Making Meals to Stock Your Freezer

What do you do when you’re faced with hundreds of dollars of thawing meat?

I haven’t been posting much this week because on Sunday morning I went to the basement to do laundry and stepped into a puddle of cold water: the freezer door had been left open overnight! !Quel horror!

We belong to a frozen food co-op, Town and Country Foods, and they come and load our freezer with vacuum-sealed organic foods every six months or so. Luckily, it has been a few months since we were last re-stocked, or it could have been much worse. As it was, we still faced close to 100 lbs. of thawing meat, mostly chicken.

My husband advocated for calling up everyone we know and offering them free organic chicken. But I’m the one who balances the family budget and the thought of losing all of that meat that was meant to feed us for another few months was heartbreaking. There had to be a better solution.

First, I immediately put all of the partially thawed meat and veggies into the fridge. All of the processed foods like ravioli and frozen burritos had to go into the trash, but most of the meat was still partially frozen and hadn’t gone bad yet. My husband pointed out that if we cooked the meat we could freeze it again as a part of a dish. I just needed a plan.

I hit the internet for inspiration and then went to the farmer’s market and grocery store to load up on veggies, herbs, and other complimentary ingredients.

Then I started cooking and freezing. I’ve been in a cooking frenzy all week and I’m still not through it all.

Over the next few posts I’ll share with you some of the meals I’ve been cooking up and preserving for quick and easy dinners later in the winter.

Finally, we’re going to use up the rest of the meat by throwing a party and feting our friends and family.

 

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