Day 16: meat my impulses

I love to order in bulk, from food co-ops...really, any odd source that isn't the grocery store. It makes me feel more connected to people. Imagine, connecting not just over eating food, but also buying it!

One of the companies I like is Zaycon, which sells meat products in parking lot events all over the United States. I currently have beef, chicken, ribs, and all-beef hot dogs in my outdoor freezer, courtesy of Zaycon. And yesterday, I received information via email about some lovely Italian chicken sausages. I can just imagine using those in skillets, grilling out, slicing them for pizza. I can see the smiles on my family's faces now. "Thanks, Mom," they'll say. "These are amazing."

After countless hours of American television, my imagination can now produce its own commercials. Yeah, me.

I was all set to order those sausages, but then I paused: I should eat what I have. (I'm actually writing a blog about this very thing! You can read it here.) So instead of buying warm smiles of joy for my family--I mean, Zaycon sausages, I inventoried the outside freezer.

Not too much meat there: 8 racks of ribs, 24 hot dogs, 12 hamburger patties, 7 pounds of beef, 2 pounds of chicken, and 2 pounds of salmon (cough, cough). But here's the thing: I buy food with some idyllic idea of eating it.

Not actual plans.

In my defense, I bought the ribs and hot dogs because my daughter was home for the summer, and she likes that sort of food. But my family eats meat very slowly. It is seldom the main feature of a meal. And now, my daughter is going back to college in a couple of weeks.

I'm having to plan very carefully how to use those ribs. The hot dogs will be gone soon for a cookout. But the ribs I will probably use for some family events, and they may last into the fall. It will be a nice spread for relatives, but without my inventory, I likely would have planned something else. And let the poor ribs keep languishing in the freezer.

And if I'm now doing ribs for my mother-in-law's birthday, when will I cook the burgers?

Today, I am considering the fresh fruits and veggies still on hand, which take precedence over freezer food. But I have added a new list to my food-planning notebook that contains the outdoor freezer inventory. I'm having a hard time creating a commercial in my head of smiling daughters eating food from the freezer. But my budget...it is definitely smiling more.

If you are interested in Zaycon meats, mention "mrsellis" as your referring friend. I will get $1 credit for anyone who signs up using my name. And I will spend it reasonably, I promise. Maybe the next time they sell sausages...