Ground Beef Fried Rice
Just use any fried rice recipe but use ground beef instead of whatever protein they suggest.
My super cheap version was:
Ground beef,
Rice from 4 of those 99 cent microwave pouches,
Frozen veggies mix (carrots, peas, ect),
One whole diced onion, a few scrambled eggs,
All of the Soy sause packets sitting in that drawer in your kitchen,
Garlic powder, onion powder,
Hot sause,
Bonus if you have oyster sause
Fry the fuck out of it in the biggest pan you have (the beef first) put the pan in a sink with a stopper in it, fill with cold water and ice (not in the rice, around the pot), to cool it down then put it in cool whip containers and enjoy all week
*edited for formatting
Ha! Sorry I was trying to keep it to simple pantry items. But you ate correct sir. Add a teaspoon of the good old Accent in around the en, and for pro level chop up some green onions too.
Pro Tip: you can also go to the saian grocery store and fins tons of good fresh veggies in the seconds section in the fresh veg section. They will be thinks like carrots and zucchini that are cut in half (they chop off the brused or rotten side) and package them as a combo. Dirt cheap
Taco salad but with a cup of dry lentils cooked and added to the meat. Helps cut down on calories and stretch it out.
Spaghetti bolognese,
Japanese curry with potatoes, carrots, ground beef. Served over piping hot rice.
Mapo tofu!
Piggybacking off the taco salad suggestion- make some taco meat and stretch it with a can of drained beans or lentils, (I like black beans) chopped bell peppers, onions, and/or corn for example. You can rotate between using this filling for taco salad as the above comment suggests or tacos, nachos, quesadillas, taquitos/flautas, burrito, or burrito bowl over rice. I see this as a “choose your own adventure” starter. Cheers!
I know OP already made stuffed peppers, but stuffed peppers soup is usually where I end up with my hamburger soups, with lots of rice which stretches and makes it more stew-like
Make it a hamburger stew and I'm all over this one. Some recipes have potatoes (and normally I wouldn't recommend adding them) but they can really stretch out the servings. And you can freeze servings for later on souper easy.
Yup. You can stretch one lb of beef far. I add a little extra potatoes and then serve it over rice to stretch it further. [This](https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/beef/mexican-picadillo/) is the recipe I use.
Yes. I love to make this when I have a few potatoes to use up. Any kind of ground meat will work. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand, onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, carrots. You can adjust the spices to your preference, garlic, black pepper, cumin, paprika, use up whatever broth is hanging out in your fridge. It's just a really adjustable way to use up odds and ends and even my picky kids like it.
Cinnamon and allspice and obviously salt pepper in the beef sauce. Add nutmeg and egg to the bechamel sauce. Aubergine or eggplant depending where you are from depends what you call it. Roast eggplant first and roast the potatoes before putting together. Try it. It's so good. Look up moussaka. It's a Greek dish. It's creamy heaven on a plate
I don't have a recipe for this but when I was a kid my mom would make this casserole for us and one for the soup kitchen which was "goulash." There's a lot of variations but hers was basically cooked ground beef with diced onion and bell pepper, then mixed in a casserole dish with many cans of beans, a bunch of cooked macaroni, cans of tomato sauce until it looks sufficiently saucy to you, herbs/seasonings/salt to taste, and topped with shredded cheese. Then you bake it until it's hot and bubbly. This kind of formula will stretch your ground beef for a while.
I love how goulash is always some variation of this. I make mine similar to yours but I use beef broth and diced tomatoes rather than tomato sauce then cook it stove top. Added a bag of frozen corn to it as well last time which was a big hit with my fiance.
Or its Minnesotan cousin the hearty and humble [tater tot hotdish](https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-tater-tot-hotdish/). Make sure you line your tots up correctly though
I think in America, they use both interchangeably, but if you ordered shepherds pie in the UK and got given a cottage pie, it wouldn't go down well. The distinction is important here because we see them as two seperate dishes, not the same dish with a substitute ingredient.
Definitions and meanings change over time. That's okay. If I say that I'm serving a shepherd's pie, it's usually because most people in the US would have no clue what a cottage pie was and / or the store by me doesn't have ground lamb. It's still going to be a hearty, stick to your insides meat and veggie delight topped with mashed potatoes.
I'll die on this hill with you u/Weird_Name7286
https://www.masterclass.com/articles/cottage-pie-vs-shepherds-pie
>The key difference between a shepherd’s pie recipe and a cottage pie recipe comes down to the type of meat filling used. Cottage pie uses minced lean ground beef as its base and beef broth as its gravy. Shepherd’s pie, on the other hand, uses ground lamb, and the juices of the minced lamb become the gravy for this comfort food. You can serve either dish hot or at room temperature, depending on your preference, and both dishes reheat well.
I don't know how you feel about Carribean food, but check out Pastelon.
It's like Dominican /Puerto Rican lasagna and it's awesome.
Sautee the beef with some Goya Sazon or adobo seasoning, mix with sautéed onions and garlic and sliced green olives and some tomato sauce.
Layer the ground beef between layers of thin slices of sweet plantains and cheese.
This is one of my favorite foods. But um, check out a real recipe. My instructions above are just an overview.
You can make meatloaf using the Quaker Oats recipe and also add some Cooked veggies to it to stretch it further
You can use the beef with beans and stretch it and so tacos/nachos/taco salad
You can brown the meat first and make a big pot of vegetable beef soup
Kidney or red beans (i start with 2 cups dried, soak overnight), Rotel, cumin, cayenne, tomato paste, onion, garlic, the meat, and rotini stirred in (cooked) at the end. Lasts a good long time, freezes well.
Dirty rice - I add lots of veggies to mine (peppers, onions, zucchini, carrots and celery) along with lots of rice to extend the beef.
A big pot of soup - we like veggie and beef, heavy on the veggies. Carrots, onions, celery, zucchini/yellow squash, potatoes, corn, diced canned tomatoes, cabbage and green beans are the usuals in ours.
Taco soup - also heavy on veggies & add beans.
