Meal Planning: Meats

There are always those that are skeptical to meal planning, especially when it involves freezing meals. Don't you love those negative nellies??!?? LOL. When cooking- then freezing meals, keep in mind that your homemade meals do not have all the preservatives and additives that store bought frozen meals have. Therefore- they will not keep as fresh for as long. I typically do not freeze already cooked meals that will not be eaten within a month's time for this very reason. However, I can tell you that I have had luck freezing cooked rice, pastas, meats, and veggies without issue. Frozen soups- are amazing. No freezer burn. No freezer taste. As for pre-marinated meats or pre-prepped crockpot meals that are prepared then frozen- no issue what so ever! In fact the sauces, marinades, seasonings, etc... that you use will generally add intense flavor!

We usually do ONE huge shopping trip per month. This is when I will stock up on all my meats and fresh veggies. Once unloaded, I go to work. I like to work with "one meat group" at a time to avoid cross contamination.

Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

• 16 pieces of boneless, skinless, chicken breasts.
• 4 gallon size freezer ziplock bags
• Lemon Pepper seasoning
• McCormick's Montreal Chicken seasoning
• Tamari or Soy Sauce
• Green Onions
• Yellow or White Onion
• Bell Pepper
• McCormick's Fiesta Chicken seasoning
• 1 jar of salsa
• 1 can of corn or 2 cups of frozen corn
• 1-2 can(s) of black beans

 97% of the time, we are a family of three, so I usually will prep 4 pieces of chicken per marinade. Date and label ALL of your bags before using them!

(4) pieces seasoned in lemon pepper seasoning, bagged, zipped, and sealed.
(4) pieces marinated in 1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, 2-3 chopped green onions, 1/4 onion chopped, 2-3 carrots julienned, 1/2 bell pepper chopped... mixed well right inside of bag, zipped, and sealed.
(4) pieces seasoned with McCormick's Montreal Chicken, put into bag, add 1tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp vnegar, 1/4 cup of water, shake up, zip, and seal.
(4) pieces seasoned with McCormick's Fiesta Chicken, put into bag, add 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn or 2 cups frozen corn, and 1-2 cans of black beans.

As I finish one, I place the bag into the fridge to set for about 20-30 minutes or more depending on what I'm doing. As I take them out of the fridge, I shake the baggies up a bit to make sure everything is evenly coated or distributed, then I unzip and squeeze out as much air as I can before rezipping and placing into the freezer.

Sometimes I do not freeze the baggies- I will bake or grill the meats that night or next day so we have dinner or lunches to go. The night that I am wanting one of these meats, I will thaw the baggy so it's ready to grill or bake when me or the hubster gets home from work. Sometimes I will throw it into the crockpot (ie: the fiesta chicken) before leaving for work- and it's ready when I walk in the door.

The sky is the limit, you can season your chicken or pair it with whatever veggies that you want. Sometimes when my chicken packs yield an extra piece or two, I will dice up the chicken, season it with something, throw some veggies in... and there you go, you have an easy stir fry that night... or freeze for another night. Recently, I helped the daughter meal prep (on a much smaller scale since it usually just for her or for her and her boyfriend). We seasoned a piece of chicken w/ basil, chopped green onions, fresh garlic, and black pepper- she pan cooked it a few days after freezing... called me that night and told me that it tasted like something out of a restaurant (lol).


Beef

• 3-4 gallon size freezer ziplock bags
• 3-4 strips of lean NY, porterhouse, angus, Tbone
• 3-4 strips of lean sirloin
• Beef roast.
• Seasoning of your choice (McCormick Montreal Steak is one of our favorites also McCormick Savory Pot Roast or Red Wine Roast)
• Tamari, soy sauce, or Dales
• Tomato Sauce
• Green Onions
• Yellow or White Onions
• Carrots
• Bell Pepper
• Broccoli or other veggies
• Red Potatoes

We try to eat beef only 1-3x per month. I am not a fan of red meat (or any meats for that matter). The husband and daughter- they could eat steak everyday forever, lol.

The "good steaks" we will typically create some kind of rub with a concoction of seasonings, rub into meat well, place into baggies, squeeze all air out, seal... let sit in fridge for 20-30... then freeze... thaw the morning of the night we want it... then grill.

Often, I will sliver sirloin steak into bite size strips trimming most of the fat off the meat... toss w/ tamari or soy, add green onions, white onions, bell pepper, carrots, broccoli... etc... add lots of garlic (powdered, minced, or fresh)... and there's another easy stir fry to freeze up and have whatever night you so choose! Throw it into a skillet, sauté, serve with rice or salad veggies- and there you go!

As for the pot roast- mine I usually freeze as is... throw it into the crockpot and add stuff and go... but for the daughter, we prepped hers first since she needed a little help with "how to"... We used McCormick's Savory Roast seasoning packet, rubbed it onto the meat and placed into ziplock bag... added a small can of tomato sauce, halved and quartered some red potatoes, cut carrots into big chunks, shook the bag up well... let sit for 20-30 minutes in fridge... shook up some more... unzipped and squeezed the air out... and put into freezer for her to cook in her crockpot later.

Pork

• 1-2 Pork Tenderloin
• 3-5 Pork Chops
• Rack of Pork Ribs
• Pork Roast
• Cumin
• Garlic Powder, Fresh or Minced Garlic
• Black Pepper
• Ginger (fresh or powdered)
• Soy, Tamari, or Dales.
• Ground red pepper
• Cajun Seasoning or Season All

We eat pork about as often as we eat beef. Pork however is one of those meats that has a lot of natural flavor so it doesn't take much to flavor it up well.

If we're gonna eat pork, we prefer pork tenderloin. It's typically less fatty than other cuts off pork. With pork tenderloin, I rub cumin, black pepper, and garlic into the meat... kind of massaging it into the flesh. Place into ziplock bag- let out all air then freeze. I used to wrap into aluminum foil then bake for 60-75 minutes but have found putting it into the crockpot before leaving for work produces a much more tender and flavorful meat!

It's been a while since we had pork chops- but when we did, I would marinate in soy or tamari, throw in fresh garlic, powdered ginger, and black pepper... freeze... then grill or bake later.

Ribs- this is a rare treat. No matter how you cook ribs- they are greasy! But our son loves them and a little fat doesn't hurt his skinny little frame! I season ribs the way I season pork tenderloin or pork chops... or I season with Cajun seasoning to give it a little kick. I have never froze seasoned ribs- usually I cook it the same day I season it. While my dad puts his ribs on the grill for 1-2 hours, I prefer to slow cook mine in the oven for 3-4 hours. We both wrap our racks in aluminum. As mentioned I am a freak about grease- so every hour, you will catch me draining the grease from the wrapped rack. I preheat the oven to 500, put the ribs in the oven then drop temp to 300 for the duration of cooking. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, I will remove the aluminum, slice the ribs up, coat with BBQ sauce, and boost temp up to 375. The ribs are flavorful and despite the grease dumping- they are still tender and moist!

Pork Roast- prepare similar to beef roast other than use a different seasoning mix or packet :)

As you can see, I am a very simple cook. I use a lot of the same ingredients and seasonings regardless of meats... Then I take these meats and eat alone... pair with rice... potatoes... or other veggies. It really does save a lot of time to prep and freeze these meats ahead of time instead of (1) waiting for meat to thaw, then (2) waiting for meat to marinate, and then (3) cooking. I don't have that kind of time after work so this method of thawing in the morning and cooking at night (or in the crockpot) works for me.