Prepping Meat for the Freezer

I can remember those days of pulling out a huge piece of frozen meat at 5:00 and wondering, "What in the world can I do with this?" Or, I would have way too much meat for just Lee and I to eat on our own. We'd end up throwing some extra meat out most of the time. Plus I would just grab the meat wherever I shopped. Sometimes I would spend $6.00 a pound for meat and not even think about it.

Once, I decided to become an "organized homemaker" I started doing things that would help us save lots of money and time on meat.

Step 1 - Check the circulars to find the best prices on meat. I find that Kroger has the best prices on meat. I aim to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts for under $2.00 a pound, ground beef or turkey for under $3.00 a pound, and roast for under $3.00 a pound. When I find it at these prices, I buy about a month's supply of it.

Step 2 - Get out my supplies - cutting board, knife, kitchen shears, a bowl for the chicken tenders, a scale, some freezer ziploc bags (that I get for pennies with coupons), and a permanent marker.

Step 3 - I trim all the fat off the chicken breasts.

Step 4 - I cut the breasts into tenders.

Step 5 - I weigh out about a pound of chicken tenders and put them in freezer ziploc bags that are labeled with the contents and date. I mash them out so that they freeze in flat packages (which makes the thaw really fast as well). This is great because I can take out a package of tenders and they thaw in the fridge during the day or on the countertop in about an hour.

Step 6 - I cut the roasts in half so that we don't have to eat roast 3 nights in a row. I freeze them in freezer ziploc bags.

Step 7 - I divide out bigger packages of ground turkey or beef into one pound servings. I put them in labeled freezer ziploc bags and mash the meat down into flat packages. This makes them easier to store and they thaw out a lot quicker than a thick package of beef.

I hope these tips help :)