Once you get your meat home, do not just throw your meat into your freezer. Remember that your grocery store packages the meats for refrigeration in their cases, not freezing in your home. Also, you have probably bought your meat in bulk; it takes a long time to thaw ten chicken breasts. If you only need four per meal, shouldn’t you freeze them to meet your serving needs? You need to make a few modifications to get them freezer ready:

• Invest less than fifteen dollars in Reynold’s Handi-Vac Vacuum Food Storage System. You’ll get a battery-operated, hand-held device that removes air out from specially designed zip-top freezer bags. Of the systems readily available at this price point, I think it is the best. Air is your enemy when it comes to freezing foods, and this system gets the air out.
• Open each package of meat and discard the grocery store packaging as well as any fat you wish to trim off.
• Consider how you’ll use each cut of meat. For example, if you plan to serve some chicken in a marinade, go ahead and mix the marinade now and put it into your freezer bag with the meat. When you are ready to thaw it, your meat will be completely marinated and ready to cook.
• With chicken pieces, either freeze in one bag what you will eat at one meal, or to use fewer freezer bags, use this simple technique:
  • Find the largest shallow dish that will fit in your freezer, either a 9 x 13 casserole or a cookie sheet.
  • Place the chicken pieces on it, being careful that they do not touch each other. Place them in the freezer until they are hardened on the outside, usually about two hours. Then put them in your freezer bag and remove all the air.
  • When you are ready to use them, open your bag and easily remove just the pieces you need; they will not freeze together in one huge lump because you individually froze them first. With the Reynolds Handi-Vac System, you can reseal your bag and place it back in the freezer for your next meal.
• After you seal and remove the air from each bag, use a permanent marker (not a ballpoint pen) to write the date and contents on the bag. Gently smooth the contents out so the bag is flat. Stack them in your freezer, and enjoy the convenience of pulling out meat that is ready to cook. Plan on thawing each bag overnight in your refrigerator before use.
• Keep your frozen meats on the freezer shelves, not in the door. Plan on using them in no more than two to three months.

You can also use your Reynolds Handi-Vac System to save space. When I buy frozen garlic bread, the box used to take up space for weeks in my freezer as I used a few slices here and there. Now, I take the slices out and freeze them in a bag as noted above; I copy the cooking instructions on the bag in permanent marker and recycle the cardboard box. You save freezer space while keeping the food fresher, and you can easily reseal the bag after removing what you need for a meal.