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Encouraging women in homemaking, healthy eating and parenting
I’ve shared it before (more than a few times), but I find that I must share it again. Everyone should know about this one simple trick that helps get dinner on the table fast!
It’s simply this:
Brown several pounds of hamburger meat ahead of time. Store it in your fridge or freezer in meal-sized packages. This is a beautiful thing!
It doesn’t take very long to cook hamburger meat when prepping a meal, but still, if it’s already cooked and ready to use, then all we have to do at mealtime is add it to the dish we’re making. Somehow, having pre-cooked meat in my fridge takes away a lot of meal-making stress. How?
Well, I often have very little time for cooking. Mealtime comes up quickly (and many times each day, for our entire lives, oy!). But if I am able to pull out meat that’s already browned, that means I don’t have to worry about thawing meat or cooking meat. I simply add it to pasta or potatoes, or we make Tacos or Nachos, or…
Here are a few more ideas. :)
My current favorite is this Simple Creamy Pasta in the Instant Pot. Not only is it incredibly delicious and a huge hit with everyone I’ve fed it to, with pre-cooked meat, I can have dinner on the table in only 10 minutes!! That is 10 minutes from start to finish, truly. It is amazing! (While it’s cooking in my Instant Pot, we get out salad fixins, and our meal is complete!)
Speaking of the wonders of an Instant Pot, you should definitely click over to read this:
How to Cook 5 lbs of Frozen Hamburger Meat in 30 minutes
Amazingly, I cook 5-7 pounds of frozen hamburger meat in my Instant Pot, and it is browned and ready to use for meals for the next two weeks for my family – just like that! (And yes, we eat a lot of meat. We are a family of many, many athletic men and a beef-lovin’ mama.)
I have this one and I absolutely love how much time it saves in the kitchen. So do consider investing! This 10-Minute Mac and Cheese is another good reason to buy an Instant Pot!
But, if you don’t have one and don’t want to invest, you can still easily cook several pounds of hamburger meat in a large pot on the stove. You’ll just need to thaw it first. :)
Once you’ve got several pounds of hamburger meat cooked and cooled, what should you do?
I usually separate mine into meal-sized portions (1-3 pounds) and put it into these bowls with lids. Or if needed, I’ll put portions into ziplock bags.
I store these containers of cooked meat in my fridge for up to two weeks, and then pull them out as needed to prep meals. You can also store it in the freezer, of course. Just remember to thaw ahead of time!
Do you cook meat ahead of time? What are your favorite kitchen time-savers?
Looking for some fun activities to do with your kids this summer? I’ve enjoyed 22 summers with kids (and counting!), so I certainly have a few ideas to share! Stay tuned during the next few weeks as we provide all kinds of suggestions for making your summer with your kids meaningful. (Subscribe here so you won’t miss out!) Today’s idea: Find Ways to Serve!
Opportunities to love and help others are all around us, no matter where we live, the ages of our kids, or our physical limitations. We all have something to offer someone else! Even babies can serve. Allow me to share a special memory…
When our oldest son was a baby, a man we went to church with was killed tragically in a farming accident. Two days after this awful event, Matt, baby Asa, and I went to visit the man’s widow and their kids.
As we stood in their kitchen, surrounded by others in our church family, I remember feeling that it was so important that I keep Asa quiet and in my arms so as not to disturb anyone! I wrestled with him as long as possible, shushing him and trying to distract him with anything I possibly could while people were coming in and out and hugging the family members.
Finally, I gave up and decided to let Asa get down and crawl around as he had so much been wanting to do. I cringed as he scurried immediately toward the crowd and then directly over to where the widow was sitting. Before I could catch up to him and pull him back, he had made it to her chair. And then it happened.
The widow found a smile. She reached down and picked up my curious baby. She cooed at him and hugged him close and told him what a sweet boy he was.
If we weren’t already all crying, we certainly all were then.
Asa, before the age of one, was already a minister. He brought joy in the midst of grief, just by being him.
