OAMC / Bulk Cooking: The Hamburger Plan

By Kim Tilley

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

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)

BBQ Beef - (beanless sloppy joes)

This is a recipe from my mother-in-law. I have made it and frozen it plenty of times, it always turns out great! I make triple batches (one batch is 2 meals for us) so I always have lots on hand!

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can corned beef
• 3/4 cup ketchup (try Maul's barbecue sauce, it's wonderful instead of ketchup!)
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup beef broth (I use 1 cup water and 1 bouillon cube)
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp white vinegar

Brown beef and onion, drain off fat.

Add remaining ingredients, making sure to break up corned beef. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, until thickened.

Serve on hamburger buns or kaiser rolls.

Easy Goulash

Another recipe from the in-laws, very easy and versatile, we use whatever is on hand. I have added TVP to this recipe (and the barbecue beef), substituting up to half of the ground beef, but remember - tvp expands! use a half cup, it will grow to a whole cup (or a little less). I have not frozen this one before, but in the fridge it gets better by the day! By the way, the men in our family love to make this, even dh!

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1 can V-8 or other tomato juice
• 1 can kidney beans (if you want)
• 1 cup pasta (if you want)
• your choice of veggies (sometime we put in leftover corn, sometimes nothing)
• a few hot peppers (optional)
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• other seasoning to taste-cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, etc.

Brown beef and onion. Drain off fat.

Add remaining ingredients except any pasta, bring to a boil. Simmer for 30-60 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking, add the pasta and cook for about 5-10 minutes. Serve with quesadillas or bread. Leftovers are great!

Tortilla Mini-burgers

This recipe calls for grilling, but you could fry these up easily and freeze. You could also broil them.

• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1 large egg
• 1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 (8-ounce) package Monterey Jack cheese, cut into 24 slices
• 24 (6-inch) flour tortillas
• 1 (8-ounce) jar picante sauce
• 1/2 cup ketchup

Combine first 6 ingredients; shape into 24 small patties.

Place in 2 grill baskets coated with vegetable cooking spray.

Grill, without grill lid, over medium-high heat (350�‚° to 400�‚°) 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until done.

Open grill baskets, and top each burger with cheese. (Do not reclose grill baskets.) Cook until cheese melts.

Heat tortillas according to package directions; keep warm. Combine picante sauce and ketchup. Spread 1 tablespoon mixture on 1 side of each tortilla, and place a burger, cheese side up, near top edge. Fold bottom edge up, and fold opposite sides over. Makes 24 mini-burgers.

 

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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!

© 2002-2006 Fractured Frugal Friends (F3). All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.