Tips in the Kitchen: meat

Me giving tips about anything in the kitchen is kind of like Skeeter from The Help writing the "Miss Myrna" column. I really don't have any business sharing kitchen advice! 

There are, however, a few things that help me out in the kitchen {I need help} and this is one all about meat.

First, we don't eat meat that often. I usually put ground beef/turkey in tacos, a couple of casseroles, etc. Second, meat can get really expensive, so I try to find inexpensive meat when I can. In the meat department at grocery stores, there is usually a section of discounted meats. They are less expensive because they are typically going to expire that day or the next. Since I am buying food for two weeks out, meat that expires that day needs to go into the freezer when I get home. I usually get it out the morning that I have a meal with meat and it thaws and it's all good.

Another option, though, is to go ahead and brown the meat. Whether it's ground beef or turkey, I typically brown it for all my recipes. You can go ahead and cook it before it expires, drain the meat, then put it into a freezer Ziplock bag and freeze it. I typically only need one pound of meat at a time, and sometimes meat is less expensive if you buy more than one pound. I will cook it all, then portion it out into ~one pound sections and put one pound into each Ziplock bag. I don't season the meat or anything, just brown it. When I'm ready to cook something that I need ground meat for, I pull a bag out of the freezer, let it thaw, then season it and add it to my recipe. This not only saves a little money on the front end, but it also saves time on week nights when it's mealtime.

Happy Monday!