I've been slimed!

I'm always looking for ways of saving money, being healthier and simply being self-sufficient.


I make my own soap, wash my hair with baking soda & vinegar, grow vegetables, preserve foods by canning & dehydrating.  I make my own butter, make pickles and mustard . . . I bake bread.  I cut my husband's hair and he maintains our vehicles.




After reading the about the yuckiness of 'pink slime' that is added to ground beef, I was kind of queasy about buying prepackaged ground beef in the grocery store.  


Just in case you've been living in a hole in recent months, it has been brought to the public attention that an additive known as 'pink slime' is being added to ground meat being sold in grocery stores and served by food service companies.  What is this slime?  It's pretty much the stuff they used to put in pet food . . . fat, tendons, lips, ears, and other random meat scraps.  Now they transform these former waste parts into a by-product called 'boneless lean beef.' These parts are then liquified and sterilized with ammonia . . . yes, I said, ammonia . . . and then this crap is injected into ground beef as a filler.  

So anyway . . . as a way to avoid getting slimed and save a few dollars in the process I've started grinding my own meat.  In addition, to the cost savings and lack of additives it's also healthier.


When I'm at the grocery story I look for roasts and steaks that are on sale.  A good one to look for is London broil.  It's relatively lean and what fat there is is easy to trim.  I recently purchased seven pounds of fresh meat on sale for $1.99 per pound . . . meat that normally goes for $5.99 per pound.


Like I said, London broil is pretty lean.  So, when I compare what it costs for 93% lean  . . . $6.29/lb . . . that's a huge bargain.  Granted, the meat is on sale because it's soon to go past is freshness date.  But, that's okay because I am either going to use it immediately or freeze it.  


Once I get the meat home, I trim any excess fat . . . a little fat is okay . . . and cut it into cubes.  Then I feed it to my Kitchenaid mixer which I've fitted with the food grinding attachment.  

Obviously, this take more time than picking up a package of ground meat infused with lord knows what.  But it's super easy and it's highly gratifying.


After the meat is all ground up, I separate the it in to 1 to 1-1/2 pound packages using an old postage scale. Then I  vacuum seal the packages, label them and freeze them.  







Easy peasy . . . fresh ground beef with no effluvial crap mixed in and a few extra bucks in my pocket . . . over all, a win/win.

















I've been slimed!
Peter Venkman, Ph.D. 
Ghostbusters