Broke-Ass Tip #1: Double Your Meat!

We here in the TARDIS are big fans of meat. Packed with protein and essential amino acids, it is a healthful part of a balanced diet. It is important for muscle recovery, growth and brain power. However, meat can be expensive, depending on the type and cut. So, what I like to do is buy some of my meat in bulk, double it, then freeze it. It’s easy!

Take your chop, breast, cut, whatever.

Then cut it in half.

Now you have two chops, breasts, cuts, whatever. See that? Two for the price of one. Yes, I am aware that it is the same amount of meat; we saved no money by the pound. But now it is two servings - two dinners - instead of one.

Are you feeling a little let down by the new size? Well, then, the TARDIS encourages you to beat your meat!

Basically, you take your cuts, put them on some parchment paper, top them with saran wrap to catch any errant spatter, and pound the shit out of them with the flat end of a mallet. This creates what the food network calls a “cutlet.” Cutlets thaw faster, cook quicker and look bigger because they  s  p  r  e  a  d    o  u  t  when you beat them flat. It is a little trick o’ the eyes that makes you feel satisfied with less. No, really, studies have demonstrated that people only need to think they are eating more and they will feel sated by less food.

This also works with ground meat. For instance, I bought a 6 pack of ground turkey from Costco. I cut each block of meat in half, making 12 dinners of ground turkey. Each portion makes a pot of chili, a turkey meatloaf, turkey burgers, turkey meatballs, or a meat-infused pasta/rice dish.

And this is the coolest part! Here is a sweet storage tip from my mother-in-law: Put the 1/2 brick in a gallon-sized Ziploc and roll it out with a rolling pin. It creates a large flat rectangle that saves a ton of freezer space and it literally thaws out in less than an hour on your countertop! It’s perfect for those nights when you forgot to pull anything out for dinner.

Be careful not to get any meat in the zipper part of the bag. You can do this by zipping the bag most of the way closed before you begin rolling, then press out the air and be careful around the small unzipped area. Once it is flat, you can finish zipping the bag closed.

The point of doubling and beating your meats is obviously to make one of your more expensive grocery items last longer, but it also has the added effect of cutting your calories and easing your dilemma as an omnivore. Do more with less.