Wow! That's a lot of hamburger! My "favorite" things to make with ground beef are pretty basic and you don't need recipes: Meatballs (with lots of minced onions and carrots in them), meatloaf, sloppy joe's. Sometimes, I make a different flavor profile: Mexican, Greek, Thai, etc.

My other favorite is to use it for stuffing something: Stuffed peppers (with rice and something salty), stuffed leaves (usually vine for ease), empanadas (baked), piroshki (fried). So, the piroshki, which do freeze but should be fried after thawing, or perhaps just barely fried before freezing and refried after, by my Russian relatives, should have chopped hard boiled eggs inside.

That's only a teeny tiny thing to offer, but I wanted to give you my good wishes for getting through all that ground beef!

Oh my.....with the price of beef you need to take out an insurance rider for that freezer!
I'm with the girls....for really good beef that you know where it came from....nothing can beat a burger grilled rare and served with sliced tomato and onion.
But there is also the whole Taco, enchilada, lasagna, runza or bierock, Bolognaise sauce.....and you could always make sausages and either smoke or eat fresh....

LindaC, the girls are already plotting jerky made from ground beef. I know it seems like a lot of beef, but with the kids and grandkids, and it has to last for a year, there won't be a whole lot left when the next animals are ready to process. I just don't want to get in the rut of the same old thing, and I'm thinking we should make meatballs and then just use different sauces instead of the same old "spaghetti and meatballs" thing. Swedish, maybe, or that sweet and sour sauce...

plllog, the piroshkis would be perfect, I have eggs, I'm getting between 12 and 18 a day now! Amanda is celiac and can't have the dough, of course, I wonder how they would translate to something gluten free. Hmmmm....

Annie

Oh, right! I forgot about Amanda's celiac. The only question is whether you can deep fry gluten free dough or if it falls apart. People usually add wheat flour to things like hushpuppies as glue. If you can't, you can pan fry, where they're better supported, or brush on some oil and do them on a rack in the oven. And adding an eggwhite to the dough will help it hold together.

So, I remembered something more exotic to do with ground meat. I usually use lamb, but beef would be fine. Cous Cous! Traditionally, it should be finely chopped, but that's because they didn't have a grinder. :) This is more of a pass around recipe than authentic to any particular area. Making the actual cous cous from scratch (rubbing damp flour between your hands so it forms little pills) is a big pain, but you should be able to get good boxed cous cous in Michigan. Anyway, make that according to directions, but without fat. Toast and grind cardamom. Brown the meat with red wine, cardamom, S&P, a little cinnamon. Chop and brown onions. Roast garlic (if you like) and chop. Sauté chopped peppers with herbs. Cook chopped carrots in a strong wine like sherry with cumin until no longer hard. Etc. Basically, just make each vegetable its own way, with different but compatible spices and aromatics, or chop up some leftovers. Drain everything. Mix with the cous cous in a pot and bake until heated through.

Another way is brothy. Brown the meat. Use any kind of North African spice blend, like ras al hanout, or just whatever you like. Cut up some cooked veg. Mix with cous cous and heat. Transfer to either a serving bowl that's bigger than the amount of food (i.e, not piled high) or in individual bowls, and ladle in just enough caramelized beef bone broth (or whatever you choose) to just cover the food. This should be done when you're ready to eat so the cous cous don't get smooshy.

Lots of ideas on the Nigella Lawson website here

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/minced-beef

Your beef story is amazing! I've only ever tackled half a pig and I didn't raise it!

How do you deal with bones?

I use my table saw with a 10" carbide blade. It takes no time to saw thru large bones.

dcarch

That must have been one memorable outdoor adventure, Annie.

I don't use ground beef that often but my favorite recipe for it is meatball stew. Yeah, I know it uses canned soup. We like marjoram and thyme but you might want to cut the quantities in half.

