Friday: Packing Day, Beef Sticks & Burger Bowls for the Road

This morning we finished off the bacon I made yesterday at lunch, which means tomorrow morning will be my final big bacon cook before we leave for the lake on Sunday.

At this point, I’m just stocking the freezer.

The kids also had toast, cereal, fruit, and whatever other simple breakfast things sounded good. Of course Daphne went with a ‘fancy bagel’…aka cream cheese and sprinkles!

My main goal today was to get as much packing done as possible so tomorrow doesn’t turn into one giant scramble.

Naturally, it rained off and on all day, which meant I couldn’t just send everyone outside while I packed.

And my four-year-old apparently sensed that I was trying to accomplish things because she needed me approximately every 30 seconds.

So instead, we painted nails.

Obviously you need freshly painted nails before you go to the lake. We also picked raspberries too.

Before lunch I did some packing….amazing how life vests for a family of 7 can fill entire HUGE duffel bag!

I also packed some kitchen essentials. My top items I ALWAYS bring on trips: sharp chef’s knife, a short serrated knife, a few cutting boards, tongs, kitchen scissors, a peeler, and a large sauté pan.

Cleaning Out the Refrigerator for Lunch

Lunch was another use-what-we-have meal.

I still had cooked pasta in the refrigerator, so I warmed that up along with some of the cooked pork sausage I keep ready.

Then I basically turned it into a pasta bar.

The kids could add whatever they wanted:

• Cheese
• Olives
• Onion
• Pork sausage
• Whatever other toppings sounded good

Some ate everything together. Some wanted it completely separated.

Same ingredients, everyone gets to make the meal work for them.

My teen finished more of the leftover salmon from last night with one of her favorite leftover lunches.

She does:

• Cold salmon
• Rice
• A little mayo
• Soy sauce
• Dried seaweed sheets

Then she basically builds little bites with everything. It’s such a good way to use leftover salmon.

I made myself a salad with some of the grilled chicken thighs from earlier this week.

We’re officially in that pre-vacation stage where my goal is to make the refrigerator emptier every time someone eats.

Homemade Beef Sticks: Final Version

This afternoon I finished another batch of the homemade beef sticks.

I really wanted to get the full step-by-step reel finished before we left because I’ve had so many questions about them.

This recipe started with my homemade beef summer sausage, but it took several rounds of testing to turn it into something that actually worked well as individual sticks.

Here’s the version I’ve landed on.

Homemade Beef Sticks

For 1 pound ground beef:

• 2 teaspoons Morton Tender Quick
• ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
• ½ tablespoon mustard seed
• ½ tablespoon liquid smoke
• ½ tablespoon granulated sugar
• About 1 teaspoon coarse black pepper

Mix everything very thoroughly. I like using my stand mixer because I want the seasoning evenly incorporated throughout the meat.

Place the mixture between two pieces of parchment paper and roll it very thin, around 2–3 millimeters.

Remove the top parchment.

Then use a bench scraper to score the meat into strips. I like them roughly 1 centimeter wide and around 6 centimeters long.

The bench scraper works much better than dragging a knife through the meat. Just press straight down, lift straight up, move over, and repeat.

Cover and refrigerate overnight to cure.

The next day, bake at 275°F for about 1 hour.

Once they’re finished, blot the tops really well with paper towels to remove any excess rendered fat. That keeps the chilled sticks from developing little white spots of hardened beef fat.

Cool completely and refrigerate before judging the final texture. I think they’re much better cold.

And that’s it.

Now, of course, I’m already thinking about the next experiment.

I want to try a teriyaki version.

And everyone keeps asking about ground chicken or ground turkey.

I will admit that ground chicken and turkey are not exactly my favorite proteins.

But I will do it for the sake of science.

Burger Bowls for Dinner

For dinner, I needed to cook the rest of the ground beef I bought at Costco yesterday.

I had already pulled some out for the beef sticks, so I browned everything that remained and turned dinner into one of our reliable family favorites: burger bowls.

Tonight I made both regular roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes because our house is divided on that issue.

Easy Roasted Potatoes

I cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and tossed them with:

• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic powder

Then I spread them onto a sheet pan and roasted them until browned and crispy around the edges. I like to smash the potatoes once they’re partially cooked.

I did the sweet potatoes the same way on their own pan with a little cinnamon too.

While those cooked, I sautéed peppers and onions on the stovetop.

I also reheated the remaining green beans from last night for the kids who would much rather have those than peppers and onions.

Then I chopped lettuce and onion and put out the usual burger toppings.

Everyone built dinner however they wanted.

Some of us did the full layered bowl:

• Crispy potatoes
• Ground beef
• Peppers and onions
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Burger toppings

The younger kids mostly wanted everything separated.

Same dinner. Different presentation.

Dinner for the Drive

I’m especially happy that we have leftovers tonight because I think these burger bowls are going to become part of our road-trip lunch on Sunday.

I’ll pack the hot beef and potatoes into our Thermoses, and then when we stop to eat, we can add whatever cold toppings we brought separately.

That’s exactly the kind of road food I like.

It’s warm, filling, high in protein, and actually feels like a meal instead of everyone living on snack food until we arrive.

Tomorrow is our final day at home.

I’ll do one more batch of bacon, keep working through anything perishable in the refrigerator, finish packing, and hopefully by Saturday night we’ll be completely ready to leave.