Meal Prep: Delicious Ideas for the Week

In case you haven’t heard, preparing meals in big batches can be an easy and efficient way to supply meals for the workweek. This method of meal preparation is great for both single adults and families with school-aged children.

For families getting back into the groove of a new school year, it can be difficult to balance easy, cost-efficient recipes with delicious flavors and healthy nutrients. With some planning, the search for delicious, well-rounded, and healthy meals on those busy work nights will become much easier.

Meal prep is also an excellent option if you are looking to overhaul your diet. Planning and cooking your own meals can help you be more aware of what you are consuming, and it can help you stick to long-term health goals.

There can be many methods to meal prep, but we’re going to focus on delicious grilled dishes to get the most out of the warm weather. Take a peek at some of our best tips for cooking big-batch, grilled meals that you can prep for the Monday through Friday grind:

Choose Your Meats Wisely

For some much-needed protein, incorporate healthy cuts of meat into your meal prep entrees. Chicken is an inexpensive and healthy option, but can easily dry out by the third or fourth day. Chicken thighs can be more flavorful and won’t dry out as quickly. Pork tenderloins, turkey breast, and lean cuts of beef are also great options. Salmon is the perfect addition to get some omega-3 fatty acids, which are excellent for reducing inflammation in the body and lowering cholesterol. Use marinades, spices, and rubs to maximize flavor.

Encourage Your Kids to Help

Sunday meal prep can be an excellent time to enlist some help from your kids. This can help alleviate some of the time it takes to meal prep. It will also be a great time to teach your kids cooking skills and enforce nutritional habits that they can carry into adulthood. Check out these ideas for lunchtime meal prep for teens.

Get Those Veggies In

With prepackaged meals, boxed dinners, and plenty of fast food options on every corner, it can be hard to get those essential veggies in. This can be dangerous because you can miss out on vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, fiber, and more. With meal prep, getting those essential nutrients in will be a breeze. Mix it up by using new veggies like broccoli, bell peppers, red onions, zucchini, squash and more. Cook them on kebabs or in a grill basket. Vegetables are delicious on the grill, so incorporate some of these grilled vegetable ideas into your meal prep boxes.

Aim for Versatility

It can be easy to get bored of having the same exact meal day after day, so build some versatility into your meal prep. Do this in a variety of ways. When you cook in bulk, split your protein into three sections. Flavor each section differently to add some “spice” into your meals. For example, cook one section in buffalo sauce for spicy wraps, one section with chipotle spices for flavorful burrito bowls, and one in a lemon sauce to pair perfectly with asparagus and potatoes. Delicious and versatile!

No matter the recipes you use, meal prep can make your weeks much easier and more enjoyable. With some efficient planning and cooking, Sunday evening meal preps will leave you with time to spend with those who matter the most!

For an array of healthy protein options and nutritious snack options to add to your workweek meals—such as our 15 different flavors of snack sticks—visit Grand Champion Meats.

How to Grill a Perfect Steak

Since opening our doors in 1971, we’ve had the opportunity to hear everyone’s tips and tricks for cooking the perfect steak. From ridiculous to practical, from tenderizing the meat to slicing the finished product - we’ve heard it all! Here are some of the best tips we’ve heard for grilling a mouth watering steak.

The Cut

Everyone likes something a little different. We recommend trying many different cuts of steak so that you know your preference. For those that like a leaner cut of meat, we recommend a sirloin or a top round steak. For a more sinful steak, try a beef tenderloin, ribeye, or porterhouse. Fortunately, if you aren’t sure what cut you like best, we have multiple packages for you to test the different cuts!

Good Quality Meat

The foundation of a great steak is good quality meat! Our dedicated team have taken our product to award winning status, still priding itself on using traditional techniques in producing the best quality and widest selection of products available.

Preparation

Approximately 30 minutes before placing on the grill, remove the steaks from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

While your steaks are coming to room temperature, get the grill going! Preheat the grill on high and make sure your grill is clean!

With the right cut of meat, you should only require salt and pepper for seasoning! Fancy shmancy seasoning is only necessary if you are using poor quality meat. Lightly brush with oil to prevent from sticking, and add the salt and pepper shortly before placing on the grill.

It’s go time on the grill!

Sear each side of the steak to lock in flavor and keep the grill covered as much as possible.

Use tongs to flip the steak. Piercing the steaks with a fork or otherwise will allow tasty juices to escape.

Cook to your desired temperature by using a meat thermometer! Here is a quick reference guide for a perfectly cooked steak:

It’s cooked to perfection. Now what?

After removing your steak from the grill, allow it to rest for 5 minutes before cutting into it. This helps the steak retain the juices!