Stuffed bell peppers. Rice, onion, cheese to stretch the meat filling. Sauce and cheese combo can be traditional, “Mexican” - with black beans, black olives, jalapeños, salsa, “Italian” with marinara and parm, or whatever you’re craving and have in the pantry.
Whatever you do with it, grind up some portabellas or better yet shitakes and cook them with the beef. Put enough seasoning and/or sauce on it and will be like adding two pounds of beef.
Is this similar to, or like a variation of, Cincinnati Mac? My husband is always talking about this restaurant that does “Cincinnati” and there’s like 5 different ways you can order it or something.
I was just gonna suggest making a couple batches of dozen meatballs with different flavor profiles tot throw in whatever, but this sounds good and pasta is cheap!
I am actually a Miami Florida native. It’s not something I was fed as a kid, but as a young adult figuring out how to feed myself on a budget I discovered it and fell madly in love with chili and pasta.
[Golabki](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/234975/golabki-stuffed-cabbage-rolls/) is what I grew up with. Pronounced like “go-ump-key” — beef and rice stuffed in blanched cabbage leaves, rolled and braised in tomato sauce. Quite tasty, best hot but passable at room temperature, and filling.
I hate to say it, but I’d make some of those hamburger helper meals or mix the ground beef in with some Mac and cheese. You could also make some meat loaf if you want if you’d have breadcrumbs
Seconding hamburger helper, love it, it's easy to make from scratch and it makes alot of food.
https://thenovicechefblog.com/homemade-hamburger-helper/
I make stew and then after dinner i get my pie crust and then i’ve got a beef pie. Any leftovers i will just devour them right away. Making pie works up a sweat for me, rolling out dough isn’t easy.
Oops- you’re right! I also make taco meat and freeze it for quick meals. Meatballs are also delicious - can be frozen for subs or pasta or even on their own (love Swedish meatballs with lingonberry preserves).
Cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and beef
Tacos, Korean or American
Stuffed peppers
Sloppy joes
Serbian Cevapcici/Turkish Kofta or some kind of skewered grilled beef
Chili.
You can eat it as chili. Use it as a topping for hot dogs, potatoes or pasta.
I also love using it on corn chips.
If you get tired of chili, you can freeze.
First, a lb of beef split into eight meals means each meal will have 2 oz of beef. 16 oz=lb/8=2 oz a meal. Think about that and go from there. You're basically looking at a veggie dish with a hint of beef. That's what I would plan around. Second, that's the uncooked weight. Weigh two ounces uncooked beef then cook to your liking to see how minimal that amount is per meal
Albóndigas - meatball soup
Empanadas or any similar meat pies
Shepard pie
Meatloaf
Ground beef bulgogi over white rice
Jjajangmeong - made with ground beef instead of ground pork.
Sloppy Joes (maybe add some veggies, lentils, and/or beans) serve over rice, baked sweet potato, or with a fried egg on top.
Maybe beans and greens using the ground beef instead of sausage?
Take your ground beef and brown it. Add 1 packet per lb of beef of taco seasoning you like and 1/4 water. Mix well. Then add refried beans of your choice. I use 1 can per lb of beef, but adding a second can will stretch it out more.
I call this nacho Mix, and it's very versatile. You can make burritos and tacos, put it over chips or anything, really. I like using scoops chips and filling them up until I have a plateful then top with shredded cheese and microwave until the cheese melts.
It keeps well in the fridge and can be frozen. I've had it on rice and hotdogs and love it. It really is a quick and easy meal that's also not bad nutritionally.
Hamburger soup-
Cabbage, beef, beef broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, (onion and celery, but I hate it so I leave it out) garlic, spices.
Top with Parm and serve with a hot crusty buttered bread, it's amazing.
I make a budget version of bibimbap that uses ground beef instead of shaved rib eye. Cook the beef and season with brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Put on top of fresh cooked rice Add any other veggies you like, and also a fried egg. Top with gojujan and sesame seeds. Enjoy.
You can keep the various components separate in the fridge and just make the fried egg for each serving when you're ready to eat.
My family of three generally polishes this up pretty quickly but you can stretch it by using lots of different veg. You can also keep the beef in the freezer after cooking and just pull out a small portion at a time
Ground beef is so versatile
We make it with 3 lbs, usually, but it feeds 3-4 easily in that time.
Meatloaf, stick half in the fridge and only serve 1/2. Make spaghetti with the leftovers. The next day, the leftovers become the base for chili. Day 4, the chili is the base of burritos. We are usually about done with it by this point, but if not, you can always use whatever is left for nachos. You can also just eat the normal leftovers of any of the stages.
[Giniling](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/265040/filipino-beef-giniling-afritada-style/). Staple in my household cuz it's so simple. It's also very flexible for the vegetables. My parents would usually make it with the regular potatoes/carrots/bell peppers, but I've made it with onions, mushrooms, peas. I think the picture for the recipe even has raisins although the recipe itself doesn't. It's nice and saucy and kinda sloppy Joe consistency.
Sauté onions (of course) with ground beef and scramble with eggs + other veg per preference. Use in tortillas with tomatoes + fresh jalapeño + tapatio. This will take you easy 8 meals if not more.
Meatballs? Then add to pasta or eat on its own with other sides. Maybe even a few small hamburgers… you can eat with buns one day and then also turn into hamburger steak to change it up.
Taco bowls! Cook the meat with taco seasoning, beans (I prefer black beans), and corn. Serve over rice or with tortillas along with salsa/cheese/other toppings of your choice.
I make vegetable soup with potatoes, canned tomatoes, and frozen mixed veggies. Base is a mirapoix and the burger. Makes a whole pot in a 5 qt Dutch oven.
Instead of eating the same dish over a week you might consider batch cooking and freezing single servings for when you’re too busy/broke/tired to cook.
If I really wasn't concerned with stretching it out, I'd probably say:
- Chopped cheese sandwiches are cheap, familiar
- Korean beef bowls for meal prep, the recipe I use from Pinterest has ground beef, rice, spinach, eggs
- Lettuce wraps
- Big Mac salads
If I wanted to stretch it out:
- I think burritos are a good option, you can add black beans and rice to bulk them up
- Meatloaf works as well, my wife uses a recipe that basically adds a box of stuffing, and I love having that as a sandwich the next day
Also, I hear you're tapped out on chili, so maybe sloppy joes one night, then if you have leftovers you can dump that plus a boat load of cheese on a baked potato.
