What to do with Ground Beef?

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I always find myself cooking with ground beef...but its always the same boring things such as spaghetti, meat balls, hamburgers, hamburger helper etc.

I am just wondering if anyone has some good ideas of other things I could try?
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Replies

  • aproc
    aproc Posts: 1,033 Member
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    Casseroles and tacos are some of my favorite things to do with it. :)
  • imagymrat
    imagymrat Posts: 862 Member
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    I always find myself cooking with ground beef...but its always the same boring things such as spaghetti, meat balls, hamburgers, hamburger helper etc.

    I am just wondering if anyone has some good ideas of other things I could try?

    Throw it out and buy chicken breast instead, way better for you :wink:
  • xquiz8
    xquiz8 Posts: 97 Member
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    I make chili with it, with lots of beans, veggies and brown rice to make it heartier.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I always find myself cooking with ground beef...but its always the same boring things such as spaghetti, meat balls, hamburgers, hamburger helper etc.

    I am just wondering if anyone has some good ideas of other things I could try?

    Throw it out and buy chicken breast instead, way better for you :wink:

    now, now....dont be dissin my beef:laugh:

    I use 7% fat and make all of the above EXCEPT hamburger helper!

    :love:
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    I love "hamburger pie" (aka "shephard's pie"). You brown the ground beef, add in onions (I always use minced onion, but fresh is good), a can of tomato soup (I've been known to use a can of tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce), and a can of green beans (drained, or about 2 cups fresh; you can also used mixed veggies, whatever you've got on hand!). Cook all of that together until bubbly. While that is cooking, you have two choices. 1) [my favorite!] prepare about 6 servings of mashed potatoes. 2) prepare dough for rolls. Once the meat mixture is bubbly, transfer to a caserole dish and place either the potatoes or roll dough on top. If you chose potatoes, you are ready to serve! If you chose the rolls, you will need to bake in the oven until the rolls are done.


    Another one I like is enchilada lasagna. Fix enchilada sauce, and add a pound of browned beef. Cut tortillas into strips about 1 inch wide. Layer the sauce, toritilla and shredded cheese into a lasagna or cake pan until the pan is filled. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F until cheese is melted and center is heated (about 30-60 minutes depending on thickness).

    There's always tater tot casserole, tacos, regular enchiladas, lasagna, etc. Let me know if you need more ideas!
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I always find myself cooking with ground beef...but its always the same boring things such as spaghetti, meat balls, hamburgers, hamburger helper etc.

    I am just wondering if anyone has some good ideas of other things I could try?

    I brown 7% fat beef with onion, make gravy with the juice, put it in a casserole with peas and carrots, put homemade mashed potatoes across the top, and bake. It is a nice low fat casserole with all the good stuff (my potato layer is thinner these days tho!)
  • wannabthatgirl
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    I always find myself cooking with ground beef...but its always the same boring things such as spaghetti, meat balls, hamburgers, hamburger helper etc.

    I am just wondering if anyone has some good ideas of other things I could try?

    Throw it out and buy chicken breast instead, way better for you :wink:

    now, now....dont be dissin my beef:laugh:

    I use 7% fat and make all of the above EXCEPT hamburger helper!

    :love:



    I am pretty sure my boyfriend would be heart broken if I threw out my beef for chicken though he does like chicken he loves his ground beef......so thats why I am looking for healthier options for it....
  • trisha329
    trisha329 Posts: 266 Member
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    This has been one of my favorites lately!



    Stuffed Zucchini with Brown Rice, Ground Beef, Red Pepper, and Basil

    (Makes 4 whole meal servings or 8 side dish servings, recipe created by Kalyn.)

    Ingredients:

    2-4 large zucchini
    1/2 onion, chopped
    1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
    2 tsp. olive oil
    1 lb. very lean ground beef (less than 10% fat)
    1 tsp. Spike Seasoning ( I use a cajun seasoning)
    1 tsp. chopped garlic or garlic puree (from a jar)
    1/2 tsp. ground fennel seed (I didn’t have fennel, and it was still great!)
    1 cup cooked brown rice
    1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil
    3/4 cup coarsely grated parmesan cheese
    1/4 cup chicken stock

    Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut stem and ends off zucchini. Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, then using a pointed teaspoon or melon baller, scoop out and discard most of the zucchini flesh and seeds, leaving an even 1/2 inch of flesh attached to the skin. Microwave zucchini 3 to 4 minutes on high.

