Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Works For Me Wednesday: Hamburger Helper


My husband loves meatloaf (well, mine anyways). I love a good Italian meatball. And we both enjoy good hamburgers on the grill. But I hate - despise - getting ground meat under my fingernails. My trick: I buy meat in 3lb. packages and divide it equally with a butter knife. A 3lb. pack of ground beef or turkey should yield 12 burgers. Once divided, the sections are easy to pick up and form into patties of uniform size. I form them all, then wrap two at a time in plastic wrap. I wash out the styrofoam tray the meat came in, stack the burgers in that and head for the freezer. Meatballs are equally easy. I just divide the meat into more sections and quickly form each into little balls to be dropped into sauce or baked in the oven and individually frozen. Lastly, I never use my hands to mix a meatloaf. After adding all the ingredients to the meat, I use my potato masher to mix them together and then turn into a baking pan. (I usually use a 11x7 pan because a thinner meatloaf cooks much more quickly).

Meatloaf, hamburgers, meatballs and clean hands to boot - Works for me!

12 comments:

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

These are all great ideas, Dianne. I especially like the potato masher one. It seems like the phone or doorbell always ring when my hands are wrist-deep in my meatloaf mixture!

Beck said...

Touchin raw meat is nasty - thanks for the great suggestions!

Unknown said...

Good idea. I like the idea of a thinner meatloaf, and yes, I hate touching it, too. I've tried using a wooden spoon, but that doesn't really cut it.

Carol said...

Very practical. Raw, ground meat can feel all slimy, can't it?

Amy said...

Wonderful idea- I hate touching raw meat. I will have to reuse my styrofoam- hadn't thought of that. Thank you!

momof3busyboys said...

WOW, why I never thought of that. I love your tips, I despise having meat under my fingernails also!

Mama Duck said...

Ah, ick, I won't get near that stuff. Great idea!

Anonymous said...

great idea! i hate touching meat too...ewe!

Overwhelmed! said...

What great ideas! Thanks for sharing!

I've posted my WFMW tip as well. Stop by and take a peek. :)

Susanne said...

Great idea!

Jeannine said...

That is a great idea! Do you have one for raw chicken too? :-) It seems like whenever I'm working with raw ground beef or chicken someone desperately needs me.

PastormacsAnn said...

I'll try the potato masher for mixing meatloaf next time.