Freezer challenge, week 3: progress, broth, and a plan for BBQ chicken pizza

# What happened this week Kristen updated her freezer-challenge progress for week 3 and assigned herself new tasks. She reports several clear wins: the applesauce is gone, frozen spinach and blueberries went into a smoothie, and a bag of potstickers was cooked and eaten. Her one miss was gnocchi, which she did not get to but plans to use next week.

Kristen had a stockpile of chicken carcasses and cooked them all into broth, which freed up bulky space in the freezer because broth takes up less room than whole birds. She answered a reader question: she did not use an Instant Pot. Instead she used a conventional pot to make chicken broth, and linked to her written process for making broth.

# Why this week felt successful Clearing the rotisserie chickens made a big visual and practical difference. Emptying those bulky items revealed other things in the freezer and made it easier to see what else could be used. Kristen notes that doing a weekly challenge forces regular freezer checks, which leads to incidental use of items outside the official weekly assignment.

# Plan for next week

• Marked-down flatbreads will become pizzas for Kristen and Zoe.

• The gnocchi that she missed this week is slated for use next week.

Zoe prefers BBQ chicken pizza, so Kristen will reserve part of the grilled chicken for that. The plan emphasizes using markdown purchases promptly so the savings actually pay off.

# Practical notes and habits you can borrow

• Tackle bulky items first. Turning whole rotisserie chickens into broth saved space and made the freezer easier to manage.
• Check the freezer regularly. Weekly attention uncovers forgotten items and reduces freezer-burn risk.

# Reader engagement and community

# Bottom line Week 3 was mostly a success: several bags were emptied, broth replaced bulky chickens, and Kristen set a realistic, meal-focused plan for the coming week that prioritizes using markdown items and older frozen goods.