Have you ever noticed that the ground beef you buy at the grocery store is nice and red on the outside and yet when you break into it its brown inside? That is a huge turn off for me. This meat is the same color through and through.

Plus, the ground beef you buy at the shops is composed of a whole bunch of beef from a variety of animals all ground together. You could have the DNA from a multitude of animals in that one package of ground meat.

This stuff we buy locally is much, much different.  The meat in each package is generally from the same animal. I like that idea very much.

For the meatloaf you will use 1/4 of the package. 4 ounces or 115grams of the beef.  I downsized my regular meatloaf recipe so that it makes one delicious 4-ounce ramekin sized meatloaf. 

It might be small, but the flavors are huge.  This is moist and delicious.  I have simply glazed it with a tangy glaze, but you could add a slice of bacon to the top if you wanted to. 

This is one of the options you can freeze for later use.  Just cool it down, wrap tightly in cling film. Pop into a zip lock baggie and freeze for up to three months.

When you are ready to eat it, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently until heated through for eating. You can either do this in the oven or microwave. It's up to you.

Because I was making mashed potatoes for the top of the Cottage pie, it was very easy to make a little bit more at the same time to serve with the meatloaf. It was also easy to prepare some extra mixed vegetables to serve alongside as well.

Moist and delicious this meatloaf is an old family favorite that I can now enjoy on my own without having to eat it for days on end! I call that a win!  

The remainder of the meat then gets crumbled into a skillet and browned along with a finely chopped onion and clove of garlic.  This will be divided up to make the remaining three dishes.

One third will be removed and mixed together with some taco seasoning.  This will serve as the beefy topping for your Sheet Pan Nachos.  These are delicious served hot from the oven with your favorite toppings and some salsa and sour cream on the side.

Unfortunately, today I didn't have as many things to use for the toppings as I normally would use. Normally I would top them with diced peppers as well as tomatoes, black olives and jalapenos, cheese, spring onions, etc.  These I am showing you today are very plain in comparison. You can top them with whatever you want to top them with and with what you enjoy eating! 

This meaty topping is one of the options you can pack in an airtight container and freeze (for up to three months) ready to take out and reheat and use to top some nachos (or even pop into a taco) at a later date.

The remaining 2/3 of the browned ground beef is cooked further, into a beefy, meaty gravy mixture. Half of which will be used to make a delicious Cottage Pie.  

This is the meal I recommend you eating on the day. Potatoes don't really freeze well in my experience.  Maybe it is just that I don't know how to do it, but they always end up a bit watery in my opinion.

Delicious ground beef in a fabulous gravy, topped with mixed vegetables and a fluffy buttery thatch! You can't go wrong. All you need is a salad on the side.

The remainder of the beef in gravy has some frozen baby peas added to it, is heated through to cook the peas and then is ladled over hot French fries and topped with cheese in what is a very popular Atlantic Poutine recipe here in the Maritime Provinces.

I guess you might call it the Maritime equivalent of a Haystack Supper, Canadianized into a delicious Poutine supper.

Crisp hot fries?  Check!  Tasty ground beef and peas in a beefy onion gravy? Check!  Plenty of melted cheese?  Check!  Delicious?  CHECK!!

You can freeze the ground beef and peas in gravy to make your poutine another time.  Pop it into an airtight container, label and freeze for up to three months. When you are ready to eat it simply thaw in the refrigerator overnight and then gently reheat in a saucepan while you cook your fries.

So, there you have it. Four delicious main dishes from one pound of ground beef, perfectly sized for one person to enjoy!  You can't go wrong!   

As a single person living on my own, I really hate waste.  I am really enjoying exploring my options when it comes to cooking for just one or two people.  Some other delicious meals I have down sized are:

LEMON GARLIC CHICKEN FOR ONE - Chicken breast is marinated in a delicious and tangy marinade and then baked to perfection, ready to serve with pasta or rice. Quite simply delicious.

