OAMC / Bulk Cooking: The Hamburger Plan

By Kim Tilley

Hamburger Plan page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Italian Meatloaf (crockpot)

This is a wonderful and easy recipe! This keeps well in fridge or freezer. If making a lot, you can cook in the oven at 350 for 1 hour, but I enjoy doing this one in the crockpot. I do this one off of the top of my head, so I hope I get the ingredients right!

• 2 pounds of ground beef
• 1 egg
• 1 onion chopped
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning (or sprinkle in some basil and oregano)
• salt and pepper to taste (I think I use 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper)
• 2 tbsp spaghetti sauce
• aluminum foil

Mix together first seven ingredients (everything BUT the 2 tbsp spaghetti sauce and the aluminum foil!)

Shape into a round loaf to fit into crockpot (or put in loaf pans if baking in the oven).

Take a long length(2 feet) of aluminum foil, folding in half lengthwise, so it is long and thin. Line the crockpot with the foil, making sure the foil sticks out of the crock pot on both sides (you will use this to lift the meatloaf out).

Place meatloaf in crockpot. Top with the remaining 2 tbsp of spaghetti sauce. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. You can also bake this for 1 hour at 350 in the oven. (It is best slow cooked, but good any which way!)

Italian Meatloaf Sandwiches - Save leftover meatloaf (or make extra!) and slice and serve on Italian bread, top with some spaghetti sauce .

Mexican Meatloaf

This rich, flavorful meatloaf was another prize winner from the Miami Herald. (I got this from a link on Busycooks)

• 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
• 1 1/2 lb bulk sausage
• 16 oz can Mexican-Style stewed tomatoes
• 8 oz canned green chopped chiles
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp + 2 tsp tapioca
• 1 1/2 tsp dried minced onions
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups salsa
• 1 cup shredded jack or Cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients except salsa and cheese in a large bowl until well combined.

Divide in half and shape into loaves. Place each in a 9" x 4" loaf pan. Top each with 3/4 cup salsa.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. If the sausage makes a lot of grease drain it once or twice while cooking.

Top with cheese and return to oven until cheese melts.

Remove to serving platter and let rest for 15 minutes before slicing.

This one might make a good sandwich too!

Bierrocks - (Another winner from the Busycooks site.)

These pastry pockets filled with beef, cabbage, onions and cheese can go straight from the freezer to the oven. They're great served with a bowl of hot tomato soup. My husband has nicknamed these "Irish Cheeseburgers." We love them!

• 2 c milk, lukewarm
• 1/4 c oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 pkg yeast
• 1/2 c sugar
• 1 t salt
• 6 c flour
• 2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 18 slices American cheese
• 1 egg, beaten (optional)
• sesame seeds, to garnish (optional)

Mix together the lukewarm milk and oil in a large bowl. Add the eggs, yeast, sugar, salt and 5 cups of flour. Mix well and add remaining flour as necessary to to form a kneadable dough. Knead a few minutes. Cover bowl and let dough rise one hour in a warm place.

Meanwhile, brown beef in a large skillet. Do not drain. Add onion and cabbage and continue cooking until onion is soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. Let cool.

After dough has risen, roll out hunks of dough (about the size of a tennis ball) as thin as possible. Place 1/2 slice cheese on dough, top with some filling, then the other half slice of cheese. Fold over and seal like a turnover (moistening the edges with water may help seal them).

Place on a baking sheet, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional) and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden.

Serve immediately or cool and freeze. To reheat frozen, simply bake until hot. Yield: about 18 Bierrocks.

Kim's note: These are delicious, even for non cabbage lovers! The secret is the American cheese; do not substitute other cheeses, they just don't make it taste the same. This dough is rich and wonderful too. It would be great to use for "hot pockets" and calzones.

Cheeseburger Turnovers: The idea here is the same as the empanadas, just bigger. Use chili or browned ground beef and American or cheddar cheese as the filling. You can make half-moon shaped turnovers or square ones, with your favorite pastry or biscuit recipe. They are almost identical to the ham and cheese hot pockets I posted in the ham plan.

Maid Rites - (crumbly hamburgers)

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion chopped
• seasonings of your choice
• toppings of your choice
• hamburger buns or Kaiser rolls

Brown the beef and onions, drain off fat. Add the seasonings to taste.( You can freeze this at this point if you like, or use it as a "quick and easy" dinner)

Serve on hamburger buns or kaiser rolls with toppings of your choice (lettuce, tomato, whatever)

Simple Salisbury Steak - (Campbell's soup recipe)

• 1 can of mushroom soup
• 1 pound of ground beef
• 1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms

In a bowl, mix together 1/4 cup of the soup, beef, bread crumbs, egg, and onion. Shape firmly into 6 patties. (If you are using raw meat, you can freeze it now and brown the mushrooms and freeze them too, or you can freeze everything after cooking)

In a skillet over medium heat, cook patties, a few at a time, until browned on both sides, spoon off fat, set aside.

Stir in remaining soup and mushrooms, return the patties to the skillet, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until done, turning patties occassionally.

(You can freeze it cooked. To serve, thaw and put on top of cooked pasta, serve with steamed veggies and salad. MMMM)

 

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About the Author

Kim Tilley, a tightwad at heart, is a wife, a mother of three active boys and the founding editor of Frugal-Moms.com. Frugal by force and later by choice, Kim cut her income by 60% to stay at home with her children and discovered that anyone can live better for less. Her work has appeared in print publications such as The Tightwad Gazette. In her free time, she entertains herself by chasing kids and finding ways to create something from nothing!

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