This past week I loaded my freezer up with ground beef. We were able to get 40 lbs of lean ground beef through a local food distributor that brings a variety of fresh form the farm items at a great price. This is the same place we got the peaches the week before.
So here she was, 20 pounds of 93% lean ground beef...2 HUGE chubs! Yikes! I knew I better get to work because we were having refrigerator issues so I knew I needed to get it into the freezer.
Ground Beef: First thing I did was cut one of the chubs in half and wrapped up 6 equal portions (just under a pound each) to have available for a recipe. In order to avoid freezer burn, I double wrap them in plastic wrap and then place them inside a Ziploc freezer bag. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of this step.)
Whew, 1/4 of the way done! That was easy!
Base: The other half of the chub I popped into a pan along with a cup of water and browned it up to create a ground beef base. To this base I also added 2 finely chopped onions and green peppers. That was the only seasoning I added. This base will be great for a quick meal of tacos, sloppy joes, pizza, etc. All I need to do is throw this already cooked meat into a pan along with some seasoning and serve. This will save a big step on a busy evening.
After I browned up the meat, I spread it out on a large baking sheet to cool. Once it was cool, I divided it into 1 pound portions in Ziploc bags. I squeezed out any air and then laid them flat and placed the in the freezer. Once the bags were frozen, I placed them in a larger gallon size freezer bag to further protect it and to keep them organized in the freezer.
Meatballs: Next, I cut off about a third of the 2nd chub and placed it in a large bowl along with a pound of spicy pork sausage (what I had on hand). I added a few eggs, bread crumbs, seasoning and onion. I mixed it up and formed it into meatballs. I laid these out on a baking sheet, popped them in the freezer until they were frozen (a couple of hours) and then put them in a Ziploc freezer bag. Again, I laid these plat in the freezer bag so they can be stacked easier and the bags take up less space.
Hamburger Patties: Okay, more than 2 hours in and I looked up and there sat 7+ pounds of meat that I still needed to deal with. I was exhausted. Yet, I forged on. The remainder of the meat was made into quarter pound patties. I again, laid them out on baking sheets, froze them and then placed them into large Ziploc freezer bags.
Overall, it was a great day and I am so excited to have all this great meat ready for our busy school and activities schedule. Now I hope I can come across a great sale on chicken so I can put together some go to chicken meals too!
Very cool Lori. I don't think I've ever cooked up so much beef before, but I def have done some of what you did, and it sure does save time.
ReplyDeleteI really need to make meatballs, duh, that is so easy, and yummy!!
Thanks for walking us through it Lori!
p.s. If you get a chance I'm inviting you over to my blog, I'm kinda having a HUGE giveaway going on, and you MIGHT like it, (or LOVE it). I'd be so happy to have your support!
Hugs, Bella :)
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