Five Meals Made Easy

I am a big proponent of saving time when cooking. I’m just too busy to waste much of it, aren’t you?

To help with my meal preparation I often make many meals in one day and use them throughout the week or freeze them for another time. Here are five recipes I make using 5 pounds of ground beef/buffalo.

An added bonus – I only have to clean up one mess!

Meal one- Hamburgers
Meal two- Taco Salad
Meal three- Thai Ground Beef
Meal four- Spaghetti Sauce
Meal five-  Meatballs on the Fly

Hamburgers

I’m not sure I need to explain how to do this….. but for those who might need to know. Divide the pound of ground beef into four rounds and shape them into patties. From there grill over medium heat until no longer pink in center. Serve each on a bed of lettuce with a slice of tomato and onion.

Tacos

Again sounds simple but here you go.
1 pound ground beef
½ cup of water
1 medium onion
2 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspo0n cumin
1 clove garlic, minced

Brown the beef along with the onion and the garlic. Drain off the fat and add the water and spices. Continue to cook until liquid is evaporated, about 20 minutes.

Serve with:
lettuce
tomato
chopped onion
olive slices
cheddar cheese
salsa
hot sauce
black beans
refried beans

Thai Ground Beef

1 pound ground beef, browned and drained
1/3 head of cabbage, shredded fine
1 small onion cut into ½ inch cubes
1 green pepper, cut into ½ inch cubes
2 Tablespoons of natural peanut butter
2 Tablespoons of chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Place ground beef that has been browned into a pan with the cabbage, onion, and green pepper. Cook over medium heat until veggies are soft. Add the peanut butter, salt, pepper, and chili powder. Enjoy.

Spaghetti Sauce

1 pound ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1-2 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teasponn basil
½  teaspoon marjoram
¼ rosemary leaves
1 bay leaf
16-24 ounces tomato sauce

Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic. When the beef is no longer pink, drain excess fat. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 hour.

We serve this spaghetti sauce over Vegetable Fettucini or cooked spaghetti sauce.

Meatballs on the fly

1 pound meatballs
2  8oz can diced tomatoes
1 red pepper diced or sliced (how ever you prefer)
1 leek thinly chopped
1 bag of spinach
1 1/2 tsp basil
1 1/2 tsp oregano
4 minced garlic cloves or 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Simmer for 20 min in a large sauce pan and serve!

To make the meatballs-combine ground beef, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon sea salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon sage, ½ teaspoon basil. Roll into balls and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

A few tips I’ve found help save even more time:

I brown all three pounds of meat together and then separate them. While they are browning I get the hamburgers and meatballs ready.

While things are cooking I get the veggies all ready. I start with the meal I am going to be eating right away and then work down the list. If I don’t get all the meals done when the hamburgers are ready I can pack all the veggies together to cook later or I finish preparing the meals after we eat.

Since hamburgers are best right away, I eat this meal first while the others can be reheated.

Get in the kitchen, get it done, get out of the kitchen – love it!

Make It Happen,

Nancy