    Put oil in heavy frying pan and saute chopped onions and peppers until they are just starting to soften, about 5 minutes. (They will cook more in the oven, so they don't need to be fully cooked at this point.) Remove onions and peppers to large mixing bowl, then add ground beef to hot pan and cook until starting to brown. When meat is about half cooked, season with Spike seasoning (or whatever you choose to use) and ground fennel and add garlic, and continue to cook until meat is well browned, breaking it into small, pieces with the side of your turner. Remove cooked beef to bowl. Add cooked brown rice, chopped basil, parmesan cheese, and chicken stock to meat and vegetable mixture, and gently combine.

    Choose a roasting pan with slight sides, just big enough to hold the zucchini. Spray pan with nonstick spray or a light misting of olive oil. Stuff zucchini with stuffing mixture, packing in as much as you can into each zucchini, and mounding it up as high as you can, until all stuffing is used.

    Put zucchini into roasting pan, putting them close together so they hold each other stuffing-side up. Roast uncovered 20-30 minutes, until zucchini is tender-crisp, and filling is hot and slightly browned. Serve hot.

    Nutritional Value:
    Calories: 314
    Carbs: 18 grams
    Fat: 17 grams
    Fiber: 2 grams
    Sodium: 440 grams
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    I love "hamburger pie" (aka "shephard's pie"). You brown the ground beef, add in onions (I always use minced onion, but fresh is good), a can of tomato soup (I've been known to use a can of tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce), and a can of green beans (drained, or about 2 cups fresh; you can also used mixed veggies, whatever you've got on hand!). Cook all of that together until bubbly. While that is cooking, you have two choices. 1) [my favorite!] prepare about 6 servings of mashed potatoes. 2) prepare dough for rolls. Once the meat mixture is bubbly, transfer to a caserole dish and place either the potatoes or roll dough on top. If you chose potatoes, you are ready to serve! If you chose the rolls, you will need to bake in the oven until the rolls are done.


    Another one I like is enchilada lasagna. Fix enchilada sauce, and add a pound of browned beef. Cut tortillas into strips about 1 inch wide. Layer the sauce, toritilla and shredded cheese into a lasagna or cake pan until the pan is filled. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F until cheese is melted and center is heated (about 30-60 minutes depending on thickness).

    There's always tater tot casserole, tacos, regular enchiladas, lasagna, etc. Let me know if you need more ideas!

    LOL I was typing at the same time! I like your idea
    gonna try it tonight!
  • yvonnej1
    yvonnej1 Posts: 904 Member
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    I love "hamburger pie" (aka "shephard's pie"). You brown the ground beef, add in onions (I always use minced onion, but fresh is good), a can of tomato soup (I've been known to use a can of tomato paste and a can of tomato sauce), and a can of green beans (drained, or about 2 cups fresh; you can also used mixed veggies, whatever you've got on hand!). Cook all of that together until bubbly. While that is cooking, you have two choices. 1) [my favorite!] prepare about 6 servings of mashed potatoes. 2) prepare dough for rolls. Once the meat mixture is bubbly, transfer to a caserole dish and place either the potatoes or roll dough on top. If you chose potatoes, you are ready to serve! If you chose the rolls, you will need to bake in the oven until the rolls are done.


    Another one I like is enchilada lasagna. Fix enchilada sauce, and add a pound of browned beef. Cut tortillas into strips about 1 inch wide. Layer the sauce, toritilla and shredded cheese into a lasagna or cake pan until the pan is filled. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F until cheese is melted and center is heated (about 30-60 minutes depending on thickness).

    There's always tater tot casserole, tacos, regular enchiladas, lasagna, etc. Let me know if you need more ideas!

