Single Portion Beef and Chicken


 Ground Beef or Turkey and sautéed onions:  Brown the meat and add one large onion chopped.  Add salt and pepper to taste. (if you don't want to chop an onion you can use dehydrated onions. (1/2 c dehydrated onion soak in 1 cup cold water for 15 minutes. drain liquid and brown). Cool the mixture. Pack into a plastic ice cube tray, use your fingers to firmly pack down the meat and onions. You want to remove as many air pockets as possible.  Freeze. When frozen pop them out of the tray and seal in freezer bag for storage.

What to do with these single portions? Thaw and add to spaghetti sauce, noodles, rice or beef soup.

Chicken: When chicken is on sale and you have a large quantity. Cook all the chicken in the oven in a large covered roasting pan. Season with sage, salt and pepper. When the meat falls off the bones cool and remove the bones. Save all the liquid and fat for future soup. Spread the meat onto a large cookie sheet. Yes, the meat will be greasy, that's good. Freeze the mean and break into portions for single servings approximately four inch by four inch portions. Place in bags and store in the freezer. The fat on the meat will keep it fresh for up to six months in the freezer but it is best used within three months.

What to do will all that chicken fat she are saving? That fat is a wonderful flavoring. Use it instead of butter in rice or noodles. It's ready to make gravy for mashed or baked potatoes. I'm sure you will think of other uses. It's very convenient sitting on top of the stock you will use to make chicken based soup.

Parsley - Sage - Rosemary - Thyme - Garlic - Onions: Soup is at your finger tips and ready in the time it takes to make canned soup. Scrap off the layer of fat (make sure to keep it in a baggie in the freezer for gravy and as a flavoring). Open a can of mixed veggies, drain and add to the stock. You can add rice, noodles or dumplings. (remember that self rising flour? mix with water to a thick paste and push through a sieve into the boiling soup for spaetzle.) Don't forget the song and add the spices listed above.