TWENTY MEATBALLS FOR TWO

There is “Born Free”, “Born to be Wild” and “Born in the USA” and then there is me. I’m convinced the doctor slapped my bottom with an invisible stamp instead of the palm of his hand in the delivery room that read “Born to be Busy”.

It’s in my genes. Dad worked two jobs, waking at 4AM and returning home at 7PM each weeknight. To this day, my planner pales in comparison to his schedule. By the way, dad is 87 years old.

Mom, God rest her soul, first and foremost would not allow us to say the word ‘hate’. So let me just say that mom despised the phrase “I’m bored”. Being creative, I’d say “I have nothing to do”.

Same meaning to mom, different words with similar end results.

She’d run off a litany the length of her arm of things for me to do. There were dishes to dry; clothes to be ironed; woodwork and baseboards to dust and polish. Yes, mom had a recipe for boredom.

Mom also had recipes for cooking. The first time as a newlywed bride that I made her meatball recipe, I made 20 meatballs for the two. And so began the “cook and freeze” method of meal preparation in our home.

SOUND THE BUGLE! Today’s tip: Purchase several pounds of your favorite ground meat. When you get home, divide it into family serving sizes for your family. Sauté one serving size for tacos or any recipe that calls for cooked ground meat. Cool and freeze. Take two servings and with the same recipe make a batch of meatballs and a meatloaf. Cook and freeze. Take two more servings and make hamburger patties: One batch of burger patties for the grill and one batch for Salisbury steaks. With 5 lbs of ground meat, you have a weeknights worth of meal ideas within reach of your freezer.