After posting the recipe for homemade Taco Seasoning yesterday, it occurred to me that I really ought to say something as a reminder that when you make taco meat, you should really make more than you need, and then freeze the extra for another time. Really, you’re already investing in the time to brown up and season the meat for your tacos, it doesn’t take any extra time to add more to the pan. For my family, it seems that 1 1/2 pounds of ground meat is ideal for us for a taco meal. Sometimes that gives us leftovers for one for lunch, although sometimes I use that leftover taco meat for taco pizza. But lets say you start with that large package of 5 pounds of ground beef. Brown it, season it, and then portion it out into sizes your family needs. For a family of four with young children, 1 pound per meal is probably plenty. More family members, and growing boys skews the equation, so portion it out how your family would best utilize it. If you have the average family of four, you’ve just cooked up enough taco meat for tonight’s meal, and then you have FOUR more meals you can put in freezer bags or containers- label- and then freeze for another time. You’ve just eliminated the prep work for FOUR future meals for your family.
The same principles can be applied to a lot of things one would use ground meat for. Sloppy Joes instantly come to mind- make a double batch and freeze half for another day. The next time you make Meatballs, make a double batch and put half in the freezer. Meatballs can be used in pasta dishes, sandwiches, or served with a brown gravy for Swedish Style meatballs. Meatloaf is another one. Make two meatloaves, allow the second to cool completely, and either freeze whole for another meatloaf meal in a few weeks, OR slice it and freeze slices in pairs to make meatloaf sandwiches.
Utilizing your freezer is probably the number one best way to save time in the kitchen in my book. The Once-A-Month Cooking method relies on the freezer. You spend a day or two shopping and cooking, and then you have a freezer full of meals at the ready to pull out and feed your family with. The Food.com website (formerly Recipezaar) is a wealth of information when it comes to Once A Month Cooking. There are threads devoted to the subject in the community section of the website. If you use the Recipe Sifter, you can find (as of today) 621 recipes suitable for Once A Month Cooking. This usually means that the recipe has been tried, tested, and it has both assembly and reheating instructions.
For myself, I am not a fan of Once A Month Cooking, but I am a fan of Real Food. I love cooking, so doing it every day brings a bit of pleasantness to every single day. However, I also love having food in the freezer, so from time to time, I’ll pull up one of those OAMC recipes and make two of whatever it is. Then we eat one right off the bat, and I have a second one to hide in the freezer for a busy day down the road.
Freeze it. Freeze it. Freeze it. My number one advice for anyone interested in working on transitioning to a more Real Food diet. Stop buying those pre-made frozen meals full of preservatives and additives and make your own! You’ll save a whole lot of money, and you can feel good about what you are feeding yourself and your family.