I don’t know if I’ve told you about this already, but Zack and I are now the proud owners of a cow.

Well, half a cow.

Half a cow that came to us in pieces that were vacuum sealed and frozen solid.

I know. It sounds less farm-ish and more serial killer-ish when I put it that way.

Nevertheless, we are excited to have a seemingly limitless supply of red meat on hand, especially since the price of groceries seems to have skyrocketed in the last few years.

Thankfully, at some point long ago, I had seen a homesteader on YouTube that recommended using cooler bags with rigid sides for chest freezer organization. At the time, I had no intention of ever purchasing that much meat at once, but of course I watched the video anyway.

(Does that happen to you? One click and then another, and before you know it, you’re watching an Australian man trim a cow’s hoof. That’s not a euphemism for anything inappropriate, either. I have fallen down the hoof-trimming rabbit’s hole on more than one occasion.)

At any rate, even though I figured I’d never get half a cow, I took note of her suggestion and remembered it the next time I cleaned out my deep freezer.

Sure enough, it’s a cost-effective way to keep things organized in a deep freeze.

So before we got our influx of meat, we bought several of those bags.

It’s a good thing we did, too. The meat we ordered neatly filled the large chest freezer we had purchased for the occasion.

I shudder to think of what exactly I would have access to if we hadn’t sorted into those bags. Soup bones? Huge chunks of fat, ready to be trimmed down and rendered into tallow?

Thankfully, that’s not the case, and we can easily lift and shift bags to get to roasts and steaks, round and chuck.

And ground. So, so much ground beef.

Not that I’m complaining! Ground beef is certainly one of my favorite proteins: quick, easy, versatile.

I am trying to use it at a reasonable clip; it would be unfortunate to eat all the delicious steaks and roasts in the first few months and then feast on only ground beef for the remainder of the year.

That’s how I found this recipe, and it immediately earned a spot in my family’s dinner rotation. Everyone loved it; it is very budget-friendly, and the leftovers are even better. In fact, I’ve already eaten it for lunch for three days.

SKILLET LASAGNA

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef, seasoned well with paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning blend, and a pinch of cayenne pepper
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 pound pasta (I used a ruffly one called radioatori, but any type will do)
1 (24-ounce) jar pasta sauce
1 cup water
1 (15-ounce) carton ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (fresh or green can; just be aware that the green can type will not melt. The flavor will be there, but the texture will not.)

Directions
■ Place a large, deep-sided skillet or a wide, shallow stock pot over medium heat. Add diced onion to the pan, sauteeing for a few minutes until the onions begin to soften. Add minced garlic to the pan and cook no longer than one minute. Add ground beef to the pan and season liberally with paprika, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and Italian seasoning blend. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper. When meat crumbles are thoroughly browned, drain off grease.
■ Add pasta sauce and water to the pan. Stir in the dry pasta and about 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Stir thoroughly. Place the lid on the pan, bring heat up to medium-high, and bring the mixture to a boil. (If you do not have a lid that fits your pan, do as my mother always does and place a cookie sheet over the pan.) Stir again, replace the lid, and turn the heat down so the sauce stays just at a simmer. Stir occasionally until noodles are tender, about 15 minutes. Add water if sauce seems too dry. (My ruffly pasta required an additional 1/4 cup of water and took 20 minutes.)
■ While pasta cooks, mix carton of ricotta with about 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper and the Parmesan. When pasta is tender, dollop ricotta mixture over the surface of the sauce. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the top of the ricotta. Replace the lid (or cookie sheet) and allow about 5 minutes for the cheeses to warm through and melt. Serve hot.

Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].

Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.

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