Taco Meat (in bulk, without the seasoning packet)

The kids and I did some bulk grocery shopping today.  I'm not sure which is crazier, buying a total of 40 lb. of meat or going to the grocery store and Sam's Club with four small children in tow.  Either way, it was a successful and meltdown-free trip.  I'll take it!

The entire trip was spurred on by our need for ground beef.  According to the new monthly menu I've started, Tuesdays are Taco Night.  Tacos can include taco salad, actual tacos, burritos, or burrito bowls.  Tonight's variation is taco salad and we had no taco meat.  So, off to the store we went and home we came with a lot more than a couple of pounds of ground beef.

Upon arriving home I began to cook the ground beef (all 10 lb. of it) in order to have some for dinner and portion the rest to freeze for future Tuesday Taco Nights.  While I was cooking I thought, "Hey, I'll post this to the blog because everyone wants to know how to make four meals worth of taco meat in 20 minutes!"  If you didn't want to know, then you wouldn't be reading this post.  :)

So, here goes...

Taco Meat (in bulk, without the taco seasoning packet)

Ingredients
Ground beef or turkey, 5-10 lb.
Chicken bullion (or you can just use salt and pepper), to taste
Ground cumin, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
Italian seasoning, to taste
Onion powder, to taste
Garlic powder, to taste
1-2 TB corn starch (or another thickener), divided
1-2 cups water

Directions
1. Brown the meat.  I recommend dividing it into 2 1/2 lb. sections.  If you're making 5 lb. use two large pans.  I used two pans and then repeated this entire process to make a total of 10 lb.
2. Add all seasonings - use only 1/2 TB corn starch and 1/2 cup water for every 2 1/2 lb. of meat.  MIx and allow to cook until the meat is well-seasoned.
3. Allow meat to cool.  Divide into labeled and dated freezer bags.  Place bags flat on a cookie sheet and freeze until bags hold their shape.  Remove from the cookie sheet and stack neatly in your freezer.
4. To defrost just use your microwave's defrost setting.
5. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy!