Monday Meal Planning and Getting the Most You Can From a Pound of Ground Beef

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Sorry this is late, we had a medical emergency and are trying to get our feet back under us. Here is what I had written before.

Our local store has ground beef on sale for $2.99 a pound again this week. Ground beef is the perfect meat to stretch without feeling like you are missing out. Below is a how to video focusing on several ground beef recipes.

 


The best thing about ground beef is that in most recipes, we can reduce the ground beef by a small amount without changing the outcome of a recipe.  So I have set myself a challenge.

 I want to get the most I can out of a pound of  ground beef. 

A lot of recipes that I make I substitute half of the ground beef with lentils or black beans. I also, back when ground beef was less expensive, would make meatloaves or meatballs, extending the ground beef with bread crumbs or oatmeal. The rule of thumb is that a cup of filler (cooked rice, beans, oatmeal etc) per pound of meat. So if a pound of ground beef cooks down to two cups of meat, we have extended our total to three cups. That is an increase of 50%! 

Another way is to use less than the recipe calls for. If a recipe calls for a pound of ground beef, see if you can get away with using half a pound or 2/3 a pound. This works well in recipes like spaghetti sauce, gravies, casseroles and soups.

Here is our menu plan for the week, have a good week!

Monday-

  • Breakfast- Leftover pancakes, banana
  • Lunch-  Sandwiches, crackers, carrots and celery
  • Dinner- Schnitzel, Colcannon, corn, bread and butter

Tuesday-

  • Breakfast- Oatmeal, banana
  • Lunch- leftovers, bread and butter, apple
  • Dinner- Scalloped Potatoes, baked beans, peas, garlic toast

Wednesday- 

  • Breakfast- Peanut butter toast, banana
  • Lunch- Homemade microwave burritos, carrots and celery
  •  Dinner- Skillet Lasagna, green beans, garlic toast

Thursday-

Friday-

  • Breakfast- Peanut butter toast, banana
  • Lunch- Ham and cheese roll ups, pretzels, apple
  • Dinner- No Bake Pizza, salad, garlic toast

Saturday-

  • Brunch- Fried egg and bologna sandwiches, fried potatoes and onions
  • Dinner- Mini Meatball subs made in hot dog buns, pasta salad, veggies and dip

Sunday-

  • Brunch- Pancakes, homemade pancake syrup, scrambled eggs, canned pears
  • Dinner-  Pulled pork mac and cheese, green beans, garlic toast

 Have a good week!

~ Sarah

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