MEATBALL STEW

1 egg, beaten
1 cup soft bread crumbs
1/ 4 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/ 4 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/ 2 lbs. ground beef
2 Tbs. vegetable oil
2 cans (14 oz. each) beef broth
2 cans (10 oz. each) condensed golden mushroom soup (not cream of mushroom)
4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
4 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 small onion, cut in half and slivered
1 16. oz package frozen Fordhook lima beans
1/4 cup fresh minced parsley

In a bowl, combine egg, bread crumbs, chopped onion, salt, marjoram and thyme. Add beef and mix well. Shape into 48 meatballs. In a Dutch oven, brown meatballs in oil; drain. Add broth, soup, potatoes, carrots and sliced onions; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add beans and continue to cook until all vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving. Makes 8 servings.

Notes: Cut green beans can be substituted for the lima beans and mushrooms can be added if desired.

When we're tired of the usual ground beef recipes, I make this:

Korean Beef and Mushrooms

1 ½ lb.
ground chuck

1 onion
Chopped

½ lb.
mushrooms sliced

1 can water
chestnuts sliced

2 cloves
garlic mashed and minced

1 ½ cups
rice

3 cups water

2 tsp. beef boullion

3 tbs. soy
sauce

1 tbs.
sesame oil

Salt,
pepper, red pepper flakes to taste

1 pkg. snow
peas thawed

Brown meat,
add onions, mushrooms, water chestnuts, garlic, sauté until tender. Add soy
sauce, sesame oil, seasonings, rice and stir. Add water, peas and boullion,
stir and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes
or until water is absorbed.

I always have siracha sauce on the table for more heat.

Amazing Annie! I don't know how you do all that you do! Obviously there's a whole lotta love involved. ;)

No suggestions. We don't eat a lot of beef. Burgers in the summer and meatballs and a meatloaf maybe once a year. The occasional filet and that's about it.

Enjoy!

Cuban Picadilo is a favorite of mine.

Chili, Goulash, Meatloaf, Skillet Beef And Pasta (Hamburger Helper), Wedding Soup (add some ground pork).

Another favorite is Stuffed Peppers.

Sorry these are not exactly recipes, more like springboard ideas...?

Just made this last night - an old fave I hadn't done in awhile: sauteed chopped fresh broccoli, garlic, a big bunch of chopped garlic chives & a 1# pkg ground beef, seasoned w/ salt, lots of fresh ground black pepper, cayenne & a tsp. or so of ground coriander & tossed w/ cooked soba noodles. Hubby loves & it's really good warm or cold.

Another 1 we like is a sort of deluxe 'dirty' rice, only made w/ ground beef or turkey instead of giblets & a lot of green stuff: chard, parsley, green onions & again the garlic chives(there are a lot growing in our yard), seasoned w/ bay leaf, thyme, garlic, salt & pepper. I've used the technique (learned from Jacques Pepin's recipe for a chicken wing 'stew') to make a lot of 1 pot dinners; simply lightly saute some meat & onions in olive oil, then add the other veggies (tomatoes & peppers & celery usually) & herbs/seasonings, plus 2 cups raw white rice & 4 cups water, stir, bring to boil, cover tightly & lower heat to steam for 25 minutes. Let stand covered about 5-10 minutes before mixing it up w/ a fork. My proportions are about 1/2 & 1/2 veggies + meat to rice. I use a chili pot or dutch oven for this.

I also use ground beef or turkey to make a bulk Italian 'sausage' & saute w/ fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic & peppers & mushrooms to serve over pasta w/ grated cheese to top.

& the ground beef dish I make most often is a 'taco' meat mix using grated carrots, chopped peppers, tomatoes & onions, corn, garlic, ground chiles, oregano & cumin seed. Served w/ chopped lettuce, fresh tomato salsa, cheese & tortilla chips.

I simmer my baked meatballs in a marinara sauce made w/ finely chopped carrots, celery & onions & seasoned w/ bay leaf & garlic. Meatballs are rolled in breadcrumbs before baking, then simmered 20 minutes in the sauce, which thickens it up.

Wow! That's a lot of beef! I don't have any recipes for you that I'm sure you don't have. Didn't read the entire thread, but did anyone mention making ravioli to freeze. That's one thing I would do. I know how you feel about having to put down your older cow. She would be a pet to me that I would not let suffer and I wouldn't be able to eat her either.

In no particular order: Bolanese

Spanish rice with your salsa

Salisbury steaks

chopped steaks

Swedish meatballs

Marylins giant meatball dinner

cottage pie

enchilada's

beef and pasta bake

added to a beef stock for soups with more flavor

If you want some spcific recipes,

just let me know and I will post them.

