Butcher day!!!

It's the simple things that make me happy, really it is.  For the last few months, I have been going to a local butcher and buying all the meat needed for a months time.  The amount of money I save is HUGE.  So huge that I've paid for my deep freeze in just two months....amazing.  We, like most families probably, consistently use 4-5 cuts of meats the most and those are the ones I stock up on.  Our local butcher is fabulous....the meat is so fresh and the flavor doesn't even compare to what is available in chain stores.  Plus, as y'all know, I live in a very rural area and I just love having a well-stocked freezer.  Today, I spent 57 dollars and here's a pic of what I got after dividing everything.

I realize it's pretty hard to tell what is what so here's the breakdown:  6 lbs of ground beef (lean) for 1.99/lb, 4 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast for 1.79/lb, pre-sliced pork loin for 1.99/lb (I think I had 7 lbs), boneless sirloin roast 2.89/lb (3 lbs), 2lbs of fresh sausage 1.00/lb.  I also got one lb of sliced bologna (1.89/lb), one lb of chipped turkey (3.79) and one lb of chipped ham (3.79) and 1/2 lb sliced colby cheese (not sure of the price on this one!).  For those of you who don't know, lunch meat freezes beautifully as long as it is low-fat.  If you find a good deal, buy extra and freeze it.  Just allow a full-day per lb for the meat to defrost when ready to use.  As you can see, I got an amazing haul for the amount of money I spent.  My family of three will eat on this for a good month......Going to your butcher and buying in bulk is very much worth the investment of time.  I maybe spent fifteen minutes dividing and packaging the meat into usable portions.  25 lbs of meat for 57 dollars!  I forgot to add a lb of slab bacon in the grand total :)  I encourage everyone who enjoys hunting for a bargain or who needs to cut back on their grocery expenses to try out your local butcher!