Meat Preparation

God's blessings come in so many different ways. On Saturday, I went grocery shopping. Besides the little things that add to our week, I went for the purpose of stocking up my freezer with meat. Generally, I only need to shop for meat every 2 1/2 to 3 months. As I set out that morning, I asked God to direct my steps to the sales that I needed to find. In the meat department, they had placed much of their meat on clearance because their shelf life would expire the following day! I picked up 4 packages of boneless chicken breasts, 15 lbs. of ground beef (the base of much of what I make), 10 lbs. of chicken quarters, 4 jumbo packages of pork chops and thin center cuts, and 1 lb. beef cut shoulder steak all for $64.80. After doing the math, it came to about $1 per pound.

When I came home, I got to work (after making Brian a sandwich using some bread I found that looked amazing- not your typical loaf- and snuggling with a little person). This process takes about an hour, so I would recommend that if you have precious little ones (like I do!) have Daddy keep them occupied or do this when they nap (mine was napping, Daddy was doing yard work, and Mommy was elbow deep in raw meat in the kitchen). The time you spend here will save you time and steps when you actually go to cook during the week.

1. I took out my large mixing bowl and my seasonings, put on my apron (hehe), washed my hands, and got to work.
2. Work on one type of meat at a time. Take it all out of the packaging, wash it, and put it into the mixing bowl.
3. Season your meat (this was a tip my Aunt Alice told me about). I have always seasoned my meat before cooking it, but by seasoning it now, it has all of this time for the seasoning flavors to soak into it...mmmmmm. I put Goya Adobo (a type of salty seasoning with bolder flavor) and Sazon with meat flavoring onto the meat (it comes in pork, chicken, or beef flavoring) and used my hands to massage the seasonings into the meat (I would recommend that you remove your rings to do this). If you have never tried these seasonings, I would highly recommend it. It is not spicy, it just takes flavor to whole new level.
4. Wash your hands, take freezer bags, put the meat in the freezer bags based on how much you would need to make for dinner in your home, and label the package with the contents and the date.
5. Put it into the freezer. When it is time for you to cook, you only need to take out a small package for defrosting. Your defrosting will happen much faster since you won't need to defrost that much meat.

I am so excited about dinner this week- for then next two and a half months for that matter. I hope your dinners go really well for you as well.