Annie, you're just amazing.

We love beef, hamburger, cheap roasts etc. I bought a sirloin tip roast yesterday for $3.99 and I'm going to braise it tomorrow.

Along with the usual suspects in using ground beef, e.g. meatloaf, sloppy joes, spaghetti and meatballs, shepherd's pie, we love taco salad, and my garlic meatballs.

Make your meatballs as usual (I've taken these to potlucks and kept warm in the slow cooker so I made the meatballs small. When we have these for dinner with mashed potatoes or rice, I make large meatballs.

Brown and drain the meatballs, then simmer them in this sauce:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup brown sugar (or to taste)

1/4 cup vinegar

1/4 tsp garlic powder.

Heat the sauce and add the meatballs and simmer until heated through and fully cooked.

Thanks, jasdip, that sounds like a sauce we'd all like, and as long as I was careful to use gluten free bread crumbs or oatmeal in the meatballs and a gluten free soy sauce in the sauce, we could all eat them!

Annie

Have you ever tried Stuffed Pepper Soup? there are lots of variations of recipes... I'm trying to find the base recipe for the one I prefer, but do some searching yourself and see if any of the recipes look good to you.

Annie, I cried too when we had to sell our old Brown Swiss, Shadow. She wouldn't settle and we kept her as long as we could, but that's an expensive pet to keep. We sold her to a neighbor who promised never to feed me beef when we came to dinner.

There's only one butcher around here who packages meat like that and he's the only one with a good rep. A friend raises our pork and beef and will only use him. We have butcher horror stories...the last one being short ribs wrapped in butcher paper that were labeled t-bone. We never did find our steaks.

We use a lot of burger and it's all the usual stuff. I could only think of one real recipe that I use... sloppy joes. I admit to liking them made with those 3/$1 packets and this is the closest I found.

Sloppy Joes

For 1 1/2 lb ground beef:
1 small onion -- chopped
1/2 green pepper -- chopped
1 cup tomato sauce
3/4 cup ketchup (I use my homemade chili sauce)
1/4 cup water
2-3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
S&P

Brown ground beef with onions and pepper. Add the rest and simmer, uncovered, 20-30 minutes to thicken.

The original recipe called for brown sugar (it was way too sweet) and a tbsp of flour but it's usually just right without. If not I thicken with a little cornstarch.

I found some getting-too-old jars of French onion soup in the pantry and made a pretty good Salisbury steak out of leftover grilled burgers...just added sauteed mushrooms with the soup, a little Worcestershire and dry mustard.

I've also been playing with Cincinnati Chili recipes. A friend from "Back East" used to make what she called Chili Over Spaghetti. I'd never had anything like it (cinnamon and cocoa powder? on noodles??). So good and I have tried for years to duplicate her "little of this, little of that" recipe. There's a million recipes out there. Some not so good.

We call that Chili Mac. Cincinnati chili has a hint of cinnamon, allspice and cloves. We love it over spaghetti with sour cream and cheese.

We love Hard Times Chili mixes, especially the Cincinnati mix.

Katie, they are indeed expensive pets. I don't want to have to deal with old cows anymore, though, so after Red Cow is gone Elery and I are just going to buy feeder steers from a neighbor and raise them to market weight. No more bulls, no more cute little calves, no more old pet cows that I have to make hard decisions about. Just supper, purchased at about 300 or 400 pounds on the hoof, too big to be really cute, but still small enough to handle, then raised to 1,000 lbs or so and into the freezer. They'll be here on the place a year or so, then new beef will take their place, not long enough to get attached to them.

I like sloppy joes, but not on buns. I like the meat mixture as dip for tortilla chips...

party_music, I've been looking at soup recipes, since I had some dental work done yesterday and it's soft food for a week at least. I found a cheeseburger soup but Elery thought that sounded completely disgusting, LOL. Now I'll go off to look for stuffed pepper soup recipes!