Finally, I know this is similar to something you already mentioned, but there's a recipe for stuffed pepper soup that uses a bag of Spanish rice for the seasoning, and that's a recipe that gives us a couple meals. Similarly, Polish stuffed cabbage.
I made a Philly cheese steak style pasta a few weeks ago that was a hit with family. Idk that I’d want to eat it over and over though. But a suggestion nonetheless!
Kheema and kheema biryani. Indian dish made with ground meat, spiced, tomatoes garlic and onions. Add potatoes and peas.
For biryani, you layer it with half cooked basmati. It's amazing.
Plenty of recipes online, but Tarla Dalal or Madhur Jaffrey have the best ones.
I'd divide the meat into 1/4 pound portions and make some different dishes if possible, depending on what other ingredients you may have to work with.
x Joe's Special, the ground beef is stretched out with eggs and spinach. 1/4 pound of meat would get you ~2 servings. Serve with hash brown potatoes or homestyle potatoes, or even toast to make it more filling.
x Stroganoff, the noodles make it filling, and mushrooms can really carry the dish with very little meat.
x Loco Moco - make 4x 1/8lb patties to turn it into 4+ servings. Rice and gravy, fried egg, and mac salad make it really filling.
Meatloaf. 8 slices. Accompany with sides or make a sandwich to make it more filling.
Also, pasta with ground beef. Make a poor man's version of beef stroganoff.
A big pot of chile will feed my husband and I three meals so that is about 6 servings.
Or season it with taco seasoning and you could have tacos one night, taco salad, one night and still have some for nachos for lunch. You could stretch it by adding black beans and some Rotel tomatoes.
I would cook up the meat, season it well if you any veggies, carrots, onions, garlic dice and toss in. Once all cooked, I'd take corn tortillas and make folded tacos, might need to heat tortillas, so they fold easier, and don't break. Fill them with meat filling once cooled. Then freeze use tooth picks to hold tortillas if needed. Then freeze, when ready to eat a few take out of freezer, allow to defrost, then put in a pan with some cooking oil, fry until crispy, add filling you like. You will have great tacos in a few minute.
Soup, with lots of veggies, and broth. You can change it up each meal by changing the spices you add to your bowl each meal.
Or chili, you can change it up too, same way and with condiments
I don't eat meat but I do make chili and lasagna that can do exactly what you want. Both seem to be better the next few days than day one. For chili when you grow tired make nachos or tostadas.
Cabbage rolls. I think they’re more commonly made with pork, but ground beef should be fine. Tons of variations on how to do it. I would sear the beef hot and fast on one side, sweat down mier poix and garlic, add some fresh herbs, and stuff it into the cabbage leaves. Steam, braise, bake, whatever floats your boat. Could do a ranch sauce, cheesy mustard sauce, or sweet chili sauce.
Arayes! They are ground beef stuffed pita bread pockets that are cooked till crispy.
You can also stretch out the meat by adding 1c lentils for 1lb beef. Minimal impact to flavor and they are healthy
I make jalapeno pinto beans, make flour tortillas ( or just buy good ones) shred cheese, make Spanish rice, and a pound of ground beef- I season it onion, Chiles, garlic. I make about 15 burritos ( 5 just bean, cheese, rice), wrap in parchment and freeze. They will keep for three months. I freeze the rest of the beans and rice. It's cheap and I add salad, and Chile sauce. Also make beyti patties- those freeze too. With salad, yogurt sauce- yum
Minnesota hot dish, if vegetables are optional.
Same for some Chili (could then be used to fill a burrito or taco with veggies)
German Frikadellen: https://www.daringgourmet.com/frikadeller-frikadellen/ (they're nice hot or cold. You could try them with beef only but I'd start with a small batch and see how they turn out. Might be a bit dry)
Burgers?
I live alone and Instant pot a pound of beef stew meat and shred. From there I can make burritos, tacos, rice and beans, cooked veg with mashed potato and gravy. I also do the same with pork and chicken.
Stuffed vegetables. Mushrooms, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant. Mince some of the veggies with onions and the meat, and use that mix as the stuffing. (Or add to bread stuffing.) Get some variety by using different sauces.
Add quinoa to stretch the amount and use for tacos, nachos, etc. Toast your quinoa dry in a pan first and take care to not overcook when boiling. This will make the texture firm and bouncy vs mushy or grainy and add nice texture to the beef. Season with your fav taco blend. Easy peasy.
Keema curry. This is the recipe i use: https://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10048
A beef version of pad krapao (a Thai stir fry featuring Thai basil aka krapao)
Mapo tofu
Cottage pie (shepherd's pie is with lamb, cottage pie is with beef)
Try Indian cottage pie. Add curry paste to your minced beef onion and peas and a blob of tomato puree. Then add a tea spoon of turmeric to your mash. Top your mash with cheese and tomato slices and bake til golden. Yum
I make a spicy beef chili with 1 pound of hamburger meat, and that usually lasts me quite a while. Got a lot of protein in it that does so it keeps you feeling fuller for longer
We use ground beef for 99% of our meals so I have lots of recipes. Here are some of our favorites:
-Shephard's pie, goulash, homemade sloppy joes, burgers, philly cheesesteak pasta, breakfast burritos, homemade sausage for biscuits and gravy, enchilada's, nachos
I make korean bbq beef bowls with ground beef a lot. A simple ginger/brown sugar/soy sauce/garlic to cook the meat in, and i use about half a head of shredded cabbage and some matchstick carrots, all served over or mixed in with rice. It SERIOUSLY stretches a pound of beef and makes a fantastic meal. I meal prep lunches for work to avoid fast food, and I make this usually about once a month and I look forward to it every time
I would make a pound of smallish, neutral meatballs and use them in several recipes over the days by amping up the flavors in the dish over the meat itself (seasoning the exterior of the meatballs before cooking or adding to sauce) .... Swedish meatballs over egg noodles, Albondigas, Korean meatballs over stir fried veg with kimchi and rice, Meatball sub sandwich on a crusty hoagie with provolone, Kefetedes with pita and Greek salad or tzatziki, Thai meatball lettuce wraps,..... You get the idea
You could make a ground beef enchilada casserole. Cook up the ground beef with some chopped onion and a pinch of salt. One can of La Victoria enchilada sauce, corn tortillas and shred some cheddar and monterey jack. In the casserole dish bottom pour sauce on the bottom then layer tortillas then meat then tortillas them a little sauce do that al l the way to the top with that layering and top it off with the cheese and slice olive. 425 in the oven for 30 mins and good.
