Simplify Dinner! Preparing & freezing your meats

Long before I had a big family, I started prepping my foods and put it in the freezer because I had to shop for a whole months worth at a time. One of my dreaded things to do is cook and babysit frozen hamburger or try to quick thaw a big hunk of meat, so instead I pre-cook or prepare it before its frozen in manageable, thin packaging. This has became a way of life for me now and it is a sad day when I find that I have ran out. If you only do one thing to make dinner time easier, this is it! I promise you a thousand times you won't regret the benefits you will gain by preparing your meats ahead of time. The time spent dealing with it once, cleaning up once, shopping meats on sale or bulk and having super fast dinners will make it so you never look back!

For recipe, links and ideas --- >

What meats do I repackage? To be honest, I repackage or prepare EVERY meat that comes in my house into a quart size freezer bag. The only exception is roasts or hamburger patties or something to big to fit, and they go into a gallon. Everything gets taken out of its original packaging, even if I am just storing it uncooked and unchanged. Why? Freezer space is valuable, big family or small family alike! By repackaging my foods, I fit more. By storing everything in its bag FLAT, it all fits in nice and tight. I also can find everything easy when I label the ends of my bags.

When to prepare your meats:  This is the number one rule I made for myself! I prepare my meats right when I bring home groceries from the store! If we do not deal with them directly, and they get loaded into the fridge, they might be easily forgotten and go bad. (trust me. so so sad to throw away forgotten meats!) Dealing with your meats this way, right as they walk in the door will save you both time and money (from waste). You of course, don't need to do this, this is just a rule that I have given myself. Life is busy and my memory isn't the greatest and I have dumped way more money in the trash from things spoiling than I care to admit.

Packaging your meats for the freezer: ALWAYS be sanitary when dealing with meats and clean up extremely well after. If your items will likely be in the freezer for longer than a month, always use a freezer bag. Freezer bags are thicker and will do better keeping your foods safe.
To put your meat in the freezer, always use either a 1 gallon bag or a 1 quart bag and FLATTEN out your bags. Storing them this way allows us to get SO much more in our freezer. It also allows us to later, after its frozen, to turn them on their sides for easier access and rotation. Remember to always label your bags with what is in it and the date, remove as much air as you can, to flatten your bags, and cool your meats before freezing if they have been cooked (in your fridge).

Pre- Cooking Meats

Cooked Cubed Chicken ~ I use this so often. Anything that calls for cooked cubed or shredded chicken. Meals like : Chicken Enchiladas, Chicken noodle soup, Chicken Salad, Chicken Won Tons, Chicken Quesidillas. I could go on, but you get the idea.

 Seasoned Browned Hamburger ~ This is another staple in my freezer. Any recipe that calls for plain brown hamburger is what I use this in. Spaghetti sauce, Soups, Hamburger Casseroles etc.

 Meatballs ~ This is a family Favorite! I make 5-10 lbs of meatballs at a time and get the whole family involved. We make meatball sandwiches, Spaghetti and meatballs, BBQ meatballs, Sweet & Sour meatballs, and Meatball Stroganoff  with them.                                                                                        

 

Smoked or Grilled Meats or BBQed meats ~ This is a treat for use.  We love grilled and smoked meats. When we have a free Saturday or I find a great "deal" on meats, my hubby or older boys will help me cook a bunch to use for later meals and that nights dinner. Having grilled and diced chicken is especially nice to have on hand to pull out to use as a protein in salads for lunches.

Cooked Italian Sausage ~ I mostly use this to add to spaghetti sauce, but we also add Italian Sausage to our stuffed shells or with sauteed peppers and onions. Look for a deal and snatch it up when you can. 

• Taco Meat ~ Making taco meat in bulk truly was a big help! Especially when I was in my worst health.  On my worst days I was able to pull out a bag of this, warm a can of refried beans and have tacos or taco salad on the table with minimal effort and prep. We used this so much that I am giving my family a break for now :o) (for selfish reasons of course; so that I don't burn them out and I can use it in tough times again :o) Tacos, Burritos, Taco salad, Crazy Taco Pie, Tostadas.
• Sloppy Joe Meat - every few months I make up a batch of this. It is a easy heat and warm meal that  has saved the day many times. Sloppy Joes are great for weekend lunches or dinners when the kids are the cook and we are away.
• Pork Roast- I love having Cooked Roasts in the freezer! For minimal effort (crock-pot cooking it) and you can whip a meal up in a flash! Pork Roasts ~ BBQ pork sandwiches. Green Sauce Pork Tacos, Red Sauce pork tacos, Carolina BBQ,
• Beef Roasts - Beef Enchiladas, Beef Taquitos, BBQ Beef Sandwiches

Bacon - What?  Bacon? Yes, I do just cook up bacon and chop it up to have in my freezer. I use this for salad toppings, Broccoli Salad,  potato salad, Potato soup any other recipe that calls for bacon. It is much cheaper than to by those little 2 ounce jars if you buy the ends and pieces or buying it in bulk.





Preparing Raw Meats

• Hamburger Patties- I generally make my hamburger patties up ahead of time and put them flat in a gallon size baggie. but I have also put them in individual baggies too for times when we need single portions or there are left over amounts.

• Stripped or cubed raw chicken or beef - Anything that calls for thinly sliced chicken or beef, get done right away and stored. This is SO nice to do ahead of time all at once. (Stir-fry, Stroganoff, Philly Sandwiches, etc)

• Marinated Meats- I love having meats marinating in the freezer, they are nice and tasty. I opt to not do too many of these and just freeze my homemade marinates freezer meals alone though because I don't want to commit all of my meats to just sitting there waiting until I make that one specific meal. Plus dealing with meats is enough. I don't want to have to worry about shopping at preparing marinades too.

• Plain, raw meats; hamburger, whole chicken breasts, roasts, chicken (with bones)-  It is always nice to have plain raw meat in your freezer. There are times when prepping your meats in the above ways just does not work for a recipe. If you repackage these meats in either a quart size or gallon freezer bag as flat as possible, instead of putting them directly in your freezer in the store packaging, they will last longer and you can fit more in your freezer.

• Raw, Prepared meats; cubed chicken, chicken fillets, cubed beef, sliced beef, Hamburger patties, meatballs- I often am sitting watching a movie preparing meats after a shopping trip. I LOVE getting deals! and I love having an excuse to watch a movie! I budget part of my monthly grocery budget for just meat deals. If I see a deal I have it there ready, if I don't, I save it for next month.

I think the most important thing that helps with this way of saving, is to not feel like you have to instantly have a stocked freezer of prepared meats, that would overwhelm anyone! 

1. Look for sales! Chicken is the cheapest right now, and you can often find sales on it. If not, you can go to Sam's Club or Costco with a friend(s) and get their case of chicken breast for a great discounted price. Another source for getting great chicken prices is to check out Zaycon for sometimes great bulk prices and always amazing quality! This is now my go to for quality chicken!

2. Start squirling away a portion of your budget JUST to be ready when you find them and then be patient. Its a sad day when you see a amazing sale and your budget is all gone. 

3. Also, keep tabs on whats in your freezer, know what items are getting low and keep your eyes open to replenish. 

4. Lastly, plan your menu around what you have. 

Good Luck, let me know how you do! and remember to be very clean when working with your meats!

Christy