Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Three Way Thursday

I am excited about this new blog feature! Three Way Thursday! We will take a single ingredient and show you, our most beloved readers three things to do with that ingredient! Just one more way we want to make your life easier!

I, Jessica, picked ground beef. I have 5 pounds of it in the freezer and will be cooking that this week :)

1. Spaghetti and Meatballs
     Your favorite spaghetti noodles
     Your favorite spaghetti sauce
     Meatballs
     1 pound of ground beef
     1/2 cup  Italian bread crumbs (oatmeal with 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning for those avoiding soy and dairy)
     1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese (optional for those avoiding dairy)
     1 egg (again, optional but I like the way the egg binds everything)
     1 small finely chopped onion
     1 tsp salt
     1/2 tsp of pepper
     1/4 cup of milk (use unsweetened almond milk if you are trying to avoid dairy)

    Mix with a gentle hand, don't overwork these! The secret to a tender meatball is one that hasn't been squashed to death.  Form into 1 inch balls. Bake in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes or cook in your sauce until they are done, 30ish minutes or so.

2.  Italian Meatloaf
     Use above meatball recipe, form into a loaf.  Mix together 1 cup of ketchup and 1/2 cup of rapadura or brown sugar.  Spread on meatloaf and cook at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour, or until meat thermometer reads 170. 

3.  Taco Pizza
     1 pizza crust
     1 pound of ground beef
     1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
     1 package of your favorite taco seasoning
     3/4 cup of water
     1 to 1 11/2 cups of salsa
     1/2 head of lettuce, chopped into bite sized pieces
     2 cups of cheddar cheese
     1/4 cup taco sauce

     Preheat oven to 450.  Spread the salsa on the unbaked pizza crust.  Brown the ground beef and drain. Mix in the rinsed and drained black beans, packet of taco seasoning, and water. Cook in a skillet until water is gone.
Spread this mixture onto the crust and salsa. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of cheese.
Bake until the crust is done, 15 to 20 minutes.
Sprinkle lettuce over pizza, top with the remaining cheese and taco sauce.

So there ya have it!  Three simple things to do with ground beef - best of all, this meat can be frozen! 

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