Your Enouragement…Out of control busy schedules and workloads, both and home and at the office, we have all fallen into the trap of purchasing ‘quick fix’ dinner items from the freezer section in the grocery store. Although they are fast and easy to prepare, pre-packaged and factory prepared dinners are no where near as tasty of nutritious.
Take advantage of a cool afternoon and pre-cook beef for use in easy meal preparation. These recipes and tips are super simple and suitable for any family on the run.
Double Duty Cooking is all about cooking once and eating two or maybe three times!
Take 4 or 5 pounds of stew meat, trim excess fat and place in a medium size roaster with one large chopped onion and 2 tbsp. of seasoning salt. Add water until level with meat. Bake at 250 degrees for five hours.
Let the cooked beef cool and then divide into meal size portions (based on the size of your family) making sure to include all the flavorful liquid. Freeze in good quality freezer bags for up to 2 months. Write the date it was prepared in black waterproof marker on the freezer bag. This takes up far less space in your freezer and makes for quicker thawing.
‘REAL’ EASY TIP For easy filling, stand the bag up inside a tall container or bowl. Freeze inside the container and then remove it once the beef is frozen.
OLD FASHIONED STEWThaw one portion of your pre-cooked stew meat in a roaster or dutch oven. Add 2 cups of chopped potatoes and 1 cup carrots. Cook until potatoes are tender. Add you choice of additional vegetables. Corn, beans and peas are standard options. (Using leftover boiled potatoes or vegetables makes mealtime faster.) Whisk together 1 cup of cold water with 1/2 cup flour. Stir into stew over medium-low heat and simmer until thickened. Repeat if necessary based on volume. (You’re aiming for saucy.)
SWEET AND SOUR BEEFThaw one portion of stew meat in a large pot. Place over medium heat and add:
1 cup ketchup
1 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp worchestershire
6 tbsp vinegar
Simmer, letting sugar disolve. Drain 1 can of pineapple chucks, reserving the liquid. Add 2 tbsp cornstarch to the pineapple juice and stir into sauce until thickened.
In a frypan over high heat, sauté in 2 tbsp of canola or safflower oil:
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1/2 green pepper, thinly sliced
3 sticks of celery, thinly sliced
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
Sauté just long enough to brown edges and add to beef with pineapples.
BEEF STROGANOFFThaw one portion of meat. In 2 tbsp. of canola or safflower oil, sauté:
1/2 cup sliced onion
2 cups fresh button mushrooms, sliced
1 tbsp minced garlic
Pepper. to taste
‘REAL’ EASY TIP Never add salt while frying mushrooms. They get watery.
Cook just until onions are browned, lower heat and add 2 tbsp of soy sauce. Lower heat and add in meat. If desired, thicken with cornstarch or flour. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of sour cream. Serve with broad egg noodles.
‘REAL’ EASY TIP If you are planning to freeze any of these prepared meals, don’t add the flour or cornstarch until you are ready to thaw and heat for dinner. Once thawed, flour can give your meal a curdled texture.
NEW IDEA: Serve with brown rice or whole wheat pasta for a lower fat, higher fibre meal.
GRAMMA MIMI’S BAKING POWDER BISCUITS2 cups all purpose flour
3 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt (sift together)
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup milk
Mix with a fork until dough cleans the bowl. Round up the dough on lightly floured surface and knead lightly about 10 times. Roll or pat dough about 1/2″ thick (do not roll or knead dough too much). Use the bottom of a drinking glass or circle cutter to cut. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes or until golden brown.
~ Recipes and preparation by Leah Richardson ~
~ Photos by PennyMoffittPhotography.com ~
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