Buying 1/2 a Beef?

[WyoLiving]

Sorry to take this thread on a 180.

I hope to talk DH into getting a 1/2 beef this fall. I might be successful if I don't get a deer this year...
There are always ads on craigs list for beef cattle for sale.


I am trying to clean out our chest freezer. It is full to the top and I know some of the stuff on the bottom moved out to Wyoming with us in 2006 and then back to Wisconsin in 2014.

I have slowly been pulling old, freezer burned meats out and canning them for the pooches as meal toppers. So far they have had beef and chicken ground together with beef broth; and chicken and carrots ground together and canned in chicken broth. Next will be the Tuna and Salmon that DH never wanted to have for supper - those make me mad because I really love seafood - but they are so badly freezer burned that I can't eat them.

 

[drstratton]

Thank you, everyone. I was lucky and was diagnosed at Stage 1a. My older sister is also a breast cancer survivor, but didn't get diagnosed until she was stage 3. I have some guilt that I was diagnosed so early and she went through so much more than I had to. It doesn't make sense why I feel guilty, but that is part of who I am I guess. Just so glad that God decided to leave her here with us so she gets to see and love on her grand children.

Praise God she is still here with you and I'm sure that she's so happy that you didn't have to go through what she did and is just thankful that you are both still here!

 

[drstratton]

Sorry to take this thread on a 180.

I hope to talk DH into getting a 1/2 beef this fall. I might be successful if I don't get a deer this year...
There are always ads on craigs list for beef cattle for sale.


I am trying to clean out our chest freezer. It is full to the top and I know some of the stuff on the bottom moved out to Wyoming with us in 2006 and then back to Wisconsin in 2014.

I have slowly been pulling old, freezer burned meats out and canning them for the pooches as meal toppers. So far they have had beef and chicken ground together with beef broth; and chicken and carrots ground together and canned in chicken broth. Next will be the Tuna and Salmon that DH never wanted to have for supper - those make me mad because I really love seafood - but they are so badly freezer burned that I can't eat them.

I'm the thread starter and I didn't mind the 180...it's nice to be able to support each other!

That's why I never wanted a chest freezer, I know me and I'm not organized enough to use one properly...I have a hard enough time with an upright...lol! The beef we are buying will be stored at my sons house and we will bring some home for us as we need it, it is also for our daughter and her husband to have! We are talking about buying a 2nd upright freezer as we will be slaughtering 2 hogs in the fall. These are also for our whole family to have!

 

[farmerjan]

Chest freezers are a pain for some things, great for bigger bulky things like big turkeys..... I put things in cardboard boxes in both the chest and uprights to make it easier to find and move. Less chance of the packages getting caught and tiny holes in the vacuum packages in the cardboard boxes too. Plus when they get messed up, use for mulch and get another to use. I also find that I like the uprights because you are less likely to "pile stuff" in the top and then not go into them or check them as often. 2 uprights will hold more than a chest that takes up the same amount of floor space too. And you can put stuff on the top for storage all according to how high the roof/ceiling is above them. I have one chest still operational and will replace it with an upright after it goes bad. They do make great feed storage that the danged varmints can't get into. And since they are "squared off" actually use the space better than a few round garbage cans. There are places for all sorts of storage containers. The defunct freezers are hard to move around though so cans are easier for that.

 

[WyoLiving]

We prefer the chest freezer because it holds more and is more energy efficient - especially when full. It it is also a better option for areas that loose power often - they will hold the food frozen longer and are more forgiving if you have to open it to get something out. A friend of mine keeps his chest freezer full by making a layer of milk jugs on the bottom with ice in them - they are great for target shooting and create a nice ice pack for when the power goes out. Which is a problem in his area.
My problem began with the move out to Wyoming, DH started to throw stuff in the freezer and I could never get on top of the problem.

Cardboard boxes sound like a good idea. We had used milk crates, but they eventully got broken and never replaced.
I was also thinking about making some bags with handles - tan for chicken, pink for pork, green for fruits and veg and red for beef/venison. I am short enough that I can't reach the bottom 8" of the chest freezer, so bags with handles would be helpful.

 

[farmerjan]

Agree with the more energy efficient for the chest freezer, and the holding the cold etc.....
I never thought about bags with handles..... I have some plastic bags that have handles that would be workable for that. Not too big so that, not too hard to lift. Good idea for small stuff... but I will still go with the smaller stuff in cardboard boxes, even on the shelves in the uprights. Just easier for me to keep up with stuff. I can pack the shelves pretty full in the upright if the stuff is in cardboard boxes so as to use all the space. If you just pack stuff in an upright, you cannot use all the space very well I know.

 

[Baymule]

I have clear plastic tubs in both my upright freezers. Organized and easy to keep up with.

 

[drstratton]

I have clear plastic tubs in both my upright freezers. Organized and easy to keep up with.

I need to do this...I like being able to see what I have!

 

[farmerjan]

The biggest difference in the plastic tubs to the cardboard boxes is that the tubs are tapered for stacking and the cardboard boxes are straight so not as much lost space. You can see through the tubs though and can not see through the boxes.

 

[Baymule]

The biggest difference in the plastic tubs to the cardboard boxes is that the tubs are tapered for stacking and the cardboard boxes are straight so not as much lost space. You can see through the tubs though and can not see through the boxes.

Good point. There is a space between the tubs, so I stick small stuff in there.