Bulk Cooking – Spicy Ground Beef

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The Heat Wave is back on here in New England!

Whenever the weather channel predicts high temperatures coupled with humidity, I like to prepare in advance by bulk cooking, especially meat. (Sometimes this is also called Freezer cooking, but I never freeze cooked meat. After it’s been frozen, cooked, and then re-thawed, it’s usually dry. Yuck!)

On Monday evening, I pulled out some free ground beef and got to work, cooking enough to last for several meals. This not only saves time, but also money—using the oven/stove once, washing the dishes once, chopping, etc.

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When bulk cooking, it helps to make a meat that’s extremely versatile, like this recipe for Spicy Ground Beef. To bulk cook meat, I simply brown ground beef on the stove, with garlic, onions and peppers. (I’m still trying to use up all the Bird’s Eye freebies!) Salt is a must, and I added a lone tomato, too, because it was in the kitchen. If you need to stretch it, some black beans will do wonders!

Spicy Ground Beef makes a great base for many other meals. Try any of these:

* Taco Salad

* Chili

* Sloppy Joes

* Burritos

* Pot Pies

* Nachos

* Sliders

* Filling for Stuffed Cabbage

* Beef Vegetable Soup

* Stuffed Peppers

* Goulash

* Mexican Lasagna

* Dirty Rice

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I love having a fridge full of cooked food, especially when I’m too tired to make dinner. By planning ahead, I have saved tons of dollars and calories that would’ve been wasted on fast food!

32 thoughts on “Bulk Cooking – Spicy Ground Beef

  1. Samantha

    Cooking in bulk is such a time-saver, but I feel like I can barely find the time to cook at all as a college student. I really want to get better about it this summer. Maybe I’ll start with this! It would be great for taco salads or quesadillas!

    Reply
  2. Lisa

    This is such a great idea to save time and energy. I especially think it makes sense when you know it is going to be hot outside. Great tip!

    Reply
  3. Risa

    I have to say the main thing I noticed in your post is that is a Pampered Chef skillet lol. I have never tried cooking in bulk but it may be a good idea for the future when I’m working again!

    Reply
  4. Christine Topley

    Always a great idea to make bulk meals and freeze. I am always making chilli or sauces, well pretty much anything. It’s great for a rainy day when you might be out of some ingredients to make something fresh or for that time when you get so busy that you don’t have time to really cook. Great for unexpected family showing up too!

    Reply
  5. Gabby OBrien

    I always tell myself that I am going to cook in bulk and freeze the food I don’t eat right away, but I never get around to it!I think it would save so much time if I did.

    Reply
  6. Jessica P

    I agree that it is getting hot in New England (Maine here)! I love spicy ground beef. I make most of those dishes, with the exception of stuffed peppers.

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  7. Danielle Stewart

    I have thought about doing this very thing. I use ground beef for a number of things I cook and preparing in bulk would really cut down on the time to get dinner out during the week.

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  8. Emma T (@ETusty)

    I’m too lazy to bulk cook/freeze, but just tend to make bigger portions, so we can have leftovers. It’s definitely a good idea to stock up – but crikey, would make it hot doing all that cooking in a heatwave!

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  9. Amanda @ Adorkablii

    This is a great idea. We don’t prepare our food like this but we always separate everything. We like to buy meat and chicken packages from a meat shop so when we get home we break everything down.

    I think this would be great when we just want to whip on some taco’s or something. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

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