Ground Beef or Venison

There is so much you can do with ground meat - beef, turkey, deer, etc. - hamburgers, meatloaf, mac cheese and ground beef, scrambled burgers, meatballs, and the list goes on and on. It can be dressed up, left plain or an entire meal in a skillet can be concocted with ground meat. Remember there is a vast difference in the fat content of ground beef so go for the lean if at all possible.

The most popular additions to ground meat is onions and bell pepper. Oh! That can be so good without adding anything. Adding your favorite vegetables, a can of cream of mushroom soup and a bag of noodles creates a meal in a skillet. Browned ground meat, a can of cheddar cheese soup, and a box of elbow macaroni is a real hit with the small ones. Adding sour cream or cream cheese to the blend gives an easy change up in the flavor without changing a complete recipe or a lot of dollars out of the pocket. The Hamburger Helper people learned real fast and created their meals in a box. It is easy to do and a pound of ground meat yields a variety of yummy dinners straight from your cupboard.

With ground turkey or deer I always add celery. It brings out the flavor of the turkey and kills any wild game taste in the deer. Garlic is also a favorite of mine. Adding ground basil to a ground meat dish is especially good when tomatoes are used. I also use a little olive oil when cooking ground deer as venison does not contain a great deal of fat and some fat is needed to cook properly.

Below is two old favorites and these were before Hamburger Helper hit the shelves. The recipes seem identical at first, but changing a couple of ingredients can render a new and tasty dish with ease.

Picadillo

1- 1/2 lb ground chuck
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped green pepper (bell)
Garlic, Salt, and Pepper to taste
1/2 cup green salad olives
2 tbsp olive oil
cooking wine to taste (optional)

In a large skillet or large saucepan, brown meat, onions, and pepper in the olive oil with garlic and wine. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low until meat breaks up completely or about 2 hours. Serve over white rice.

Quick Beef Put-together

1 lb ground beef
1 pod bell pepper
1 med onion
1 sm box of Instant Rice
1-2 1/2 tomatoes
Chili Powder
Garlic Salt

In a large skillet or saucepan, brown beef, pepper, and onion. When browned, add tomatoes, rice, chili powder and garlic salt. Add water as needed to keep mixture loose. Simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.