SHEET PAN ROASTED SEA BASS - Perfectly roasted delicious sea bass, with roasted potatoes, tomatoes, onions and toasted cashew nuts, all cooked together on pan. No fuss, no muss, hardly any clean up.

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Single Serve Ground Beef Meals for one

Yield: 1

Author: Marie Rayner

This is a delicious way to divide and cook one pound of ground beef to serve four very different, and deliciously unique meals for one.

IngredientsUSMetric

You will need:

• 1 pound (454g) lean ground beef or steak mince
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely minced

For the meatloaf:

• 4 ounces (115g) of the beef (from above)
• 1/4 cup (15g) soft white breadcrumbs
• 1 large free range egg yolk, lightly beaten (freeze the white for another time)
• 2 TBS finely chopped onion (from above)
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder, divided
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 TBS milk
• 2 TBS ketchup
• 1/2 TBS brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp dry mustard powder

For the browned meat/gravy:

• 3/4-pound (345g) ground beef/minced steak
• the remainder of the onion (see above)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely minced
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 TBS of flour (for the gravy)
• 1 cup (240ml) beef stock (for the gravy)

For the Nachos:

• 1/2 TBS taco seasoning
• 1/2 cup (65g) grated Jack cheese
• 12 to 15 tortilla chips
• your favorite nacho toppings
• sour cream and salsa to serve

For the Cottage Pie:

• 1/2 of the hamburger gravy
• 1/4 cup of frozen mixed vegetables
• 2 medium russet potatoes
• a knob of butter
• salt and black pepper to taste
• a small quantity of warm milk (you will use half of the mashed potatoes to serve with the meatloaf)

For the Maritime Poutine:

• 1/2 of the hamburger gravy
• 1/4 cup frozen peas
• 1/4 of a bag of a (four-serving size) French fries, cooked (I use my air fryer)
• 1/2 cup (65g) grated Mozzarella or Mozzarella/Cheddar blend cheese

Instructions

1. For the meatloaf, preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Have ready a small baking dish.
2. Gently mix together the beef, onion, breadcrumbs, egg yolk, milk, 1/4 tsp of dry mustard powder, salt, pepper and Worcestershire Sauce until well combined. Don't over work the meat or you will have a tough meatloaf.
3. Gently pack into a ramekin and then tip the shape out onto your baking dish.
4. Whisk together the ketchup, brown sugar and 1/4 tsp of the dry mustard powder. Spread this over top of the meatloaf.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Serve hot with mashed potatoes and a vegetable.
6. While the meatloaf is baking pop the potatoes into a saucepan of lightly salted water and bring to the boil. Cook for fifteen minutes until fork tender. Drain well and then mash together with the knob of butter, milk and some seasoning. Keep warm. (Half of this will be used to top the Cottage pie and half to serve with the meatloaf.)
7. Crumble the remaining ground beef into a dry skillet. Add the onion and garlic. Season with some salt and black pepper. Dry scramble until cooked through and evenly browned. Remove one third of this and set aside for the nachos.
8. Sprinkle the flour over top of the remaining meat in the pan. Cook, stirring for one minute to cook out the flour taste. Slowly stir in the beef stock. Continue to cook, stirring, over medium heat until the mixture thickens and bubbles. Cook for two to three minutes over low heat.
9. Remove half of the beef gravy and spread it into a small pie dish. Add the frozen peas to the remaining beef gravy in the saucepan and set aside to keep warm.
10. Top with the frozen mixed vegetables. Spoon half of the mashed potatoes over top and rough them up a bit with a fork. Pop onto a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes until heated through and bubbling. Serve hot.
11. For the Maritime Poutine, cook your French fries as per your desired method. Spread onto a plate. Top with the hamburger pea gravy and the cheese. Allow the cheese to melt and serve immediately.
12. For the nachos, spread the tortilla chips out onto a baking sheet. Stir the Taco seasoning into the browned ground beef. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over top of the tortilla chips. Sprinkle with cheese and your desired toppings.
13. Bake in the oven until heated through and the cheese has melted. Serve hot with salsa and sour cream.

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