Even though ground beef prices have gone up lately you can usually find it on sale or going out of date so it's something we all stock up on when we can. We call know about Hamburger Helper and the fact that it's also cheap but you can only consume so much of the stuff before it makes you sick to even look at it. So here's some home cooked meals that are cheap cheap to make and yummy too.
Shepherd's Pie
You will need:
1 lb ground beef
2 cups Hot mashed potatoes (fresh or instant both work)
4 oz cream cheese cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cloves garlic minced
4 cups of mixed veggies (canned or frozen both work)
1 cup beef gravy
BROWN the meat and drain
In a bowl mix the mashed potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 the cheese. and garlic
In another bowl mix the ground beef, gravy, and veggies
Place the meat mixture in the bottom of a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes mixture and top with the rest of the cheese. Bake 20 minutes or until heated through.
Notes from a poor person: You don't have to use the cream cheese, you can add any type of veggies you like. Also browning onion into the meat while cooking it is yummy.
Meatloaf
There are a zillion recipes for this but this is what I grew up on. There isn't any peppers in this version either. Kids hate peppers or anything looking healthy lol
You will need:
1 lb ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 large egg
2/3 cup of milk
1/2 cup cracker crumbs (you can use bread crumbs, or even fresh bread crumbled)
1/4 cup ketchup
little salt and pepper
Mix everything together. Let the kids to it. It's messy and gooey which equals fun for them.
Form into a loaf shape and place in a baking dish. Cover with more ketchup, just smear on the top.
Bake at 350 for one hour. In the last 10 minutes I turn the broiler on to make the ketchup on top brown a little. My family loves that.
Notes: Diced bell pepper can also be added. You can also mince a carrot and cook it in it to hide more veggies from the kids. You can also use taco sauce in the recipe instead of ketchup. Also I always double this recipe because meatloaf freezes well and can be used later when you don't feel like cooking.
Hobo Burgers
This is my families all time favorite
You will need:
Ground Beef (enough for each person to have a burger)
1 cup cracker crumbs
1 egg
3 potatoes (peeled and sliced thin)
3 carrots (sliced thin)
1 bell pepper (seeded and sliced thin)
Bacon crumbles
1 onion (minced)
worcestershire sauce
57 steak sauce
powdered garlic
salt and pepper
butter
In a bowl mix the ground beef, cracker crumbs, egg, and onion. Then season with the 57, worcestershire, and garlic
Tear off about 12 inches of aluminum foil (enough for each person to have one) and place a burger patty in the center of each one.
Place the potatoes, carrots, bacon, and pepper in bowls beside the burgers. Then allow each person to add the amount of veggies they want to their packet.
Then add one pat of butter to each packet and add salt and pepper to season
Tightly close each packet and place on cooking sheet. (If cooking in campfire or on grill double the foil)
Cook at 350 for 1 hour
Note Patties can be pre made and frozen for later use
Tater Tot Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 cups frozen tater tots
1 cream of cream of ... soup (I use cream of mushroom but whatever you have is fine)
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
Brown ground beef and onion and drain. Season the meat and put beef in bottom of casserole and cover with undiluted soup. Cover with tater tots. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
Notes: Cheese can be added when first removed if desired. I also add a can of drained corn to my beef after draining.
Poor Man's Main Dish
You will need:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 cup elbow pasta
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 1/2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
Bring water to boil with a dash of salt, then add elbow pasta. Cook pasta until done and drain. In another pan brown ground beef and onion together and drain. Return meat to pan and add cooked pasta. Add tomato sauce and season. Allow to simmer 15 minutes. Cheese is a good addition when done.
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