I prefer cooking ground meat first, then portioning it for additional meals or other uses. This way it's ready to thaw, heat and serve, and I only had to thaw it once. I don't use it as a substitute for hamburger patties, I use bean burgers for that.

I'll make meatloaf in a muffin pan for individual servings so they work for additional meals or hubby's lunch at work. I'll use a pound of ground turkey to make sloppy joes and portion it so there is enough for a meal-for-two. I make several lunch items using pre-cooked ground turkey crumbles (without any seasonings).

I prefer ground turkey to ground chicken, but they can be used in nearly all the same recipes. Ground turkey is often more coarsely ground than chicken, making it more like ground beef in appearance when fried; and it might help if it's partially frozen when you try to work with ground chicken.

Other things I make: spaghetti sauce, seasoned taco meat, sloppy joes, chili, turkey sausage crumbles, and any number of entrees as needed. You could also make meatballs, but we don't like them, so I never make them.

I use ground turkey to make "sausage" crumbles by seasoning it with sausage seasoning mixture from Penzeys (sausage seasoning mixture is a lot different in flavor than Italian spices - imo) - that's all there is to my KISS method. Pop a pound of ground turkey into a frying pan with a little coconut oil (or fat of choice - you could also add a little water or stock and "fry" in the liquid to reduce the fat) to coat the pan, add sausage seasoning and break up the turkey (use a potato masher, wooden spoon, or a dinner fork) while it slowly cooks. Bag in user-friendly portions.

I prefer turkey sausage made as loose meat (crumbles), not patties, because I can use the loose meat sausage as a topping on a pizza, mixed with scrambled eggs, reheated as a breakfast meat, or added to a breakfast casserole.

I usually divide a pound (cooked meat) into small snack-size zip lock bags (weighing 2-4 oz. each - depending on number of servings and use) and place all the small bags in a shallow plastic container so they don't get "lost" in the freezer. (The small bags can also be placed in a FoodSaver bag and vacuum-sealed shut. When you open the bag you can remove the number of small bags needed and reseal the bag). If I think I might only use 1/2 a portion out of these little snack bags, I'll make a dent in the meat about 1/2 way on the bag by pressing my finger so it divides the meat into 2 portions. I quick-freeze it on a cookie sheet, then store it in the freezer. Where I divided the meat, it will snap in two so I can get out one portion - even when it's frozen.

FYI - They have the same size bags as the small snack bags that open on the end, not the top, called "Portion Pack Bags" that have measurements on the side - 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, 3/4 cup and 1 cup, which is handy for portion control.

Here's a recipe I found on-line that might work for the ground chicken. I've never tried it, but it might give you an idea of the add-in you are looking for, and you can reduce the salt, or leave it out, to make it low-sodium. -Grainlady

Savory Apple-Chicken Sausage
(Source: Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet Cookbook Copyright 2009)

1 large tart apple, peeled and diced
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground chicken

In a large bowl, combine the apple, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. Crumble chicken over mixture and mix well, Shape into 8 3-inch patties.

In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook patties over medium heat for 5-6 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Drain if necessary. [Author's notes: My patties were kind of thick and took a while to cook through. After browning them, I added some water to the pan and let it cook out and then let them brown a bit more.]

Grainlady, bless your heart for your help. You cover all the angles. When you cook the meat first, what do you do to break it up so that it is not just in one big hunk?. I will have to order some of that seasoning from Penzey's, but is it a high sodium count? I bought some ready-made turkey meatballs and I didn't like them at all and neither did my cat Scratcher. So interesting that you say put several plastic bags in a container so they don't get lost in the freezer. My son is always giving me a hard time because I forget things in my freezer. I dont have a food saver. Maybe I had better look into that. I have everthing in my freezer, flour, cereals, etc to keep those grain millers out. They usually are in the bird feed when I get it by way of the egg stage. I buy a lot of bird feed because my kids have all kinds of feeders so I can watch them from my windows. I love to watch the woodpeckers and have one great big woodpecker with a bright orange head. They love the suet cakes.

By the way, I'm glad you got that hubby of yours trained so he allows you to dance around the kitchen. I do that all the time and it alters my moods tremendously. Barb

But you can also just freeze the patties if you want.

Barb, Penzey's has a great selection of salt-free herb blends. I use them all the time. Instead of their salted sausage blends, you could use their salt-free poultry or Mural of flavor for the ground chicken or ground pork.

I used to make sausage patties following Alton Brown's breakfast sausage recipe (minus the salt, of course). Eventually I got tired of all the weighing of portions, shaping, etc. Then I graduated to what Grainlady describes. I mixed the seasoning into the meat and cooked sausage crumbles. Bagged them up into 1/3 - 1/2 cup portions and froze. Perfect for a breakfast burrito or omelet. Or as a topping for a homemade bagel & cream cheese or pizza.

Regarding your concerns about dense, hard patties. That's the nature of meat patties made with lean meat. Cooks Illustrated recommends adding a panade, a paste of milk & bread, to keep the patties moist. You're right. That's why meatloaf recipes include breadcrumbs or oatmeal along with some sort of liquid. The only other way to soften meat patties is to cook them like salisbury steak, braising them in liquid for 30 minutes or more.

Barb-

If you are having a problem with pantry pests (grain millers, weevils, etc.), the biggest contributor of that problem are bird seed and dry pet food, so try to store them out of the kitchen.

-Grainlady

I am over that period and that is why I keep stuff in the refrigerator or freezer. I was just using those sticky things with the lures * which are about $7.00 here apiece". Anyway we threw away gobs of stuff.They were mostly in the dry stuff and herbs. One of my friends had a grocery store and she said she threw $3000.00 of inventory away. I don't keep my bird seed in the kitchen. I keep it out in the garage which is attached. They would slip in, and they are like rabbits. Anyway that is in the past. I am just paranoid about those things. That is why I am leery of things like Penzeys. Barb