"Christine Dabney" wrote

>>If I were in that situation, I think getting a standalone freezer to
>>take advantage of cyclical sales and having a plan according to everyday
>>prices, as opposed to shopping around, would be in order.
>
> That's what I do, even though I live in a city. I shop the sales and
> thus have a well stocked freezer. If I bought all this stuff at
> regular prices, I am sure it would have cost a fortune.

Yup. Even a small standalone extra freezer in a small house of 1-2 people
pays for itself.

Examples in use he

3 small chicken carcasses- waiting for me to want to make stock. I call
this 'free' as we ate the chickens.
2 medium fish carcasses- ok, so most of you all arent into Dashi or 'fish
stock' but it's a mainstay here.
10 lbs rice- bugs dead if had any
10 lbs various flours for breadmaking- bugs dead if had any
7lbs frozen whole calimari- small ones, not but 6 inch body, 2 if fried per
person, 1 if stuffed (only place with good calimari is 10mile round trip and
not on the way to anything else so stocking up makes sense), repackaged to 3
to a bag for our uses.
1 gindai and 2 milkfish (same place as the calimari)
4oz miso (odd how miso doesnt really freeze but stays pliable)
12oz of tofu (same place as the fish, 25cents a block)
1 ham bone (saved for a bean pot)

I havent had the freezer back in Virginia for long so that's a minimal stock
over the last 2 weeks. Later, it grows as sales items accrue, and stock
accrues (meaning I wont have to get stocks but make my own). I need one
more small cornish hen carcass to make a good stock batch.

My main kitchen freezer holds the chicken thighs, pork loin, and some
leftovers we garnered in the 1.5 months while waiting for the big freezer to
arrive.