Originally posted by WUC Member, momwalker1966
This is a great beginner method or for those who have little time. Total time for this stack was 1 hour hands on/cleanup. Plus flash freezing time-for the meatballs and patties. Change the ingredients and dishes to fit your needs, but the method is what I want you to consider trying.
Here is the finished batch-less 1 meatloaf that I cooked for tonight. 10 meal starters for the freezer- I prep for 3 adults and Leftovers for packed lunches.
Need-
1 large bowl I use my roasting pan
10lbs lean ground beef
List of all ingred(added at different times)
2c red onion finely chopped
2c bell pepper finely chopped
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c fine bread crumbs
1 egg plus 5 egg whites
1lb bulk sausage
Adjust to your favorite recipes. Here is what I start with, sorry raw ground beef doesn’t make a good pic. This is 10lbs hamburger with the red onion and bell pepper mixed in well. From this I took out about 4-5lbs and browned. Base starters for-(1 speg, 1 shepards pie, 1 taco dish, 1 chili)
Now I added the egg, egg whites, 1/2 the bread crumbs. mixed that in well. From this I pattied out 6 hamburger patties(3 for pizza burgers, 3 for veggies on rice meal).
Now add the other 1/2 bread crumbs and can of tomatoes. Mix well. From this I formed 3 meatloaves.
Now add 1lb of your fav sausage. From this I form the meatballs and put on tray, froze then bagged, you could brown these but we like to smell supper cooking and they cook really fast.1/2 is for subs and 1/2 is for sweet and sour meatballs dish.
Here is all the different ways with the different flavors.
You don’t want them all to taste the same, even though they are from the same bowl!
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I’ve done similar ‘freezer’ cooking or once a month cooking; batch cooking whatever you want to call it. It works great and after you do sone chicken sessions; pork, etc then you will have a great variety of ready to grab n go meals in your freezer. Remember to date them; label them; and put any cooking instructions or additional things needed with them. It helps. Having a stockpile of freezer main dishes has literally saved us on many occasions of unemployment, illness, or ever for sharing with others.
Does hamburger keep longer if it’s cooked before freezing?
Amy, in the back of one of my cookbooks it had frozen raw hamburger 4-6 months. Frozen cooked hamburger 3-4 months. Although how it is stored I would think would make a difference, if you have one of those vac sealers it would probably keep longer, Hope that helps.
Wow. This is very interesting. I do this with potatoes before they go bad (baked potatoe wedges and freeze for quick meals). But TBH I never thought of pre-preparing hamburger. What a great idea! Just curious about where is the best place to buy hamburger in bulk. Suppose the best thing is to just wait for it to go on sale and grocery store. Thanks for the great tip!
I like to get lean sirloin or london broil on sale then have them ground up for this or watch for large pack of already ground lean hamburger reduced. You can always divide raw or pre-cook all and divide but this is just a fast way with just a few extra ingred. to prep for more variety. I love the potato idea…I want to try that! Thank you.