Ground Beef/Ground Turkey Meal Starter

Every 2-3 months, I buy a bunch of ground beef or ground turkey (I wait for ground beef to go on sale, but I always buy my ground turkey at Costco). Then, I cook some of it up and freeze it to have ready to put in soups, spaghetti sauce, Cheesey Beef 'n Rice, casseroles, lasagna, and any other recipe that calls for browned ground beef or turkey.



For every 1 pound of meat you're going to cook, add 2 Tbsp. Homemade Gourmet's Garlic Basil Seasoning Mix. Mix thoroughly with your hands in a bowl. It will look like this:


I cook the meat, about 2 pounds at a time, by placing a steamer basket in a large pan. Add water to the pan, then the steamer basket, then 2 pounds of meat.

Cook on medium-high heat. Stir the meat like you would if you were browning it normally. I usually put the lid on in between stirring so that it steams and cooks more quickly. The grease will automatically drain off into the bottom of the pan. After it is fully cooked, transfer the cooked meat to a container to cool. Repeat process until all meat is cooked. I never pour the water/grease down the drain . I wait until it's completely cool and the fat has hardened so that I can throw the fat away and then pour out just the water. When the meat is cooled, place in quart-size freezer bags. I usually put 3/4-1 pound portions in each bag. Place in freezer and save lots of time when making future meals!