Kitchen Tips & Tricks #6: Pre-cooked Meat

I have found it very helpful to our schedule to always fry up the hamburger ahead of time, in bulk.  I normally fry about 6-8 lbs of meat at a time.

I use my huge roasting pan on two burners.  (I think there might actually be 10 pounds in this picture.)

I then freeze it into 3-cup containers.  This helps me get a meal on the table in, usually, under 30 minutes.

One container is enough for most of my recipes.  I use two for tacos and tater-tot casserole because we like the leftovers!

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Ground beef has become so expensive, I refuse to buy it at the grocery store for $3.00/lb.  Especially with a larger family, it would cost us a fortune!  I try to never spend over $2.00/lb. on meat.  So I would like to share some ideas on how to eat at a lower cost.

Ground chicken!  I know it sounds very strange.  But when chicken breasts go on sale, I buy them, lots of them!  I can usually get a 40 pound box... or two.  I cut the meat off the bone if its bone-in, or just slice it up to fit in my KitchenAid mixer's meat grinding attachment..  I know dealing with chicken is disgusting, but it saves money and it is much lower in fat than beef or pork.  A friend of mine does the same thing with pork, except she takes it to someone who has a meat grinder, pays him a little something, and still saves money.

My other alternative is ground venison.  It's not my personal favorite, but with some good advice from a friend and the grace of God, I can cook so it doesn't taste gamey.  I cook it with bay leaves.  Last fall Hubby {Dallas} shot two deer and his hunting partners shot 3 more.  None of them were able to take home their meat so they gave it to Dallas!  He took three to the locker and gave away two to someone in need.  The pictures in this post are of ground venison.

Today I am linked up atMenu Plan Monday and The Welcome Home LinkUp