Maxwell 19: Life is Still Boring

[HereticHick]

57 minutes ago, Foudeb said:

I have major snark on their last post.

Why cook beef without a specific meal plan in mind? How do you know how to season the beef if you don't know how you'll cook it? I wouldn't question it from someone normal, but these are people who live by the almighty schedule, why on earth do they buy groceries without a meal plan, let alone cook them? How long does it take to think, hmm, beef, what shall I do with it, and then cook it with a specific dish in mind?

And un-cooked meat freezes just fine. Cooked meat, on the other hand? Bleargh. That beef will be dry.

As for "multitasking", I know absolutely no one who focusses single-mindedly on chopping an onion. No one.

 

What is this "season the beef" concept that you refer to?  Sauteed onions should be more than enough seasoning for the righteous.

[theologygeek]

That poor woman is inept in the kitchen.  Don't saute ground beef and then freeze it.  It will not taste it's best.  If you're going to freeze cooked ground beef, freeze it in liquid.  For instance, freeze meatballs in the sauce, freeze homemade salisbury steaks in the gravy, etc.  Teri could have made Italian Wedding Soup and used up some of that ground beef for little meatballs in the soup.  Very healthy with escarole or spinach.  Why on earth did she freeze the whole four pound package of ground beef in the first place?  I highly doubt they eat it all at once.  They eat like birds.  Break it up and put it in freezer bags or the food saver.  All that nonsense because she wanted to use half an onion.  You can refrigerate the other half.  For people who pride themselves on being domesticated, they are clueless in the kitchen. 

[molecule]

I usually buy my ground beef in bulk, break it down, and freeze it in smaller packages--but I also like to freeze cooked ground beef because it saves me time. I usually keep a couple pounds of cooked stuff in the freezer so it's there when I need it. I use it to throw into soup, spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, or whatever. It works fine as an ingredient in other dishes. I season it with salt and pepper while browning it. When I decide what I'm using it in, I add seasoning as part of that cooking process. 

[LilMissMetaphor]

Yeah, why would you go to all the trouble of thawing ground beef just to add an onion, then re-freeze it? Why wouldn't you just stick half the onion (and FFS if it doesn't get used and goes bad it's half an onion, not an effing gold nugget) in the fridge and wait until you actually had the almighty PLAN for what to do with it?

[usedbicycle]

Can we take a poll on Teri's Worst Household Hacks? 

Thawing, cooking, cooling and refreeezing 4 pounds of ground beef, just to use up half an onion, has to top that list for me.  

[IReallyAmHopewell]

I cook ground beef with onion and garlic and freeze it-- 2 1/2 cups = 1lb uncooked. BUT, why did this merit a post?? Surely this is a joke post --a gotcha! to us?? No one is THAT boring!

15 hours ago, theologygeek said:

 

 

 

15 hours ago, theologygeek said:

I don't follow these threads closely, but come and go, so I apologize if this has been mentioned about the Maxwell girls women. How would Steve react if one of them approached him saying they felt called by God to explore a relationship? Do these women have any contact with men they are not related to that are in the same age range? Do women solely have to wait until their dad brings it up?

What about the Arndt men? If they felt called, how could their parents argue against a calling? 

Steve would likely say no. The guy must initiate the relationship. God speaks only to Dad.

[grammyj]

Oh my,my. Teri's last two posts, making sure she is accountable for every minute of every day. With Steve's approval of course. And cooking several things in the kitchen at once lest you waste half an onion.

WHY would anyone want to follow their lifestyle?? It's dreary and well, just horrible. All this so you can hope for the reward of their heaven?  Nope, no and no.  I'd far rather go live with the Bontragers. At least they have some f*n. And good eats.

Still, I don't get tired of reading about the Maxwells.  They are like an alien species to me.

[anjulibai]

Multitasking as a new concept? Really? How out of touch are the Maxwells?

[catlady]

3 hours ago, danvillebelle said:

To be fair (not that I necessarily agree with her, just saying) - Teri is pretty clearly saying in that corner that God is the boss in the scenario, not the husband.  

ok, that makes more sense, but that means Steve is subject to annual performance reviews, too.  the God i used to believe in would never give him a good one.  

1 hour ago, usedbicycle said:

Can we take a poll on Teri's Worst Household Hacks? 

Thawing, cooking, cooling and refreeezing 4 pounds of ground beef, just to use up half an onion, has to top that list for me.  

and we can't even vote on the pizza-cutter/lettuce hack, because we supposedly don't even know what it is.......

[usmcmom]

2 hours ago, LilMissMetaphor said:

Yeah, why would you go to all the trouble of thawing ground beef just to add an onion, then re-freeze it? Why wouldn't you just stick half the onion (and FFS if it doesn't get used and goes bad it's half an onion, not an effing gold nugget) in the fridge and wait until you actually had the almighty PLAN for what to do with it?

