Dinner in a Hurry

Sometimes there is just not enough time at the end of the day to cook supper. One way to cut down on kitchen time is to cook a meat mixture ahead of time and freeze it in one-meal portions. That way you can cook when you have time and cut down on cook time when you're in a hurry. Here is an idea for a meat mixture that can be used in a variety of meals.

You will need:

10 lbs ground beef

10 cups total chopped onion, peppers, and celery

2 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon pepper, or to taste

2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

You can use any combination of vegetables to get ten cups total. I generally use 2 cups peppers and 4 cups each of celery and onions.

Cook the ground beef. Buying a ten pound package is generally 40 cents a pound cheaper than buying a smaller package. You will need 2 large pans to cook this much at one time.

When the meat is done, add the chopped vegetables and cook until vegetables are tender,

but still somewhat crisp, 8-10 minutes.

Label your freezer bags. Use 10 bags if you want 1 pound of meat in each.

Fill with meat mixture. One pound ends up being 2 1/2 to 3 cups per bag. I used extra lean ground beef, which leaves more meat when cooked.

Freeze these bags until needed. This whole process, including chopping and frying, took less than 30 minutes. Of course I didn't have small children underfoot!
With the addition of a few simple ingredients you can now create fast and tasty meals. The meat mixture is easily defrosted in your microwave or on your stove top.

Some suggested uses:
Tacos: Add taco seasoning to a bag of meat mixture. Use for tacos or taco salad.

Baked potatoes: Bake a potato in the microwave. Cut open, top with meat mixture and cheese and heat in the oven or microwave till cheese is melted.

Stroganoff: Heat meat mixture on stove top, add 1/4 cup butter, 2 tablespoons flour, can of mushrooms, can of cream of mushroom soup, simmer gently for 10 minutes. Stir in one cup sour cream and warm, serve over rice, noodles, or potatoes.

Sloppy Joes: Combine one bag meat mixture, one can tomato soup, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, one teaspoon prepared mustard. Warm through and serve on hamburger buns.

Or: Add to spaghetti sauce, lasagna, chili, or any recipe that calls for ground beef.
Or: Combine with rice or pasta, add a can of soup, and top with cheese, crushed chips, or fried onions from a can and bake in the oven till hot.

Freezing Avocados

I usually buy avocados in a bag to get a better deal. Sometimes, I don't use the bag before the avocados become overripe. I discovered that avocados freeze well. Who knew?

Here's how to freeze an avocado:

Pick avocados that yield gently when squeezed. Remove the rind and pit and mash well with a fork.

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice per avocado.
Mix well. The juice keeps the avocado from getting brown and icky looking.

Put the avocado in a labeled bag and freeze. Defrost overnight in fridge and use as a sandwich spread, taco topping, guacamole recipe, or any other way you like your avocado. You won't be able to tell it isn't fresh and you'll always have avocados on hand!

Recipes From The Garden

Depending on when you started your garden, you may be eating some of the produce by now.

My cabbage is ready, and we've been eating onions, peas, and cucumbers.

Some of the peppers are just starting to be big enough to use.

My carrots are pathetic. Of the first planting, only a couple are growing.

Here is a family favorite recipe for your 4th of July picnic using vegetables from the garden.


Frozen Coleslaw

1 head of cabbage, finely shredded (8 cups)

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup carrot, shredded (about 2 med)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup green onion, finely chopped

1 cup chopped celery

Dressing:

1 1/2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vinegar

1 tsp celery seed (not celery salt)

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp salt
In a large bowl, sprinkle cabbage with salt. Let stand for 1 hour, drain thoroughly. Stir in the rest of the vegetables, set aside.

In a med pan, combine all dressing ingredients. Bring to boil, boil 1 minute. Pour dressing over cabbage mixture. Toss until well-coated. Store in freezer containers. To serve, thaw in fridge for up to 24 hours, serve slightly frozen. 14 servings.

Cut the cabbage in to wedges. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for one hour.

Shred cabbage, add onion, green pepper, and carrot.

Combine dressing ingredients in saucepan. Bring to boil and boil for one minute. Cool and add to cabbage mixture.

Put in containers and freeze. When you're ready to eat the coleslaw, thaw, leaving some ice crystals.

Egg Bonanza
Eggs often go on sale around Easter. Have you ever wished you could stock up on those sale eggs? Did you know that you can freeze eggs for later use? Here's how to freeze eggs individually: Gather eggs, small dixie cups, and something to stir with.