Annie

Annie, I finally found the recipe I used as a base... it wasn't from a cooking website -- it was posted on facebook. lol! This is the recipe that's closest to the very popular soup that's served at a diner near me... the flavored tomatoes make a difference and I think they're necessary. Sometimes I also add hot sausage. I use all beef bouillon, rather than a chicken/beef combo. I also add the peppers earlier because I don't need my white rice turning to mush with an unnecessary 40+ min cook time. :)

Stuffed Pepper Soup

Serves 6
398 cals 5.6g fat (1.9g saturated) (without cheese)

1lb LEAN ground beef
1 lg onion, diced
1 cup uncooked, 2 cups cooked rice
1 can Hunts flavored diced tomatoes (Red pepper and fennel, roasted garlic, sweet onion etc) (14.5oz can)
1 can tomato sauce (14.5oz can)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp basil
½
tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 box chicken stock (32oz)
2 cups water
2 tbsp powdered beef stock
3 green bell peppers

In a large soup pot coated with cooking spray, over medium-high heat,
brown the grown beef with the onions and rice. I know that sounds odd,
but browning the rice gives it a nice nutty flavor – do not allow it to
burn!!

Meanwhile dice your peppers into small ½" pieces, set side
Add in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, salt, pepper,
chicken stock, water, and powdered beef stock, then allow it to come to a
boil.
Reduce heat, cover and allow it to cook 20 minutes then add
the peppers and allow it to cook another 20-30 minutes (some types of
rice may need longer cooking times)

Serve with cheese on top (optional)

Here's a favorite recipe I haven't made in a while.

Sara Rosen's cabbage rolls

Separate cabbage leaves by putting head of cabbage in a
large pot of boiling water and letting it sit for 20 minutes or so.

Separate out individual leaves and fill with the following:

Mix together....

2 pounds lean ground beef

1 egg

1/2 cup beef broth.

1/4 cup uncooked long grain rice.

2 cloves fresh garlic, crushed

Pepper to taste

Mix together and place about 1 1/2 Tablespoons full in each
cabbage leaf, roll up and fasten with a tooth pick.

Meanwhile....shred the rest of the cabbage, an onion, a
couple stalks of celery finely sliced and a carrot chopped fine, and a 1 pound
12 0oz can of whole tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes.

Place cabbage rolls in a Dutch oven alternatly with a
mixture of the veggies in layers.

Add water to almost cover the cabbage rolls and between 1/2
and 3/4 cups brown sugar, juice of a lemon and a crushed clove of garlic.

Cover the rolls and sauce with a couple of whole cabbage
leaves and top with a drizzle of catsup over all.

And bake in a 250 degree oven for 4 hours......check often
to see that it doesn't cook dry.

And Meatloaf by Martha Stewart's mother.

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10

• 4 slices white bread, torn
  into pieces
• 2 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled
  and cut into eighths
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 stalks celery, cut into
  2-inch pieces
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut
  into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley
  leaves
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup ketchup
• 3 teaspoons dry mustard
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground
  black pepper
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
   Place bread in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade;
   pulse until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a medium bowl, and add ground
   beef.
2. Place onion, garlic, celery,
   carrots, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel
   blade; pulse until fine. Add to meat mixture, using hands to mix well. Add
   egg, 1/2 cup ketchup, 2 teaspoons dry mustard, salt, and pepper; use hands
   to combine thoroughly. Place in an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-by-2 1/2-inch loaf pan.
3. Combine remaining 1/2 cup
   ketchup, remaining teaspoon dry mustard, and brown sugar in a bowl; stir
   until smooth.
4. Brush mixture over meatloaf;
   place in the oven with a baking pan set on the rack below to catch
   drippings. Cook until a meat thermometer inserted in the center reads 160
   degrees, about 90 minutes. If top gets too dark, cover with foil, and
   continue baking.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Meatloaf 101 with Mrs. Kostyra - Martha Stewart Recipes

And Runza...a Nebraska thing...they freeze well and heat up in the oven

2 c
Warm water

2 pk
Yeast

1/2 c
Sugar ( less)

1 1/2
ts Salt

1 Egg

1/4 c
Margarine, melted & cooled

6 1/2
c Flour

-------------------------------RUNZA
FILLING-------------------------------

2 lb
Hamburger Lean

1/2 c
Onion; chopped

3 1/2
c Cabbage; shredded More

1/4 c
Water

1 ts
Salt

1/2 ts
Pepper

Dash
Tabasco sauce

Dough:
Mix water, yeast, sugar and salt; stir until dissolved. Add egg and margarine.
Stir in flour. Put in tight bowl and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight. Roll
dough into oblong shape and cut into squares. Put in hamburger mixture. Pull up
4 sides and press edges together. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake 20
minutes in a 350^ oven.

