I’ve shared it before (more than a few times), but I find that I must share it again. Everyone should know about this one simple trick that helps get dinner on the table fast!
My Simple Trick that Helps Get Dinner on the Table Fast!
It’s simply this:
Brown several pounds of hamburger meat ahead of time. Store it in your fridge or freezer in meal-sized packages. This is a beautiful thing!
It doesn’t take very long to cook hamburger meat when prepping a meal, but still, if it’s already cooked and ready to use, then all we have to do at mealtime is add it to the dish we’re making. Somehow, having pre-cooked meat in my fridge takes away a lot of meal-making stress. How?
Well, I often have very little time for cooking. Mealtime comes up quickly (and many times each day, for our entire lives, oy!). But if I am able to pull out meat that’s already browned, that means I don’t have to worry about thawing meat or cooking meat. I simply add it to pasta or potatoes, or we make Tacos or Nachos, or…
33 Meals to make with Cooked Hamburger Meat
Here are a few more ideas. :)
- 20-Minute Taco Soup
- Beefy Enchilada Bake
- Calico Beans
- Calzones
- Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Cheeseburger Soup
- Cheeseburger Zucchini Boats
- Cheesy Beef and Rice
- Cheesy Salsa Enchiladas
- Chili
- Chili Mac
- Simple Crock Pot Taco Pasta
- Crustless Pizza
- Hamburger Cream Cheese Dip
- Hamburger Sauerkraut Dip
- Italian Pasta Bake
- Lasagna Casserole
- Meat and Cheese Burritos
- Pizza
- Pizza Boats
- Pizza Casserole
- Pizza Pockets
- Pizza Soup
- Real Food “Velveeta” and Rotel Dip
- Simple Spanish Rice Bowls
- Skillet Taco Pasta
- Sloppy Cornbread Muffins
- Sloppy Joes
- Spanish Rice
- Taco Corn Fritters
- Taco Potatoes
- Taco Quesadillas
- Taco Rice Dinner
- Taco Salad
- Simple Creamy Pasta in the Instant Pot
My current favorite is this Simple Creamy Pasta in the Instant Pot. Not only is it incredibly delicious and a huge hit with everyone I’ve fed it to, with pre-cooked meat, I can have dinner on the table in only 10 minutes!! That is 10 minutes from start to finish, truly. It is amazing! (While it’s cooking in my Instant Pot, we get out salad fixins, and our meal is complete!)
My Favorite Instant Pot Hamburger Tip
Speaking of the wonders of an Instant Pot, you should definitely click over to read this:
How to Cook 5 lbs of Frozen Hamburger Meat in 30 minutes
Amazingly, I cook 5-7 pounds of frozen hamburger meat in my Instant Pot, and it is browned and ready to use for meals for the next two weeks for my family – just like that! (And yes, we eat a lot of meat. We are a family of many, many athletic men and a beef-lovin’ mama.)
Don’t have an Instant Pot?
I have this one and I absolutely love how much time it saves in the kitchen. So do consider investing! This 10-Minute Mac and Cheese is another good reason to buy an Instant Pot!
But, if you don’t have one and don’t want to invest, you can still easily cook several pounds of hamburger meat in a large pot on the stove. You’ll just need to thaw it first. :)
How to Store Pre-Cooked Hamburger Meat
Once you’ve got several pounds of hamburger meat cooked and cooled, what should you do?
I usually separate mine into meal-sized portions (1-3 pounds) and put it into these bowls with lids. Or if needed, I’ll put portions into ziplock bags.
I store these containers of cooked meat in my fridge for up to two weeks, and then pull them out as needed to prep meals. You can also store it in the freezer, of course. Just remember to thaw ahead of time!
Do you cook meat ahead of time? What are your favorite kitchen time-savers?
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