Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Works for Me Wednesday!!!

It's getting harder to find something to post about for the WFMW. Either I really am not as creative and smart as I thought, or I really don't have any shortcuts to make my life easier LOL

But I thought that today I would share something that really does make my life easier in the summer.

We grill a lot and are always having hamburgers or hotdogs, even for a quick meal, these seem to be the kids favorites. A few years ago while visiting my mother in law, she showed me how she always had frozen hamburger patties ready to go, I thought it was a great idea, and now I do the same.

I go to Walmart and buy those huge packs of ground beef. Come home and before throwing it in the freezer, I put in some finely chopped onion, crushed garlic and some finely chopped tomato, salt and pepper. I then make all the patties out by using the Hamburger Press, you can find a cheap one for around $3, or you could do what I do at times, I use a lid that is the size of the patty I want.

Could be any lid, like a margarine tub lid even, then I wrap them in Press N Seal (gotta tell you, I LOVE this stuff). Throw them in the freezer and now I have tons of individually wrapped hamburgers ready to grill. When I want just one, I just take it out, thaw it and cook it up.......if I need more then I can do that too.

This has definitely made my life MUCH easier and I always have deliscious burgers ready for company.


For more WFMW participants, head on over to Shannon's blog.

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

YUMMY
What a good idea.
Never have seen the press thing... did you get that at wallyworld too!?

Amy said...

Great tip! I have yet to buy the press and seal stuff, but maybe I will have to try it! Thank you!

TheNormalMiddle said...

A very good idea.....never tried press and seal, I'm such a frugal zealot but you give me reason to try it!

Bethany said...

So the press and seal stuff works? I had wondered....

I'm so gonna have to try that one!! We love hamburgers too. And I usually forget to thaw the ground chuck in time...

Glass Half Full said...

As Rachael Ray would say: "YUMMO!" What a great way to flavor the meat and make things as easy as can be. GREAT TIP-PO!! :)

Beck said...

That. Is. Brilliant. I am always buying pre-made hamburger patties and they cost SO much money - and now I feel so dumb! That's such a GREAT IDEA! I am totally going to do that!

Unknown said...

I also love the press and seal.

Domestic CEO said...

Oooo - love this idea! I love the taste (and cost) of the burgers I make so much better than those blech frozen patties at the store, but sometimes I just don't have the time. Probably would even make it worth it to buy a hamburger press and some press and seal. Thanks!

T.S. Eliot said...

Yummy yummy! When's your cookout? what a fun and tasty idea!

Laurie said...

I used to do this all the time before we started having our own cows butchered. Now I have to wait till it is thawed before I can make the patties, but the fresh beef is not a bad trade-off!

Just Nancy said...

that is a great idea! Thanks for sharing it. I'll have to give it a try!

Overwhelmed! said...

Great tip. I actually have one of those burger press things and I always forget to use it!

I must confess, I've purchased pre-made patties from Costco, but I'm sure they're not as favorful as yours. :)

Overwhelmed! said...

Oh, one more thought. We do use a Food Saver and break our bulk meat (pork, chicken, lamb, etc) into 2-people portions, vacuum seal it and then throw it in the freezer. Those Food Saver's are great!

Mom2fur said...

I haven't used press N seal in a while, but I like the stuff. I mostly use a vaccuum sealer. But dividing anything into individual portions is a great idea!
Thanks for commenting over at my blog. Did you get your booklets filed?

Anonymous said...

That's an *awesome* idea. Thanks!

rena said...

hmmmmm..maybe I oughta dig the one (press and seal) I received as a gift a few years back, out of the garage.

Mama Duck said...

Looks excellent, thanks for sharing!

Nicole said...

I love this idea! My husband loved to cook out too, so this will be a great way to get a quick cookout going! Thanks!

Crystal said...

I love having patties made ahead of time - I just hate doing all those patties by hand. I didn't realize you could get hamburger presses, like the one you had linked, so cheap. Thanks :)

Susie said...

Great idea! I usually premake meatballs, but just never have done patties..

Anonymous said...

Now I'm hungry! That hamburger looks yum :)

Cindee said...

Hi there, I just wandered in here from somewhere...I think from NewMommy4God. I freeze pre-made hamburger patties too but, I freeze them on cookie sheets and when they are totally frozen I pop them off the cookie sheet and stack them in freezer bags. I do not thaw them before putting them on the grill. They cook up very nicely and are sooo easy to handle.