31 Days of Progress Day 3 :: Bulk Cooking Ground Beef in the Crock Pot with Seasoning Recipe

Category: Cooking & Eating
Goal: Cook at home, even when I’m rushed or just pooped out!
Baby Step: Pre-cook, pre-prep for Quick Meals when Needed

This post was actually inspired by Jennifer at Balancing Beauty & Bedlam, who is also one of the original 8 31 Day Bloggers! When one has a difficult food allergy {which I am going to blog about some day soon} the only real way to eat safely is at home.  Mine is a doozey – allium {onions, garlic, chives, leeks, shallots, etc.}.  It basically means most convenience food items are OUT for me, including all soups & broths and most condiments, dressings, sauces, seasoning blends.  If you’re curious, take a look in your pantry some time and see how many foods contain onion {or onion powder}, garlic {or garlic powder}, spices, or natural flavors.  The good news is it should mean that we eat HEALTHIER…but it does take time and discipline!

I have pre-cooked ground beef before, but usually only an extra pound or two at a time because I didn’t want to be a slave to the stove top with multiple pans going and needing attention. So, when I saw Jennifer post about cooking ground beef in the crock pot – the bells and whistles went off like crazy!  Here’s how I adapted it for me…and my new Ground Beef Seasoning blend worked out so well, I’m gonna share that, too.

[1] Turn your crock pot on High and pour in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of water. {Regular ground beef was the only thing available in bulk in our store at the time and 1/2 c. was more than I needed for the fat content.  I usually use leaner ground meats – buy when they are on sale!}

[2] Start crumbling your beef into the crock pot. I have a 4qt.? oval pot and used 5 lbs.  I could have fit 6 lbs. Season layers of the beef with your desired seasoning.  I wanted “general” ground beef this time, so I used the seasoning blend below.

[3] Set your timer for 2 hours and walk away {option: if you are available to do so you can stir intermittently}

[4] When I checked mine after 2 hours it had sort of become what looked like a big wet meatloaf :).  I started chopping at it with a plastic spoon, then switched to my potato masher to get a finer “crumble”.

[5] Then I let it go for another 30 minutes {for a total of 2 1/2 hours, I prefer not to take chances with ground meat}. Taste a sample {and discover you love the seasonings you chose}, drain, cool and package for the freezer in whatever increments work for you – I did 5 equal-ish 1-lb-ish portions in plastic freezer bags. In the future I will also prepare batches with Italian Seasoning and my Homemade Chili/Taco Seasoning.

UPDATE 11/04/11: I recently cooked another batch.  This time I did 6 pounds of ground round {with chili powder} and cooked it for 3 hours on high.  I filled 4 quart-sized mason jars for the freezer {after it had cooled to room temperature, 1 1/2 lb. portions}.  Love it!!

Here’s my new recipe for Ground Beef Seasoning Blend:

2 tsp. Sea Salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

2 tsp. dried thyme

2 tsp. dried marjoram

1/2 tsp. rubbed sage

1/8 tsp. ground allspice

I rubbed it all together with my fingers to combine and crush the dried leaves to “bloom” the herbs a bit.

Try it and Enjoy! {Don’t forget about my GIVEAWAY in yesterday’s post}

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