Cook/freeze once, then stir in all month
INTRO: OK, I'm giving in and joining the Works for me Wednesday craze over at Rocks in My Dryer. At first, I wasn't sure I could offer a helpful hint EVERY week because I don't think I am all that inspiring around the house. However, my first tip will be to make a list on your Stickie Notes with all the hints you can think of, one to be used each week. Now I have a list of a dozen or so ideas to work with each Wednesday.

REAL POST: I love to shop at warehouse stores. I have a Sam's Club card and just this past week, my mom registered us for a Costco card as well! Choices, choices..... And I love to have a well-stocked freezer and pantry. In years past, I would bring home a bulk purchase of ground beef and divide it up, wrap it in foil and label it GB. But for the past few years, I've been doing something ingenious, which I cannot take the credit for. I wish I could remember where I read it, but it's so simple and a real time saver.

When I get my beef home, I usually set aside 2 pounds for a meatloaf, which gets assembled quickly and put into the freezer all ready to pop in the oven. Then I use a huge skillet and cook the rest of the beef (usually 4-6 pounds left after making a meatloaf). I cook it well, then drain off the grease. THEN, to make it even more degreased, rinse the cooked beef in a colander under hot water to remove even more fat. Cool your meat and slip it into large ziplok bags. Lay the bags as flat as you can in the freezer so the meat is in as thin a layer as possible, not in a big lump. Now you can break off as much meat as you need all month to make short work of preparing taco meat, chili, spaghetti sauce, soup or stuffed peppers.

Saves work in the kitchen on days when you don't have a lot of time to spend cooking....and that's often around here!

It really Works for Me!

PS: Here is a bonus picture I found while searching for a graphic for this post. I would make the smashed taters into sheep though and not ghosts. Although they are hilarious! It is too cute not to share!