Or chop the remaining half onion, put it in a teeny tiny storage container and freeze it. I buy frozen chopped onions to keep on hand for those times I don't have a fresh one. If saving half an onion is THAT important, save the onion. Don't add eleventy steps to your cooking for HALF AN ONION. 

 

[PennySycamore]

I used to always keep browned ground beef in meal sized portions in the freezer.  Meatballs, too.  I still keep chopped onion in the freezer. It makes it easier to add onion to what I’m cooking.

[catlady]

I’m going to start chopping and freezing my leftover onions; I didn’t know they’d freeze well. So all this time I’ve just been refrigerating my half-onions like a brazen heathen. Call me reformed now. 

[HereticHick]

Teri could ask schedule time for Chelsy to come over--Chelsy could throw together a beef taco feast for the family in a hot minute. And bring a jar of her family's homemade salsa.

[Ivycoveredtower]

15 minutes ago, HereticHick said:

Teri could ask schedule time for Chelsy to come over--Chelsy could throw together a beef taco feast for the family in a hot minute. And bring a jar of her family's homemade salsa.

chelsey may claim to love her new family and have fun with them but I highly doubt it and she and John are probably on the road somewhere so she doesn't have to be pulled into chores at Maxhell

[Eternalbluepearl]

14 minutes ago, Ivycoveredtower said:

she and John are probably on the road somewhere so she doesn't have to be pulled into chores at Maxhell

Like the time the family scrubbed some green crap off of the siding and blogged about it? Still not over it. 

[IReallyAmHopewell]

1 hour ago, Ivycoveredtower said:

Teri could ask schedule time for Chelsy to come over--Chelsy could throw together a beef taco feast for the family in a hot minute. And bring a jar of her family's homemade salsa.

Wouldn't be prudent....could cause spontaneous fun and rollicking.....

We need a taco emoji

 

[nomoxian]

I grew up learning how to "cook" from people who used Dunken Heinz cake mix and Kraft Dinner pizza kits, so I might be wrong about this, but isn't it bad to defrost and then refreeze meat?

I never seem to use all of my produce before it goes bad, especially when I get a crate of peppers or whatever at the market (only cost 1 euro at closing time!) I find the texture changes after they've been frozen, so I wouldn't munch on defrosted raw peppers dipped in quark, but they are fine with soup, pasta sauce, on pizza or in a burrito if they're cooked up with the meat.

[catlady]

@nomoxian, you don’t want to thaw and refreeze raw meat; it’s ok to freeze it again after you cook It.  

[courtlylove]

Teri's post is confusing - it's best not to multitask, here's how to multitask ... not only that but here's how to MULTI-multitask!

[Fascinated]

I cannot express the hatred I have for the word ‘fellowshipped’.  That was her multi-multitasking?  Fellowshipping with her daughters while she cooked?  Jesus. 

[Lady Grass Lake]

I freeze garden produce in the fall, like peppers and onions by chopping in small pieces and spreading a single layer deep on a cookie sheet that has wax paper or non stick foil.  Freeze until it's frozen, then quickly get it into freezer bags or boxes.  If it goes into the container well froze, it won't clump together and you can take out small amounts as needed.  We also do this with fruit like blueberries, you can pull out just enough for pancakes or coffee cake.   

We put cut up onion pieces in with the potatoes when you are boiling them for mashing, when you mash them, they disentegrate and you won't know they are in there, but they taste so much better.  

For my family, 4 pounds of ground beef  and only half an onion is barely seasoned.  

     

[Granwych]

5 hours ago, catlady said:

I’m going to start chopping and freezing my leftover onions; I didn’t know they’d freeze well. So all this time I’ve just been refrigerating my half-onions like a brazen heathen. Call me reformed now. 

How does everyone keep chopped onion from smelling up her freezer?  I'm all ears---

5 hours ago, HereticHick said:

Teri could ask schedule time for Chelsy to come over--Chelsy could throw together a beef taco feast for the family in a hot minute. And bring a jar of her family's homemade salsa.

I dunno--the salsa might give them SEVERE indigestion from not being used to anything that tastes good.

[scoutsadie]

On 3/13/2018 at 12:51 PM, SPHASH said:

Griselda Hero's latest Mom's Corner is disgusting.  Homemaker's bosses are their husbands and are subject to performance reviews.

I ended up down a Maxwell blog rabbit hole recently and came across a series of posts about the various kids' homeschool graduations; just about vomited when I saw a photo of Steve and Teri captioned as "Principal and Lead Teacher." Because of course the person with the main responsibility for educating the kids still needs a boss! It makes me queasy just thinking about it. What a repugnant worldview. Fuck that noise.

[Tatar-tot]

3 hours ago, Fascinated said:

I cannot express the hatred I have for the word ‘fellowshipped’.  That was her multi-multitasking?  Fellowshipping with her daughters while she cooked?  Jesus. 

Fellowship drives me nuts along with the term “kiddos”.  They both make my skin crawl.

[PennySycamore]

@Granwych,  I alway double or triple bag my chopped onion that I put in the freezer.  You could also put it in a Tupperware type container or even a glass jar.