Thank you for the ideas. I had almost started a thread on questions about how to make canned meat palatable!
Thank you for the ideas. I had almost started a thread on questions about how to make canned meat palatable!
I guess I'm lazy, I open a jar of beef stew or chicken soup, heat and eat :).
Nothing wrong with that! But that's why I generally can beef stew, chicken in gravy, etc rather than just "plain meat". I'm not canning the meat for preservation especially (I have 50 cubic feet of freezer space) but for convenience food/quick meals.I guess I'm lazy, I open a jar of beef stew or chicken soup, heat and eat :).
So, rather than can plain hamburger, I can tortiere de viande mix, sloppy joes, chili con carne, etc. Beef chunks get canned as beef stew, Boeuf de Bourginon, beef stroganoff "mix" (add the sour cream after opening the jar and while reheating to serve)
For folks who store a lot of rice, beans, etc you may want to get a little cookbook called the "Make a Mix" cookbook. It has lots of ideas for premade seasoning packets.
Also, consider making your own "Hamburger Helper" type mixes from your preps.
http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/rec...per31038.shtml
http://www.food.com/recipe/hamburger...itation-414082
http://mixes.cdkitchen.com/recipes/cat/517/
(these type meals, with hamburger cooked in a sauce with rice, dry potatoes, or pasta, are about the only way we were able to eat canned ground beef)
If you've got canned chicken or beef broth, toss in a few handfuls of dehydrated vegetables, some seasoned salt (I posted a "clone" recipe for Lawry's which will save you a lot of money), and either rice or noodles. Add any leftovers which are compatible, too... that last chicken breast no one ate, or a leftover hamburger- crumble it up a bit.
I have a million cookbooks (Ok, not quite that many, but over a hundred) and I don't really use them that often. But what I DO use them for is inspiration... after being married for 36 years, there are times I just can't think of anything I want to cook! So I grab a couple cookbooks and start leafing through them, and pretty soon I find something that sounds good.
I keep several three ring notebooks full of recipes we enjoy and that I use a lot... I usually have the ingredients for any of them in the pantry or basement, and it's handy to know that it's a "proven" favorite. When I try a new recipe, if it gets rave reviews and it's also easy and uses common pantry or prep ingredients, I'll add it to the notebooks.
Summerthyme
I do exactly the same thing with my cookbooks and also surfing this forum and the net just looking for ideas. My dh will eat just about anything you put down in front of him - he is not picky! But I'm the one who gets bored with food so I'm always looking for different ways to do the same old thing.