fry vegetable mixes.

berries and (peeled) bananas that are past their prime go in the freezer for smoothies

leftover pancakes and waffles stacked with wax paper between them and stored in ziplocs

pesto (homemade or from a jar) frozen in ice cube trays then stored in ziplocs

butter (buy in large quantities and freeze)

bread (ditto)

chicken breasts and ground beef (ditto)

shelled raw nuts

a few frozen soups, pizzas, and entrees from Trader Joes for desperate evenings

Cooked rice (single servings in plastic wrap)
some meats (individual pieces wrapped up, or if ground I sometimes flatten it into a gallon zip-lock bag and divide it so I can break off a portion)
edamame
potstickers (usually homemade, sometimes storebought)
boxed spanakopita
Morningstar sausage patties
storebought meatballs
frozen fish (usually white bass, crappie or perch) from my grandparents
And other random frozen veggies, usually corn (on the cob) or some mixture

you can never go wrong with frozen veggies!

I have a lot of things canned that most people seem to freeze, like my pasta sauce and stock and whatnot. I always have:
- some frozen herbs (especially basil)
- wine
- nuts
- fruit (for smoothies)
- spinach and broccolli (for quickly adding to lazy pasta)
- perogies
- pesto

about a million other things, I've actually gotten so carried away that a lot of things are at my mother's in her extra freezer...my little fridge deal and apt size deep freeze don't cut it anymore.

I usually have peas, blanched veggies to help them keep longer, home made stock, veggie scraps to make stock, bread, and coffee beans.

Joy; depends on your definition of "grown up". Personally all I have in my freezer is meat from a current trip to the market and ice. My sister's freezer (she is more grown up (older) than me), last time I looked contained two Smart Ones Frozen dinners and three large tubs of Blue Bunny chocolate ice cream! Don't stock things you have no intention of using.

For cooking, I keep:

- wine cubes
- homemade recaito pucks
- a variety of sausage, both homemade and not
- bread scraps for making bread pudding or breadcrumbs
- frozen OJ concentrate for cooking (I don't drink it!)
- a couple of bags of fruit
- sliced bacon layered on freezer paper
- a baggie of chopped bacon for tossing with greens and garlic

For prepared comfort food, I stock tater tots and edamame.

angelala:

Wine cubes?! Is this like ice cube trays with wine in them? I suppose you can just pull out a small cube of wine if you just want a small amount in a recipe?

If that's what a wine cube is, I've got to try it!

thanks, alllebassi, I did not know that.

My freezer basically has ice cream in different flavours and types (Raspberry Splits- yum!), fries, potato wedges, lots of mince, chicken, packets of waffles and a few neglected bags of vegetables.

A freezer tip however- if you're ever peeling prawns (what I think Americans call shrimp) but the left over shells/heads etc in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer until its garbage collection day- then put them in the bin before the garbage is collected. This way the smell of rotten fish/shrimp doesn't get everywhere.

chicken stock
mushroom stock
wine cubes (thanks for the tip AT)
lots of frozen vegetables
bread
Trader Joe's frozen stuff
bread crumbs
Love those frozen herbs from Dorot
ice cream and sorbet and popsicles
fish and meat (bought in bulk frozen in smaller quantities)
tamales
I have a stand alone freezer and try to keep it stocked with pre made meals.
Lots of great tips here, I am definitely going to try freezing milk and tomato paste!

peas
puff pastry
flour tortillas
meat (bought in bulk then frozen in portions)
raw, peeled prawns/shrimp
sliced bread
bacon (separated into 4 or 2 slices)