Chuck Steaks and Chicken Pieces

Grocery shopping was on the agenda today.  I  had to laugh at myself.  I am certainly my father's daughter!

When I die and see Dad again, the first thing I'm going to do is thank him for showing me how to shop, how to cut up a chicken, and how to buy chuck roast and cut it into chuck steaks.  Those three things alone have saved me thousands of dollars over the years.  For the life of me, I can't figure out why anyone would pay the butcher to cut up a chicken!  It is almost always less expensive--by far--to cut that chicken up yourself.  Need to eat healthy?  Take the skin off yourself.  It's just soooo not hard!

I unpacked the groceries today, setting the meat on the counter while I put the canned goods in the pantry.  When the pantry items were put away, I turned to the meat.  In 10 minutes--yes, only 10 minutes--I split a 3-pound package of ground beef into three 1-pound zip lock packages (it was less expensive to buy the larger package), cut up a chicken putting several pieces in zip lock bags (it's just the two of us now, and we can't eat a whole chicken in one sitting), and split a chuck roast into two chuck steaks.  Each zip lock bag was then labeled, dated, and frozen. TEN MINUTES!  Why on earth would I pay the butcher to do that for me??  It's such a simple thing.

Then there is the trust exercise.  Cutting the chuck roast into chuck steaks is easier with two people--and it builds trust.  From the time my children could reach the cutting board, they learned to press their little hands flat and tight against the chuck roast that was standing vertical instead of horizontal between their hands.  As I gently cut the roast down the middle between their hands, they learned that Mom indeed could be trusted.  I did it for my Dad when I was a kid, and I learned to trust him too.  Even my husband trusts me--well, sort of. No he does.  Really!

The second thing I'm going to ask Dad in heaven:  What in the heck did you put in the meat spread to make it taste so good? Dad would take all the little pieces of leftover meat hanging out in the refrigerator, put it through the meat grinder, add "stuff" to it, spread it between two pieces of bread, and it was to die for! Hey, siblings, if Dad ever showed you what he put in that meat, cough up the recipe NOW!  I've tried and tried, and I can't make it taste like Dad's meat spread.