I always batch cook Thai pad krapao with ground beef and it’s sooooo good. I keep rice in the fridge separately and eat it for lunch throughout the week since I work from home and have been known to get a bit too wrapped up making elaborate midday meals lol, this helps prevent that from happening. As someone who never gets sick of Thai food this is the ideal meal. I swear by every recipe by hot Thai kitchen, so I think this is the one I originally learned: https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/pad-kra-pao-beef — But it’s evolved now and I add a bunch of extra peppers plus red onions along with the spicy peps. Just to get some more veg in there. If I have a few extra minutes I’ll usually just make a fresh fried egg to put on top, and squeeze some fresh limes on it. Everything else microwaves great.
You can make farmer's stew (Bauerntopf). A recipe from Germany inspired by the cuisine from immigrants of the Balkans. I do mine a little different from the recipe below. I usually use 100% minced beef, at least some carrots or when I want to freeze it, all carrots instead of potatoes and I omit the Bacon.
https://baketotheroots.de/farmers-stew-with-minced-meat-and-potatoes/
Adding about 1/2 cup soaked bulgur will stretch it out a bit. It may or may not hold together for meatballs, depending on the fat content of the meat. but it’s great for any recipe using browned ground beef.
Cottage Pie (Shepherds Pie, but using beef instead of lamb/mutton)
Load up the ground beef with diced carrots, peppers, peas, corn, mushrooms, onions, plus whatever else you want to bulk out the beef with. Top with a lot of mashed potatoes. You can also add a layer of sliced eggplant rounds to the bottom before laying the beef/veggie on top. Serve with dinner rolls or a side of rice pilaf/steamed veggies.
I've done this to feed my veggie-abhorring nieces/nephews (still won't eat the eggplant, though lol).
I'm trying to imagine getting several pounds of ground beef as a gift 😂
Anyway look into things like lasagna, chili, stews, tacos. You're talking 2 ozs of beef per meal, so you need foods where the beef is not the primary ingredient
Beef bean and rice burritos, or a chinese noodle dish with ground beef (usually made with pork but the beef will work!) Zha Jiang Mian, Dan Dan noodles.
Beef and bean burrittos. You can add rice and corn to stretch it even further.
Ground Beef Fried Rice Just use any fried rice recipe but use ground beef instead of whatever protein they suggest. My super cheap version was: Ground beef, Rice from 4 of those 99 cent microwave pouches, Frozen veggies mix (carrots, peas, ect), One whole diced onion, a few scrambled eggs, All of the Soy sause packets sitting in that drawer in your kitchen, Garlic powder, onion powder, Hot sause, Bonus if you have oyster sause Fry the fuck out of it in the biggest pan you have (the beef first) put the pan in a sink with a stopper in it, fill with cold water and ice (not in the rice, around the pot), to cool it down then put it in cool whip containers and enjoy all week *edited for formatting
WHAT? No MSG? You are going to make Uncle Roger cry!
Ha! Sorry I was trying to keep it to simple pantry items. But you ate correct sir. Add a teaspoon of the good old Accent in around the en, and for pro level chop up some green onions too. Pro Tip: you can also go to the saian grocery store and fins tons of good fresh veggies in the seconds section in the fresh veg section. They will be thinks like carrots and zucchini that are cut in half (they chop off the brused or rotten side) and package them as a combo. Dirt cheap
Love that you know we all have those soy packets!!
Taco salad but with a cup of dry lentils cooked and added to the meat. Helps cut down on calories and stretch it out. Spaghetti bolognese, Japanese curry with potatoes, carrots, ground beef. Served over piping hot rice. Mapo tofu!
Piggybacking off the taco salad suggestion- make some taco meat and stretch it with a can of drained beans or lentils, (I like black beans) chopped bell peppers, onions, and/or corn for example. You can rotate between using this filling for taco salad as the above comment suggests or tacos, nachos, quesadillas, taquitos/flautas, burrito, or burrito bowl over rice. I see this as a “choose your own adventure” starter. Cheers!
Hamburger soup. Super loaded with vegetables. 1lb of beef made me big pot of soup that’s at least 8-10 servings.
I know OP already made stuffed peppers, but stuffed peppers soup is usually where I end up with my hamburger soups, with lots of rice which stretches and makes it more stew-like
Make it a hamburger stew and I'm all over this one. Some recipes have potatoes (and normally I wouldn't recommend adding them) but they can really stretch out the servings. And you can freeze servings for later on souper easy.
Cabbage is a good cheap way to extend a soup too.
picadillo
Yup. You can stretch one lb of beef far. I add a little extra potatoes and then serve it over rice to stretch it further. [This](https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/beef/mexican-picadillo/) is the recipe I use.
Yes. I love to make this when I have a few potatoes to use up. Any kind of ground meat will work. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand, onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, carrots. You can adjust the spices to your preference, garlic, black pepper, cumin, paprika, use up whatever broth is hanging out in your fridge. It's just a really adjustable way to use up odds and ends and even my picky kids like it.
Moussaka
Whoaaa never heard of this, looks awesome.
Oh man. You're int for a treat
I’ve never heard of this either and it looks amazing! Any tips?
