The Little Splurge I Made for My Freezer That’s Totally Paid for Itself
updated Mar 23, 2021
I’m no stranger to batch cooking and freezing extras for later. As a busy mom of two, pulling a gallon of chili out to thaw on a chaotic Tuesday between sports carpools is usually a lifesaver. But, since COVID started, our cooking and eating habits as a family have changed. My early evenings are no longer spent in the bleachers at a baseball game or costume fittings for the school musical. I’m just at home. All of the time! The hours before dinner are available and just waiting for me to fill with simmering pots and pans.
Related: A Brilliant Tip for Better Freezer Organization
This extra time is truly great for meal prep. Being home gives me the ability to tackle hands-off batch cooking. It’s easy to simmer off an extra pound of beans or steel-cut oats during back-to-back Zoom meetings. But it doesn’t mean I’m up for spending hours in the kitchen for every meal.
This is especially true for lunch. With two adults working different schedules, a teenager who likely woke up and ate breakfast at 11, and another kid who prefers to graze, I’m not trying to get everyone to sit down together to share a meal at noon. Truth be told, I want to eat by myself while listening to a podcast. My family that I love and adore? Turns out, they’re just like coworkers — from whom I need a midday break!
Watch More In Organize & CleanWhich is where the freezer comes into play. During the old normal, my big batch cooking was frozen in gallon zip-top bags or quart deli containers . But now, I don’t necessarily want to defrost four cups of soup just for my lunch. And my son doesn’t need a gallon of bolognese. And yes, freezing flat in zip-top bags is great for storage and thawing quickly over a few hours. But no matter how much I scrape and squeeze, I never feel like I get all of my food out of the bag once it’s thawed. And if I want to eat now, it’s not as straightforward. Removing still-frozen food from a bag means I’ve got to cut and peel the plastic away from my food — no washing and re-using my zip-top bags. And then I have to thaw it. Have you ever tried to find the correct size pot to quickly defrost a 10”x10” block of minestrone?
All of this is what brings me to my Souper Cubes freezing tray. I resisted buying it for months. I’m not a person who impulse buys things. I hem and haw at the cost versus the benefits, worry about storage space, convince myself that I can make do without. And at about $20 per tray, it seemed expensive. My plastic bag storage was sort of mostly working ok. So instead of adding them to my cart, I just “saved for later,” continually eyeing them and their 4.8-star rating from almost 2,000 reviewers. Until finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and I added them to my cart. My freezing process was about to get an upgrade.
Buy NowLet me tell you, do not be like me. Just buy one immediately. This seemingly straightforward ice cube tray comes in either one- or two-cup portion sizes. I have the one-cup version and really like how versatile it is. The interior is also marked with measurements (both imperial and metric), should you want to freeze smaller portions. Thanks to this freezer tray, I’m able to defrost a single serving of stew. When my kid asks what’s for lunch, I tell him to nuke himself a block of sloppy Joe filling and slap it in a bun. (Oh and also please make one for your sister. And cut up some veggies for yourself!) A defrosted block of two meatballs and sauce is the perfect amount for noontime spaghetti and meatballs. What a joy! One cup of beans frozen in their liquid is equal to about half a can of beans. Do you know how freeing it is to only add half a can of garbanzos in your salad without the pressure to finish the rest? Liberate yourselves!
The rim is reinforced with steel, meaning the lid snaps on easily and transfers easily to the freezer. And unlike many other silicone ice cube trays, I don’t have to balance it precariously on top of an ice cream carton to make sure things don’t spill. The thick silicone coupled with the hard plastic lid means that, not only can it hold itself up, I can stack things on top of it. Plus, it cleans up nicely in the dishwasher. After six months of heavy use, the silicone hasn’t stained or held onto smells . I can push the frozen food easily out of each cube. Up to eight cup-sized blocks fit in a gallon zip-top bag for long-term storage. This method allows me to easily wash and reuse my bags. Between the money (and plastic) saved on bags and wasted food, I have more than gotten my $20 out of it. I have found them to be so useful, if I could go back, I’d buy the two-pack and save a few dollars.
Buy NowHave you tried these Souper Cubes? What’d you think?
Meleyna Nomura
Contributor
Meleyna is a recipe developer, food photographer, and champion of home cooking. She is likely to be found on the sidelines of the Little League field (with a full dinner for four packed in a cooler) or waiting in line for a Trader Joe’s sample.
Source : food
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