A story everyone who eats meat should read

What's at Stake at the Butcher Shop Food & Wine

Read the story first,
Then run out and buy yourself a deep freeze.

Don't think you have room? They sell ones that are small enough to fit into a closet if its the only space you have---you'll thank yourself in the long run!

We have three BIG freezers going--only because we couldn't find one large enough. One for the half a cow, one for the whole pig, and one for the chickens and other frozen foods---we don't have a butcher for them so we have to get them pre-packaged...boo hoo....the butcher my folks used to go to would include free chickens with their order and boy were they good! The stuff you buy in the stores these days have been so injected with water that there's no taste left to them!

One year my uncle Adam brought down some meat he got during his annual hunting trip (he lived in Alaska) so we got Elk, Caribou, Mountain Goat, and lamb. GOOD STUFF!!! But it took quite a bit of onion to dull the wild taste--if you aren't used to wild game, they can have a bit of an "off" taste that will make you think the meat is bad when its actually not.

Invest in a deep freeze, I'm telling you---it will become your best cooking utensil in no time flat!

Make homemade pasta? Great. Freeze extra for a quick meal.

Work all week and get home late so fast food is your bud? Stop. Make a big meal once a week and freeze your leftovers (for up to 3 months) and heat them up in the microwave for some good home-cooked meals--the secret here is to cool the left overs in the refridge before freezing and don't squish them--use those freezable/microwavable firm plastic containers not freezer bags and add a little water before microwaving.

On a diet and buy those prepared meals? Stop. Its cheaper to make your own. Use divided microwavable plates and measure out your meals. Freeze them up and pop them in the microwave.

Gardener? Great. Vegetables love the freezer. Just parboil most of them before putting up. We have done corn, tomatoes (good for stews & sauces as they thaw mushy), carrots, peppers; dehydrate things like zucchini, egg plant, onions and then put them in your freezer to keep them longer--its a cool dry place.

Found a good price on milk? Buy extra and freeze it! Yes milk freezes and unthaws great(good for about 1 yr). Eggs will too, but I suggest taking them out of the shell and putting them into ice cube trays--if you do a lot of baking, pre-seperating them will be very helpful. Freeze them in the trays, pop them out once frozen and then put them in zip top baggies--they are good for 6 months.

Lost your power? If you do not open your freezer during the power outage a fully stocked freezer will be fine for about 48 hours, a low stock about 24 hours depending what you have in it.

And if they offer you one of those extended warrentees....it depends on what you get. If you get a free yearly check up, free repairs which incl. parts, replacement value for if they can't fix it....take it! If they don't offer that...you will have to figure how much it would cost to replace the freezer and the food in it, and whether it would be cheaper than buying the contract every year.

We don't have them on our freezers, but we do on our washer/dryer (nearly 20 years)...one we got at a scratch&dent sale, one we got second hand, the upright we bought at the big retailer....we've had to replace the big retailer one already...but the other two chest freezers are going strong!!