All-Purpose Ground Meat Mix

5 lb. ground beef, turkey or chicken

1 T salt

2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup diced green pepper

In a large pot or Dutch oven, brown ground meat, stirring to break up meat. Drain excess grease. Stir in salt, celery, onion and green pepper. Cover; simmer until vegetables are crisp tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.

Ladle into six 2-cup freezer containers with tight-fitting lids, leaving 1/2-inch space at top of each. With a knife cut through mixture in each container several times to remove air pockets. Attach lids. Label with date and contents. Store in freezer. Use within 3 monthjs. Make 6 packages or about 12 cups All-purpose Ground Meat Mix.

From the Make-A-Mix cookbook.

Chicken Mix and Broth

11 lb. chicken (4 medium fryers) cut up or 12 to 14 whole boneless chicken breasts instead of fryers

4 qt. cold water

3 T parsley flakes

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 t salt

1/2 t pepper

2 t dried basil leaves

Combine all ingredients in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover and cook over high heat until water boils. Simmer until chicken is tender about 1-1/2 hours. (Less time is required if you are using Chicken Breasts). Remove from heat. Strain broth and refrigerate until fat can be skimmed.

Cool chicken, remove and discard bones and skin. Put chicken into six 1-pint freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch space at top. Pour skimmed chicken broth into six more 1-pint containers, with 1/2-inch space at top. Seal and label with date and contents. Freeze. Use within 3 months. Makes 6 pints of Chicken Mix. Makes 6 pints of chicken broth.

From the Make-A-Mix cookbook.

Whole Wheat Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes (good for the freezer)

1 egg
1 cup whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour
1 cup of buttermilk*
1 T. sugar*
2 T. vegetable oil*
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries (or berries of your choice)

1. In a medium bowl, beat egg with hand beater until fluffy. Beat in remaining ingredients just until smooth. Heat pan to medium-high heat for first few pancakes, then turn down to medium once you have done a few. Grease pan (or griddle) with oil.

For each pancake, use slightly less than 1/4 cup of batter. I made mini pancakes so I used about an 1/8th of a cup for each pancake. Cook pancakes until it bubbles on top, puffed and dry around edges. Turn and cook other side until golden brown.

Regular pancakes: Substitute 3/4 cup milk for the 1 cup buttermilk. Increase baking powder to 3 teaspoon. Omit baking soda.

*For healthier options, use Rapadura instead of sugar and use coconut oil instead of vegetable oil.

I tripled this recipe and froze most of the pancakes for later in the month. I layed them on a cookies sheet (2 actually) and flash froze and then put them in a Ziplock bag after they were frozen.