This weekend my husband fired up the smoker for me because I found a good deal on pork steaks. YUMMM is all I can say.

It doesn't take that much more effort to smoke 1 meal or 7. Right. You are still firing the smoker, and waiting the same amount of time for it to cook. Why not, right :o)
We had a great time smoking 14 pounds of pork steak and 2 whole chickens for our Saturday night meal and 6 others! All for $26. I love finding deals on meats! Its like money in the bank for me. And its not often as a stay at home mom I feel I earn money. This is payday in a fun way for me.

The best bonus is now I don't feel the need to go to our favorite Texas BBQ anymore ... saving me a bunch more :o)

This is AMAZING with Rudy's Copycat BBQ Sauce !!

Christy,

My family has really liked Italian Sausage added to a few of our meals. Every year or so I find a great deal on it and buy a bunch to cook up in my freezer. As I was shopping, they had a SUPER deal and I got 10 packages of them. I cooked them up and sliced them ready to go into spaghetti sauce, on pizzas or for a great addition for another meal. At a dollar a package I can't complain. 12 meals worth for $10.38

Cooked Italian Sausage

I just put as many sausages in a pan, add about 1/3 cup of water, throw a lid on and cook it up for about 20 minutes (Turning it once) until they start to brown and are done in the center. Place it on a plate to cool and then get slicing. After they are sliced I may throw them back in and brown them up a bit more, but it is not necessary as long as they are cooked through. Bag them up into one meal portions into a quart size bag, label them, flatten them and freeze.

Christy,

One of the things I hate most is thawing meat, or forgetting to thaw meat! Trying to cook hamburger frozen is the worst thine EVER, shaving those bits of cooked of that frozen hunk it the sure to be annoying. I am not to keen on dirty dishes too. So for me cooking ahead my hamburger is a win win... and win for me.

 Have you ever had hamburger that you have cooked up ahead of time that tasted weird? Do you know that if you don't season your meat before it cools it just doesn't taste right, even if you season it after, tasting like old grease. By seasoning it while it is hot this does not happen. It gets the salt to ALL the meat and is tasty even after you freeze it. I love having browned hamburger ready to go for soups or spaghetti sauce or any of a million recipes that require brown hamburger. It takes just a few more minutes to brown 5 pounds as it does 1 pound. You even still have the same amount of dishes. So why not :o)

Seasoned Browned Hamburger
5 lbs ground beef (leaner the better)
Salt to taste (about 2 tsp) (not optional! :o)
Pepper to taste (about 3/4 tsp) (optional, but tasty)
1/2 cup of dried onions (not really optional. It just won't taste the same, trust me.)

When the hamburger is done, I drain it in my metal colander which is placed over a glass pie pan... so easy! Add seasonings and give it a toss. When it cools, bag it in family size portions. For me that is about 3/4 lb or about 2 cups each quart size bag.

Christy,

I just love having frozen homemade burgers ready to go in the freezer.

 I know fresh is better, 

but most days life just won't allow it. 

I can make 36 patties out of a 10 pound chub of 90% hamburger,

with not much more effort than to make burgers up for one meal. 

Half the time is cleaning up anyway :o)      

Christy,

 What is better than Spaghetti and meatballs! maybe meatball sandwiches... these are one of my kids favorite meals. But at least for me... meatballs are a pain. I love eating them but I hate getting my hands cold and greasy mixing it all up. This is why I do them a huge batch at a time. This batch makes 5 meals for my family, and they love them so much they will do all the squishing and mixing and rolling for me. But ... oh are they good!



Meatballs

5 lbs ground beef
4 cups dry bread crumbs
5 eggs
3-4 cups milk
1 packet of onion soup mix (or 10 beef bullion cubes; crushed)
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2-3 medium onions, chopped
3 t sage
2 1/2 t garlic powder
5 t salt
2 1/2 t pepper
Mix all ingredients together in a BIG bowl until well mixed. Form into golf ball size balls and place on baking sheet (with sides) They can almost touch in spacing as they will shrink up a bit. (I use my medium cookie scooper  and it makes easy work if you have a helper to do the rolling.) Bake until they start turning dark brown ( about 20-30 minutes) Remove from oven and pan to cool and bag in portion sizes for a family meal. (3-4 for each person). Use for Spaghetti and meatballs, meatball sandwiches, BBQ meatballs, sweet and sour meatballs, etc.

Christy,

I love to make Crock Pot Roasts! Beef or pork, it doesn't matter, because it makes my house smell o so yummy when you walk in the door with amazingly little effort. What I love even more is that if I make a BIG roast, then we have left overs. I love these left overs to make several things, but a favorite is pulled pork or beef sandwiches. Oh so easy, week day dinner! Its especially amazing with our own homemade BBQ sauce!


FOR ROAST:

• IN GALLON FREEZER BAG : 5 pound pork butt roast cut into thirds (optional), 2 onion soup mix packets, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 cup water.
• TO COOK: Just remove roast from bag and put into crock pot. Cook on low for 7-8 hours.
• TO SERVE:  Serve with veggie, garlic mashed potatoes and bread... or whatever you prefer. Only pull our what you want your family to actually eat for dinner into a serving dish. From my experience, whatever is on the table is game for starving teenage boys. The rest allow to cool, and package shredded or whole for bbq pulled pork(or beef) sandwiches or other yummy meals.

FOR PULLED PORK:

• IN QUART SIZE FREEZER BAG: Put the remaining pork roast (after you have shredded it) and add 1 cup of your favorite BBQ Sauce. We make ours HERE.  Add to a quart size labeled zip bag, remove air, seal (squish bag a bit to distribute sauce) and freeze. 
• TO COOK: Warm in microwave or on stove top.
• TO SERVE: Serve on toasted rolls or hamburger buns with potato salad and coleslaw

Christy,

Today was a taco meat day. I have big-batched taco meat forever it seems. One thing I truly can't stand is trying to brown up frozen hamburger and the time that it takes shaving off that little bit that has cooked of that hunk of frozen meat.

I love having taco meat all ready to go in the freezer for those last minute, unplanned, crazy day dinners. For quite a while it was used far to often and I am now spacing this family staple out a bit.

By browning 5 pounds of hamburger at a time, you will make browning and clean up worth it. Grab your self the biggest pot you have and break up the meat as you add it. Then just walk away, but don't forget to come back every few minutes and break up the meat as it starts to brown.

To make draining a lot easier on myself, I just get a pie pan and put my colander in it and drain my meat that way. Then back in the pot it goes for 2 cups of water and a cup of bulk taco seasoning from Sam's Club (or 5 packets of taco seasoning). give it a stir and cook for a few more minutes and it is ready to cool.

I always put my taco meat into quart size storage bags. I don't bother with the freezer bags as we will use it in a month and it stays fresh just fine that way. Add as much in your bag as your family will eat at a time. I usually make 5 bags plus a bowl for that nights meal, so about 3/4 of a pound worth each. My family would eat more but we add tons of less expensive side to save on costs.

A quick hand wash of dishes and I'm all set.

Christy,