You’re ready to whip out the fork and steak knife. Always cut against the grain to make the steak less chewy. It’s easier on your teeth and will make your steak eating experience all the more enjoyable.

Congratulations on a successful grill session and good luck fighting off friends and family from your deliciously prepared steak. You’ll probably need it!

Stop in to one of our Minnesota locations: Foley or Crosslake to find a delicious cut of meat that is just right for you and your family!

Meat Safety

Ah, summer. Cookouts, picnics, coolers loaded with food...and food poisoning.

Alright, so that last one doesn’t exactly belong on a list when it comes to summertime nostalgia...but it can inadvertently become part of your adventures without proper caution.

According to some recent US Government statistics, about one out of every six people will experience some type of food-borne illness this year - and many of these people will suffer food poisoning as a result of spoiled meat products.

It’s easy to see why; your steaks, chicken breasts and seafood are highly sensitive to the elements, making them premier hosts for harmful organisms like e. coli, salmonella, and the parasite listeria.

So, when you arrive home with your future dinner menu ingredients, there are some things to keep in mind.

STAY CLEAN. Even fresh raw meat is teeming with organisms, which of course will disappear once properly cooked. In the meantime, as you prepare your meal, wash your hands and food prep zones with hot water and antibacterial soap frequently.

STAY ORGANIZED. Food prep can be chaotic, especially when you’re cooking for lots of people, but make sure throughout the process that you keep items separate from one another.  Without paying attention to this, it can be all too easy for your raw meats to come into contact with surfaces near veggies and other ingredients. Make sure those not-yet-cooked items don’t encounter your fresh vegetables.

STAY COOL. This one is tough during these warm months, but it’s critical if you want to avoid poisoning yourself. Food parasites multiply at breakneck speed during warm weather, and they’ll be a lot harder to kill after that. If you’re still getting the grill fired up, or haven’t decided how to marinate your steaks, store them away in the refrigerator.

HEAT PROPERLY. Never pull your meat items off the grill or out of the oven until they’ve reached their proper bacteria-killing temperatures. Check out this helpful guide with proper temps for heating, thawing and more.

BUY QUALITY. Many people like to buy their meat products in frozen form if they’re not sure when they’ll be cooking them. This is completely acceptable, but refer back to that handy guide when it comes to thawing methods. When it comes to your fresh meat products, place your trust in a quality market; you can rest assured your dinner has been freshly prepared and, if you follow the above guidelines, not liable to make you sick!

From all of us here at Grand Champion Meats, have a fun and safe summer grilling season!

Grilling Time - Tips for Buying a Grill

Tis the season for swimming pools, yard games...and a really awesome grilled burger. 

If you’re looking forward to cooking outside this summer, count yourself in the majority. A 2013 study conducted by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association (HPBA) found 80% of all U.S. households own some type of grill. 97% of those grill owners actually used their grill in the past year, and about 14 million new grills were shipped in 2013 alone.

For some, a simple charcoal grill is the ticket. Others prefer the ease and convenience of gas or electric.

Whatever your preference, if you’re in the market for a grill, there are certain things to always keep in mind; after all, a grill, like any other larger purchase, is an investment - and you don’t want to have to replace it mid-summer!

So, if you’re planning a grill shopping outing, here are a few things we suggest keeping in mind as you go on that quest. 

GET THE RIGHT KIND. 

This one seems like a no-brainer, but really - think about what you’re going to be using your grill to accomplish. Are you thinking small, immediate family cookouts once in a while? Or are you inviting the whole neighborhood over for a BBQ blowout? Are you a devotee of charcoal, or are you open to gas or electric? Lowe’s actually has this nifty, quick guide to selecting the right kind of grill - scope it out and get a feel for what’s on the market right now.

WHAT ARE YOU GRILLING?

Once you’ve honed in on what fuel source and size you’re interested in, think about what you’ll be grilling. This will also affect your decision. Different grills heat to different temperatures - and thrive at those temperatures - so take inventory of what you’ll be grilling most and buy accordingly. 

WIGGLE TEST

So the grill looks nice, and it’s the right size. So now it’s time for the wiggle test. 
While in the store, gently move it around and rock it back and forth to gauge how study it is. A structurally compromised grill will almost definitely wiggle. If it’s this unsound in the store, it probably won’t hold up on your patio or in your backyard. 

CHECK OUT CONSUMER REPORTS

Not all grilling apparati are created equal, so product reviews are a great place to start. Consumer Reports offers this glance at gas grills, which are perennially popular - and usually cost a pretty penny. Research is key!

Are you grill shopping? Any idea what kind you’re getting? Leave us a comment and tell us about your favorite cookout device!