So I'm a lazy cook.

I kind of hate to say it but, I am a lazy cook.  I don't really appreciate that it can take over an hour to get dinner ready.  I want short cuts.  And I want a lot of them.  I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice a day of my life in order to accomplish quick dinners.  Enter Once A Month Cooking.  My best friend.  It makes those times when I just don't have time for dinner prep easier.  It means my kids will have nutritious dinners this next week while I'm away at girls camp.  Daddy no longer has any excuse to not feed them healthy foods.  Even he can dump things into a crock pot or put it in a baking dish and bake.  This is the guy who thinks that all he has to "cook" is pour milk on cereal.  To his credit he's not a bad chef, when the directions are very clearly outlined.  He does NOT get my way of "oh just dump some of this and a little of that and bake until it's done"
 One of the tips I got from my internet hunts was this.  All purpose ground beef mix.  At first I was thinking, are you kidding me? That is so, out there.  but in all reality, it's a HUGE time saver.  

I start with a screaming hot cast iron pan and some olive oil.  You can't go wrong there. 

 Next goes a Large onion I like sweet ones, carrots, celery, and garlic.  I use the food processor for the carrots and celery part.  It's a great way to add some extra veg to your kids diet. By the time the meat is all cooked you can't really tell that they're there.  You could also add a bell pepper at this point if you wanted. Be sure to salt and pepper it.

Then I add the meat.  Buy it on sale and buy a LOT!  I did five pounds of ground beef.  I always go for the least fat possible because you loose less of it to fat rendering. It takes some time but it's worth it to have it already cooked and ready to go.  

 

Now at this  point I just let it cool a bit and then place it in zip top baggies for the freezer.  You can seperate it out however you like.  I usually have between 1/2 and 3/4 of a pound in each quart bag.  It also depends on what I plan on using it for as well.  If I'm making a cottage pie, then I need a bit less meat because I want more veggies in it.  If I'm making  pizza roll ups, I need more. 

When you are ready to use it just pull it out of the freezer and defrost.  No need to heat up again if you are mixing it into a dish that will be baked.   

 

 All purpose Meat mix

5 pounds lean ground beef (or any other ground meat you wish, mix it up if you like)

1 Large onion

3 carrots

5 stalks of celery

5 cloves of garlic minced

Use your food processor and chop the celery and carrots very finely.  You could do the onions this was as well if you like them in smaller pieces.  

heat some olive oil in your pan toss in the veggies and  meat.  cook until the meat is brown.  Separate into usable portions. 

if you need to you can do this in smaller batches.  I just assume everyone has a HUGE cast iron skillet like I do.

.