My love affair with my FoodSaver and Freezer

Before my son was born I saw a FoodSaver at Costco and told my husband I would like one. I few weeks later I was the proud owner of the kitchen appliance that would change my life. I bought it thinking it would be a nice alternative to having chicken freezer burned in ziploc freezer bags. What I didn't know is that the day would come I would consider it the most valuable small appliance in the house (well, except for my flat iron, but that's because of the "gift" my kids gave me of a perpetually bad 80's perm--on HALF of my head)

In the approximately 4 years since that initial purchase my FoodSaver has become my favorite appliance in the house. I use it ALL THE TIME. I use it to store meat/fish/poultry when it's on sale. I use it for freezer meals. Those two uses alone save me HUNDREDS of dollars/year. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I've been stocking up on cod while it's on sale for $2.99/lb. I have purchased about 15lbs worth of fish at this rock bottom price and frozen it, knowing I may never see this price again (normally I'm happy if it's $4.99/lb). I have items stored for over a year and they still taste amazingly fresh. I haven't lost a single piece of meat/poultry/fish to freezer burn in 4 years!

For freezer meals I make double batches and freeze half. We are a family of 4--with two of those members being toddlers. A 9x12 pan full of anything means that's all we'll eat for lunch and dinner for nearly a week. I've learned if I make the same recipe and place the lasagna in 2 8x8 pans instead of one 9x12 I have a healthy, preservative free dinner on a night I'm too tired/lazy to cook. I put one 8x8 pan in the oven, use my FoodSaver and freeze the other 8x8 portion (pan included)! I use this technique for casseroles, lasagna, baked ziti, enchilladas, shepherd's pie, etc.

Besides saving me from lazy days, one of the benefits of making sure my freezer is stocked with freezer meals is that I always have something on hand if I want to help out a friend who is in the hospital, has recently had a baby, etc.

Once I started REALLY using my FoodSaver I wanted a second freezer. In our old house I knew that wouldn't happen because the only possible "home" for it was the garage. I live in a very hot climate and it doesn't make sense to have a second freezer in the garage because the cost of a constantly running appliance + the drain on the freezer's life counteract any possible savings. When we moved about two years ago we didn't have a huge list of requirements for our huge house (we had to have low expectations to be in the neighborhood we wanted, while maintaining our budget), but one of my "wants" was a place to store a freezer.

Our home doesn't have a pantry (I use a linen closet to store my "stockpile") but it does have room in the laundry room for a 22 cubic ft. upright freezer!

Neither my freezer (about $600) or FoodSaver (about $150) were cheap but they are both WELL WORTH the investment and have both paid for themselves many times over.