Okay, this is dinner the easy way. I had a potato that was a two-pounder. I am not kidding! So, I washed it, gave it to Tommy to dice. I told him uniform cubes, but he does not listen. So, I have them on the stove for him.
I have had the meat planned, but I waited until 6:30 pm to take it from the freezer. The next trick is an old trick of mine. I put my new cast iron skillet on the stove with about a half inch of water. Then, I put in the slab of hamburger frozen still. The meat will thaw as the water boils. Then, the water will be boiled away, and I can brown the meat. This will be crumbled hamburgers on a bun.
Thanks to the freezer, there are hamburger buns in there. There are tomatoes and potatoes and leftover green beans. So, that is dinner on Monday night. The remainder of the meat will be frozen for a future meal or meals. I can put a bit in the jarred pasta. Or, on a cheeseburger pizza.
Before I freeze it I will pour boiling water over it to rinse off the remainder of the fat, well, as much as possible.
The hamburger is 75/25, fatty. This method of cooking will remove more of the fat than anything but maybe grilling. I was given this meat, so not complaining. I will use the lesser percentage of fat hamburger for things like meatloaf. I buy very lean ground beef for meatloaf.
I decided I was going to freeze a leftover meal or two from each meat I cook. This helps me to not want a hamburger or to eat out. I still can eat several days from one cooking event if I cook chicken. Tommy is always ready for a trip to Burger King!
(Dinner has been eaten and I forgot to add onions to the meat!) I will add some before I freeze it. Okay, did not add onion. I will. There is one cup of cooked ground beef in a freezer bag. That will work out just fine for one meal as an addition to something easy.
Sunday night, I slept one hour after going to bed early. So, Monday I was up from 2:30 on Tuesday morning. That called for a nap today, but I had Tommy wake me instead of just letting me sleep. However, I have accomplished much today.
Today, I made a telephone appointment with cardiologist who will put the stint in. I called and got a number for an attorney for another matter. Life is so complicated.
Now, I have a list of phone calls I need to make in the morning. It seems that everything that is so clear the night before is lost by morning. I remember calls I need to make about 4 pm in the afternoon. Is this what getting old is all about? Can I even think enough to get a PhD?
Do you ever put water in a skillet and cook ground meat in the water to thaw it? This was the least energy intensive way to thaw it. No, I never thaw in the microwave.
I never thawed meat how you do. I leave it in the refrig overnight or put the frozen meat (wrapped) in a cold pan of water for faster thawing.
ReplyDeleteAnn,
DeleteIt takes this refrigerator three days to thaw anything. I hate to put hamburger in a pan of water which i do for chicken. I know. I cook it in water, but I won't soak it in water. But, I was in a big hurry, having waited too long...lack of planning.
I wouldn't put the hamburger in a pan of water unless it is either still wrapped in shrink wrap from the store or put in a waterproof ziplock bag by me. It does thaw nicely that way
DeleteAnn,
DeleteThis has heat from the skillet, so not just soaking meat in water. It works and it is safe.
I put my ground beef in quart freezer bags and then using a rolling pin I roll it to about a quarter inch of thickness. It is enough for my husband and I to make a meal with. This way I have several quart bags of ground beef that stacks very nicely in my freezer and is very easy to thaw out under low running water for a few minutes if I forget to take it out to thaw out in the fridge.
ReplyDeleteI have even browned the ground beef and freeze it the same way as the raw ground beef, stacked in the freezer. It makes for a really quick meal to throw it in spaghetti sauce since the browned beef is already cooked.
Alice,
DeleteI do the same thing with hamburger meat! We buy big packages of it and divide it out into quart bags. They do stack nicely in the freezer. I thaw the same way if I forget to put it into the refrigerator a couple of days ahead.
Alice,
DeleteI have many packages I need to brown and store.
I have often thawed ground beef in the same way you do. I usually do this when I haven't prepared anything the night before for dinner and I happen to have ground beef in the freezer. I do not always have frozen ground beef but I try to have a package on hand at all times for emergencies.
ReplyDeleteJoyful,
DeleteI am glad to see someone else does this. I have more ground beef than I should eat, so rarely do I thaw it to cook. It is a good quick thing to use.
We have been eating our hamburgers crumbled up and put on a bun with tomato, etc., too. It works so much better than making burger patties, because I can use the left over cooked ground beef crumbles for tacos, or the last time We didn't have as many burger crumbles left over so I put those burger crumbles in with a box of cooked cheesiest Kraft Dinner (It's not cheesy enough for us, I add extra shredded cheese to it) plus some chopped, slightly browned onion, and then a little bit of pizza sauce stirred into it. It ended up being pizza flavored hamburger helper, which I hadn't had in years. Processed food, yes, fairly quick, easy, and tasty yes. My husband and I both like the flavor of the 90% lean burger more that the 75%, but it does cost more. Sometimes I mix the to different types together and that tastes good to me.
ReplyDeleteI leave my meat in the original package and put in in a paper bag for some insulation and thaw it on the counter from the time I go to bed until I wake. It is almost thawed by that time.
That sounds like delicious mac and cheese! I have some pizza sauce I need to use. Yum. I may cook this for dinner this week. I have never left frozen meat on the counter overnight. I did accidentally leave some in a cooler once. It was fine in the morning, still icy cold.
DeleteI've never thought to thaw hamburger that way. New trick for me.
ReplyDeleteSAM,
DeleteIt puts dinner on the table sooner with less hassle.
I hope I can remember your ground meat trick the next time I forget to thaw something out. We buy our ground beef from a farmer and he packages it in one pound packages. It should work perfectly.
ReplyDeleteI frequently brown ground meat with no particular meal in mind. I can make spaghetti sauce, chili, tacos, etc. quickly.
Jan,
DeleteI suppose most people should have a spare package of ground beef. And, by thawing it in water, I can slice it with the spatula into strips at some point. Then, I slice those strips into chunks which I can then attack and brown. Ground beef is versatile.
I was talking to someone the other day and we both agreed that it seemed like we got so much more done when we were younger. lol. I told her it seems like all I do is refill things like the tp, paper towels, salt, pepper, sugar, etc.... and it is a full time job to keep up with all the medical paperwork and medical appointments that need to be scheduled and gone to. Oh well I try to work a little fun in here and there. :) Take Care!
ReplyDeleteCrystal,
DeleteThere was no phone to answer all day with foolish people like salesmen. Plush, I had more energy and no computer to distract me. I had no medical papers and few appointments! Fun is important.