The beauty of hamburger meat is the versatility. It can be your basic burger/salisbury steak/meatloaf/meatballs, or you can use it in casseroles/tacos/soups/pizza topping. When I was growing up, we ate it ALL the time, as it was cheaper than chicken!!
One of my frugal favorites has always been "Cheeseburger Ramen"...kind of a made up version of hamburger helper with ramen noodles, onions, and cheese mixed it....my neices STILL ask for it when they come over!
I no longer eat red meat, but continue to make all of my "hamburger" favorites, with ground turkey! Tastes just as good, better for you - and if you don't tell, they will not know the difference!
I especially like it when you talked about process goal setting. Focusing on goals, especially big ones can be overwhelming, but focusing on creating a new habits that will get those goals done instead can be a lot easier and can come with some great long term advantages.
Make empanadas! Something adults and kids both like.
Brown chopped meat, drain. Add a splash of tomato sauce, splash of white wine if you have it, green olives with pimentos, and cubed potatoes. Simmer all for about 5 minutes.
Using either corn or flour "discs": fill each round disc with a few spoons of meat. Fold over like a turnover. Fry in canola oil on both sides until golden.
Why not use wonton wrappers along with the ground meat, soy sauce, ginger, scallions, a little sesame oil or whatever you like (i like Japanese rice seasoning) in dumplings? Put them in the wonton wrappers and fry the bottoms for a little then add water to steam or just steam them. Add a salad on the side with a little sesame ginger dressing (I like Newman's Own) and you have a faux gourmet meal.
I brown hamburger with taco seasoning, drain add chopped up tamales and ( you can use corn, black beans, or most anything you like.) I layer in crushed corn chips, refried beans, cheese, and top it off with black olives,tomatos and lettuce
My mom used to make this "Hamburger Pizza" that we loved as kids. The crust was hamburger (and spices) and it was topped with corn, black beans/kidney beans, and of course CHEESE. Hmmmmm, I should ask her for that recipe :)
My current favorite is Taco Soup (recipe here: http://bit.ly/tacosoup). The recipe calls for a full pound of ground meat, but I'm going to use only 1/2 pound next time.
Another fave is a variation on a cheeseburger, using pimiento cheese instead of plain old, ordinary cheese. Spread the top bun with pimiento cheese and place it on top of the cooked burger about a minute before removing from pan or grill. (I usually toss the bottom bun into the pan for toasting at the same time.) Dee-lish!
Heart-healthy and a great way to stretch a pound of beef into several meals. Wix with several cans of beans of any kind-chili, black, pinto, some corn, canned tomatos and either shredded or velveeta. Spice it up with your favorite taco-style seasons and mix well in a 9 X 13 pan. Top with cornbread, prepared as directed, and spread evenly across mixture. Bake and presto! A hearty dinner with guaranteed leftovers.
I like cheeseburger salad, or triple cheese delight (or as my grandpa called it, gag-a-maggot). I saw the cheeseburger pie at a pampered chef party once- it tastes just like a cheeseburger, only with lots of lettuce. For cheeseburger salad, just cook your hamburger like you normally would, except not in patties, just crumbled, slice and toast the hamburger buns in the oven. Add any type of toppings to the salad portion (tomatos, onions, etc.) that you would like on a cheeseburger. When the hamburger has been cooked, add ketchup, mustard and relish and mix together. Put that on top of the salad with some shredded cheese, and top with the toasted buns.
For triple cheese delight, brown hamburger with some finely chopped celery and onion. Add tomato sauce (the plain tomato sauce, not spaghetti sauce), spices- such as oregano, salt, pepper, etc., along with cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream. Cook egg noodles while hamburger is cooking. Put cooked egg noodles and meat/cheese mixture in a casserole dish together and bake. I'm not sure of the measurements off hand, you can play around with it until it tastes good to you. Bake until bubbly, probably at 350 degrees. It's soo good!
For all those concerned about "expensive" private schools:
If your kid's grades are excellent but your income is only modest, the elite private schools are actually pretty affordable thanks to their generous financial aid.
In the late 1990s, my family had a total annual income of about $50k, and little in savings. However, the elite schools to which I applied -- and the Ivy League school that I attended -- were all within reach, thanks to their generous grants. Tuition, room and board totally around $42k a year, I think. My folks paid about $7k a year (a struggle, but workable). I received some small private scholarships and worked 10 hours a week on campus to pay for books and personal expenses. I took out about $15k (total) in Perkins and Stafford loans. The school picked up the rest. Whenever I thank my parents for paying for such a top-notch education, they always say, "YOU paid for it, thanks to your grades. We just paid for the equivalent of Ohio State!"
TACO SALAD
We brown the meat, then add onion and pour over salad greens. Add chopped black olives, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, avocado and then scrunch Doritos on top. There you have taco salad.
Ground meat works in a variety of asian dishes, but this is my fave - makes a nice light appetizer:
Fry garlic and ginger in a pan with some peanut oil. Brown mince, then add grated carrot, water chestnuts, oyster sauce, sweet thick soy sauce and a little sesame oil. Stir until sauce thickens.