I share this to let you know a very important truth about serving others with our kids:
The enemy wants us to use our kids as an excuse NOT to serve. God wants us to serve right alongside our kids!
Obviously, if our kids are older, we can serve with them in ways that we can’t do when our kids are tiny. But oh the ways we can serve, no matter the ages of our kids!
I’m going to share some service ideas with you today, but what is much more important than reading my ideas is that you and your family pray together to become open to what God has for you to do. Open your hearts. Let God open your eyes to see the needs around you. He will show you how to serve. (He’ll also tell you when to say, “no.”) Listen and see!
My husband, kids, and I have been serving side by side for almost 25 years. As I look back, I see how our service has changed and evolved! When the kids were little, our service included having people in our home for meals, taking small gifts of food to people, making and sending cards, and the like.
Now that we have adult-sized kids, our service can include work like helping elderly people move heavy furniture, taking loads of people’s discarded items to the dump, and painting people’s houses.
No act of service is big or small. All areas of service are full of purpose and good! So don’t put limitations on what you and your family have to offer. Don’t feel like you have nothing to offer. Don’t compare yourself with anyone else. Most certainly, don’t feel like you are “too busy” to look beyond your own lives to serve.
Pray, open your eyes, and listen. God will help you see needs and show you what to do!
Here is a small list of ideas for ways you might serve with your kids:
The possibilities are endless, especially when you pray together and listen to God’s call for you and your family!
Here is a big list of recipe links that might give you some nice ideas if you are considering making food for someone…
Muffins
Cookies
Easy Meals
Here’s to a great summer of fun with our kids! Here are other ideas we’ve shared so far:
Stay tuned for more fun Summer Kid Activity ideas!
If these Simple Seasoned Potato Wedges are healthy to eat, they must be free of fat and flavor, right? Otherwise they couldn’t possibly be healthy, right? Wrong. It’s time to pull out the fryer, my friends.
I love that when made with good oils, fried food can be healthy. I mean, fried food tastes sooo good!
(Let’s be real. Don’t tell me you prefer fresh broccoli over fresh French fries. Okay then.)
No doubt, we need balance, and plenty of fresh green veggies too. But how sad to think we have to avoid chicken strips and French fries simply because they are fried.
Obviously, not all fried food is created equally – and many fried foods are unhealthy for our bodies. But the only thing that makes them unhealthy is the oil that they’re fried in. IF you fry your food in Coconut Oil or Palm Shortening/Oil – oils that can withstand high frying temperatures without compromising their health quality – you can enjoy fried food without guilt.
And I do mean enjoy. C’mon now, fresh French fries?? There’s almost nothing better.
If you don’t have a fryer, you can brush these Simple Seasoned Potato Wedges with oil and bake them in the oven, as they are super tasty that way too! I have and use this fryer, given to me by my men for Christmas several years ago. But either cooking method works great!
Make as many or as few as you would like, generally about one potato per person.
Grab our Seasoned Salt recipe here. Otherwise, you can purchase some like this.
‘Fess up! What are your favorite fried foods?
Some of these links are my affiliate links.
by Laura 2 Comments
Before you get too sick of sandwiches, I wanted to remind you of a great summer lunch idea that you can make in 5 minutes. Then stay tuned, because we’ve got a huge list of ideas that will save you as you feed your family this summer!
It’s no secret that our family loves chips and dips. We eat them as meals and as side dishes, and of course, as snacks! This dip has become one of our favorites to eat as a meal. We can put it together in 5-minutes, and it is delicious! It’s filled with good protein, and the flavor is fabulous!
This recipe includes only 3 simple, real food ingredients. Blend them together quickly to enjoy for a fast lunch. Eat it along with fresh fruit, and truly, this is an awesome summer lunch!
Psst!! Want more easy, real food recipes that include 5 or fewer ingredients? You’ll love this!
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Want more easy lunch ideas for this summer? We’ve got huge list of ideas we’ll share below.
OR!!
