Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Works for Me Wednesday: Meal Prep Time Saver

I know grilling season is almost over, but this is the first WFMW I ever did and I still think it is one of my best tips. And, if you're like me, you keep your grill out until the snowflakes start flying. So, I guess we do still have a lot more grilling time left.

I love to grill. I love the taste, the convenience, and the minimal mess. I also love to save time, and this tip has made grilling a snap during our activitiy-filled days.

My one "beef" with grilling is that I never remember to marinade the meat until it's about 5 minutes before we want to eat. At that point, it's obviously too late for the marinade to really flavor the meat. A lot of marinades need several hours to really infuse their flavor into the meat. So...

Take your meat, chicken, pork, whatever and put it into a freezer bag. I use to be an avid Once a Month cooker (that's a story for another day) so I use my fancy, smancy FoodSaver bags. Then take whatever marinade you want to use and put it in the bag with your meat. Seal it up tight and then freeze it. THEN, when you decide you want to grill you simply take the frozen meat out and let if defrost while at the same time it is marinading. Is that not brilliant?!

I usually buy my meat in bulk, separate it into dinner-sized quantities and then freeze it all at once. You can do a month's worth of grilling dinners in no time flat.

And because I love you all so much, I'm even going to throw in some of my favorite grilling recipes. If you have your own favorite recipes, I'd love to see them!

Teriyaki Finger Steaks
2 pounds of Steak or meat of your choice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
2 T. minced onion
1 t. vegetable or olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/8 t. pepper

Combine all ingredients and pour over meat and toss gently. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours (or use my method). Drain, discarding marinade. Grill.

Grilled Mushrooms
1/2 pound whole fresh mushrooms
1/4 c. butter
1/2 t. dill weed
1/2 t. garlic salt

Combine ingredients and pour over mushrooms, coating well. Thread mushrooms on skewers. Grill for 10-15 minutes, basting and turning every 5 minutes.

Herbed Corn
1/2 c. butter, melted
2 T. minced fresh pasley
2 T. minced fresh chives
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1 bag of frozen corn

In bowl, combine first six ingredients. Add corn and stir together. Then place corn in a heavy-duty foil pouch. Seal tightly and then place on grill and cook about 25 minutes or until corn is tender.

If you want to see more great ideas, go over to Shannon's place, she is the host of WFMW and the creator of Rocks In My Dryer.

tag: Works for Me Wednesday

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

First time commenter.

I do that too! Ziop-Loc's are perfect for it. Plus, I like the idea of being able to prepare the portions you need. And just pull them out of the freezer all good to go!

Beck said...

Ack! A great tip AND recipes! Excellent!

Unknown said...

Oh yes, you got me. "Beef" ha ha. Actually laughed out loud. I'm easy, huh?

I knew this, but forgot it, so it's a great reminder, and oh I love mushrooms. Thanks!

Carol said...

Very practical! Our grill might get more use this way.

Amy said...

I know to do this, but don't do this....why?? I need a reminder ;) Thank you!

momof3busyboys said...

Great idea! I love to grill and I love my meat marinated. Now if you could give me a tip on remembering to take the marinated meat out of the freezer the night before I want to cook it, I will be all set. :)

Mama Duck said...

Mmmmm, good idea, I always forget too.

Overwhelmed! said...

Oooh, great idea! We buy our meat in bulk and freeze it in smaller portions. I like the idea of pre-marinating it!

Thanks for the recipes too!

I've posted a WFMW tip as well. Stop by and take a peek! :)

T.S. Eliot said...

Yummy yummy! Great idea, and thanks for the recipes.

Anonymous said...

THAT IS SUCH AN AWESOME IDEA! I love it!

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the recipes and ideas.

Mall Worker said...

That is just a wonderful idea! Thanks for the added recipes! I'm going to defenatly have to try those!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the idea and recipes! Hubs is the Grillmeister so I'll pass them along to him!

Anonymous said...

Love the recipes. I will try them soon.
Thanks for sharing.

I was reading your previous post too. It looks like Clean Flicks is about to be done with! I hate that. They have been sued for copyright infringement!

Gabriela said...

those recipes sound great. Thanks for sharing.

Chilihead2 said...

LOVE this! Excellent WFMW! Can't wait to try the recipes.

Shalee said...

This is so being printed and put into the recipe books! I have the same problem with the marinade thing too.

Thank you for this fabulous tip!

Unknown said...

Truly good idea. Love the food saver.
I played.
Pam

owlhaven said...

Great tips! Thanks for visiting!

Mary, mom to many

Unknown said...

Wow. That corn sounds amazing. That is a really good idea too. I always defrost and then marinade. It really never occured to me to do them both at once. Thanks!

Julie said...

Great idea. I also love the 30-minute marinades that McCormick makes (in those little dry packets). Lots of great flavors and they do a pretty good job in 30 minutes.

Ms. Kathleen said...

This sounds heavenly! Do you do carry out?

Anonymous said...

Hi,

I found your site through shannon's and just love your idea! I also wanted to let you know you are not alone in the grilling dept. My hubby loves to grill so much he even does it in the snow! No kidding when I bought him his first gas grill it was a xmas gift, and there was a day where I was leaving for work and he was outside bundled up to where you could only see his eyes grilling. I am still mad at my mom in law for not taking a pic for me lol.