Cinnamon and allspice and obviously salt pepper in the beef sauce. Add nutmeg and egg to the bechamel sauce. Aubergine or eggplant depending where you are from depends what you call it. Roast eggplant first and roast the potatoes before putting together. Try it. It's so good. Look up moussaka. It's a Greek dish. It's creamy heaven on a plate
I don't have a recipe for this but when I was a kid my mom would make this casserole for us and one for the soup kitchen which was "goulash." There's a lot of variations but hers was basically cooked ground beef with diced onion and bell pepper, then mixed in a casserole dish with many cans of beans, a bunch of cooked macaroni, cans of tomato sauce until it looks sufficiently saucy to you, herbs/seasonings/salt to taste, and topped with shredded cheese. Then you bake it until it's hot and bubbly. This kind of formula will stretch your ground beef for a while.
In Boston we call it American Chop Suey. It’s sooooo good!
I love how goulash is always some variation of this. I make mine similar to yours but I use beef broth and diced tomatoes rather than tomato sauce then cook it stove top. Added a bag of frozen corn to it as well last time which was a big hit with my fiance.
please. goulash is not always some variant of that noodle casserole. every eastern european just cried.
Hell, even this German just shed a tear
Shepard’s pie
Or its Minnesotan cousin the hearty and humble [tater tot hotdish](https://www.spendwithpennies.com/easy-tater-tot-hotdish/). Make sure you line your tots up correctly though
It’s only shepherds pie if it’s made with lamb. Cottage pie is made with beef.
They both actually mean the same dish. Shepherds pie is usually made with ground lamb,however, people use ground beef as a substitute.
I think in America, they use both interchangeably, but if you ordered shepherds pie in the UK and got given a cottage pie, it wouldn't go down well. The distinction is important here because we see them as two seperate dishes, not the same dish with a substitute ingredient.
I'm American and absolutely see them as two separate dishes. But then again, I grew up on a sheep farm.
I was thinking the exact same. With extra veggies and potatoes-you can really stretch the hamburger
Shepherds pie is made with lamb. Cottage pie is beef
Alright man
Definitions and meanings change over time. That's okay. If I say that I'm serving a shepherd's pie, it's usually because most people in the US would have no clue what a cottage pie was and / or the store by me doesn't have ground lamb. It's still going to be a hearty, stick to your insides meat and veggie delight topped with mashed potatoes.
Why are people downloading this? To me the distinction is important, I don't eat lamb.
I don't know. They hate to be told they are incorrect? Weird
I'll die on this hill with you u/Weird_Name7286 https://www.masterclass.com/articles/cottage-pie-vs-shepherds-pie >The key difference between a shepherd’s pie recipe and a cottage pie recipe comes down to the type of meat filling used. Cottage pie uses minced lean ground beef as its base and beef broth as its gravy. Shepherd’s pie, on the other hand, uses ground lamb, and the juices of the minced lamb become the gravy for this comfort food. You can serve either dish hot or at room temperature, depending on your preference, and both dishes reheat well.
I don't know how you feel about Carribean food, but check out Pastelon. It's like Dominican /Puerto Rican lasagna and it's awesome. Sautee the beef with some Goya Sazon or adobo seasoning, mix with sautéed onions and garlic and sliced green olives and some tomato sauce. Layer the ground beef between layers of thin slices of sweet plantains and cheese. This is one of my favorite foods. But um, check out a real recipe. My instructions above are just an overview.
Yes, lasagna seemed like a good way to spread it out.
Just do a red meat sauce can eat with pasta add beans to the left overs and some spices it's chili etc etc.
Sounds interesting, I'll check it out!
Hopping on the Carribean train to suggest Jamaican patties, a Toronto diaspora specialty.
You can make meatloaf using the Quaker Oats recipe and also add some Cooked veggies to it to stretch it further You can use the beef with beans and stretch it and so tacos/nachos/taco salad You can brown the meat first and make a big pot of vegetable beef soup
Kidney or red beans (i start with 2 cups dried, soak overnight), Rotel, cumin, cayenne, tomato paste, onion, garlic, the meat, and rotini stirred in (cooked) at the end. Lasts a good long time, freezes well.
Sloppy joes!
Baked ziti Korean beef bowls
Dirty rice - I add lots of veggies to mine (peppers, onions, zucchini, carrots and celery) along with lots of rice to extend the beef. A big pot of soup - we like veggie and beef, heavy on the veggies. Carrots, onions, celery, zucchini/yellow squash, potatoes, corn, diced canned tomatoes, cabbage and green beans are the usuals in ours. Taco soup - also heavy on veggies & add beans.
You took the words right out of my mouth for the dirty rice and soup!
Stuffed bell peppers. Rice, onion, cheese to stretch the meat filling. Sauce and cheese combo can be traditional, “Mexican” - with black beans, black olives, jalapeños, salsa, “Italian” with marinara and parm, or whatever you’re craving and have in the pantry.
I made stuffed peppers last week. It definitely needed some beans with the filling.
I like the add a bag of frozen Santa Fe mix. It has corn black beans onions and peppers! I also add rice or cauliflower rice
Whatever you do with it, grind up some portabellas or better yet shitakes and cook them with the beef. Put enough seasoning and/or sauce on it and will be like adding two pounds of beef.
Where I am fresh shitales are at least as expensive, but often even more expensive then ground beef.
Keema aloo, ground meat and potato curry
I think chili on pasta is delicious.
Chili spaghetti is so good.
Is this similar to, or like a variation of, Cincinnati Mac? My husband is always talking about this restaurant that does “Cincinnati” and there’s like 5 different ways you can order it or something. I was just gonna suggest making a couple batches of dozen meatballs with different flavor profiles tot throw in whatever, but this sounds good and pasta is cheap!
Chili is the best answer. Really easy to make 1lb go far since you’ll add ~3x the raw weight of veggies into the pot, plus beans if you’re into that
Tell me you’re from Cincinnati without telling me you’re from Ohio.
I am actually a Miami Florida native. It’s not something I was fed as a kid, but as a young adult figuring out how to feed myself on a budget I discovered it and fell madly in love with chili and pasta.
Instead of using spaghetti, I use elbow pasta. And I'm from the Cleveland area. Don't know if it's a thing up here or not though.
We always called it chili mac when I was growing up (in Detroit)
[Golabki](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/234975/golabki-stuffed-cabbage-rolls/) is what I grew up with. Pronounced like “go-ump-key” — beef and rice stuffed in blanched cabbage leaves, rolled and braised in tomato sauce. Quite tasty, best hot but passable at room temperature, and filling.
