Recipes for No-Fuss Hamburger Meat Meals

I'll admit I've been a little slow in jumping on the whole discount, members-only bandwagon. But after investing in a membership at Costo, I've suddenly realized the addicting qualities this store has on people and why, once you go in, you can never come out.

In any event, most people agree, these types of discount warehouse stores are a great place to stock up on bulk meats. I've listed some of my top ideas below of what to do with the hamburger meat you just bought. The list is based on my own personal favorites, but obviously the list is not the end-all to what you can do with your hamburger meat.

Hamburger Helper: So, not the most creative of ideas, but this is where buying in bulk comes in handy. If you find that your local grocery/drug store has hamburger helper on sale, stock up on it to pair with a pound of the ground beef you have sitting in your freezer. Buy a few boxes of Hamburger Helper - one for the week's dinner and the rest to save for subsequent weeks.

Meatloaf: Making meatloaf with your ground beef has to be on this list, and there are a couple of versions you can try.

Version number one would be the more traditional of the two. Take two pounds of ground beef, a packet of Lawry's taco seasoning (pre-mixed and everything), a couple of carrot sticks sliced, one white onion diced and an egg. Mix all ingredients together, shape in a loaf and put in the oven at 350 degrees for up to an hour (it all depends on how accurate your oven temperature is). I use the taco seasoning for a little bit of a different taste and also because it's slightly faster to just dump in a pre-mixed packet of seasoning.

Version number two is a little different. You need slightly less than two pounds of ground beef. To that, add two or three Italian sausage links (this gives it the flavor) and mix with a pre-mixed packet of meatloaf seasoning (any brand works for me - Lawry's, McCormick's, etc.) and an egg (to make it all stick). Shape the mixture into a loaf and place in the oven same as above.

I personally like Version two because it is a different taste to meatloaf than what most are accustomed to, but everyone has their preference.

Meatballs: A classic! First off, you can make meatballs or cook the ground beef in a skillet, add tomato sauce and put with spaghetti.

Or, you can do meatball sandwiches. All you need is your ground beef and some French bread or sourdough rolls (depending on what you like). For a sauce, I just mix half a jar of any basic tomato sauce with a half a jar of grape jelly (no need to look for specific brands - the off-brands work just fine). Mix the two ingredients together and put with your meatballs. Then, just put a few meatballs on the bread. You can also sprinkle mozzarella or any cheese on top, but I find that the sauce is sweet and tangy enough to stand on its own.

Hamburgers: An Easy idea. For something a little different, add crumbled bits of blue cheese to the hamburger for a creamy consistency. When combining the hamburger and cheese, don't mash the cheese into the hamburger - just kind of fold the ingredients together. Add a little bit of salt and pepper. After cooking the hamburger patties, pair it with spinach leaves, a Kaiser or ciabatta roll and add some raspberry vinaigrette dressing. I like the combination of flavors, but some call it an acquired taste.

Stuffed Bell Peppers: Stuffed bell peppers are always a fancy food to serve for a dinner party or just add fun to a regular weeknight dinner. You can stuff a bell pepper with virtually anything, but since the theme ingredient here is hamburger, here we go.

Buy some green bell peppers at the store (these will function as your "containers"). Also buy a couple of red bell peppers (which will be part of the stuffing) along with some yellow squash. Also purchase a packet of taco seasoning (any brand will do).

Back in the kitchen, dice the red bell pepper and yellow squash (as far as the size you dice, remember to keep it within the confines of bite size and in relation to the size of the green bell pepper container). Once the hamburger is fully cooked on your skillet, mix the red bell pepper and squash with the hamburger and taco seasoning. Once that is combined, place the mixture in the green bell peppers stuffing them but not overstuffing them to the point where you can't put the lid back on. Then place the bell peppers in the oven for about 45 minutes at 375 degrees. Brush with olive oil every now and then to avoid overdrying.

Fajita/Taco Filling: Ground beef is also good for fajita or taco fillings. You can buy pre-mixed seasoning specifically for the respective dish that you are cooking, but for whatever reason, I like the flavor of enchilada sauce cooked into the ground beef. You can buy enchilada sauce at any grocery store in varying degrees of heat (mild, medium, hot, etc.). Buy a small can of the sauce and once your ground beef is cooked, just add the sauce.

I also dice green and red bell peppers and add a can of corn to the ground beef mixture. Then spoon into a corn tortilla.

As you can see, I have a tendency to mix and use seasonings for their unintended purpose, but that's the whole point of experimenting with different flavors. Just because a packet of seasoning says it's for meatloaf, think about it in another way and you'll find multiple uses for it. Also, there's nothing particularly avant garde about any of this. It's about using ingredients that you normally have access to and are convenient with your work schedule to make food that is tasty, outside the norm and quick to make.