Happy July to all. How did that happen already? Those here in U.S. are going to have a 4-day workweek, with the 4th of July happening Friday. All days are the same to me now that I am retired - but I remember getting excited about shorter workweeks! Hope you are all well today.
It is a wet morn here. We had some rain, everything is so green and the plants are really growing. It feels much better this morning, and should get better later on, as far as humidity. We get a reprieve for a couple days! Tonight is supposed to get in the 60's!! That hasn't happened for a long while.
Today let's talk about ground beef (mince) or ground other meats. Tis the BBQ season, and some might be finding some good deals. It seems ground is cheaper than other cuts - and generally still not cheap. There are so many things one can do with it - it isn't just for burgers. I do use a lot of ground meat for all sorts of meals.
That is the one meat I buy only sale and can usually find on clearance. I stock up when I see it, as it is used so much and it is so versatile.
Now you can use ground beef, chicken, turkey, pork, etc. interchangeable. You really can. Don't like the flavor of a certain type - add beef bouillon to the meat to add the beef flavor.
So many ways to fix ground meat! Let's get started.
Meatloaf - don't forget you can make mini loaves (muffin pans) as well. I do meatloaf burgers too.
Meatballs, Swedish meatballs, BBQ meatballs
Burgers, sliders - fry, grill, bake - however you want
Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, tostadas, Mexican casserole
Vegetable soup (love hamburger soup), beef barley, beef & potato, taco soup, chili, etc.
All kinds of casseroles - meat & potato, meat & mac/cheese, meat & veggie, cheeseburger pasta
Stuffed shells, stuffed peppers, cabbage rolls
Zucchini boats (it's getting to be that time!)
Philly beef and cheese sandwiches
Calzones, hand pies, stuffed pitas
Pizza - regular, tortilla, French bread, reg. bread - you can make pizza from anything you have
Sloppy Joe
Shepherd pie (not authentic) but good just the same
Cowboy beans, Hoppin John, dips
Chili/cornbread casserole
Fix those burgers with any toppings you want - you can have them without the bun as well.
Hope you all can find some deals on ground beef - this week. You might look for hotdogs as well. I do like an all-beef one every now and then. I haven't had a good dog in a long while.
Keep your eyes open - watch for those sales and markdowns!!!
Do you have any special recipe that you use ground meat for? Any tricks for using other ground meats to make it more flavorful? I know sometimes people don't like chicken or turkey - I just jooz it up. I love ground pork as well (or combo beef/pork). You can make your own sausage patties as well with it.
Give us a shout out!!! Look forward to hearing your ideas!!!!
Have a super day. Stay cool and hydrated!
Ground beef sale price this wk at the local grocery store - $5.99CAD/lb. I've been adding ground pork to the beef when making burgers for the bbq. So much juicier. Favorite way to use ground beef - hamburger soup, chili, pasta casserole.
ReplyDeleteNot sure but I think that is about 4.39 or so in US dollars. Still too pricey for me! I look more for clearance.
DeleteI like adding pork as well. It gives it good flavor and yes it makes it juicier. I love those things too! Huge fan of minced meat here!
That was a great deal on that ground beef, Cheryl. You're right, ground meat of any kind is so versatile and I use your tip on adding the beef bouillon to any kind of meat other than beef to give it that beefy flavor, and it really does work. I used it on chicken burgers the other day.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great deal. You have to buy when you see it that cheaply.
DeleteThanks for the testimonial - glad to have someone else chime in and tell people it works with the bouillon. I do that a lot.
Lots of excellent ground beef recipes! The Farmer made a cabbage/beef skillet on Sunday, then it morphed into soup, (I know, most folks wouldn't eat soup in 90 degree heat!), and there is enough left for today. We are still eating out of the freezer, the oldest dates first.
ReplyDeleteBoy, was I glad to hear the rain during the night. Looks like it is over for the day. Nice to open the house for a couple days. Going to hang some laundry on the line.
Do storms bother Bits? He may sleep right through it. Cats seem to be more chill about things like that than dogs.
Going out to pull some weeds out of rocks, while they are wet. Should come up easy. Enjoy your day!
You eat what tastes good! Both items sound good to me.
DeleteBits pretty much sleeps through everything - including fireworks. He may jump a little now and then - but nothing much.
I just came in from doing some weeding and started to get hot and STOPPED! I was a good girl. I will go out later and then tomorrow. It is gorgeous out now.
