Tacos with Boiled Hamburger

Dinner last night was great — and easy. I pulled out a bag of boiled hamburger from the freezer and let it thaw. Put it in a frying pan with some taco seasonings, a small can of tomato sauce, and some water. Simmered it till thick enough. Served on taco shells with grated cheese, lettuce, and salsa. A can of refried beans rounded out the meal.

Boiling hamburger ahead of time is a great idea. Less mess. Healthier. Easier. And cheaper–because you can stock up when it’s on sale. How can you lose? Put hamburger in a large saucepan and cover with water. (You don’t need TONS of water, but enough to cover the meat and give you a little room to stir.) The looser you want the meat, the more you should stir it to break it up. If you’d like, you can add onions, green peppers, salt and pepper, whatever else you would normally add to the pan when you were browning it. The timing is pretty loose and it seems hard to overcook it.

Just stir it now and then and cook till the pink is gone. Put a colander in your sink over a large bowl or jar and drain the meat. You can then simmer some of it with various specific seasonings (like the tacos above) if you want to freeze it already seasoned. Or just pack it in portions suitable to your family. A pound is about equivalent to 2 1/2 to 3 cups of cooked hamburger. If you have LOTS to cook, reuse the same broth. When you’re done, put the broth in the frig overnight and the fat will rise to the top. Skim it off and you now have some nice lightly flavored beef broth for cooking or soups.