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11 Recipes for when Ground Beef is on Sale

11 Recipes for when Ground Beef is on Sale

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Recipes for when Ground Beef is on Sale? The big sale this week was on ground beef – I took a quick peek at my chest freezer and decided that I still had plenty, that’s why you didn’t see it in my list of things I bought this week! A deal is not a deal if you really do not need it!

Recipes for when Ground Beef is on Sale article cover image with cooked ground beef shown

If I HAD been low on ground beef, I would have gotten probably twenty pounds of it and then this would be a rough plan on how to use it.

meal plan month one

Recipes for when Ground Beef is on Sale

Take your ground beef and cook it, in smaller batches than twenty pounds at a time, in your skillet. Chop it up into smaller chunks as it cooks. I like to add diced onions and a little salt and pepper at the same time. You can season it to your own taste, adding onions or green peppers as you prefer. Drain the fat off (do NOT rinse it under hot water as you will lose a ton of the flavor!) and then spread the ground beef on a cookie sheet and flash freeze for 30 minutes. Scrape off cookie sheet into Freezesmart container.

This is called Hamburger Gravel. 1½ Cup = 1 pound raw meat. I like to package it up into packages that are just that size and pop them into the freezer for future use unless I am canning it for a longer shelf life.

Now, what can you do with that precious hamburger gravel?

Ground Beef Recipe Ideas

Here are a few fun and easy ways you can put that hamburger gravel to good use.

Spaghetti

Take a package of hamburger gravel and add to spaghetti sauce and heat in the microwave. While cooking noodles your spaghetti noodles, prepare a quick tossed salad and your garlic bread.

Lasagna Casserole

Take a package of hamburger gravel and add pasta sauce, cooked egg or penne noodles, and both ricotta (or cottage) and mozzarella cheeses. Put it all into a caserole dish, top with a little more mozzarella cheese and bake at 350 for about twenty minutes. The casserole should be heated through and the cheese melted on top.

Lazy Stroganoff

Take a package of hamburger gravel and add to one can cream of chicken or mushroom soup and add one cup sour cream. Pour over cooked rice or noodles.

Go Tex-Mex

Take a package of hamburger gravel and add to one package of taco seasoning in a skillet per the package instructions. You are now set for tacos, burritos, beef enchiladas, or even a taco salad.

taco salad made from ground beef on sale

Sheepherder’s Pie

Take a package of hamburger gravel and add to tomato sauce, a small bag of mixed vegetables, and pop into a casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes and shredded cheddar cheese and bake at 350 for twenty to thirty minutes.

Stretch it with beans

Take a package of hamburger gravel and add with a few cans of beans to make either Chili or Calico Beans.

Meatloaf
While cooking your ground beef down and turning it into hamburger gravel, make a five-pound meatloaf. Take your largest bowl and mix five pounds of raw ground beef or combination of beef, pork and/or turkey with two packages of a stove top-type stuffing. Add four eggs, a 15oz can (or two 8oz cans) tomato sauce and blend it well. If you have it, add 2 cups grated cheddar cheese or co-jack cheese. Mix well.

This will make 2 meatloves and then use the rest to make meatballs.

The best sauce to top meatloaf with: Combine 1 cup ketchup, ¼ cup brown sugar, 1 TB mustard, 1 TB Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl. Pour it over the meatloaf before you bake it.

Meatball Tips
For flexibility, make your meatballs about the size of golf balls. They can be used for both main dishes and appetizers.

To freeze meatballs: After cooking place in a single layer on a cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan and freeze. When they are frozen, pour the meatballs into small containers that hold roughly 20 each (enough for an average meal) and return to the freezer. Then you can take out as few or as many as you need for your recipe.

If you’re squeamish about handling raw meat, try this No-Touch Meatball Making Technique -use an ice cream scoop to scoop out and drop them into the pan-same size every time!

SAUCY MEATBALLS Meatballs

1/3 c Milk , 1/2 cup Dairy Sour Cream , 1 can Cream of Chicken Soup, and 1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg
Use the condensed soup without diluting it. Combine the cooked Meatballs, soup, milk, and nutmeg in a pan and heat to boiling, Stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer for 3-5 Minutes. Stir in the sour cream, cover and heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve.

Meatball Sub Casserole

Take 1 loaf of Italian bread — cut it into 1″ slices. You will also need: 8 oz. cream cheese — softened, 1/2 C mayonnaise, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp. pepper, 2 C Mozzarella cheese — divided, 28 oz. spaghetti sauce, 1 C water, and 2 cloves garlic — minced.
Arrange bread in a single layer in a 9 x 13″ baking pan. (All of bread might not be used). Combine cream cheese, Mayonnaise, Italian seasoning and pepper; then spread it over bread. Sprinkle with 1/2 C mozzarella cheese. In another bowl combine the spaghetti sauce, water, and garlic; add the meatballs. Pour over cheese mixture; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for about 30 minutes or until heated through.

More meal ideas you may like:
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2 thoughts on “11 Recipes for when Ground Beef is on Sale

    • I love to buy huge tubes of ground beef when I find a good deal at the warehouse store near me. 13 lbs of ground beef sure goes a long way. I always cook it up and make a couple of shepherd’s pies to pop into the freezer, some chili, some small FreezerMates of precooked meat to add to spaghetti sauce, preseasoned taco meat, then I get tired and just freezer up the rest of pre-cooked meat! 🙂 I should try meatloaf and meatballs next time. Great ideas!

    • I never thought to use stuffing for meatloaf. i have a fave recipe for meat balls. http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Make-Ahead-Meatballs

      Lisa good to know on the shepherds pie. i always make it and end up wasting it. i will make two small servings instead and freeze them

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