Processing Groceries
I got 6 packs of London broils on sale this week for $1.99 a pound. Each package has 2 huge steaks in each one.
When I get home from food shopping I like to prep my groceries. It is easier for me in the long run to do it now. It saves future me some time. Cutting apart a frozen london broil isn't easy. So I do it right away.
We use some for stew and in sauce so I cube it to the size I want. Some I will use as london broils. These are way to large for us so I cut 2 of them in half to make 4. Then I also wanted ground beef. Right now, in my area, ground beef is going for over $3 a pound. I will not pay that so I will make my own.
I cut the steak up into smaller pieces to make it easier to fit into my food processor.
I load it up. Then I run it for about a 30 seconds. I check to make sure there are no more big chunks left. If there are I will run it for another 15 second intervals until it is to my liking.
I then mark my baggies saying what is in each one. I do not like looking into my deep freezer and having to guess what is in each bag. I learned long ago that it is easier to just label everything.
For these 2 packs of meat (4 london broils) I did 11 baggies which will become 11 dinners.
I do this with all of my meat. I divide and slice my chicken cutlets, pork chops and roasts. If I buy marked down fruits and veggies that I know will go into the freezer I do it too. I don't want to wait a few days to do it. I may forget and then have to throw out food. If I do it right away then I know nothing will end up in the garbage.
Do you process your groceries right away when you get home from shopping? Do you find that it saves you time in the future?
I love this idea. Most of the time I don't get around to processing things *right* away, but usually within a few days. That is so creative of you to make ground beef with a food processor!
ReplyDeleteAs long as you get it all done before it goes bad is all that matters.
DeleteThat’s a great price. I like to break my meat down into packages as soon as I get home so that it is in meal sized portions, too.
ReplyDeleteIt makes it so much easier in the long run.
DeleteBrilliant idea on running your meat through the food processor to make mince, I never thought about doing that. Our large mixer we purchased it and had a free mincing attachment as part of the package. We use this to process our mince as well.
ReplyDeleteAs we shop 2 monthly mostly here in our home of 2 adults our grocery shopping day is enormous and we have lots to put away. Usually our routine is put all the groceries away in pantry, bulk storage bins, fridge and freezer then take a break for lunch and a few hours rest.
In the afternoon we do what you do and separate out our mince and other meats into meal sized portions in baggies and put them away. We also label them with date purchased and when it has to be used by and rotate our freezer with oldest meat to front of the basket and newest to the back. We have a basket for each type of meat which makes it easier being at the moment 1 for chicken, 1 for beef and 1 for pork.
We find it much easier to do it this way as well and then all your prep work is done in one day and you can relax.
Incidentally the stares and comments we get from people on our 2 monthly shopping is funny as they say oh you must live out of town or gee that is a lot of groceries. Most of our groceries are pantry staples so we also get the "you must cook and bake a lot" too. I suppose compared to others our grocery trolley packed to the brim does look huge to some families and also we are aware that many people are struggling just to put meals on the table. I just explain we only shop 2 monthly and husband has back injuries to which most people say "well you are doing well to keep your grocery shopping expenditure so low".
We are truly blessed beyond measure.
Sewingcreations15.
The baskets for your meats is a great idea. I have a basket for fruits and a basket for veggies. I'll have to look and see if I have anymore that I could use for steaks. Chickens would't work because I buy a lot of whole chickens.
DeleteI get funny looks too sometimes. When flour and sugar go on sale around the holidays. I have been known to get 20 packs of flour or sugar to get us through for a while. I one time found tape on clearance for 7¢ for a 2 pack after Christmas. It had a bow on the label so they counted it as holiday. I took the whole display. At least 40 packs. The checkout girl thought I was crazy. She asked me if I was going to resell it. I gave a bunch away to my family. Had that tape for years.
We have upright freezers that came with baskets for the shelving that slide in and out because of DH's back injuries as he could not bend into a chest freezer to get meat out. Each shelf has a different sort of meat but yes if you have baskets they do help to keep things organised.
DeleteSometimes you have to put cardboard or sheets of paper on the bottom of the baskets to stop your meat from going between the wire basket bottom and freezing there which makes the meat difficult to get out. One of the latest tips we learnt with our pureed sweet potato and pumpkins :).
I hope this tip helps.
Sewingcreations15.
Our is a chest freezer. It came with 2 baskets and I have 2 additional one. I found out the hard way what you are talking about with pumpkin puree. It got frozen to the basket. I have since lined them with cardboard like you mention.
DeleteI do the same, to make my day easier the night before I prepare a crock pot dinner so all I have to do is take the crock out of the frig and pop it into the heating part and that's one less thing I have to do grocery day. I also basically only shop 2 times a month. I do keep an eye on the sale ads the other weeks because sometimes there is a deal just to good to pass. I also shop at Aldi's once a month for my basic staples, such as canned goods and dry goods. I also once or twice a month will take a day and precook some of the meats to be used in dish'e that can easily be put together fast such as taco's or ground beef for casseroles. Big shopping days can be a little overwhelming but I believe if you prep ahead of time it can be a lot less stressful.
ReplyDeleteI find it much easier now that my kids are grown up. I don't know how i did it when my youngest 2 were little and I watched a little girl too. I would go with 3 under 3. If they are around when I come home now, they always help bring everything in and know how to rotate my pantry to put everything away.
Delete