I am so old that I can remember when hamburger was cheaper than steak

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Since this thread is at least somewhat about hamburger/ground beef etc...

...Besides the typical (and all variations of garnishes and condiments) of a patty with or without a bun (hamburger/cheeseburger+)...What is your next favorite ways to have ground beef??

When I make meatballs or meatloaf etc...I always use about 1/3 ground pork so that's not entirely a ground beef dish...

My mom made a "hamburger casserole" that was made with ground beef, elbo macaroni, fresh onions and garlic and peas and carrots...I have never been able to get it exactly right but close...usually served with garlic bread...

 

[Doofy]

We also enjoy pork added to our ground beef. Favorite dish is Stroganoff. For the past few years we have bought stew meat in both beef and pork and grind the burger ourselves. We never add suet and enjoy the chewy texture. Nothing worse than mushy meat.

 

[Jstpssng]

I had no idea we were poor growing up. I was always happy and well fed. I do remember we would run out of butter on occasion and have to use Crisco on our toast. Never stunted my growth any. I can honestly say that I have never gone to bed hungry.

I never realized how lucky I was until I was in HS. I always had 3 decent meals a day, there was always milk in the refrigerator, and ALWAYS cookies or cake for dessert after the evening meal-usually made from scratch. I shudder when I think how I used to whine on the rare occasion that we had scrambled eggs for supper... at least I was getting a square meal. (I still don't really care for eggs yet I raise laying hens... go figure. )

Since this thread is at least somewhat about hamburger/ground beef etc...

...Besides the typical (and all variations of garnishes and condiments) of a patty with or without a bun (hamburger/cheeseburger+)...What is your next favorite ways to have ground beef??

When I make meatballs or meatloaf etc...I always use about 1/3 ground pork so that's not entirely a ground beef dish...

My mom made a "hamburger casserole" that was made with ground beef, elbo macaroni, fresh onions and garlic and peas and carrots...I have never been able to get it exactly right but close...usually served with garlic bread...

As mentioned in my first post I don't buy much anymore but used to buy it in bulk, put about 1/3 into patties for the freezer then cook the rest up in my dutch oven with onions and garlic. I would drain it, spread it out on cookie sheets to freeze it, then put it into ziplock bags. Once you do that the options are endless; take a serving out of the bag and throw it into a pan with tomato sauce for spaghetti, or maybe use it in my small cast iron fry pan for 2 serving shepherd's pie. (Shouldn't that have been lamb? ) Other time I will cook up some macaroni then while
it's hot I'll mix in cheese, mushrooms, and the precooked hamburg. Now I have about 1/2 of my pork ground up, and do the same with that.

 

[Doofy]

Burger is just so versatile. Have never developed a taste for ground turkey though. We have our main meal (large) at noon and when we cook, it is enough for at least 3 meals. Get-r-Done! Saves time, money, electricity, propane and water to wash the dishes. Win, Win! Most foods we cook taste better on the 2nd and 3rd days.

 

[oosik]

It must be my time spent in Alaska - where I learned to cook for, at least, three or four meals. Some times - what I cook up - does NOT improve with time. However - I grit my teeth and will eat it. Time, money, materials - its against my nature to waste.

 

[Jstpssng]

^^^^ I feel the same way. With time though, I learned to put that little bit of extra to make the meals palatable. I very seldom cook for one meal... if cooking potatoes, it's easy to boil a few extras for breakfast or lunch the next day. Spagetti is very easy to reheat... in summer I sometimes will toss it in a ziplock bag on the dash with the windows closed, and it will be quite warm for lunch. I thaw two whole chickens at a time then roast them in foil on the grill; while the first will be dinner tonight and lunch for the next few days, the second gets picked and frozen so that I can take a serving out at a time, for lunch sandwiches and stew or something else at night.
>
About the only thing which I don't recommend precooking is bacon... having a pound of cooked bacon in the fridg or freezer is like leaving a bowl of M&M's on the counter. :licking:

edit:As I write this I have a pound of bacon cooking on the stove and a fire burning in the fire pit, getting ready to cook up 10 quarts of beanhole beans which will me through the rest of the summer.

 

[Doofy]

It must be my time spent in Alaska - where I learned to cook for, at least, three or four meals. Some times - what I cook up - does NOT improve with time. However - I grit my teeth and will eat it. Time, money, materials - its against my nature to waste.

Spaghetti is always better the 2nd and 3rd day. The flavors and spices just seem to meld together.

 

[oosik]

OH boy, do I envy you Doofy. We would go north for late moose season and hunt the Hurricane Gulch area off the new Fairbanks Hwy. Always got a big, fat cow moose. I have fond, drooling memories of those big, marinated moose roasts. The wife would slice it thin and I would take moose roast sandwiches for lunch...............

Been here 36+ years - - never even once had bacon here at home. Occasionally get it in a hamburger when I eat out. Just too expensive and I like my meat sliced thick enough that you can't hold it up to a window and see right thru it. At the store you will get 200 slices out of a quarter pound of bacon.

If I want hamburger, I always buy some cut of roast or steak and run it thru our grinder here at home. Much cheaper and has no added fat.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I'm so old I remember when toilet paper was the same size as the holder. Today it's half the size.

 

[Cat_Driver]

I had no idea we were poor growing up. I was always happy and well fed. I do remember we would run out of butter on occasion and have to use Crisco on our toast. Never stunted my growth any. I can honestly say that I have never gone to bed hungry.

Same here. My Mom worked as a cook in State Mental hospital cafeteria. Their policy was to throw out any leftovers and when they had leftovers it was five gallon buckets of leftovers. Mom would bring home quart conatiners of salad, meatballs, meatlaof, pasta, etc. etc. I rmemeber never being able to close the refrigerator because there was so much food stacked in there.

When she cooked for us kids the table always looked like an all you can eat buffet.

Then I remember the fist time I went to a friends house to eat and there were six of us for dinner. My friends Mom served one small can of greenbeans for all of us. Everyone took like a tablespoon of greenbeans and passed the plate. I was still hingry after that dinner and went to Mcdonalds to eat.

It was the first time I ate a plate of food and still saw the plate at my house your plate was full once it started ripping off the sides. When we passed a BOWL of greenbeans at my house Mom used a laddle. She dished up mashed potates with an ice cream scoop.

I'm surprised I didn't weigh 300 pounds as a kid.

Even as a kid I realized what a waste it was to throw all that good food away.