Break one egg into the cup.
Stir gently without incorporating air into egg. The egg doesn't need to be completely mixed.

Place the stirred eggs in their cups into a pan

Cover and place in freezer.

Next peel the paper cup off of the frozen egg and place in a labeled, dated bag.

They kind of look like votive candles, don't they?

You can also leave the egg in the cup if you cover it well, but these are hard to keep sealed, tend to get lost in my freezer, and take up more space.

When you are ready to use the egg, place in a bowl in the fridge overnight (recommended method) or put your egg in a plastic bag and run under cold water until thawed (in a pinch). The egg is now ready to add to your favorite recipe.

Use the freshest possible eggs when freezing. Eggs will keep in the freezer for up to a year, and should be used as soon as possible when thawed. Of course, you can freeze all of your eggs together by gently mixing several eggs into a bowl and freezing in ziploc or freezer container. Just remember that once thawed, eggs should not be refrozen. One whole egg=3 Tablespoons. Never freeze eggs in the shell. They will have strangely textured yolks, expand, break the shell, and make big messes in your freezer that no one wants to clean up. Freeze only raw eggs as frozen cooked egg whites become rubbery and don't taste very good.

Instead of Eating Out....

Make freezer meals!

Julie B. Beck, Relief Society General President,

recently said:

"Meals prepared and eaten at home generally cost less, are healthier, and contribute to stronger family relationships."

That's an appealing promise!

One way for busy families to eat at home is to have homemade, pre-prepared meals in the freezer. You can make several meals at once, or double every recipe you make and freeze half for later. Making several meals at once means you can do one big grocery store run, chop all of the ingredients at once, enlist help from family members, and make a total mess of your kitchen just once. Let's talk about a few ways to make freezer meals:

Ziploc bag method

This method works for most meals, and is especially good for meals that don't need to be layered in a pan. The advantage of this method is that it's faster, takes less space in your freezer, and can be quickly warmed in the microwave. Pick a recipe, prepare it to the point of the final "bake", and put it in a bag labeled with the date, recipe name, and cooking temp and time. It will look something like this:

To cook, place in refrigerate overnight, transfer to baking dish and cook according to directions. Or defrost or cook in microwave.

Aluminum Foil Pan Method

This method works well for recipes that are "layered".

Begin by place a double layer of aluminum foil in a baking pan

Baked Spaghetti

from allrecipes.com

1 (16 oz) package spaghetti

2 eggs

1 pound ground beef

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 medium onion, chopped

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 (26 oz) jar meatless spaghetti sauce

2 cups small curd cottage cheese

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef and onion

over med heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the spaghetti sauce and seasoned salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, Parmesan cheese and butter. Drain spaghetti; add to egg mixture and toss to coat.

Place half of the spaghetti mixture in a greased 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Top with half of the cottage cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese. repeat layers.

Wrap well and place in freezer overnight or until completely frozen. Remove the foil-wrapped food from the pan. Label with date, description, and cooking directions, return foil part to freezer.

When you are ready to use this meal, place back in pan and thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Uncover; bake 20-24 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Cost:

Spaghetti: $.92 seasoned salt $.02

meat: $ 2.88 Parmesan cheese $. 34

onion $.43 butter $ .35

spaghetti sauce $1.12 cottage cheese $1.46

2 eggs $.23 mozzarella $2.09

Total cost: $9.84 for 8 servings or $1.23 a serving
Now you have a nice, inexpensive meal and your pan is free until you need it for thawing and baking. In the meantime, you can use the pan for more important things like this:

Rocky Road Brownies

(from delish.com)

1 1/4 cup flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs (lightly beaten)

3/4 cup butter

2 cups miniature marshmallow

6 oz unsweetened chocolate

1 1/2 cups assorted nuts, coarsely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13 x 9 metal baking pan.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. In a 3 quart saucepan, heat butter and chocolate over med-low heat until melted, stirring frequently. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in sugar and vanilla. Add eggs; stir until well mixed. Stir flour mixture just until blended. Spread batter in pan.

Bake brownie 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean. Sprinkle top of brownie evenly with marshmallow; top with nuts. Bake 5 minutes longer or until marshmallows melt slightly. Cool in pan on wire rack.

Cost: priceless!

Some things to remember when freezing meals: Potatoes don't freeze well. Spices can get stronger over time. Slightly under cook pasta to prevent sogginess. Bread-based toppings like crackers or chips get soggy when frozen with the meal. Freeze these in a separate bag and add just before baking. Some recipes freeze better than others--experiment with your family favorites.