once a month shopping for large family series part 4 preparing

After we have done all of our shopping and put everything away, it is time to prep  the meat that we purchased in bulk.

This month I happened to get the following from our meat store:

• 20 lbs ground chuck
• 8 whole boneless, skinless chicken breast
• roast
• turkey bacon
• breakfast sausage
• minute steaks

For the roast, I place it into the crock pot and let it cook on low for hours. It makes it very tender this way. I then cut up and place it into containers, depending upon the meals.  For this month, I planned on steak fajitas, beef tips, and beef stew.

The bacon, sausage, and minute steaks I just had my butcher freezer wrap and I just place them “as is” in the freezer.

For the chicken, I placed 2 whole breast in individual ziploc baggies. I then wrote on the bags which recipe they were for. Chicken parmesan, creamy chicken pasta, honey chicken, and chicken fajitas. In the summer time when we do a lot of barbecuing, I usually pour a bottle of italian dressing right into the bag and let it freeze. It is an excellent marinade for chicken. Plus cuts down on the time to marinade it, as it thaws it does the work.

For the hamburger, it takes some prep, but well worth it. Here is what we did:

I place 15 lbs of the hamburger in a large mixing bowl. I then add to it the following:

• 13 eggs
• 1-15 oz container of bread crumbs
• 4 cups oatmeal
• 2 teaspoons of salt and pepper

I then mix it thoroughly by hand.

Now for my hamburger I need to make the following out of this:

• cheeseburger meatloaf
• 2 servings of meatballs
• 2 serving of  hamburgers
• Salisbury steak

For the meatloaf, I put down a piece of parchment paper.  I used to use waxed paper but it tore so easily, I would rather spend the extra and use this stuff.

Pat the meat into a large rectangle shape

Place some cheese slices on top of your meat form.  I had some nacho cheese leftover and decided to use that.  I just smeared it all over the top.

Then squirt some ketchup and mustard on top of the cheese.  I sprinkled it with minced onions, but you can use “real” chopped onions.  We used to add diced up pickles but have since realized we do not care for warm pickles.

Carefully do a jelly style roll of your meatloaf.

Here is what it looks like all rolled up.  I then wrap this whole form in tin foil and freeze it until it is time to make this dinner.

I then roll out some hamburgers for a meal.  I am going to make homemade hamburger buns and mini burgers this month.

Here is a tray of meatballs and Salisbury steak

and some more meatballs and hamburgers.  

I then place these in the freezer for a few hours until completely frozen.  I then put them into labeled ziploc baggies.  The hamburgers I place on a single layer in a gallon sized bag.  The meatballs and Salisbury steak I just place in the bags, I cook those from a frozen solid state.   The hamburgers I thaw a bit and I do not want them to get mushy and stick together.

I then cook the other 5 lbs of hamburger and place it into quart sized baggies in 1 lb sizes.  This is great for cooking because you don’t need to cook the meat first before adding it to your casseroles.  All you need to do is thaw it.  Simplify your life.

Now my freezers are full of easy to make meals.  I am ready for the month.

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