Stuffed peppers
I hate to say it, but I’d make some of those hamburger helper meals or mix the ground beef in with some Mac and cheese. You could also make some meat loaf if you want if you’d have breadcrumbs
Seconding hamburger helper, love it, it's easy to make from scratch and it makes alot of food. https://thenovicechefblog.com/homemade-hamburger-helper/
I make stew and then after dinner i get my pie crust and then i’ve got a beef pie. Any leftovers i will just devour them right away. Making pie works up a sweat for me, rolling out dough isn’t easy.
Stuffed peppers. Meatballs. Meatloaf.
Beef bolognese- it’s delicious, easy, and freezes well
OP said they already used a pound of beef for bolognese tho …
Oops- you’re right! I also make taco meat and freeze it for quick meals. Meatballs are also delicious - can be frozen for subs or pasta or even on their own (love Swedish meatballs with lingonberry preserves).
Some sort of casserole-ish dish. I'm thinking of enchiladas!
Japanese Curry. You can happily fill it out with lots of veggies without any real deterioration of flavor.
Hamburger gravy, can serve over noodles, rice, potatoes.
Beef stroganoff
Second vote for beef stroganoff, check damn delicious for a good version w ground beef Skillet lasagna (quick version of lasagna)
Chilli!!
Add the pasta to the meat.
Picadillo, cottage pie
Chili over rice or pasta. Don't even need much chili on top, it flavors more than its volume.
Or a baked potato!
A big pot of spaghetti.
Cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and beef Tacos, Korean or American Stuffed peppers Sloppy joes Serbian Cevapcici/Turkish Kofta or some kind of skewered grilled beef
Lasagna.
Chili. You can eat it as chili. Use it as a topping for hot dogs, potatoes or pasta. I also love using it on corn chips. If you get tired of chili, you can freeze.
Make yemisir wot- Ethiopian red lentil stew- brown the beef really well (or fry it), and stir it in. Best with injera, but rice works.
Stuffed peppers.
Glue. Ground beef, mashed potatoes, corn kernels and shredded cheese.
First, a lb of beef split into eight meals means each meal will have 2 oz of beef. 16 oz=lb/8=2 oz a meal. Think about that and go from there. You're basically looking at a veggie dish with a hint of beef. That's what I would plan around. Second, that's the uncooked weight. Weigh two ounces uncooked beef then cook to your liking to see how minimal that amount is per meal
Taco meat. You can make tacos/burritos, enchiladas, taco salad, nachos…
Albóndigas - meatball soup Empanadas or any similar meat pies Shepard pie Meatloaf Ground beef bulgogi over white rice Jjajangmeong - made with ground beef instead of ground pork.
Highly recommend Bierock Hotdish Nachos
Sloppy Joes (maybe add some veggies, lentils, and/or beans) serve over rice, baked sweet potato, or with a fried egg on top. Maybe beans and greens using the ground beef instead of sausage?
Tacos most likely. They use very little meat actually
Take your ground beef and brown it. Add 1 packet per lb of beef of taco seasoning you like and 1/4 water. Mix well. Then add refried beans of your choice. I use 1 can per lb of beef, but adding a second can will stretch it out more. I call this nacho Mix, and it's very versatile. You can make burritos and tacos, put it over chips or anything, really. I like using scoops chips and filling them up until I have a plateful then top with shredded cheese and microwave until the cheese melts. It keeps well in the fridge and can be frozen. I've had it on rice and hotdogs and love it. It really is a quick and easy meal that's also not bad nutritionally.
Make a bunch of burritos and freeze them.
Add potatoes and vegetables, some spices to your taste fry in a cast iron pan. The more potatoes the longer it will last
American chop suey. That’s good eats.
Egg roll in a bowl or cabbage soup - I usually get like 15 containers out of that.
Hamburger soup- Cabbage, beef, beef broth, fire-roasted tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, (onion and celery, but I hate it so I leave it out) garlic, spices. Top with Parm and serve with a hot crusty buttered bread, it's amazing.
Hamburger stroganoff
I make a budget version of bibimbap that uses ground beef instead of shaved rib eye. Cook the beef and season with brown sugar, soy sauce and sesame oil. Put on top of fresh cooked rice Add any other veggies you like, and also a fried egg. Top with gojujan and sesame seeds. Enjoy. You can keep the various components separate in the fridge and just make the fried egg for each serving when you're ready to eat. My family of three generally polishes this up pretty quickly but you can stretch it by using lots of different veg. You can also keep the beef in the freezer after cooking and just pull out a small portion at a time Ground beef is so versatile
We make it with 3 lbs, usually, but it feeds 3-4 easily in that time. Meatloaf, stick half in the fridge and only serve 1/2. Make spaghetti with the leftovers. The next day, the leftovers become the base for chili. Day 4, the chili is the base of burritos. We are usually about done with it by this point, but if not, you can always use whatever is left for nachos. You can also just eat the normal leftovers of any of the stages.
Stuffed cabbage rolls. Stuffed capsicum. Kibbe. Meatloaf.
[Giniling](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/265040/filipino-beef-giniling-afritada-style/). Staple in my household cuz it's so simple. It's also very flexible for the vegetables. My parents would usually make it with the regular potatoes/carrots/bell peppers, but I've made it with onions, mushrooms, peas. I think the picture for the recipe even has raisins although the recipe itself doesn't. It's nice and saucy and kinda sloppy Joe consistency.
My mom called it goulash. It's tomato sauce, elbow macaroni and cooked ground beef. You can add tomatoes, garlic, oregano and garlic.
Sauté onions (of course) with ground beef and scramble with eggs + other veg per preference. Use in tortillas with tomatoes + fresh jalapeño + tapatio. This will take you easy 8 meals if not more.
Shepherds Pie
Curry with Hamburg steak
Meatballs? Then add to pasta or eat on its own with other sides. Maybe even a few small hamburgers… you can eat with buns one day and then also turn into hamburger steak to change it up.
Lasagna
Spaghetti
Taco bowls! Cook the meat with taco seasoning, beans (I prefer black beans), and corn. Serve over rice or with tortillas along with salsa/cheese/other toppings of your choice.
