money saving tips
Buying Mark Downed Meat
January 22, 2009 by Shynea · Leave a Comment
Having a grocery budget doesn’t leave me much room to buy expensive cuts of meat. I have even taken an alternative route by cooking meatless meals a couple of times a week. Another thing that I do is buy meat when it is marked down. Buying reduced meat is another way to cut costs in your grocery bill.
There are several steps you have to follow to safely, and effectively, buy, store and use mark downed meat.
BUYING THE MEAT
First thing first, you have to find out when your local grocery store marks down their meat. You can do this one of two ways:
- Ask someone in your grocery store meat department when they mark down their old meat and bring in fresh meat.
- Make several different trips to the grocery store throughout the week to see if you can catch discounted meat on display.
- When you are looking at mark downed meat, inspect it closely. Make sure there is no discoloration in the meat and that the seal on the package isn’t broken. If the meat has any sign of a green tint to it, then don’t buy it.
- Pay close attention to the expiration date on the package. Make sure that it’s dated to expire on the day of or the next day. If the expiration date is past due, then don’t buy it.
Proper storage of mark downed meat is very important. I can honestly say that the worst thing to do is to freeze, and then unfreeze, spoiled meat.
- When you get the meat home, take it out of the grocery store packaging and smell it to make sure it doesn’t have a foul odor to it.
- If you do happen to open the package and the meat is spoiled, just return it to your grocery store, along with the original packaging, and they should issue you a full refund.
- Once you have inspected your meat, you can do one of two things:
- Freeze your meat right away. Don’t let your m eat sit out longer then necessary. Pack it in a Ziploc freezer bag, squeeze as much air of the bag as possible and place the meat in the freezer.
- Prepare your meat ahead of time or your meals and then freeze it. If you’ve purchased hamburger meat, you can go ahead and make meatballs to be put in the freezer. Or you can scramble it and freeze it to be used in casseroles later on as well.
When getting ready to use your mark downed meat, make sure you defrost it properly.
- Sit the meat on your kitchen counter and allow it to defrost at room temperature. Don’t try to speed up the defrosting process by putting it in the microwave or placing it in hot water.
- Cook your meat as soon as it is defrosted. Don’t allow it to sit out longer then necessary and don’t try to refreeze it.
money saving tips
Frugal Holiday Menu Planning
With Christmas just around the corner there are so many things that need to be done to make your holiday run smoothly. The biggest part of the holiday season is your Christmas dinner. Planning, shopping and then cooking for this meal can be one of the most tedious and nerve wrecking parts of the year.
By menu planning and thinking about your meal in advance, you can cut down a lot of the stress that you experience when making a big meal for a large group of people. I am going to show you how to plan out your meal and give you a reasonable time line on when to have things completed. That way, when Christmas day comes you won’t be scrambling around at the last minute trying to prepare your meal.
- THE ACTUAL PLANNING
First thing first, sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and write down your menu for the day. Depending on your family traditions, this might include breakfast, lunch and dinner, or just dinner. Once you have your entire menu written down, write down every single ingredient that you will need to complete each of your dishes. Once you have your ingredients written down, go through your kitchen pantry and cross out everything that you already have. Once you have done this, you now have your official holiday grocery shopping list. You should complete this step the first week in December. Remember: Set aside the items in your pantry that you have designated for your holiday meal. You don’t want to use these items only to realize at the last minute that you will need them to prepare your holiday meal. If you do have to use an item from your list, make sure you re-add it to your list so you can purchase it during your next shopping trip. Also, make sure you keep your menu plan and grocery list on file just in case you need to refer to them later on. - GROCERY SHOPPING
Once you have your grocery list, you can now start shopping for your ingredients. Any meats that you need can be purchased early and put in the freezer. All dry and nonperishable foods, such as canned goods and baking items, can be purchased and put away in the pantry. If your menu requires fresh vegetables, these need to be purchased a week in advance.Also look for sales at your local grocery store and combine these sales with coupons. Every Wednesday grocery stores put out their weekly circulars. Take a look at these and plan your trip accordingly. Around Thanksgiving is a good time to purchase a lot of the things that you need to prepare your holiday meal because stores will have these items on sale or will run a special. Manufacturers also release high value coupons around this time as well. - COOKING AHEAD OF TIME
Once you have gotten all of your ingredients together you can start planning out your cooking schedule. Some items can be made ahead of time and then frozen. I have made batches of gravy weeks in advance and then placed them in the freezer. Once defrosted and reheated I couldn’t taste the difference. Corn bread for your stuffing or dressing can be made and then frozen ahead of time as well. Pies and cakes can also be made a few days in advance. If you are making your pie dough from scratch, it can also be frozen weeks in advance. Anything that you can do ahead of time to lessen the amount of cooking you have to do on Christmas should be done.
I hope that I have given you a few good tips on how you can plan your holiday meal while avoiding the holiday stress. Menu planning and shopping ahead of time can not only reduce your stress levels but can also save you money. By catching the sales that run around Thanksgiving, you can cut your Christmas meal budget substantially. And by cooking part of your meal ahead of time, you will find your stress level go way down.
