My freezer full of meat - or why vegetarians should avert their eyes.

This weekend I spent $196 dollars on meat. That sounds like a lot, but that is my meat budget through the end of the year (excluding Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners).  As I wrote in a previous blog, I know what I'm having for dinner until the end of the year. One of the ways I make menu planning work for me, is my massive meat shops. I did one in January and the meat lasted through April.  Here's what I ended up getting for my $196 bucks:

3lbs of meatloaf Mix
4 lamb shanks
1 pork loin
2 1 lb packages of mussels
1 bag fish sticks
1 bag of raw shrimp
3 chuck roasts
3 lbs of country style ribs
6 pork chops
2 sirlon steaks
4 lbs of ground beef
3 lbs of bacon
6 whole boneless chicken breasts
3 packages of boneless chicken thighs
1 package of lump crab meat

I'm planning on getting around 115 meals out of this. Probably more. I portion out everything before I freeze it, so all I have to do is pull out the desired portion to thaw and I've got the protein for supper all ready to go.  The necessary ingredients for filling my freezer are as follows:

Olive oil, quart freezer bags, kosher salt and a super-sharp kitchen knife.

Be careful with the knife. You don't want to do this.

I cut myself while sharpening the knife. Fortunately I had a registered nurse on hand to apply the bandage. But nothing stops me! I could be on Chopped.

I use quart freezer bags. Since there are only two of us, it works out perfectly. Obviously, if you have more people to feed, gallon bags may be the way to go. Make sure to get the freezer bags and not the storage bags. Freezer bags are thicker plastic and do a better job of protecting the food.

Put your salt out in a separate container. You don't want to be touching salt with meat hands or handling your salt shaker.

You probably should label and date each package. I don't always do that, though with ground meats and things that could easily be confused in the freezer, it's a good idea. Actually, it's always a good idea. I have no clue why I don't do it every single time.

Let's start with the meatloaf mix. This is a mixture of beef, pork and veal. Some places sell it as a mix of pork and beef. It's great not only for meatloaf, but also for meatballs, any kind of meat sauce, lasagna and a variety of other uses.  For the two of us, I tend to use it 8 ounces at a time. Before packaging it, I salt it. This helps tenderize and flavor the meat. You'll also use less salt in your cooking if you do it now.

I press it a little flat for easier storage. I'm into flat. You'll see why later.

The lamb shanks are also salted and packed two at a time.You can toss them frozen into a slow cooker in the morning along with some potatoes, rosemary and a little broth and have dinner when you get home that night.

One pork loin works as two meals for us. For pork I usually both salt and sprinkle a little sugar on the meat. It helps give it a nice sear when you brown it. Pork loin makes a great braise with apples and sweet potatoes.

Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are perhaps the most useful meat on earth. They don't dry out in stews or braises and they have so much flavor. So I salt them and pack them.

I cut my chuck roasts in half as half a roast does pretty well for the two of us. Salt is especially important to the flavor of beef.

They fit nicely into quart bags.

Boneless country ribs are a great ingredient in sauces and you can also fake a pretty decent BBQ in a Dutch oven. They get the salt and sugar treatment.

Pork chops benefit greatly from salt & sugar.

Two good-sized sirloins yielded four servings of steak. Besides salt, I also put in some olive oil. That way you can get the pan searing hot and add the already oiled and salted meat. Delicious.  I also had enough steak over to marinate in soy for a stir fry

The meat is stacking up.

Time to slice up the thick cut bacon.  I cut the slices in half. Bacon, of course, does not need any salt. I not only use it for delicious breakfast meat and sandwiches, but also as a flavoring agent in a lot of sauces. Look at how many servings you get from one big package.

Bacon freezes wonderfully.

Ground chuck time. Mommy always said it was the best choice, so that's what I use.

I work some salt in, being careful not to overwork the meat. Then I flatten it out.

I flatten it out, cut it into eight portions and bag it up.

Now for the chicken breasts.

I spread out plastic wrap. Then I drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Place your chicken breasts on the plastic wrap. then drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and place more plastic wrap on top.

Now time to pound. Use the flat side of a meat tenderizer or just a big heavy pan like a cast iron skillet. Pound on the thickest parts of your breast. You'll want to make all of the breast relatively the same thickness.

Each breast should about fill up a quart bag. If you're using larger size freezer bags, wrap the portions in plastic wrap before placing in the bag.

This is why I like things flat. I use plastic storage containers and file the little quart bags upright to store in the freezer. It's easier to find things and avoid avalanches falling out of your freezer.

My full freezer makes me happy. :)  I bought my meats from my wonderful butcher Meats & More and from Walt Churchill's market. Now time to make bunches and bunches of tasty meals.

Menu Planning or why I know what I'm having for dinner of December 8th

That would be goulash. Or at least my version of it. I have all of our suppers planned out through the end of the year. Why do I do it? Because I'm lazy that's why. You may ask why someone goes to the trouble of planning out their dinner if she's lazy. But here's the deal: I sit down for less than an hour to plan out my meals and I don't have to think about what I'm having for dinner for another four months. I can plan my food budget and shop accordingly. I won't find myself missing an ingredient or discover that I should have thawed some chicken. A quick check of my menu plan on Sunday tells me what I need to have thawed for the week ahead. A quick glance while I make up the grocery list tells me what I need to buy. I save money. I save time and I don't waste food. I get almost giddy in a grocery store and am apt to buy everything I can pick up. A lot of fresh food used to go unused. That doesn't happen now. When I first started this, I used to actually print it out on a calendar. That was a bit of overkill, though not a bad idea if you have kids. You can print it out and post it just like the school lunch menu and hopefully ease any disagreements over what they want for dinner. I've planned out through the end of the year this time, though often I simply do it a month at a time. But I'm preparing to fill the freezer for winter, so I thought I might as well plan supper. Now, by planning a menu I mean scrawling things in a date book.