Runza
Filling: Brown hamburger
and onion; drain off excess. Add shredded cabbage, seasonings and water. Simmer
15 minutes. Cool completely before putting in dough.
Bun’s recipe

Oh boy, heaven for us! Just as soon as this crazy winter weather breaks, I will be on the way but if you want to run away from home, just grab a train and I will pick you up.

The girls liked the Ragu brand because of all the sugar they add (to cover the nasty toms they use I bet). I read somewhere that there are 16 tablespoons of sugar in the jar of theoriginal version. For kicks I bought one a few weeks back for under a buck. YUCK!! It was like eating candied tomato sauce. I was buying it for the food pantry donation but won't do that anymore.

My sauce recipe is not on my computer so I will re-type it for you and save a copy for myself. I tend to make about 3 times the amount and can it up for easy dinners. Just leave the milk out and add it when you make dinner. I will be back!

Here is Diane's cabbage roll recipe with a few additions from me.

Diane’s
GOLABKI

a 3 # head of cabbage
½ # ground beef (use all beef if you like)
¼ # ground pork
¼ # ground veal
1 ½ C cooked long grain rice (brown rice works too)
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg, beaten
salt & and pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp ground horseradish
1 C condensed tomato soup (I use tom. sauce, about a quart or 28 oz can)
2 T brown sugar

1/2 to 1 tsp of cinnamon
1 T vinegar, apple cider version
1 C beef broth

Remove the core from the cabbage, place cored end down in large pot with an
inch or two of water & steam for 15-20 min. Or what I do is freeze the
whole head the night before I make these, defrost in the sink for a couple of
hours--then cabbage leaves are just as pliable as steamed. When ready,
CAREFULLY peel down leaves by placing the cored end up and doing one leaf at a
time (if steaming).

Mix ground meats, egg, onion, rice, salt, pepper, garlic and horseradish. Scoop
out about 1/2 C of mixture ( one ice cream scooper full) and GENTLY pat into an oval. Place the oval on
thickest part of cabbage leaf and roll once. Then tuck edges over the rolled
part & continue to roll. Place all rolls into heavy pan that is lined with
a few cabbage leaves, layering rolls as needed.

Mix undiluted soup, beef broth, brown sugar & vinegar and pour over rolls.
Cover and bake in 350° oven for 2 -2 1/2 hrs.

Also can be made in casserole form. Just layer steamed cabbage leaves with a
layer of meat and rice mixture, another layer of cabbage leaves. Pour sauce
over all and bake.

Note: I made double the sauce because I found I needed (wanted) more gravy. A 3 to 4 # cabbage head will net about 10 to 12 large rolls, enough to freeze some for later.

Oh, my! That's an amazing statistic. So I looked up "Ragù Old World Traditional". They didn't have a carb breakdown on their website, so I looked at Fat Secret, and looked at the actual label on Amazon. It's true that there are more than 16 teaspoons of sugar in a 45 oz. jar. That's only a third of the amount of sugar as if it were really tablespoons, but it's still a heck of a lot of sugar! There's also an amazing amount of fat. They also have "spices" and "natural flavors", which is usually code for MSG. There's a 20% RDV of sodium per half cup, and a heap of potassium too.

From Fat Secret (their bolds):

There are 80 calories in a 1/2 cup serving of Ragu Old World Style Traditional Pasta Sauce.
Calorie breakdown: 24% fat, 65% carbs, 11% protein.

What we call "spaghetti" sauce at home is a Northern Italian style ragù, we learned from an Italian lady a really long time ago. Part of her recipe was to use a little sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes. That's a tablespoon or even two for a dozen quarts. Nowadays the tomatoes aren't as acidic (sorrow), and I don't use any sugar at all. There's enough sweet from the onions and I usually have carrots as well. While mine has fat in it, from both beef and sausage, the proportion is way less as well.

