The other day became a freezer-cooking day for me because I found my local Buehler’s had their Angus beef on sale for $1.99/# when you bought it in (apprx.) 10 pound rolls. This is some of the best hamburger, in my opinion. Its cooks up beautifully. I typically avoid buying hamburger when it is more than $1.99 per pound.

I divided it up into sections and made taco meat (which can also be used in Taco Soup or chili) using a homemade taco seasoning mix (recipe link below), a little for homemade spaghetti sauce, then mixed about 3 pounds of it into a meatloaf type mixture which I packed up raw to be used later for meatballs or meatloaf. I still have about 2-3 pounds left in the refrigerator to make hamburgers out of.

My meatloaf recipe:

I don’t follow one~ so the “recipe” changes every time I make meatloaf 😉 .  But for this batch I used about 3 pounds of beef, 4 eggs, lots of crushed crackers, pepper, and all the seasonings I thought would be good… I used garlic powder, minced dried onions, Italian seasoning, and maybe some paprika. If I were using this meat to make  meatloaf or stuffed peppers for dinner I would pour tomato sauce or ketchup on top before putting it into the oven.

Mix up really well and bag it up into portions to be used to make meatballs, hamburgers, or meatloaf.  My inspiration for doing it this way came from one of my old Taste of Home magazines. Save your cooking magazines, they are so useful for years down the road.

My homemade spaghetti sauce tips:

I say tips because, if you know me, you know I typically don’t do “exact measurements” or follow directions to a “t”. I love my spaghetti sauce, I think its so tasty and I hope its very healthy. If I’m adding meat, I recommend browning your meat or sauteing onions in oil (I’ve switched to using Coconut Oil more often)  first, then add meat.

Then add… 2 cans of tomato sauce and 1 can of tomato puree, fresh pressed garlice (3-4 cloves), generous amount of Italian seasoning and FRESH (or in my case bought fresh, then frozen) Basil and Cilantro. Seriously, the Cilantro is awesome in this sauce. It doesn’t take too much, maybe generous palm size amount and a little less of the Basil. All the while heating on med-high heat to a low boil. Then keep it simmering for a while.

I also made up about 18 breakfast burritos to freeze.

I only show about half of the burritos I made in the picture. They are delicious! These are considerably better than the ones I use to make because I took a cue or two from MoneySavingMom’s recipe. I used sausage but she used ham in her recipe. The sauteed onions and green peppers do make a wonderful difference!

I use wax paper to wrap each burrito individually and then stick them into a ziplock bag to freeze. The wax paper unwraps easily and then I wrap the burrito in a paper towel and microwave for about 1-2 minutes depending on the temperature setting.

Crafts and homemade recipes I like or want to try:

I started making my own homemade taco seasoning thanks to Smashed Peas & Carrot’s blog.

Check out this:  23 ways to use Pumpkin Puree from Simple Bites.

Fall Leave Craft from Permanent Posies <— I like!

I’m going to try this healthy chemical-free homemade deodorant Lori gushes about in her Preventing Breast Cancer post. Her husband loves it too.

I shared about my sister-in-laws easy adorable paper bag Christmas cards. If I were going to make Christmas cards I would consider this craft!

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