Step in the right direction =)

On Sunday Hubby and I went grocery shopping and let me tell you we did great. We went to Costco and purchased bulk meats, I am sure it will feed the family for a few months. If you shop at Costco (Sam's Club, BJ's or any warehouse type place) you will know the deals are good but you sure don't want to freeze 12 pork chops or 6 pounds of ground hamburger all together (unless you are feeding a family of 10). So what can I do to make things easier for me later - split it up and freeze it in individual bags. My two freezer bags of choice are the Vacuum-Seal Bags by Ziplock and the Seal-a-Meal vacuum system. I am also a fan of Tupperware Vent n' Serve for my leftover.

After sorting out all of the meats into more reasonable family sizes I put them in my chest freezer (if possible you really should look into getting one).  However, I left out a few pounds of hamburger to cook up and season before freezing. Once you cook and season your meat to your liking make sure you drain the meat and let it cool down, then you want to place it into your freezer container and freeze for later use. This will save you time when you want to have a good home cooked meal but you are short on time. This is a good option for Taco nights, just cook the hamburger up with taco seasoning and freeze. Just put the container in the fridge to defrost the morning (or night before) you want Tacos, heat it up before dinner and you have a yummy taco dinner in 1/2 the time.  Below you will find a recipe for an easy meal that is a favorite in my house.

2lbs season ground beef
1 10 oz can of cream of mushroom soup
1 1/4 cup of milk
3 cups of dry rice

You should have already precooked your hamburger so defrost it the morning you use it and warm up in a skillet with the mushroom soup and milk. If you don't want a thick mixture add a little more cream of mushroom and milk.

Cook your 3 cups of rice according to the directions on the package.

Serve the meat and mushroom mixture over the cooked rice. This feeds my family of 4 and like I said it is a favorite in our house.

On our same shopping trip to Costco we purchased some onions and other veggies that we use all of the time. We cut up a few onions and sealed them in a freezer bag and placed in the freezer. This way when I need onions all I have to do it pull them out of the freezer and add to my dish.

I know it doesn't sound like much of a start but hey a city girl has to start somewhere.