And that, of course, is something else that's good to make with ground beef and freeze. :)

plllog, I only make sauce for lasagna, go figure, and that gets frozen, but my girls "shop" in my freezer and my pantry, so those pans of lasagna don't last long. Funny, Bud will eat lasagna, but he won't touch spaghetti, says he "hates" it. He'll eat mac and cheese though, go figure, and he loves pizza, so it's not the red sauce. I haven't figured it out yet, probably never will, who can read the mind of a 10 year old boy, sheesh.

Peppi, thanks for that recipe, especially the instructions about making it in a casserole. I've found that I really like cabbage rolls made with collards or swiss chard, it's just so much easier, I always have a ton of that in the summer, and it still tastes good. Plus, Amanda can eat cabbage rolls, no gluten! Double bonus.

Come and visit any time that's good for you, you know Elery and I would love to see you. Other than that, you never know when I might hop on the train and come and visit, but they open my cooler and find tongues, they might be a bit taken by surprise, LOL.

Annie

Annie, check you email, I have sent the recipe there as it is exceeding the character limit here. I tried to shorten it but I would have to leave stuff out.

Thanks, Peppi, I got it. I didn't even realize there WAS a character limit, except in the title!

Annie

Darn, none of it will be able to benefit from Peppi's sauce recipe. I too, didn't know there was a character limit.'

Wow! There was a character limit when we first got to Houzz, and everybody was in an uproar, especially because old posts were truncated. Then they took it away and all was calm. Okay, I just tried it with three pages, single spaced, and it posted fine (I've removed it). I wonder if the character limit is in the browser or device?

Annie, looks like you got some great meat! We try not to buy too much store bought, though we run out of burger. We like to buy a half from someone we know. We also bought half of my cousin's fair pig this fall.

You might suggest to Amanda that she look for Gluten Free on a Shoestring, and Gluten Free Easily on face book. They usually post a recipe a day, there are lots of tips, and GFE, I think it is, has several gluten free cookbooks for sale. Something I should be doing for the arthritis and fibromyalgia. It won't cure it, but it does help with the inflamation.

I got this recipe on Pinterest and it is really good. The next time I make it though, I am going to make it with some thinly sliced sirloin, but the recipe calls for ground beef and I have made it three times and it is a favorite.

Thanks, Tami, but Amanda doesn't have Facebook, they only got internet connection just before Christmas. She might, though, as she gets more familiar. I don't "do" Facebook either, but I'll check those out on line anyway!

Yum, Marilyn, that looks good. Thanks to you too.

Annie

You are welcome, Annie. I knew you don't have Facebook, but thought Amanda might. I also have a friend who is about our age, and has been a celiac since she was little. She says that most recipes can be made gluten free and still come out good. If the gluten free flour does not have xanthum gum in it, you will most likely need to add it. She doesn't often have recipes that don't work made both ways. One of the sites I posted above has a gluten free pie crust recipe that might work for gluten free pirogee.

Thanks, Tami, I didn't think of pie crust for pirogi, as it's not baked, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. I feel an experiment coming on, LOL.

Annie

Worth a try! At least it won't be a huge loss. Though with the price of gluten free flour, it won't be super cheap if it doesn't work. Do you want me to try to find the recipe for the pie crust? I think I might have saved it.

Try this: http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/gluten-free-pie-crust/   I have not personally tried it, so I can't tell you how good it is.

I have a couple of recipes for gluten-free (and grain-free) meatloaf. One is for pork but it could be adapted.

I've personally never liked bread mixed into my meat (it dries the concoction out, to my tastebuds), so the whole Paleo thing gave me permission to experiment. Belonging to a meat-share where I kept piling ground beef into my freezer meant I also had to start being creative -- making sauces and burgers and stuffed peppers (beef combined with various chopped veggies at whim instead of rice) was only going so far.

These items are on my food blog: (It's not strictly a Paleo blog, but it has moved to being a gluten-free one over the years. I enjoy the challenge.)

Meatloaf: ground beef and sweet potato

Meatloaf: ground pork, apple, fennel and cauliflower

I just made this the other night. I added red peppers and doubled the basil, and it came out really tasty. I don't make the "pot pie" part with the canned breadsticks. It makes like a thick stew which can be served over rice or pasta or other grain. Or I had already made whole wheat biscuits and just had it on the side to sop up the gravy. If you wanted, you could make your own biscuit dough, dollop on top and bake it.

