One Pound of Ground Beef, Four Dinners

Hey Reader,

September is when the grocery bill catches up with me. School supplies, fall sports, and somehow everyone in this house is hungrier than they were in July.

Ground beef is a great protein to start a meal, and one pound goes a lot further than one dinner if you plan for it. Nobody at my table has ever noticed which nights were the budget ones.

Four Dinners That Stretch a Pound of Beef

My Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole developed from all the leftovers in my fridge, and now it's one skillet and about 35 minutes whenever I need it. I make it on the nights when there's half a pound of beef and no plan, which is more nights than I'd like to admit.

I make Ground Beef Skillet Tamales when I want the flavor of real tamales without spending an entire afternoon making them. Even better, they happen to be naturally gluten-free.

My husband makes Crockpot Chili for days we plan to watch football, and leftovers are even better than chili the first day. Stir in lime juice at the very end, so it doesn't cook out while you're making this.

My daughter once hand-blocked the platter of Honey Habanero Puff Pastry Beef Empanadas so nobody else could get to them. The puff pastry means no dough to make or roll out, and you use less filling than you think you need in each one.

Any one of these will get you through a week when you're fighting with your budget, though I'd start with the Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole. Which one are you making first?

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