Hamburger Tip

I'd rather not handle raw meat if I can avoid it, but we use a lot of hamburger and I tend to buy it in bulk. This means I either end up freezing it all in one clump and have to thaw the whole thing and use it in a hurry, OR I dig my hands into the goo and separate it into 1 lbs baggies.

I have a friend who gave me a great tip:

There are very few recipes you need raw hamburger for (i.e. meatloaf) and most need to have browned and drained hamburger. SOooooooo,

When you come home from the store, pull out a skillet and brown the whole thing of hamburger with some onion in a skillet while you unload the grocery bags. Drain and cool, and then put them in baggies for the freezer.

This works great for chili, spaghetti sauce, taco meat, etc. I pull it out and save myself 20 min in thawing and cooking by just dumping it in and heating.