You can download this entire list here. Download it (it’s free!) and save it to your computer for easy access! I also recommend that you pin it so you can find it quickly as needed!
We’ll begin with fruits and veggies because instead of thinking of them second, let’s start thinking of them first!
Fruits and veggies that can be pulled from the fridge and served immediately with little to no prep (beyond washing):
Fruits and veggies that take a few minutes of prep but are still super simple:
If you have Homemade Ranch Dip or Hummus on hand, these can be thrown onto the table quickly to help get the veggies down!
Simple Lunches that can be made ahead of time and warmed up quickly:
Simple Lunches that can be thrown together with little prep time:
Simple Lunches that are flexible and can be eaten in more than one way:
Sign up here to receive the entire Master List of Simple Lunches in a free downloadable document! Then you can keep it handy on your computer or print it and put it on your fridge as a super handy reference!
What would you add to the list? What are your favorite simple lunches to feed your family?
by Laura 2 Comments
Want to hear the 3 biggest ways I cheat in my real food kitchen without compromising what actually matters? Come closer, my friends. Learn a little bit more about my crazy (or perhaps brilliant?) ways and methods.
First a story —>
Malachi (our 13-year old) had a friend over this summer who watched incredulously as I opened 7 pounds of frozen hamburger meat and put it into my Instant Pot.
Malachi’s friend: “What are you making with all that meat?!”
Me: “I’m not sure.”
Friend: “Uhhh???”
Just another day at the Coppinger house in which I affirm that Mama Copp is a little bit nuts.
While it doesn’t seem to make sense that I would cook a huge batch of hamburger meat without a firm plan, it actually makes perfect sense in my mind because when I have 7 pounds of cooked hamburger meat on hand, I can very quickly make up any of these 33 meals:
Hmmm, seems that Mama Copp isn’t quite so crazy after all. (Except that she is, but hey, at least she has lots of good food on hand.)
That is just one of the ways I get ahead in the kitchen in order to make our real food life so much simpler. If you ask me, when trying to keep up with a busy family without having stress over those 3 meals a day everyone must eat, keeping it simple is THE ONLY WAY.
1. Cook meat ahead of time (so you can throw together meals quickly).
I obviously just shared this above, but the same goes with chicken and other favorite meats that are easily stirred into casseroles or soups. Cook meat in large batches, then freeze or refrigerate in meal-sized portions. Meal prep goes so much faster and simpler this way!
2. Serve easy fresh fruit and veggie sides.
I cannot emphasize this enough (though if you’ve been reading my blog for a long time, you know that I do say it over and over!). It is ridiculously easy to wash strawberries and serve them with your pizza. It takes no effort to steam green beans, peas, or broccoli to go with your casserole. Make your simple main dish, then slice a few peaches and set out a salad. IT IS SO EASY.
3. Buy mixed greens so you don’t have to make salads.
Please allow me to remind you of the magic of a container of mixed greens. This fabulous container takes all the work out of making salads. Plus it provides excellent nourishment and did I mention that THERE IS NO WORK INVOLVED? No washing, no prepping, no work. Just set it on the table and have at it. Add baby carrots and grape tomatoes if you want more in your salad than just greens.
And there you have it. My three favorite cheat methods for putting great meals on the table without going to extra trouble or compromising on nourishment!
What makes this Perfect Pasta Salad perfect? You do, of course! You build it the way you like it, making it the perfect salad for you!
Except for the people who refuse to add any veggies to their pasta salad. I have kids at my house who try this. This makes the Pasta Salad not so perfect. Pasta and meat – what else do they need? VEGGIES. They need veggies. This is not difficult.
Set out any options you know your family or guests would enjoy. Set out bowls and forks. Slice a watermelon. Now you’ve got yourself a Simple Summer Supper in the form of a Perfect Pasta Salad!
Have you seen our other Simple Summer Suppers? Here’s a running list:
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Have you become a Simple Meals member yet? You will LOVE how simple all the recipes are, and better yet, you’ll love that we do all the planning for you!