Just in time for the holidays! I’m sharing a genius kitchen hack to help you more easily deal with all that leftover food.
Did you ever try to fill a plastic zippered bag with food for the freezer? It can get really messy trying to hold the bag while filling it with food. I always make a big frustrating mess.
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But I’ve found a super easy way to hold bags open for me when trying to fill them – using something I already have in my kitchen. My canning jar lifters are perfect for this task, making it easier to fill bags without any mess. Check out this clever Kitchen Hack involving jar lifters to simplify your bag filling!
(Note: Some links in this post will take you to other related articles for further information. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click and buy something I could receive a tiny commission.)
Using jar lifters can minimize spills and keep your kitchen clean while filling bags efficiently with ease. Jar lifters are essential tools that can help manage the process smoothly.
Saving Leftover Food
Recently I invited my dad to join us for supper. I made his favorite comfort food – Instant Pot Roast.
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But after our meal there was plenty of roast and gravy left over. So I decided to store the leftovers in the freezer. I knew RancherMan & I would enjoy it for another meal in the coming weeks.
These jar lifters can transform your cooking routine and simplify the bag filling process, making it a breeze and ensuring that you use every bit of your delicious meals.
Filling Zippered Bags For The Freezer
My freezer is my friend when I have leftovers.
Less Food Waste – Leftovers aren’t stuck in the refrigerator until they’re past their prime to become food waste.
Meals Fast – Having pre-cooked food in your freezer means a healthy home-cooked meal is heat-n-eat fast.
Embrace the power of jar lifters for everyday meal prep.
Streamline your food packing process using jar lifters.
Make jar lifters a staple in your cooking toolkit.
Less Cleanup – You’ve already dirtied up the measuring cups, utensils and cooking pots to prepare that food. Serving leftovers from the freezer means you don’t have to dirty up those same dishes again to enjoy another delicious meal.
With jar lifters, the process becomes much more efficient and less messy.
So I decided to freeze the rest of of this leftover roast and gravy.
Difficulty Filling Plastic Food Storage Bags
But if you’re like me you know how messy it can be to transfer food into plastic freezer bags!
It’s difficult to hold the bag with only one hand while filling it with food using the other hand.
With jar lifters, bag filling becomes an enjoyable task.
The Bag Collapses – When I’m trying to fill the bag, it often collapses unless I’m holding it up with my other hand.
Spills – Since I’m trying to spoon chunks of roast into a wobbly bag, I often at least partially miss the bag opening, spilling the food.
Mess – Spilled food means yet another gloppy mess to clean up. Ugh.
Bag Holder Clip To Easily Fill Plastic Food Storage Bags
To more easily fill a freezer bag with food, many people buy an inexpensive *Ziplock Bag Holder to help with this task. It holds the bag open while you fill it.
And it’s handy, make no mistake.
After using jar lifters, you’ll wonder how you ever managed without them!
But I found I don’t need to buy a bag holder, I already have what I need in my own kitchen. A canning jar lifter. Check this out!
Kitchen Hack: Filling Resealable Bags
I use a canning *Jar Lifter as a stand to hold my zippered bag open & steady as I fill it.
I turn the jar lifter upside down so the handles are on the counter. This leaves wide rounded section to hold my bag open for me.
I slide the zip lock bag over the jar lifters and spread it open as far as the bag allows. Then I fold the top of the bag over to hold it in place.
Using jar lifters makes bag filling a breeze, allowing for quick and easy access to your favorite recipes.
Finally I start shoveling in the food. This worked great for my roast and gravy!
Not only does this keep the bag open for me, but since I’ve folded the top over the jar lifters it keeps the zipper part of the bag clean too.
Utilizing jar lifters for your zippered bags can drastically reduce mess.
No more having to wipe off the zipper closure before I can zip it closed. Now I just seal the bag, add a label and put it in the freezer.
Adding Chunky Food To Resealable Plastic Bag
And you know how hard it is to get chunky food into a resealable bag? Check this out – roasted vegetables ladled into a reusable zippered bag with no mess!
Jar lifters can be a game-changer for pouring liquids into bags.
They make every step of the process easier and cleaner.
These jar lifters are not just for canning; they are also fantastic for bag filling.
When preparing deviled eggs, jar lifters ensure minimal mess while filling.
Pouring Liquid Into Resealable Zipper Bag
But here’s the REAL test, y’all. Pouring leftover gravy (or soup) into a resealable zippered bag. Now I daresay there’s NO way I’d be able to do this without making a huge mess before.
This method simplifies the process, backed by the reliability of jar lifters.
But now?
Nary a drop spilled. No waste, no mess. This is an amazing kitchen hack!
Easier Way To Mix Deviled Egg Filling
Choose jar lifters for a more efficient kitchen experience.
Using my jar lifters isn’t only for freezer bags. I use it to hold repurposed bags open when I’m making my Deviled Eggs too
Jar lifters ensure each food item is transferred without fuss.
Incorporating jar lifters into your routine will save you time and hassle.
I use a great shortcut for making deviled eggs, y’all! I place my cooked yolks, mayo, mustard, pickle relish & salt/pepper into a plastic bag.
Then I mash it all together to blend, cut the corner and ‘pipe’ the fillings into the hollowed egg whites.
But before I started using this jar-lifter shortcut it was still a little messy. Now I use a canning jar lifter to hold the bag open for me. This has been game changing!
So if you have a canning jar lifter lying around in your kitchen, take advantage of this amazing shortcut to make it easier and less messy to transfer food to a plastic resealable bag.
~TxH~
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Utilizing jar lifters makes preparing leftovers incredibly easy.
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Jar lifters can change the way you think about food storage.
9 Responses
Genius and very clever idea.
I would always freeze my left-overs in container first and then put in my vacuum sealer bags and seal, but didn’t like the idea of my bags not laying flat in the freezer.
This kitchen hack has sure made transferring food to a freezer bag easy for me Colleen. Especially soups & gravy! ~TxH~
That’s a very clever tip, & more sustainable than buying another plastic doodad!
There sure is a lot to get through to find the content section
*comment section! I hate it when I forget to proofread
The format for my blog inserts comments at the end of my posts Laurinda. But there’s also a link at the beginning of each post for comments to either read or add. Hope that helps. I’m so glad you’re here! ~TxH~
THIS!!! It is a genius idea! Thank you soooo much for sharing this and all your awesome tips
Oh stop Patti, you’re making me blush… 🙂 Thank you for your kind words, sweet girl. ~TxH~
Once you empty those bags of the leftovers are you rinsing them out and letting them dry to use again for something else? I sometimes do something as simple as standing them open over a drinking glass or other object in the kitchen to dry. I really hate single use plastic and try to avoid it whenever possible.
Me too Candace. I avoid plastic as much as I can. But I sometimes use freezer bags for leftover freezer food (most often repurposed). I know this kitchen hack will benefit many of our readers, especially with the holidays coming up so I wanted to share. ~TxH~