I like to use books with funny pictures in them. They make me smile. I like the week at a time planner, so I can just flip it open on Sunday and see what's ahead for the week at a glance.

The method to my madness is to jot down a list of our current favorite meals. I survey the hubby. Those with larger families would obviously want to let everyone weigh in. As I watch a lot of Food Network and subscribe to several food magazines, I try to make a note whenever I see anything that looks good. This is my neat notebook where I write down ideas and make my carefully organized grocery list.

My handwriting is the next best thing to calligraphy. As I have a large collection of cookbooks, I like to pull them out when I plan. I thumb through them and look for things that appeal to me or for favorites I haven't made in a long time.

Of course, you can also check a few books out of the library. Or print off some recipes from favorite websites.  I also like magazines.

I go through and start writing down recipes that appeal to me. For new recipes, I also note which cookbook or magazine they came from and what page the recipes are on.

That information is actually contained above. The Spanish Beef & Rice is in 30 Minute Meals 2 on page 138. I believe myself to be writing in English. Notice how I spelled Skillet Lasagna. I know how to spell skillet. I swear. Like I said, I scribble it down. Mind you that was the second time I wrote it down. Because I write everything first in a notebook and then try to go back and place the recipes on good days. I have yoga with a friend on Monday nights, so I like to make something quick and easy that will be ready in just a few minutes after we're finished. And if you know a certain time of year is going to contain sports tournaments or some other activity that takes up your time, you can plan what to eat accordingly. Even if it's just putting down sandwiches and making sure to buy plenty of lunch meat and cheese. It's also helpful for balancing out rich dishes and healthier dishes. If I know a given Sunday is likely to find us inside watching NASCAR, I can plan a slow-cooked pot roast and also plan to use some of the beef on Monday or Tuesday.  I have an especially good recipe for a shredded beef taco filling that I like to make a giant pot of and freeze the extra in single meal size portions. Since it is excellent with chili, mexican pizza or other mexican dishes, I know if I have four servings frozen, I can plan four quick and easy meals incorporating that meat.

When I sit down to write my grocery list for the week, I'm able to look at my date book, see what the meals are for the week and check the pantry to see what I need to buy. I don't always stick to the plan, but if I have chicken something down, I will usually try to do something with the chicken and my pantry ingredients. And some days things just won't grab you and you are going to want something else. But I will say that using this planning, I bought $200 worth of meat in January for the freezer and didn't have to buy any more until the end of April. It's also a great idea when planning to go look through your kitchen and see what you have that you haven't been using. Find a couple of recipes that make good use of your garbonzo beans or couscous or those frozen mixed vegetables. If your garden usually overwhelms you with zuchinni, plan a few recipes in advance for when natures bounty comes in.

Simply writing (if you want to dignify my scribbles with that turn) what I'm fixing to eat down has a made a world of difference for me. It saves me time, money and aggravation. Give it a try for a month and see how it works for you.

What to do with summer tomatoes - bacon, tomato and cheese pasta.

I've got a bumper crop of beautiful cherry tomatoes in both yellow and red.

So I picked some off the vine, too them inside and pulled out a box of pasta.

Cavatappi is a curly ridged pasta that is perfect for dishes like mac & cheese. It holds sauce beautifully. So I put some on to boil in salted water.

Then I chopped up some bacon. I always keep some in the freezer. It is so much easier to dice frozen. Put some olive oil in a skillet and toss in the diced bacon over medium heat.

Now I want you to separate a couple of eggs. We'll be using the yolks for this recipe.

Be thrifty and freeze the whites in a freezer bag. They freeze wonderfully and work just as well thawed. They even whip a little higher due to the freezing.

Give the yolks a little bit of a beating. Add some salt and pepper. Watch the salt as bacon is quite salty and we're using cheese here, some kinds can be salty as well.

Pick out some shredded cheese or shred some yourself. I went with some odds and ends from the fridge. Cheddar, Monterey Jack and a pepper jack.

Take about 3/4 cup of cheese and mix it with the egg yolks. What you'll end up with is cheese coated with egg yolk, which is what we're looking for here.

If you like, you can cut the tomatoes in half depending on their size. The tomato juices help make the sauce.

Once the bacon is brown and starting to crisp, add the tomatoes to the pan.

Give them about four or five minutes in the bacon just to warm through. Whent the pasta is cooked through, drain it.

Put the pasta in a bowl and combine with the cheesey egg mixture.

Give it a good stir and then add the bacon and tomato mixture.

Mix it all together. The eggs and cheese and bacon drippings will form a cheesey sauce. I know it's bacon drippings, but it takes the place that butter or cream would in other sauces. I know the eggs aren't pre-cooked, but the heat from the pasta and the baon and tomatoes serves that function. ?Give it a little time for all the cheese to melt.

I also think if you were cooking for someone other than my husband, that something green would go well in here. Perhaps some basil or some lightly sauteed fresh spinach of even a leaf lettuce. You could put the spinach or basic in when you add the tomatoes and give it a quick heating.

This is very rich, so have it with a nice cold drink. Enjoy.