Hamburger, AGAIN!!!

Rule # 1: NEVER brown hamburger on high heat. Use medium; you might still burn it, but then it's your fault not mine.

Rule #2: Even if I don't write/type it. Drain the grease. Every one has their favorite way, but NEVER put the grease down the sink (the drain pipe will eventually clog) or straight into a plastic bag lined trash can (it will melt the bag if hot). I've got an empty can near the stove to pour/spoon or baster squirt the hot grease into. Throw the can away when it is full or stinky & cool . I also put paper towels into the meat to sop up the grease. By the way, when thinking of how much grease needs to be drained, just imagine the grease clogging in your arteries the way it does in the drain or in that can.

Things people debate: Do you put the onions & garlic, salt & pepper into hamburger as it browns or after you drain the grease? If you do it before you drain the grease, then the seasonings supposedly cook into the meat better. This is especially true for dry minced onions and garlic. But some seasonings and flavor seem to leave the pan with the grease.... So you figure out what works for you.

Efficiency advice: Buy big packages, then that day or the next do some combination of the following: Shape hamburger patties, mix meatloaf or meatballs, brown the rest of the meat chopping it into a fine texture as it cooks. Season the cooked meat with at least salt & pepper, or add onions, garlic, or season all. Refrigerate or freeze for anticipated use. If you do this, then the meals are prepped much faster and there is less whining about how long until dinner. It also helps prevent food from going bad since you are more likely to use it. Similar advice can apply to marinating cheap steak meat by cutting it for fahitas, stir fry, stroganoff, etc.



Sloppy Joes --

Grammy style-- the original recipe

Brown 1-2 pounds hamburger
Add 1 can tomato soup
1 knife of mustard
a big glob of ketchup to even out the consistency
blob of barbecue or Heinz 57 for flavor
Stir until evenly heated. Serve on sliced bread.

Mama style: omit mustard, add onion or onion powder, & just a small dash of cinnamon, bigger blob of barbecue, smaller glob of ketchup. Served on onion buns or in pita bread with some american or cheddar cheese.

Carl style: tomato soup & KC Masterpiece barbecue sauce. Sliced bread.


Clearwater Kayette Style: (an actual recipe that was usually tripled for wrestling meets)
1 pound browned hamburger 2 Tablespoons milk
1 small can tomato sauce 1 Cup instant oatmeal
2 Tablespoons BBQ sauce salt & pepper
2 Tablespoons onion flakes

Simmer 10-15 minutes. (then kept warm in a crock pot until served to the customers.)


Meatloafs-- hamburger is uncooked while mixing

Mama Original

1 or 2 pounds of hamburger depending on budget & size of crowd
1 egg (never 2 even when I make a huge batch 2 doesn't work)
1 or 1 and 1/2 Cup quick cook oatmeal

Take a big spoonful of beef boullion, boil it in less water than how much oatmeal you used. (If you used 1 cup oatmeal use about 3/4 Cup water; if you used 1 & 1/2 Cup oatmeal use about 1 cup water.

Add minced onions, or onion powder; salt, pepper, season-all, what ever...
Mix it altogether. Shape it into a low wide loaf shape, and put it on a sheet cake pan or a 9x13. The edges of the loaf should not touch the edge of the pan. You want a place for the grease to drain to.

Bake at 350 for 45 -60 minutes. Serve with brown gravy.

Italian Variation---
There was once a real recipe, but this is as close as I can get since I've not looked at for 5-6 years.

Take the basic recipe above, but use tomato sauce or spahetti sauce instead of the water & boullion. Add oregano, marjoram, thyme, garlic,basil, fennel, "italian seasonings" until it smells yummy.

Get out a piece of wax paper & some Mozzerella cheese.

"Roll" or pat out the meat until it's a good rectangle about a 1/2 inch thick. Put Mozzerella cheese on the rectangle. Pick up an edge of the wax paper & roll the meat into a loaf (like a jelly roll). Get the meat onto the pan with the edge/seam down. Throw away the wax paper.

Bake at 350 for about an hour. Serve with spaghetti sauce.

Meatballs variation
Mix 1 pound Italian sausage with 1-2 pounds hamburger
Follow the basic recipe using tomato sauce & Italian seasonings. Do NOT add more fennel!

Shape into meatballs. Put on broiler pans to keep out of grease drippings. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Serve with spaghetti or as appetizers w/ toothpicks.




"Souper" Meatloaf (serves 6)

1 can cream of onion soup 1 beaten egg
1 and 1/2 pounds hamburger 1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce

Mix beef, crumbs, parsley, egg, salt & 1/2 Cup soup, Shape firmly into loaf. Place in shallow dish. Bake at 350 for 75 minutes.

Blend remaining soup, water, soy & 2-3 Tablespoons of drippings. Heat, stir some. Serve w/ meat.

