How can I double this recipe without doubling the ground beef?

[poptart717]

Money's going to be really tight this week and I'm trying to stretch our last few dollars as far as possible. I'm planning to make Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie one night this week. There are six of us in my clan, and I know that it says it serves six, but my husband is a hog and eats AT LEAST two servings of the main dish for supper. So I always double the recipe, then there are a few servings left over for someone to eat for lunch the next day.

Well, my problem is that we're going to be SOO desperate for money this week that I don't want to use two pounds of meat. So, other than forcing my husband to eat no more than his fair share (yeah, right!), what can I do? What can I mix in to bulk it up? When I double casserole recipes I usually double everything but the meat and I can't really tell the difference, but this is JUST meat. I've thought about stirring in some beans, but I confess I don't use beans and don't really know what kind would be best to use, or if I should add some other seasonings with them to make them blend in better...I just don't know beans! :-)

Well, if anyone has any tips for me about the beans, or can suggest something else to add to this dish, please let me know! Thank you!

[Tai]

The way I see it, you have two directions you can go: add lentils (my legume of choice for mixing in with beef- I use beef boullion in place of salt) or turn the casserole on its head. In other words, take the meat mixture and use it as a sauce for pasta. One of our favorite meals is chili pasta toss- which is only about 1/3 to 1/2 lb of meat (for 5) and loads of beans and veggies topping pasta with cheese sauce on top.

[Brat]

You can add oats to hamburger with bouillon to make it go farther...I have even done this to make hamburger patties.

[IntlMom]

or you could just double everything else in the recipe and just not the meat. I make Cheeseburger Pie often, and yes, it would be less meat, but it would be fien that way, IMHO.

good luck

[lparker]

oatmeal...

[Grainlady]

I would use 1/2-pound of ground beef per "pie", instead of the normal 1-pound. There are other ingredients that will make up for the loss of protein (milk, eggs, cheese).

When I make this recipe, I often use a mixture of meat, or meat and ground gluten. If I have some small portions of ham, bacon, or sausage in the freezer, I will mix it with a small portion of cooked ground beef, and I normally don't use the full 1-pound of meat for this recipe.

I also keep ground gluten in the freezer to mix with meat for a low-costing ground meat substitute, but one that is high in protein. For every pound of ground meat I use, I also mix in a pound of ground gluten. You can make gluten from flour, but the easiest way to make it is with Vital Wheat Gluten (the stuff that is often added to bread recipes).

How to:
How to Make Vegetarian Ground Beef | eHow.com

Ground gluten has a lot of uses as a meat substitute, but I also make a high-protein granola-like cereal with it.

*4-cups of raw gluten bakes into 9 cups of ground gluten.
*9-cups of ground gluten pieces is equivalent to 3-pounds of ground beef (cooked)
*9-cups of ground gluten = 286 grams of protein, which is the equivalent to using 3-pounds of ground beef at 288 grams of protein.

Gluten is also called seitan, or "fake meat".

[MaryCarney]

Oats AND black beans ! I think black beans have the best camoflage capacity - I use them to stretch stuff all the time!

[krbshappy71]

I would just use the less amount of meat, it will still have the flavor throughout.

[joyofsix]

rice, beans or lentils

[frugalwarrior2]

I never had hamb. pie but i think I would add rice-a-roni mix. and 2x the reg. ing. My DH is famous for double entree and we have lots of "discussions" about the value of veg,salad,canned pears etc. Yes, he is a piggy and it makes me angry. Could you whip up some biscuits. Bread stretches.

[justpeachy92]

Quite often I add frozen vegetables when making this, using one pound of meat, but doubling the bisquick part of it.

[starsapphire]

I would boil a few potatoes, cut them in a small dice and add it in to the dish to stretch it, and add some canned/frozen veggies if the potatoes still weren't enough to double it.

[dcompton]

I agree with starsapphire. I haven't made this, but I often do a hamburger skillet with diced potatoes and frozen mixed vegetables.

[poptart717]

Wow! Lots of responses! Eenie, meenie, minie, mo...I think I'll use oats this time since I already have a canister I haven't even opened yet. So how would I do it? Just put the oats in the skillet with the meat and a boulion cube, and add a little water?

I never had hamb. pie but i think I would add rice-a-roni mix. and 2x the reg. ing. My DH is famous for double entree and we have lots of "discussions" about the value of veg,salad,canned pears etc. Yes, he is a piggy and it makes me angry. Could you whip up some biscuits. Bread stretches.

I feel your pain! I once made chili without ground beef in it and DH threw a fit! Our kids aren't even that picky! I give them food and they eat it. Period.

Quite often I add frozen vegetables when making this, using one pound of meat, but doubling the bisquick part of it.

I would love nothing more than to toss some veggies in there and not have to worry about opening up a couple cans of green beans to eat on the side, but DH always whines if I sneak veggies in where they don't belong. He just wants meat. And lots of it.

[Contrary Housewife]

I would make it like meatloaf, with oats or breadcrumbs and some extra egg.

Or, skip the cheese, add a few vegetables and put a good layer of mashed potato on top for a farmer's pie.