Wednesday, May 03, 2006

Wednesday Works for Me

I hate coming home from work and having to cook. So I try to find ways to cook less often. Here's one idea.
When we buy bulk hamburger, I cook it right then. 5 or 10 pounds at a time, if we have freezer space. Hamburger, salt and pepper, and chopped onion is the basis for several different recipes--chili, spaghetti sauce, creamed hamburger, Mexican casserole, taco salad, to name just 5. Divide the cooked meat into recipe-size portions, put in freezer containers, and into the freezer. Or put the portions into freezer bags, flatten as much as possible, and squeeze out as much air as possible. These flat packages freeze faster and thaw faster than containers.
Move one to the refrigerator in the morning, and by evening it is ready for whichever recipe we want that night. It seems to me that the meal is half-done, when the meat is already cooked. For taco salad, just warm up the meat, add chili powder, add some fresh chopped tomatoes, and wrap in lettuce leaves, or pour over lettuce.
I'm just not willing to spend more than ten or fifteen minutes geting supper on the table when we get home.
Another tip: marry a man who cooks better than you, and turn the kitchen over to him. Works for me!