I love ground beef. Like you, I try only to buy it on sale, but it can get "off" even in the freezer if it's too close to the sale date when I buy it. Good idea about using beef bouillon to flaovr ground turkey and such, and I'll try that, but the consistency of the other ground meats is not the same, in my opinion. Here the ground pork is always "preseasoned" which just ruins it in my book. I don't know what it's good for then, it just doesn't taste right.
ReplyDeleteI will check for holiday sales this week but the only thing I've seen so far is watermelon and that's just too big for me to deal with! :D
MaryB
They sell a lot of plain ground pork around here. I haven't seen it seasoned already. That is something. Sometimes the consistency can be a little different for different meats - that is when I use in chili or something. I haven't seen any new adds yet - so not sure around here. Probably won't be going to the store this week.
DeleteI love that you shared so many of the options with ground meat. 1 pound of ground meat can make a lot of different things. We eat ground bison, beef or lamb from time to time. I did make stuffed poblano peppers with lamb last week and it was SO good. I'm craving them again already.
ReplyDeleteThanks - I just like to let people know - that the cheaper types of meat can give you a lot of meal options. I still have never had lamb. The poblanos sound good.
DeleteThere is no reason to get bored even if ground beef is all you have!
I have never had baked spaghetti, I am going to try that!
ReplyDeleteYou won't be sorry. It is so good. Add an egg or 2 to the spaghetti and some extra cheese - then bake. It is so much easier to eat!!!!
DeleteI do so wish that we got the great prices on ground beef (or any meat) that you do. The prices on sale in my little city in the corner of Saskatchewan would probably rival those in Alaska (from what I can remember seeing). We only seem to get yellow stickers at Walmart and that is on items that are almost spoiled to begin with.
ReplyDeleteGround meats are so very versatile and we do use it and stretch it in many ways.
God bless.
I think location, location, location has so much to do with prices. I am very fortunate to find the great deals I do. I have never purchased meat at WM - for me meat usually comes from Kroger.
DeleteYep, ground meats provide us a lot of choices.
This is an idea I came up with 40+ years ago when I was a working mom with two little kids.
ReplyDeleteI started making my meat loaf by shaping into a loaf rather than in a pan. When I cooked it on a rack, all of the grease drained off. Meat loaf holds its shape better when it is chilled for at least an hour before baking. I went a step farther and began making my meatloaves, usually two at a time, and freezing one.
One day I wanted to serve meat loaf but what I had was frozen and I wasn't going to have time to bake it when I got home from work. This was when the lightbulb went off in my head. I unwrapped the frozen meat loaf and put it on a rack over the pan. Then I put it in the oven--still frozen--and set the time-delay program to start baking it before I got home from work. This produces the best meat loaf I've ever made and slices beautifully.
I do not worry about food safety by doing it this way. It takes most of the day to thaw when it is frozen rock solid and then it is baked immediately.
When the kids were home, I always made each meat loaf with two pounds of meat. Now that it is just my daughter and myself, I will make 2 lbs and divide it into two one-pound loaves. I make them about the same diameter as the larger loaf, just shorter. Incidentally, adding leftover cooked meats (any kind) to the mix taste great and are a great way to use them up.
Sorry this is so long......
What good tips. I love how creative so many of you gals are. Thank you
DeleteI haven't made an actual loaf meatloaf in ages, being just me. I use muffin tins and make mini ones or just make the mix into burgers! No mess.
Great tip.
I only use ground pork for taco soup. I use taco seasoning, so no problem what the taste is. It is always on sale.
ReplyDeleteGround poultry of any kind is never used around here because the skin and all is ground up. yuck.
Hamburger vegetable soup is my favorite use other than a hamburger cooked with onions. We do love meatloaf!
Mostly, I eat chicken breast since I am allergic to mammal meat and only like the breast.
Practical Parsimony above
DeleteGround pork would work perfectly in taco soup. I never think about that, because I know there can be anything in ground beef as well - unless you grind it yourself, you never know.
DeleteHamburger veggie soup is such a good soup and very filling.
I used to just each breast meat, but have learned to eat other parts later in life and actually like them.
Thanks for sharing your list of ideas. Sometimes all I see is a hamburger patty staring back at me. Years of creativity sometimes just flits out of my mind!
ReplyDelete