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Put in iceberg lettuce cups, fold and eat!
You make an awesome argument and under other circumstances, I'd quit buying it instantly. Especially since I don't buy into organic anyways. I really do believe that it's an excuse to charge twice as much for products grown using inferior and less safe practices. I don't agree with the use of that growth hormone, etc, but they can stop using that crap without switching over to organic.
Anyways, you'd have me with this article, but the simple fact is that they have a whole milk with plant based dha added. And my son, who just weaned off formula but is still nursing, is getting it in the place of his formula. If any other brand (Reiter's or Dairyman's, etc.) offered the dha, I'd probably be willing to switch. Same with their little blends yogurts. he eats them because of the hidden serving of veggies. If dannon started putting veggies in their kids yogurt, I'd so be there. I wish the regular food companies would bother to figure out why people are switching. Some of us aren't just buying whatever says organic on it.
You can make many variations of casseroles using beef... Shepherd's Pie, Poor-Man's Casserole, Hamburger Chinese Noodle Casserole, and (my favorite) Upside-Down Pizza Casserole, just to name a few.
Or you can make different kinds of meatballs, like BBQ meatballs or sweet & sour meatballs.
Of course, there are always different chili recipes to try out, and you can decrease the amount of meat you use in the chili to reduce costs even further.
There are websites where you can type in the ingredients you have and find recipes using those ingredients as well as looking up specific recipes. And experiment. Changing up one or two things can turn a blah meal into a family favorite.
I have made ground beef into patties, browned them in a skillet, then added gravy and braised them. They are great served with noodles or mashed potatoes.
That was kind of confusing......but alarming! (at least, I think it must be! lol!!!)
How do you KNOW it's a "tiny url" or a bit.ly?? What does it look like?
The beauty of hamburger meat is the versatility. It can be your basic burger/salisbury steak/meatloaf/meatballs, or you can use it in casseroles/tacos/soups/pizza topping. When I was growing up, we ate it ALL the time, as it was cheaper than chicken!!
One of my frugal favorites has always been "Cheeseburger Ramen"...kind of a made up version of hamburger helper with ramen noodles, onions, and cheese mixed it....my neices STILL ask for it when they come over!
I no longer eat red meat, but continue to make all of my "hamburger" favorites, with ground turkey! Tastes just as good, better for you - and if you don't tell, they will not know the difference!
Great article goal setting is very important.
I especially like it when you talked about process goal setting. Focusing on goals, especially big ones can be overwhelming, but focusing on creating a new habits that will get those goals done instead can be a lot easier and can come with some great long term advantages.
The link will be in the form of "tinyurl.com/#####" or "bit.ly/#####"
lots of variety of beans, bbq sauce and ground beef in crockpot makes a great and easy meal!
Make empanadas! Something adults and kids both like.
Brown chopped meat, drain. Add a splash of tomato sauce, splash of white wine if you have it, green olives with pimentos, and cubed potatoes. Simmer all for about 5 minutes.
Using either corn or flour "discs": fill each round disc with a few spoons of meat. Fold over like a turnover. Fry in canola oil on both sides until golden.
Delicious!
Why not use wonton wrappers along with the ground meat, soy sauce, ginger, scallions, a little sesame oil or whatever you like (i like Japanese rice seasoning) in dumplings? Put them in the wonton wrappers and fry the bottoms for a little then add water to steam or just steam them. Add a salad on the side with a little sesame ginger dressing (I like Newman's Own) and you have a faux gourmet meal.
I brown hamburger with taco seasoning, drain add chopped up tamales and ( you can use corn, black beans, or most anything you like.) I layer in crushed corn chips, refried beans, cheese, and top it off with black olives,tomatos and lettuce
Hamburger is really good in chili. Chili is a great comfort food, and it's SOOOO great for warming you up when it's so frigidly cold outside.
I love Hamburger Pizza. It's a non-traditional use of an old favorite.
My mom used to make this "Hamburger Pizza" that we loved as kids. The crust was hamburger (and spices) and it was topped with corn, black beans/kidney beans, and of course CHEESE. Hmmmmm, I should ask her for that recipe :)
My current favorite is Taco Soup (recipe here: http://bit.ly/tacosoup). The recipe calls for a full pound of ground meat, but I'm going to use only 1/2 pound next time.
Another fave is a variation on a cheeseburger, using pimiento cheese instead of plain old, ordinary cheese. Spread the top bun with pimiento cheese and place it on top of the cooked burger about a minute before removing from pan or grill. (I usually toss the bottom bun into the pan for toasting at the same time.) Dee-lish!
Heart-healthy and a great way to stretch a pound of beef into several meals. Wix with several cans of beans of any kind-chili, black, pinto, some corn, canned tomatos and either shredded or velveeta. Spice it up with your favorite taco-style seasons and mix well in a 9 X 13 pan. Top with cornbread, prepared as directed, and spread evenly across mixture. Bake and presto! A hearty dinner with guaranteed leftovers.
