We eat lots of meat. My husband appreciates a steak as much as the next man, and well, so do I. (Jared says that was one of the things that surprised him after marrying me. He thought I would just eat rabbit food all the time, but lo, I demand chicken thighs with my lettuce.) And personally, my body seems to run better on protein and fat than on sugar.So you'll never find us having green bean salad for dinner. As a side to chuck roast or swai fillets, absolutely. Alone? Not in this house of confirmed carnivory. While we consume more than our fair share of eggs and I enjoy legumes several times a week, the meat's the thing.
Good-quality meat is obviously more expensive than bread or rice, but thankfully we've been able to find ways to afford it about 70% of the time, and just buy conventionally raised meat when we can't. I figure that CAFO beef is better than no beef at all.
One recent cost-saving (and fun) endeavor: buy whole chickens and break them down myself. It demands knife skills and a fair investment of time. I broke down twelve chickens in 3.5 hours and froze four more whole. If you stick it out-- and aren't disgusted by raw chicken corpses, ahem, sisters-in-law-- you save lots of money and get a freezerfull of various useful chicken pieces, from boneless skinless breasts to wings. And you can also freeze those carcasses for delicious stock!
For thorough instructions on breaking down a chicken, including pictures, look here. My additional two cents: it's easier to slice away the breast when you remove the skin first. And don't be afraid to bend those legs backwards to find the joint.
If you live in the Lancaster area I recommend Eberly Poultry. Every bird they sell is freerange, grassfed, and hormone-free. They have organic products as well. Check their website for weekly specials! Several weeks ago they were offering "grade B" roasters for $1.05 per pound. Occasionally missing a drumstick or a wing, but apart from that, perfectly good. That's what I bought for my chicken-butchering fiesta.
On a completely unrelated note . . . you guys, we have seventeen different kinds of tea in our cupboard. Intervention please?
Shared at Simple Lives Thursday.
{image credit: Allie's Dad}