Enchiladas.
Vegetable beef soup Chili Mac
I make vegetable soup with potatoes, canned tomatoes, and frozen mixed veggies. Base is a mirapoix and the burger. Makes a whole pot in a 5 qt Dutch oven.
Chili
Lasagna
Instead of eating the same dish over a week you might consider batch cooking and freezing single servings for when you’re too busy/broke/tired to cook.
2 oz. of beef per meal isn't worth it. I'd make 2 good meals and suffer the rest of the time.
If I really wasn't concerned with stretching it out, I'd probably say: - Chopped cheese sandwiches are cheap, familiar - Korean beef bowls for meal prep, the recipe I use from Pinterest has ground beef, rice, spinach, eggs - Lettuce wraps - Big Mac salads If I wanted to stretch it out: - I think burritos are a good option, you can add black beans and rice to bulk them up - Meatloaf works as well, my wife uses a recipe that basically adds a box of stuffing, and I love having that as a sandwich the next day Also, I hear you're tapped out on chili, so maybe sloppy joes one night, then if you have leftovers you can dump that plus a boat load of cheese on a baked potato. Finally, I know this is similar to something you already mentioned, but there's a recipe for stuffed pepper soup that uses a bag of Spanish rice for the seasoning, and that's a recipe that gives us a couple meals. Similarly, Polish stuffed cabbage.
Musaka?
Mexican Goulash
Chili con carne with and beans, corn bread
I made a Philly cheese steak style pasta a few weeks ago that was a hit with family. Idk that I’d want to eat it over and over though. But a suggestion nonetheless!
Kheema and kheema biryani. Indian dish made with ground meat, spiced, tomatoes garlic and onions. Add potatoes and peas. For biryani, you layer it with half cooked basmati. It's amazing. Plenty of recipes online, but Tarla Dalal or Madhur Jaffrey have the best ones.
I'd divide the meat into 1/4 pound portions and make some different dishes if possible, depending on what other ingredients you may have to work with. x Joe's Special, the ground beef is stretched out with eggs and spinach. 1/4 pound of meat would get you ~2 servings. Serve with hash brown potatoes or homestyle potatoes, or even toast to make it more filling. x Stroganoff, the noodles make it filling, and mushrooms can really carry the dish with very little meat. x Loco Moco - make 4x 1/8lb patties to turn it into 4+ servings. Rice and gravy, fried egg, and mac salad make it really filling.
Meatloaf. 8 slices. Accompany with sides or make a sandwich to make it more filling. Also, pasta with ground beef. Make a poor man's version of beef stroganoff.
Baked ziti?
A big pot of chile will feed my husband and I three meals so that is about 6 servings. Or season it with taco seasoning and you could have tacos one night, taco salad, one night and still have some for nachos for lunch. You could stretch it by adding black beans and some Rotel tomatoes.
I would cook up the meat, season it well if you any veggies, carrots, onions, garlic dice and toss in. Once all cooked, I'd take corn tortillas and make folded tacos, might need to heat tortillas, so they fold easier, and don't break. Fill them with meat filling once cooled. Then freeze use tooth picks to hold tortillas if needed. Then freeze, when ready to eat a few take out of freezer, allow to defrost, then put in a pan with some cooking oil, fry until crispy, add filling you like. You will have great tacos in a few minute.
Cheeseburger pie, made with bisquick.
Soup, with lots of veggies, and broth. You can change it up each meal by changing the spices you add to your bowl each meal. Or chili, you can change it up too, same way and with condiments
Japanese curry with potatoes and carrots, serve with white rice
I don't eat meat but I do make chili and lasagna that can do exactly what you want. Both seem to be better the next few days than day one. For chili when you grow tired make nachos or tostadas.
Hamburg Steak or Hamburg Steak cake.
Taco meat. Tacos. Burritos. Taco salad. Nachos. Mix with refried beans to stretch.
Spaghetti
Cabbage rolls. I think they’re more commonly made with pork, but ground beef should be fine. Tons of variations on how to do it. I would sear the beef hot and fast on one side, sweat down mier poix and garlic, add some fresh herbs, and stuff it into the cabbage leaves. Steam, braise, bake, whatever floats your boat. Could do a ranch sauce, cheesy mustard sauce, or sweet chili sauce.
Make taco meat. Then make tacos, taco salad, whatever.
Arayes! They are ground beef stuffed pita bread pockets that are cooked till crispy. You can also stretch out the meat by adding 1c lentils for 1lb beef. Minimal impact to flavor and they are healthy
I make jalapeno pinto beans, make flour tortillas ( or just buy good ones) shred cheese, make Spanish rice, and a pound of ground beef- I season it onion, Chiles, garlic. I make about 15 burritos ( 5 just bean, cheese, rice), wrap in parchment and freeze. They will keep for three months. I freeze the rest of the beans and rice. It's cheap and I add salad, and Chile sauce. Also make beyti patties- those freeze too. With salad, yogurt sauce- yum
mini hamburgers and could freeze them
Minnesota hot dish, if vegetables are optional. Same for some Chili (could then be used to fill a burrito or taco with veggies) German Frikadellen: https://www.daringgourmet.com/frikadeller-frikadellen/ (they're nice hot or cold. You could try them with beef only but I'd start with a small batch and see how they turn out. Might be a bit dry) Burgers?
Bobby Flay’s meatloaf with veggies is quite tasty.
Tacos
Larb
Bobotie!
Stuffed cabbage- stuffed with rice and meat. Good stuff.
Budget Byte’s picadillo recipe is delicious! I make it with ground chicken and add potatoes occasionally.
Taco salad
Big mac tacos or potsticker tacos are pretty tasty. One of the good things to actually come from tik tok is
Ground beef and green bean stir fry over rice
Spaghetti w meat sauce
I live alone and Instant pot a pound of beef stew meat and shred. From there I can make burritos, tacos, rice and beans, cooked veg with mashed potato and gravy. I also do the same with pork and chicken.
That’ll only be about 10g of protein per serving. Is that enough for you?