Real Recipe Meatloaf --for you novice meatloafers
This is the recipe I grew up using.

1 & 1/2 pounds groundbeef 1 Cup cracker crumbs
2 eggs 1 Cup (8 oz can) tomato sauce
1/2 Cup finely chopped onion (or LESS) 1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt
"spices" a dash or two (In my mom's house this means salt & pepper or season-all)

Mix in order given. Shape into loaf. Put into 1 1/2 quart oven proof glass pan (more usually a metal bread pan)... Bake at 350 for 75-90 minutes. Before last 15 minutes brush with a mixture of 2 Tablespoons ketchup & 1 tablespoon brown sugar or with some BBQ.

Bacon Meatloaf:

2 pounds hamburger 1 teaspoon Accent (a salt)
2 eggs 1/2 Cup warm water
1 & 1/2 Cup bread crumbs 1 package dry onion soup mix
3/4 Cup catsup 8 ounce can of tomato sauce
2 strips of bacon

Beat & mix everything except bacon & tomato sauce. Shape into loaf. Put in a loaf pan. cover w/ bacon & tomato sauce. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes.


Hamloaf variation: --- for the more experienced meatloafer

Take the last inch or so of the ham heel that no one ever wants to eat. Chop it up real small or grind it up. Toss it into almost any of these recipes using less hamburger. Avoid the Italian seasonings & go easy on the beef boullion. Put in seasonings that sound good with pork or ham, if you want... but the ham gives it a nice flavor anyway without needing much help. Cook until its done.

Pasta & Burger Combinations
To get the hang of some of these I first bought products like Hamburger Helper, but usually the store brand since it cost less. To be truthful, there are a few flavors I never figured out... Potato Stroganoff & and a newer one that uses shredded Hashbrowns & "cheese", so I still buy these. Others are not inspired by those boxes, but were actual recipes given to me. All basically have meat & pasta.

Spaghetti --- the easy way.
buy a package of spaghetti,
buy a can/jar of tomato sauce
buy a package of spaghetti seasoning if the sauce isn't already flavored.
Use about a pound of hamburger... less if you're really poor, or find the meatball recipe in the meatloaf section above.

Read the instructions on the spaghetti, &/or pre-made sauce or packet of seasoning. Follow the directions.

Goulash---
1/2 to one pound hamburger brown & drain grease
use shells or macaroni & follow the packages cooking instructions.
use 16 ounce can of plain tomato sauce & some water, or stewed tomatoes
Use onions-- you can make them big enough to see, or be wimpy with onion powder.
Season with lots of paprika, garlic, a little bit of chili powder, oregano, & tiny bit of nutmeg
Some folks like green peppers in it, but I don't use it.

Goulash sauce is thinner than most spaghetti sauces, and it is not Italian. Usually it's considered "Hungarian," but I make the south central Kansas version that my mom probably learned from her German mama.

Buckaroo Goulash-- kids like it

1/2 pound hamburger 1/2 Cup BBQ sauce
1 Cup water 1 pound hotdogs cut into 3/4" slices
2 & 1/4 Cup cooked noodles (or wagon wheel pasta)
1 Cup shredded american or cheddar cheese

Brown & drain hamburger in skillet. Add BBQ, water & hotdogs. Cover & simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in noodles, cook until evenly heated & saucy. Sprinkle with cheese & serve.

Beef & Noodles soup
Cook cheap pasta/noodles in a nice strong beef boullion, but don't drain water. Uses less water & improves noodle flavor.
Add 1/2 to 1 cup of cooked drained hamburger ( or left over pot roast)
Onions, salt, pepper

My kids have started adding american cheese to this once it is on their plates & that's good too.

Ground Beef Stroganoff -- can use small strips of cheap steak instead

Cook noodles in beef boullion but don't drain the water
Add the cooked & drained beef,
Worchester sauce-- probably a Tablespoon or so.
Couple BIG spoonfuls of sour cream (or a can of cream of onion soup)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon of paprika
salt & pepper to taste.

Skillet Lasagna

Cook noodles in water; drain
Add:
1/2 to 1 Cup hamburger
tomato or spaghetti sauce
package of spaghetti sauce seasoning if using cheap tomato sauce
A couple of spoonfuls of sour cream
A spoonful of cottage cheese ( or ricotta if you're wealthy)

Mix well & simmer for a while.
Sprinkle with mozzerella &/or parmesan & serve.

Cheeseburger Mac

Cook macaroni; drain most of the water. Put heat on medium low.
Add milk so pasta won't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Add lots & lots of american cheese (or store brand version of Velveeta)
(in an emergency, cottage cheese with yellow or orange food coloring added to the milk early in the process can help if you don't have enough yellow cheese.)
Salt & PEPPER & onion powder or minced onions.
Bacon bits are nice touch too, if you can afford them.