Earlier this summer, Darrell and I randomly decided that it would be fun to buy a cow. Not one that we planned to keep in our backyard and serve as a lawnmower/fertilizer, but rather buy the meat from a cow in bulk (which is quite common around here and can be pretty cost efficient if you have the place to store all the meat off a cow at once). However, we don't know the first thing about buying and butchering livestock. Plus a full cow can be over five hundred pounds of meat, which is maybe a little excessive for our family of two. Thankfully, not only did my sister and her boyfriend Nick think that purchasing a cow seemed like a good idea, but Nick actually grew up on a farm (and still lives in "farm country"), so he did have a clue about buying and butchering meat.
So, long story short, we know own about half a cow. My sister let me know the other day what we were getting for cuts (because again, Darrell and I don't have a clue so we just told them to get "whatever" and we'd take half of it), and it all sounds pretty darn good. A variety of steaks, a handful of roasts, some ribs, and of course, ground beef. Sixty-nine pounds of ground beef, to be exact.
Yes. Sixty-nine pounds. Of ground beef. Go ahead and let that sink in. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but Darrell and I actually don't use ground beef all that much. In fact, the only recipes I can think of that we prepare with ground beef are tacos and lasagna. That's like each of those dishes thirty-four times just to get rid of the beef. I love me some tacos and everything, but even that seems like overkill.
So, our new mission is to seek out more ground beef recipes. I know we could make our own burger patties with the beef, but by the time we get the meat grilling season will practically be over (although you can bet it will last into the spring when we can grill again). I've got my eye on a childhood classic--tator tot casserole--if I can just get Darrell to overlook the whole "casserole" piece of it (Darrell's convinced he doesn't like casseroles. Of any type. Don't ask). Beyond that, I'm kind of at a loss. Any suggestions?
Steve was adamant he wouldn't like my tuna salad because he "doesn't like salads", so I changed the name to tuna casserole and he willingly tried it (and liked it). I suggest introducing Darrell to tater tot "lasagna" and see if he's more open to eating that for dinner. If he's not (or he accuses you of trying to trick him), tell him he can't say he doesn't like it until he tries it. And trust me, his mother would say the same thing :)
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