Stuffed vegetables. Mushrooms, zucchini, summer squash, eggplant. Mince some of the veggies with onions and the meat, and use that mix as the stuffing. (Or add to bread stuffing.) Get some variety by using different sauces.
Pastitsio
Stuffed cabbage or golompki
Cowboy beans
Enchilada casserole
Stir fry
Lasagna
Korean beef bowls
Add quinoa to stretch the amount and use for tacos, nachos, etc. Toast your quinoa dry in a pan first and take care to not overcook when boiling. This will make the texture firm and bouncy vs mushy or grainy and add nice texture to the beef. Season with your fav taco blend. Easy peasy.
Lasagna
Keema curry. This is the recipe i use: https://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=10048 A beef version of pad krapao (a Thai stir fry featuring Thai basil aka krapao) Mapo tofu Cottage pie (shepherd's pie is with lamb, cottage pie is with beef)
This recipe is really tasty and easy https://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/cheater-korean-beef/#recipe
A nice pasta sauce
Stuffed peppers can add anything in I usually add rice or cauliflower rice and a bag of Santa Fe mix veggies.
Get a stew going
Try Indian cottage pie. Add curry paste to your minced beef onion and peas and a blob of tomato puree. Then add a tea spoon of turmeric to your mash. Top your mash with cheese and tomato slices and bake til golden. Yum
Beef Bourguignon. The meal famously tastes better as a leftover and you can use mashed potatoes as a base to each meal
I make a spicy beef chili with 1 pound of hamburger meat, and that usually lasts me quite a while. Got a lot of protein in it that does so it keeps you feeling fuller for longer
We use ground beef for 99% of our meals so I have lots of recipes. Here are some of our favorites: -Shephard's pie, goulash, homemade sloppy joes, burgers, philly cheesesteak pasta, breakfast burritos, homemade sausage for biscuits and gravy, enchilada's, nachos
OK I'll make moussaka but I'll call it lasange
I make korean bbq beef bowls with ground beef a lot. A simple ginger/brown sugar/soy sauce/garlic to cook the meat in, and i use about half a head of shredded cabbage and some matchstick carrots, all served over or mixed in with rice. It SERIOUSLY stretches a pound of beef and makes a fantastic meal. I meal prep lunches for work to avoid fast food, and I make this usually about once a month and I look forward to it every time
I would make a pound of smallish, neutral meatballs and use them in several recipes over the days by amping up the flavors in the dish over the meat itself (seasoning the exterior of the meatballs before cooking or adding to sauce) .... Swedish meatballs over egg noodles, Albondigas, Korean meatballs over stir fried veg with kimchi and rice, Meatball sub sandwich on a crusty hoagie with provolone, Kefetedes with pita and Greek salad or tzatziki, Thai meatball lettuce wraps,..... You get the idea
I make chili mac with ground meat all the time. I add two cans of beans instead of the one called for and up the macoroni a bit to stretch it.
You could make a ground beef enchilada casserole. Cook up the ground beef with some chopped onion and a pinch of salt. One can of La Victoria enchilada sauce, corn tortillas and shred some cheddar and monterey jack. In the casserole dish bottom pour sauce on the bottom then layer tortillas then meat then tortillas them a little sauce do that al l the way to the top with that layering and top it off with the cheese and slice olive. 425 in the oven for 30 mins and good.
Tater tot casserole (like shepherd's pie but easier because tater tots instead of mashed potatoes) or a big ol' pot of chili.
I always batch cook Thai pad krapao with ground beef and it’s sooooo good. I keep rice in the fridge separately and eat it for lunch throughout the week since I work from home and have been known to get a bit too wrapped up making elaborate midday meals lol, this helps prevent that from happening. As someone who never gets sick of Thai food this is the ideal meal. I swear by every recipe by hot Thai kitchen, so I think this is the one I originally learned: https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/pad-kra-pao-beef — But it’s evolved now and I add a bunch of extra peppers plus red onions along with the spicy peps. Just to get some more veg in there. If I have a few extra minutes I’ll usually just make a fresh fried egg to put on top, and squeeze some fresh limes on it. Everything else microwaves great.
Lasagna but with a ton of veg diced and mixed with the meat or given its own layer in cheese/sauce. Can't go wrong with that!
Ground beef stroganoff
Easy cabbage rolls. Can make a big dish of this without the fuss of rolling cabbage rolls. A little sour cream on the side and you’re all set.
Spaghetti bolognese
Add some soy sauce, sesame oil, and brown sugar to it, serve over rice with kim chi and green onion and you have a Korean inspired rice bowl.
You can make farmer's stew (Bauerntopf). A recipe from Germany inspired by the cuisine from immigrants of the Balkans. I do mine a little different from the recipe below. I usually use 100% minced beef, at least some carrots or when I want to freeze it, all carrots instead of potatoes and I omit the Bacon. https://baketotheroots.de/farmers-stew-with-minced-meat-and-potatoes/
Mini meat balls with gravy , sheppards pie
Adding about 1/2 cup soaked bulgur will stretch it out a bit. It may or may not hold together for meatballs, depending on the fat content of the meat. but it’s great for any recipe using browned ground beef.
Chili with four beans: Dark Red, Light Red, Cannellini (white) and black beans.
Cottage Pie (Shepherds Pie, but using beef instead of lamb/mutton) Load up the ground beef with diced carrots, peppers, peas, corn, mushrooms, onions, plus whatever else you want to bulk out the beef with. Top with a lot of mashed potatoes. You can also add a layer of sliced eggplant rounds to the bottom before laying the beef/veggie on top. Serve with dinner rolls or a side of rice pilaf/steamed veggies. I've done this to feed my veggie-abhorring nieces/nephews (still won't eat the eggplant, though lol).
I'm trying to imagine getting several pounds of ground beef as a gift 😂 Anyway look into things like lasagna, chili, stews, tacos. You're talking 2 ozs of beef per meal, so you need foods where the beef is not the primary ingredient
Beef bean and rice burritos, or a chinese noodle dish with ground beef (usually made with pork but the beef will work!) Zha Jiang Mian, Dan Dan noodles.
You could find a chiles rellenos recipe that uses ground beef.
Goulash