Merry Christmas

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

Meal Time Short Cuts: Ground Beef

     It doesn't matter if you stay home or if you work outside the home we are all very busy! Sometimes I have been gone most of the day and get home within an hour of dinner, sometimes I've had a sick kid and dinner was the last thing on my mind, and other times I was the sick one and my poor husband, mother, or sister was left to cook for my family. In all these instances my meal time short cuts have proven invaluable! Yes they do take some time upfront but the payoff is wonderful!
     One of my favorite meal time short cuts involves ground beef. At the beginning of every month I buy all of my meat for the month (we have a large upright freezer). When I get home I take my ground beef and determine how much of it will be used in which ways. I immediately start to brown some of it, allow it to cool and package into freezer bags at one pound per bag and freeze flat. The ground beef that doesn't get browned either goes into freezer bags one pound per bag (frozen flat) or it gets made into meatballs and a meatloaf. I fry the meatballs after I brown the ground beef (in the same pan) and finish cooking them in the oven. After they have cooled I put them on a cookie sheet in the freezer (single layer, not touching) overnight and into a gallon sized freezer bag the following day. The meatloaf is placed in a pan and wrapped well to decrease freezer burn and then placed in the freezer. I put the meatloaf in the refrigerator the night before I will cook it so it will defrost before it goes into the oven.

     I find that it works well to do this all at once as you use many of the same items multiple times. It definitely takes a time investment upfront but I find that it's not a big deal as I'm usually working in the kitchen already, I will use the ground beef in that night's dinner, and the future time payout is huge! Now, when I'm short on time spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, pasta bake, hamburger helper, sloppy joes and many other dinners are quick to get on the table and I'm less likely to throw in a frozen pizza, serve PB&J on a tortilla (because I didn't have time to make bread either), or order take out!
     What do you do for a meal time short cut at your house?


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Wholesale Clubs

I'm not terribly sure that wholesale clubs are worth the cost of their membership, when comparing their prices to places like Aldi's, but the fact of the matter is... they are just so much fun!!!

Busy, busy, busy!!!

Right now my life is rather busy! I have lots of meetings, e-mails, and phone calls. I have 1 year old who cries like a siren when she wants to be held (when I'm making dinner or doing dishes) and a 3 year old who is sneaky as can be. While I wouldn't trade my life for anything sometimes it becomes a bit overwhelming and I have to sit down and figure out how I'm going to get everything done. The last few weeks have been just that but today already feels better! I haven't had to leave the house at all today and it was wonderful! (To top it off my neighbor even brought me cookies and I ate 2 as soon as I got the girls to bed.) I think that sometimes we set unrealistic goals for ourselves and we need to cut ourselves a little slack: it won't hurt if every so often our meals aren't prefect. Give yourself a break and learn to say no every now and then!

Ants are the bane of my existence!!!

I hate ants! You see I have been at war with the ants in my neighborhood for about 1 1/2 years. I am not stupid! I am well aware that ants have been around for thousands of years and I will not alter that fact but I would love to keep them out of my house.

Breakfast Scramble

This is a delicious breakfast that is high in protein. I like to make it if I know we're going to have a big day. It also keeps and re-heats well as leftovers so I intentionally make a large batch. If you want to serve the leftovers in a different way add cheese and wrap in a tortilla for breakfast burritos.The picture below is roughly half of what the recipe will make. It is my version of the Jimmy Dean Breakfast Scramble you can find in the freezer section of your local grocery store. I very much enjoy their version however my husband does not enjoy onions in his breakfast food. This is also cheaper and easier to control the ingredients (awesome if you have a food allergy)!