It happens to everyone. You take something out of the freezer, planning to cook it for supper, but something comes up. You figure it will be okay; you’ll just cook that ground chuck tomorrow. Then something else comes up, or you forget about the ground meat and prepare the meal you had already planned for that evening. Soon, you’re looking at the ground chuck wondering if it’s safe to serve, or if you should throw it away. You know you can’t refreeze meat, so what are you going to do?
Most frugal mommies hate to waste food. You feel like you are throwing cold, hard cash into the trashcan, and basically, there isn’t much difference.
Well, here’s a tip to help you avoid throwing away food when life throws curve balls at you. Go ahead and cook the meat even if you don’t plan to serve it that evening. Once it’s cooked, it will last a few days longer in the fridge, or it can even be refrozen. Brown and drain that ground chuck, let it cool, and put it in a freezer bag. On the other hand, you could make into sloppy Joe’s or some other dish and then stash it in the freezer. Some other hectic evening, you’ll be glad it’s there.
Another problem that often leads to wasted food is a disorganized refrigerator. Some foods end up getting pushed way in the back where they are easily overlooked. If you saved a little of this and a little of that from meals throughout the week, those items could be used to whip up another meal or to reheat for lunch. If they find their way to the back of the fridge, it’s easy to forget about them. Then, when you clean out the fridge, you wish you could forget.
I’m not suggesting that you completely clean out the fridge every day, but it does pay to keep things organized and to take stock of leftovers every couple of days.