Grandma Carlene's Hamburger Stroganoff

 

Notes: ground chuck is hamburger; "undil. Crm. Chkn" means condensed cream of chicken soup straight from the can; garlic glove should be garlic clove 😁; Accent - optional.

Crock Pot Beef Stew

In crock pot, toss:

• 3 lbs stew meat (season with kosher salt and ground pepper)
• 2 Tablespoons tapioca starch

 In a small bowl, whisk:

• 1 can tomato paste
• 4 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Pour tomato mixture over stew meat and stir well.

In a large bowl, combine

• 1 lb onions, large dice
• 1 pound yellow potatoes, peeled, big bite dice
• 1 pound carrots, peeled, big bite dice
• 6 cloves minced garlic

Drizzle vegetables with olive oil (generous) and season with kosher salt and pepper.

Pour on top of beef mixture in crock pot.  Add

• 2 bay leaves.

Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Remove bay leaves and stir well before serving.

Bone Broth

In a slow cooker add:

2 lbs beef bones (roasted 30 minutes in 350 degree oven)
2 carrots, large chop
2 celery stalks, large chop (leafy ones are fine)
1 medium onion, quartered
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon peppercorns
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
3 quarts water

Let cook for 48 hours, replenishing water if needed.

Last 30 minutes add:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bunch parsley

Strain through fine mesh strainer.

Three Pound Meatloaf

Three Pound comes from the amount hamburger used in making this meatloaf.  I have no idea how much it weighs with all the fixings.  Make this meatloaf for larger dinners (serves 8) when it is just easier to buy the three pound package of meat.  This is an adaptation from Ina Garten's recipe (hence the strange amounts).

2 Tablespoons fat
3 1/2 cups onions, small dice
3/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 1/3 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

3 3/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/3 cup plus 1 Tablespoon chicken stock or broth
1 1/4 Tablespoons tomato paste

3 pounds hamburger (85% lean)
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 Tablespoons plain dry bread crumbs
3 large eggs, beaten

enough ketchup to generously cover the loaf (a little over 1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat the fat in a large skillet on medium-low heat.  Add the onions, thyme, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.  Off the heat, add the Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock, and tomato paste.  Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, break apart the hamburger with a fork.  Add the onion mixture, bread crumbs, and beaten eggs.  Gently mix all together with fork(s).  Shape the mixture into a rectangular loaf on a sheet pan covered with parchment paper.  Spread the ketchup evenly on top (yes, I use my fingers).  Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours (should register 160 degrees with a meat thermometer).

Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Lasagna (No Boil)

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 onion, grated
4 ounces baby bella mushrooms, chopped (optional)
3 clove minced garlic
Salt and Pepper to taste

24 oz jar spaghetti sauce
8 oz can tomato sauce
8 oz cup water

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (plus more to sprinkle on top)
2 cups ricotta cheese (full fat version, please)

4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 8 oz package wide lasagna noodles, uncooked

Cook ground beef and onion in large skillet.  Season with salt and pepper. When almost completely cooked, add mushrooms.  Cook until meat is fully cooked and mushrooms are tender.  Add garlic and cook for a minute more.  Add spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, and water.  Stir until combined.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and gently simmer 10 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine Parmesan cheese and ricotta cheese.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a 13x9-inch glass baking dish, layer 1/3 of sauce mixture, 1/2 of the uncooked lasagna noodles (I use three length-wise and break one more to fit cross-wise), 1/2 of ricotta mixture, and 1/2 of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers, ending with sauce mixture. Cover tightly with foil. Bake 1 hour. Uncover, sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Beefy Tortellini Soup

This delicious soup makes a TON! Feed the masses, or make it one night during the week, and then heat up the left-overs for an easy Sabbath Day dinner--talk about a satisfying day of rest!

In a large stock pot, cook 15 minutes on medium low:

1 lb hamburger, 85/15 (any leaner and you'll have to add fat to cook the veg)

1 onion, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

2 small carrots, 1/4 inch rounds

salt and pepper

Add and cook 1 minute:

3 cloves minced garlic

Add, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes:

3 14.5 oz cans Italian Stewed Tomatoes, blended*

1 8 oz can tomato sauce

1 6 oz can tomato paste

2 boxes beef stock in a box (about 8 cups)

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 Tablespoon sugar

Add and simmer 3 minutes:

20 oz Buitoni cheese tortellini

Add and simmer 3 minutes:

1 can cannellini beans 

10 oz bag spinach (chopped, if you want, or you could use 1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed)

Serve with:

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Big ol' slice of bread

*The easiest and cleanest way I've found to do this is to dump the tomatoes into a quart jar (one can at a time) and use a stick blender until smooth.

Burgers with the Works

Of course you've got the burger and the bun.  Then add  the following:

bun

burger

bacon

cheese

fried egg
mushrooms (sauteed)

lettuce

onion

pickled beets

tomato

pickles
mustard
ketchup
bbq sauce

Nothing too out of the ordinary, except for the fried egg and pickled beets!  Ohhhhh, they are so worth it. :)  But messy--have plenty of napkins.

Shepherd's Pie

1 lb ground beef

1/3 - 1/2 onion, small dice or mince - grated if kids object to onion

1 can tomato soup

1 can green beans, drained

left-over smashed potatoes

In a large skillet on medium to medium-high heat, cook the beef (it shouldn't need any additional fat, unless you bought super lean beef--if you did that, add some oil or butter or bacon grease) and onions.  When done, tip the pan.  If any grease pools, spoon it out.  Stir in the tomato soup and green beans.  Pour into a casserole dish (mine was 7x11x2).  Cover with smashed potatoes.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, until the potatoes are warmed through and the base is bubbly.

Sloppy Joes

from The Essential Mormon Cookbook by Julie Badger Bensen

3 pounds ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can tomato soup
2 tablespoons vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
12 hamburger buns

In a large skillet brown ground beef. Drain fat. Sprinkle with salt. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Stir in ketchup, tomato soup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Spoon into hamburger buns and serve. Makes 12 servings.

This is delicious and every single member of the family liked it. The only thing I did differently was cook the ground beef in smaller batches, pouring off the fat each time, so it would really brown instead of just boil in the fat. I like the flavor of browned beef better. I cooked the onion low and slow in a stock pot using the fat from the first batch of browned beef. By the time all the batches of beef were done the onions were done, so I added everything to the stock pot and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Frankly, the sauce is so flavorful I'm not sure the browning was necessary.

9/6/10 Update: This is how Grandma Carlene served Sloppy Joes while I was growing up! Take a hard roll, slice the top off, pull out the bread inside (Grandpa says use the bread the next day in meatloaf!), and fill with Sloppy Joe mixture! Kind of takes the sloppiness out of the Sloppy Joe! :)