Thursday 3 May 2012

Easy Ground Beef Recipes That Are Healthy and Delicious

Looking for some healthy and easy ground beef recipes that do not require a lot of time to make? Below are 3 delicious ground beef recipes that are filling and real crowd pleasers.

Just because you are cooking with ground beef, does not mean it has to be unhealthy. Most of the ground beef you find in supermarkets today is loaded with fat, cholesterol and hormones, but more and more supermarkets are starting to provide healthy organic meats to consumers, so hopefully you should be able to find healthy ground beef in your area.

To make the following recipes even healthier try and use all organic and low sodium ingredients.

If you happen to live near a Trader Joe's, by all means shop there. The prices are fantastic and they carry a variety of healthy organic meats and other fine products such as hamburger recipes.

THE RECIPES:

EASY SALISBURY STEAK RECIPE

Here is a little tip to keep in mind as you are making this delicious ground beef recipe. There is a chance that your ground beef steaks can fall apart while cooking. To prevent this from happening, form your steak patties and put them in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so before you start cooking. This will help hold your steaks stay together.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

1 egg

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 small onion finely chopped

1 garlic clove chopped

1 tablespoon montreal steak seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

1 small package of freshly sliced portobello mushrooms or by them whole and slice yourself

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups beef stock

Directions:

1. In a large bowl combine the ground beef, egg, garlic, onion, steak seasoning, Worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands. From the mixture, make steak shaped patties that are about 2 inches thick.

2 Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef patties and cook about 4 minutes per side until the outside of the steaks are nicely browned and the juices run clear. Remove the steaks and cover with foil to keep them warm.

3 Add the rest of the olive oil along with the butter to the same pan. Add your mushrooms and then cook over medium heat until they are tender. Approximately 5 minutes. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add the flour to the mushrooms, mix and cook for about 2 minutes. Slowly add in your beef stock. Stir and cook until your sauce has thickened.

5. Pour gravy over steaks and serve.

EASY ITALIAN STYLE MEATLOAF RECIPE

I grew up in an Italian Family and I cannot think of a better way to cook meatloaf. Enjoy this delicious ground beef recipe using fresh italian herbs and garlic.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef

2 eggs

1 7 ounce jar roasted red peppers chopped

1 onion chopped

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 cup of bread crumbs

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 cups of prepared tomato sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Heat a medium sized saute pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add your onion and garlic and saute until soft. Remove and set it aside on a plate to cool.

3. Grab yourself a large mixing bowl.

4. Add the cooled onions and garlic along with the the rest of your ingredients, except the tomato sauce, and combine. Mix together well with your hands and form into a loaf and add it to an oiled oven safe tray. Top the loaf with 1 cup of the prepared tomato sauce. Make certain that you spread the tomato sauce evenly over the top of the loaf.

5. Bake for about 1 hour or when the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees F. Remove from the oven and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Slice it up and serve.

Heat the remaining tomato sauce if desired and use for dipping.

GREEK STYLE HAMBURGER RECIPE

For our last recipe why not make some delicious burgers? The preferred method for cooking these burgers is on the grill, but they will still be quite tasty if fried on the stovetop.

Greek Style Hamburger Ingredients:

1 pound of lean ground beef

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup chopped greek olives

1 small red onion chopped

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 package of hamburger rolls or pita bread

Hamburger Sauce Ingredients:

1 (16 ounce) container low-fat plain yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint leaves (more or less to suit your taste)

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (more or less to suit your taste)

1 clove of garlic minced (add more or less to suit your taste)

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

1/2 cup peeled, seeded and finely diced cucumber

Sauce Directions:

Prepare the sauce for your burgers first and put in the fridge until your burgers are done.

1. In a mixing bowl, combine your olive oil and lemon juice.

2. Now add in your yogurt making sure that you mix it well with the olive oil.

3. Add your garlic, cucumbers, parsley and mint leaves and stir well.

Burger Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the chopped red onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Put the onions aside into a large mixing bowl and allow them to cool.

2 To the same mixing bowl, add your ground beef, feta cheese, olives, oregano, salt and pepper and combine well.

3. Form hamburger patties to desired thickness.

4. Fry your burgers in the same skillet as the onions, or cook on the grill to desired doneness.

5. Spread the prepared sauce on the rolls or inside a pita.

6. Add burgers and enjoy!

There you have it. Three healthy and easy ground beef recipes that any home cook can prepare. I really hope you enjoy these recipes. Remember to use all organic ingredients if at all possible. Happy Cooking!

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