This
week's blog post is a little longer and actually contains multiple
recipes. That's because this post is based on a meat mix recipe. This
recipe is part of my collection of what I always refer to as my
“investment recipes” because just like a good financial
investment these recipes pay off over time.
This
meat mix is a recipe I found in one of my fairly old cookbooks in my
cookbook collection. (yeah, I am dorky enough to actually collect old
cookbooks) In that book it was simply called 3 Way Meat Mix. Over
time I have adjusted the recipe to more to my tastes and come up with
more ways to use the base mix. In fact just about every time I make
this I come up with ideas for more ways to use it. The ones here are
my current favorites.
So
to start you need to make the meat mix:
3
Way Meat Mix
½
cup chopped onion
1
Tablespoon oil
2
lbs ground beef
2/3
cup ketchup
½
cup water
¼
cup coarsely chopped celery
2
Tablespoons lemon juice
1
Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1
½ teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1
½ teaspoons salt
1
teaspoon vinegar
¼
teaspoon dry mustard
Sweat
the onion in the oil just until it because fragrant then add the
ground beef and cook until browned (breaking the meat up while it
cooks)
Drain
well.
Add
the rest of the ingredients bring to a boil, turn the heat to low,
cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes.
Remove
the lid and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes to cook off most of
the liquid. (watch so the mixture doesn't burn)
Remove
from the heat and cool.
Use
a measuring cup to portion the meat mix into zip lock bags each
containing 2/3 cup.
I
just use regular sandwich bags for this step, remove all the air then
store all the bags together in a gallon size freezer bag that is
labeled.
Store
the bag of the meat mix in your freezer until you need a quick
dinner.
Each
bag of meat mix will be enough for 1 or 2 servings depending on your
appetite and what you serve as sides with it.
********
Dinner
#1 Quick & Easy Chili
1
1/3 cups (2 of your bags) of 3 Way Meat Mix
1
can (14 ½ to 16 oz) dark red kidney beans (undrained)
½
to 1 cup tomato (or tomato based vegetable) juice
1
Tablespoon chili powder (or to taste)
Hot
sauce to taste (I use Chipolte Tabasco)
Combine
all ingredients in a saucepan and heat. The amount of juice you need
will depend on how thick you like your chili. As for the hot sauce, I
will leave the amount up to you.
Serves
2
I
usually only add the ½ cup of the juice and I consider the
consistency to be perfect. You might notice in the photo of the chili
I serve my chili over rice and I get 2 very generous servings from
this recipe.
********
Dinner
#2 Quick & Easy Sloppy Joes
2/3
cup (1 bag) 3 Way Meat Mix
Hamburger
bun, toasted
Heat
the meat mix and serve on a toasted hamburger bun. This will either
make 1 double open faced sandwich (covering both the top and bottom
buns or 2 more traditional sandwiches)
********
Dinner
#3 Cheesy BBQ Sandwich
2/3
cups (1 bag) 3 Way Meat Mix
2
slices cheddar cheese
2
slices bread, toasted
Heat
the meat mix.
Place
toast on a baking sheet. Spoon hot meat mix over bun, top with cheese
and broil until cheese melts.
********
Dinner #4 Taco
Salad
2/3
cup (1 bag) 3 Way Meat Mix
½
teaspoon cumin
¼
– ½ teaspoon chili powder
Salad
mix (I use the kind from the bag in the grocery store)
toppings
of your choice
I
used:
sliced
olives
sour
cream
salsa
grated
cheese
sliced
green onion
tortilla
bowl (optional)
*feel
free to use whatever toppings you like on your taco salads.
I
like to use a baked tortilla bowl for my taco salad but that is
totally optional.
Add
the cumin and chili powder to your thawed meat mix and heat. (I use
the microwave for this)
Place
your salad mix onto a plate, into a bowl or into a tortilla bowl, top
with the heated meat mix. Top with your favorite taco salad toppings
and enjoy.
********
Other
ways to enjoy the meat mix
Now
for some other ideas for using this meat mix.
Serve
the heated mix over cooked rice with or without toppings of you
choice.
Mix
the thawed meat mix with mayo, a bit of mustard and a bit of chopped
dill pickle and use it as a sandwich filling.
Serve
the heated meat mix over a baked potato
Now
its your turn, I am sure you will find ways I haven't even thought of
to serve this meat mix.
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