I like cheeseburger salad, or triple cheese delight (or as my grandpa called it, gag-a-maggot). I saw the cheeseburger pie at a pampered chef party once- it tastes just like a cheeseburger, only with lots of lettuce. For cheeseburger salad, just cook your hamburger like you normally would, except not in patties, just crumbled, slice and toast the hamburger buns in the oven. Add any type of toppings to the salad portion (tomatos, onions, etc.) that you would like on a cheeseburger. When the hamburger has been cooked, add ketchup, mustard and relish and mix together. Put that on top of the salad with some shredded cheese, and top with the toasted buns.
For triple cheese delight, brown hamburger with some finely chopped celery and onion. Add tomato sauce (the plain tomato sauce, not spaghetti sauce), spices- such as oregano, salt, pepper, etc., along with cottage cheese, cream cheese and sour cream. Cook egg noodles while hamburger is cooking. Put cooked egg noodles and meat/cheese mixture in a casserole dish together and bake. I'm not sure of the measurements off hand, you can play around with it until it tastes good to you. Bake until bubbly, probably at 350 degrees. It's soo good!
For all those concerned about "expensive" private schools:
If your kid's grades are excellent but your income is only modest, the elite private schools are actually pretty affordable thanks to their generous financial aid.
In the late 1990s, my family had a total annual income of about $50k, and little in savings. However, the elite schools to which I applied -- and the Ivy League school that I attended -- were all within reach, thanks to their generous grants. Tuition, room and board totally around $42k a year, I think. My folks paid about $7k a year (a struggle, but workable). I received some small private scholarships and worked 10 hours a week on campus to pay for books and personal expenses. I took out about $15k (total) in Perkins and Stafford loans. The school picked up the rest. Whenever I thank my parents for paying for such a top-notch education, they always say, "YOU paid for it, thanks to your grades. We just paid for the equivalent of Ohio State!"
TACO SALAD
We brown the meat, then add onion and pour over salad greens. Add chopped black olives, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream, avocado and then scrunch Doritos on top. There you have taco salad.
and the other asian dish i like is ground beef chow mein. You can basically do your beef the same way, then add noodles or rice!
Ground meat works in a variety of asian dishes, but this is my fave - makes a nice light appetizer:
Fry garlic and ginger in a pan with some peanut oil. Brown mince, then add grated carrot, water chestnuts, oyster sauce, sweet thick soy sauce and a little sesame oil. Stir until sauce thickens.
Garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Put in iceberg lettuce cups, fold and eat!
You make an awesome argument and under other circumstances, I'd quit buying it instantly. Especially since I don't buy into organic anyways. I really do believe that it's an excuse to charge twice as much for products grown using inferior and less safe practices. I don't agree with the use of that growth hormone, etc, but they can stop using that crap without switching over to organic.
Anyways, you'd have me with this article, but the simple fact is that they have a whole milk with plant based dha added. And my son, who just weaned off formula but is still nursing, is getting it in the place of his formula. If any other brand (Reiter's or Dairyman's, etc.) offered the dha, I'd probably be willing to switch. Same with their little blends yogurts. he eats them because of the hidden serving of veggies. If dannon started putting veggies in their kids yogurt, I'd so be there. I wish the regular food companies would bother to figure out why people are switching. Some of us aren't just buying whatever says organic on it.
You can make many variations of casseroles using beef... Shepherd's Pie, Poor-Man's Casserole, Hamburger Chinese Noodle Casserole, and (my favorite) Upside-Down Pizza Casserole, just to name a few.
Or you can make different kinds of meatballs, like BBQ meatballs or sweet & sour meatballs.
Of course, there are always different chili recipes to try out, and you can decrease the amount of meat you use in the chili to reduce costs even further.
There are websites where you can type in the ingredients you have and find recipes using those ingredients as well as looking up specific recipes. And experiment. Changing up one or two things can turn a blah meal into a family favorite.
I have made ground beef into patties, browned them in a skillet, then added gravy and braised them. They are great served with noodles or mashed potatoes.
That was kind of confusing......but alarming! (at least, I think it must be! lol!!!)
How do you KNOW it's a "tiny url" or a bit.ly?? What does it look like?
My favorite ways to use ground beef (other than burgers and spaghetti):
*potstickers/gyoza: inexpensive (wrappers are cheap, and a little beef goes a long way) and fun to make
*in egg drop soup, with corn and/or peas and a can of crab meat
*mixed with egg, bread crumbs, and diced vegetables and stuffed in peppers
What about good old fashioned meat loaf. You probably already have all the ingredients in your kitchen.
My favorite thing with any ground meat is chili.
But you can also use biscuit dough or crescent roll dough to make a nice meat pie.
You could use ground beef for burritos, wontons, dumplings (pot stickers and the like), empanadas, and stuffed peppers.
My favorite, though, is to have tacos for dinner and then use the leftovers to make taco salad for lunch the next day.