    LOL I was typing at the same time! I like your idea
    gonna try it tonight!

    Ok so I'm gonna be picky here...and blame it on me being English :wink: A shepherds pie has to be made with minced (ground) lamb, if it's made with beef it is called a cottage pie.

    I make a wicked lasagne which comes in for a treat just over 500 calories (I use extra lean, less than 5% fat ground beef). It's your basic bolognaise sauce i.e. mince, garlic, onions, chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, splash of red wine, herbs, with my magic ingredients of a couple of rashers of chopped up back bacon and a splash of Worcester sauce. Layer this with lasagne sheets and top with basic white sauce with a bit of added cheese for extra flavour, smoked cheese is best. :) It's my families favourite meal.
  • Kath15
    Kath15 Posts: 165 Member
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    Although I like ground beef, I am more of a ground turkey fan. That being said, using either of the two, we like to make Mexican Picadillo -there are a lot of recipes you can find on the internet. You can eat it in a taco shell, tortilla, with rice..or we like to stuff the mixture in green and red bell peppers, put a little cheese on top, and bake them in the oven.
  • melbhall
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    I love ground beef too, but have switched to ground turkey breast. It is more expensive, but is also healthier than ground beef. Here are some ideas for either beef or turkey: chili, lasagna, stuffed green peppers, meatloaf, taco, hashbrown casserole, spanish rice...I'm sure there are tons of others! Maybe check out a new cookbook, they usually have recipes by category such as beef.
  • happily
    happily Posts: 72 Member
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    I like "spanish rice" made by mixing ground beef, Rotel, and rice. Simple as can be.

    My mom uses regular stewed tomatoes because Rotel is too spicy for her. Sometimes she uses sausage instead of ground beef, but I dislike sausage.

    I flavor my serving with Tabasco (I have no problem with spicy!).
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
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    Stuffed peppers are one of my favorites to cook with ground beef..and meatloaf yummy....

    I know ground beef isn't really healthy but on my budget I take what I can get, I just add lots of veggies to it :)
  • wannabthatgirl
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    Stuffed peppers are one of my favorites to cook with ground beef..and meatloaf yummy....

    I know ground beef isn't really healthy but on my budget I take what I can get, I just add lots of veggies to it :)



    I agree! Works for my budget too!
  • lauralynette
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    I like to do a meatloaf with it, I sautee mushrooms, red bell pepper, garlic, and onion, the put on top of the meat, add speghetti sauce, and parmesan cheese. Not the lowest calorie dish but everything in moderation right.

    this recepie looks good to me http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/recipe_slideshows/easy_healthy_ground_beef_recipes?slide=12#leaderboardad

    I went to costco last weekend and picked up 4 lbs of ground turkey for $2.98 a lb.
  • beesareyellow
    beesareyellow Posts: 335 Member
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    Stuffed red peppers, shepherds (or cottage) pie,loaded nachos (with low fat cheese and jalapeno peppers) , Tortierre ( very Quebecois), Lebanese rice with meat etc..

    These are some of our family favorites that involve ground beef.
    I always buy the extra lean and then brown and drain off the fat before using in any recipe.

    You could try googling ground beef recipes as well.

    Good luck!
  • somethingvague
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    These are kind of cute...especially if you have kids...my Dad and I used to make these a lot when I was younger.

    Mix a can of vegetable soup with lean ground beef, spoon into muffin pan and bake. Mini meat muffins! Haha.
  • RedAmo
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    You should swap out for Ground Turkey instead, it's leaner and more healthy for you. It's virtually the same taste as well. Especially if you plan on putting a sauce on there, there's almost no difference. It's a great way to save calories and fat!

    For a recipe I make Baked Ziti, just look up a Baked Ziti recipe and replace the Ground Beef, with Ground Turkey. And for the cheese you could try and look for a low fat cheese that suits your taste. You can save a lot of calories, and it tastes friggin' fantastic.
  • chrisd0201
    chrisd0201 Posts: 23 Member
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    Has anyone looked into using ground bison? It is very low in fat, high in protein and very good tasting.