The post below is from four years ago (from our e newsletter at www.tfths.com). However, we have been using this method more and more to insure that we have ready foods available to cut down on "take out" and more expensive but quick foods--with the rising grocery prices. I thought maybe others could benefit from this approach as well.

*Children Help in “Cooking Ahead” (Summer 2004)

This summer I really got serious and began typing up simple recipes and steps for even my third grade son to be able to follow directions to “take a cooking night.” We have done “mega cooking” around here for fourteen years now, but in the past few years, my freezers have gone from always having between one hundred and two hundred entrees in them to being filled with frozen pizzas and pot pies! Thus, it was time to get serious about teaching the younger children to cook.

One of the first things I did to “take back my kitchen”—which is still somewhat surrendered to Sam’s  Club freezer section---is to teach everyone to at least get three basic meats into a useable form. This meant cooking large quantities of meat and freezing it to be ready to use in entrees. Anyone (even a third grader!) can do this, and it makes a big difference in mealtime preparation. The remainder of this section will detail how we do that.

Ground Beef

1. Defrost up to twenty pounds of ground beef.
2. Get two huge skillets (and I do mean huge!) filled with some of this meat.
3. Fry each skilletful until browned completely.
4. Drain the meat in colander, while starting another load in each skillet.
5. While next batch is frying, bag partially cooled meat in colander into freezer bags you have labeled: Pre Fried Ground Beef; 2 pounds (5 cups); date.
6. Continue until all meat is fried, drained, bagged, and ready to freeze.
7. Freeze bags of meat flat on freezer shelves.
8. Clean up your mess! J

Beef Roasts

1. Defrost up to twelve pounds of beef roasts. (We usually use three of four 3-pound roasts.)
2. Get out the following ingredients: coffee (any unflavored type), fresh garlic, minced onion, beef base (or use beefy onion soup in place of minced onion and beef base), huge oven cooking bags, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
3. Rub each roast on both sides with all seasonings (including coffee) except bay leaves; use 1 tsp of peppercorn and garlic; use 1 TBSP of onion and beef base or 1 packet of beefy onion soup per each roast, depending on size. (I usually help them with the seasonings.)
4. Place roasts in however many oven cooking bags it takes and either poor one huge can of cream of mushroom soup or ½ cup of beef broth per roast into the bags. Drop three or four bay leaves into each bag.
5. Tie bags, place them in foil roasting pans, and make four or five slits in the top of each bag.
6. Bake in preheated 200’ convection (250’ regular) oven for six hours or so, until done but still tender.
7. When beef is cooled, freeze three pounds or so (along with its “gravy” or “juices”) in one gallon freezer bag, labeled as follows: Pre Cooked Beef Roasts; 3 pounds; date.
8. Freeze bags of meat flat on freezer shelves.
9. Clean up your mess! J

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Pieces

1. Defrost up to twenty pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and thighs (or one or the other, depending on what we have on hand).
2. Get out the following ingredients: fresh garlic, minced onion, chicken base (or use boulion), huge oven cooking bags, peppercorns, and bay leaves.
3. Rub chicken pieces with all seasonings except bay leaves; for each three pounds of meat use 1 tsp of peppercorn and garlic, and use 1 TBSP of onion and chicken base. (I usually help them with the seasonings.)
4. Place chicken pieces in however many oven cooking bags it takes and either poor one huge can of cream of chicken soup or ½ cup of chicken broth per every three pounds into the bags. Drop three or four bay leaves into each bag.
5. Tie bags, place them in foil roasting pans, and make four or five slits in the top of each bag.
6. Bake in preheated 200’ convection (250’ regular) oven for six hours or so, until done but still tender.
7. When chicken is cooled, freeze around three pounds (along with its “gravy” or “juices”) in one gallon freezer bag, labeled as follows: Pre Cooked Chicken; 3 pounds; date.
8. Freeze bags of meat flat on freezer shelves.
9. Clean up your mess! J

Uses for Pre-Cooked Meats

The uses for these meats are endless. I will enumerate a few below, but I’m sure you have ideas of your own!

*Ground beef ideas:

1. Tacos, taco salads, nacho supremes, beef enchiladas, beef burritos, beef and bean burritos, etc.
2. Spaghetti with meat sauce (one of our quickest favorites)
3. Layered casseroles, such as tator tot casserole, spaghetti casseroles, shipwreck casserole
4. Lasagna, Mexican lasagna, etc.
5. Chili soup
6. Hamburger stew
7. Sloppy joes or other sandwich fillings
8. Pizza and mini pizza topping
9. Mexican pizzas, "biscuit pizzas," and sub fillings
10. Dips for carrying in---layered Mexican dip, Hot Mexican dip, etc.
11. Hamburger stroganoff (or variations of Hamburger Helpers)
12. Hamburger gravy

*Beef Roast ideas (some use juices; some separate juices and do not use them):

1.     Beef and noodles or dumplings with beef

2.     Vegetable beef soup

3.     Beef stew

4.     Mexican dishes like shredded beef tacos, Mexican beef casseroles, shredded beef burritos, etc.

5.     Beef pot pies

6.     BBQ beef

7.     Serve as is with gravy, rice, noodles, etc.

8.     Beef stroganoff

*Chicken ideas:

1. Chicken and noodles or chicken and dumplings
2. Soups: white bean, chicken noodle soup, chicken rice, chicken tortilla
3. Chicken stew
4. Mexican dishes like in beef roast ideas
5. Chicken pot pies
6. BBQ chicken sandwich filling
7. Serve as is with gravy, rice, noodles, etc.
8. Chicken a la king
9. Chicken Mexican casseroles
10. Chicken lasagna
11. Hot chicken sandwiches

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