Quick & Easy Ways with Ground Beef

Whether you call it hamburger or ground beef-it’s one of America’s favorite foods. Not only is it relatively inexpensive, but also so versatile. There are literally 100’s of recipes that begin with the old standby. You can save money & time by buying ground beef in bulk. When you arrive home from shopping, mix up a big batch of your favorite hamburgers. Wrap each burger individually in plastic sandwich bags, and place all the burgers in a gallon size freezer bag. When you are serving hamburgers, take out just the amount of burgers you need. At the same time make a meatloaf or two and freeze them. Cook up some of the ground beef, putting the cooked meat into freezer bags (be sure to mark the approximate amount on each bag). Next time a recipe calls for cooked ground beef, you need only to pull a bag out of the freezer. Great for those "hamburger helper" nights!
Here are a few hamburger dishes that are favorites with my family. Not only are they delicious, but quick to make, too

Corn Bread Hamburger Pie

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
¼ cup salsa
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 pkg. (8 ½ oz.) corn bread/muffin mix
½ cup corn, if desired

In a skillet, cook the beef, onion and pepper until the meat is no longer pink. Drain.
Stir in the soup, salsa, & ketchup. Prepare the cornbread mix according to the package directions. Set aside. Place the beef mixture in a 13 X 9 pan. Spoon the corn bread batter over the beef mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 4-6 servings.

This next dish is a snap with left over Spanish rice or spaghetti.

Quick Stuffed Peppers

Cut the tops out of desired number of green peppers. Scoop out the seeds. Fill with leftover Spanish rice or spaghetti and sauce. Pour sauce over the top, and bake until the peppers are cooked, approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven, place shredded mozzarella cheese on each pepper, and return to oven until cheese is melted.

Hamburger Steak
2 lb. ground beef
1 small onion, minced
salt & pepper
flour
Butter
1 large onion, sliced

Mix 1st three ingredients together. Make one big hamburger approximately ¾ inch thick. Sprinkle with flour. Brown in a skillet with a little melted butter. Add onions during cooking. When the hamburger steak is done, make gravy by adding a little water to the pan drippings. Great with mashed potatoes!