Titus Tuesdays - Meat for 90 Meals under $300

I have on my list things I hope to accomplish this year a task to compile a list of my staple recipes (I guestimated 60) that I would regularily rotate through for more variety and more even usage of the meat inventory in my freezer.  I ended up with 80 recipes, so I categorized them by type of meat, made a recipe/meal plan for each meat each week, so 16 weeks (5 planned meals per week, leaving 2 unplanned/spontaneous meals per week) worth were ready to be assigned to my recent Costco shop, which just so happens about every 4 months (how perfectly timed with a 16 week meal plan!).

There are some meats I don't get at Costco, but after I had bought all the meat I thought I needed I cooked that which I wanted to freeze pre-cooked, then divided and ziplocked it all and stapled the recipe/meal plan to the ziplock and stuck it in my freezer.  I found I was a tad short on some of the bulk meats, so I bought just enough extra to fit my plan, but I also got much more out of some packages than I thought, so I actually ended up with enough meat for 90 meals.

This is what I bought and how many meals (meals being for the two of us) came of it:
Whole Turkey (roasted myself) - 13 meals = $2 per meal
compare pre-sliced turkey @ 4 meals for $24
 prep time & basting = 15 min., 45 min. pulling the meat off.
 amazing how far it will go when 5 people aren't pigging out, lol

Ground Turkey* - 4 meals = $6 per meal
 (*mixed in with some Ground Pork for more flavor and moisture, included in cost)
Chicken - 16 meals = $3 per meal
Pork Tenderloin - 7 meals = $2 per meal
Italian Sausage* - 4 meals = $3 per meal
(*mixed in with some Ground Pork/Turkey to lower calories, included in cost)

Ham - 5 meals = $2.25 per meal
Farmer Sausage - 3 meals = $3 per meal
Ground Beef* - 8 meals = $2.5 per meal

(*mixed in with some Ground Pork to lower calories, included in cost)

Beef Tenderloin - 6 meals = $2.75 per meal

Roast Beef - 3 meals = $6 per meal
Shrimp - 7 meals = $4 per meal
Tilapia/Basa Fillets - 4 meals = $5 per meal
Tuna (cans) - 5 meals = $1.75 per meal

So, just the meat alone works out to about $3.25 per meal, $1.63 per person!

I was also able to get another 5 cups broth from roasting turkey, plus 4 cups drippings for future gravy making.

I also pre-packaged some of the freezable side-dishes that would accompany the meats. This is what my freezer looks like now :) It didn't even all fit, I had to put the seafood in my upstairs fridge freezer.

 I am so excited to start my new meal plan rotation system :) And I can't wait for my low grocery bill each week :) Between that and my Costco supply of side dish ingredients, the only groceries I'll need to buy for the next 16 weeks is dairies (but not much cheese, bought and froze that too), fruits, the occasional veggie, like mushrooms (the rest is already frozen, or will be from my garden or the farmer's market), bag lunch ingredients (and bag breakfast stuff too, I eat breaky at work), eggs, sauces/condiments, and the occasional snack. And I'm working on eliminating buying some of those things too, lol.

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