Thanks, artemis, I love sweet potato and don't particularly care for meatloaf because of the texture, so I'm going to have to give yours a go. The pork meatloaf looks good too, although I'd probably replace the cauliflower (which I dislike) with more sweet potato. Can't have too much sweet potato, LOL.

Thanks Other-Annie. Grandma sometimes topped her beef stew with dollops of biscuit dough, which just baked on top of the mixture. I've just never made it with ground beef before.

Annie

Asian Ground Beef and Pepper Saute
INGREDIENTS
1 cup dry jasmine rice
2 cups water
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup beef stock
1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon chile paste
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium saucepan, bring the rice and water to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the ground beef until evenly browned. Drain, and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the red
bell pepper, green bell pepper, parsley, garlic and ginger. Season with
red pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir until tender.
4. Return the beef to the skillet. Mix in the beef stock, soy sauce,
chile paste, and Worcestershire sauce. Cook and stir until thickened and
heated through. Serve over the cooked rice.

Tried this the other night--sort of "cabbage rolls/Polish Pigs" without the rice-- nice change of pace.

Diane's Home Cookin Chapter: 2014/15/16--to try--main dishes & sides

Unstuffed Sweet-and-Sour Cabbage
================================
source: Gourmet 11/2008

1 (2-pound) head green cabbage, quartered or cut into
sixths-- lengthwise and cored
1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced, divided
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 pound ground beef chuck
1/2 pound ground pork
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice
1/3 cup dried cranberries
3 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar
2 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
Accompaniment: steamed rice
.

Cook onion and remaining garlic in oil in a heavy medium
pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 8
minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and stir in ground meats
along with 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring
and breaking up lumps with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink,
about 3 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes with their juice, cranberries, vinegar,
and brown sugar and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally and
breaking up tomatoes with spoon, until slightly thickened, about
20 minutes. Season with salt.
Sear cabbage pieces lightly in bacon grease then place in a
deep 12-inch heavy skillet with broth, 1 garlic clove (sliced),
and a rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer over medium
heat, then cook, covered, turning cabbage occasionally, until very
tender, about 45 minutes. (Add more broth or water if necessary.)
Pour sauce into skillet with cabbage and simmer,
uncovered, 5 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/unstuffed-sweet-and-sour-cabbage-350572
Unstuffed cabbage

Thanks, Diane. We just had a cabbage roll type casserole, but yours sounds better, I like the addition of the dried cranberries. Plus, my son in law hates rice, so leaving it out would make it acceptable to him too.

SFP, that Asian Beef recipe looks really interesting and for a change, I actually have all of those ingredients. Thanks!

We had burritos last night, so maybe Asian this weekend...

Annie

Not so much a recipe but I when used to get a bulk purchase of ground beef I'd cook up 5 or 10 pounds, sometimes with onion and just freeze it that way. That gives you a myriad of possibilities for quick meals, like pizza topping, sloppy joes, casseroles, stuffed peppers, rice dishes, mix with gravy over taters, rice or noodles, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, school-type "pizza burgers", spaghetti, Spanish rice, soup, stew, chili, and on and on. Plus the big added bonus is the big mess from the grease is the one time and you benefit however many times after that.

Then there's the hundreds of varieties of meatloaf and meatballs (can be made ahead and frozen and used a variety of ways including meatball subs), Salisbury steak and other hamburger steak variations including "poor man's" chicken fried steak and whatever else you can think of.

For sauces, my favorite is gravy. Then a Swedish Meatball sauce, then a mild BBQ sauce.

Ground meat is so versatile.

Thanks, cynic. The big plus? No grease. This is all my nicely lean grass fed stuff. I just cooked 2 pounds of it for the dogs' supper the next couple of days and there wasn't a speck of grease in that pan.

I did make some Spanish Rice, and still want to make Swedish Meatballs and that Asian recipe that Maxy posted and some pirogi and that meatloaf with the sweet potatoes. That should get me through a couple of weeks of menus, LOL.

Annie