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Grocery Shopping 101: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide for Easy Homemade Meals

Trying to break the take-out cycle, but don't know where to begin when it comes to grocery shopping? Follow our simple guide and fill your shopping cart the right way. Pick and choose from each category below and you'll have a pantry stocked up for healthy homemade meals. Plus, see the 3 surprising things you always need in your pantry (9 Photos)

Casey Barber on Sep 13, 2012 at 9:26AM

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Grocery Shopping 101: An Aisle-by-Aisle Guide for Easy Homemade Meals

Monty Rakusen/Cultura/Getty Images

How to Shop for Meat

The freezer is your friend when it comes to the butcher counter. Look for what’s on sale that week — chicken breasts or thighs, value beef cuts like short ribs, ground beef or turkey, chuck for stews, or flank and hanger steaks that are just as succulent as ribeyes — and buy extra for future meals. You can ask the butcher to cut large pieces of meat into single serving portions or DIY when you get home. Wrap each portion in waxed paper, then in foil, making sure to label clearly the type of meat and the date of purchase. Meat will keep for three months in the freezer.

Kitchen Tip We Love: Defrost frozen protein by placing the wrapped meat on a plate (to hold any liquid that may seep out as it leaks) in your refrigerator 24 hours before you plan to cook it. Don’t leave the meat on the counter to defrost at room temperature; temperatures above 40 degrees are an open invitation for bacteria.

3 Foolproof Ways to Cook Meat:
Grilled Hanger Steak
Roasted Chicken Cutlets
Hamburgers