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Did you know that ground beef is the biggest-selling meat in most American markets? Not that it’s surprising—it gives you the same flavor as whole beef but without the cutting, tenderizing, and long cooking processes. That’s also what makes it one of the most versatile ingredients around. From soup and pasta to burgers, patties and meatloaf, ground beef goes with pretty much everything.

But one thing you may not have heard of are crock pot ground meat recipes. That’s right: ground beef goes just as well in the crock pot as it does in a stovetop. In fact, it can even help you cook healthier meals and save time in the kitchen. Because it does the work for you, slow cooking leaves you more time to work on other dishes or simply take a break.

Ready to get started? Check out these food ideas and try them for your next meal.

Pasta meat sauce

One of the most popular uses of ground beef is in pasta sauces. The combination of tomato sauce, creamy cheese, and spices make pasta the ultimate comfort food. If you’re tired of the usual quick sauces, try making one in the crock pot. Slow cooking gives it that all-day taste that normally takes, well, all day in a traditional stovetop pot.

You can save even more time if you put in the pasta along with the sauce. For starters, try a lasagna crock pot recipe with layers of meat, cheese and pasta blended seamlessly together. To cut the sheets to size, take a plate roughly the same size as your pot and cut around it. And although it’s mostly up to you, remember to layer the ingredients evenly, and be generous with the cheese!

Meatballs

Everyone likes their meatballs a different way, but one thing’s for sure: they’re always a hit at the table, whether it’s a regular dinner or a birthday party. They’re especially popular with kids. That’s why many parents use them to balance out their children’s diets. If you’re having trouble making them eat their vegetables, sneak a few into their meatballs and they won’t be able to tell the difference!

Meatballs are also a great way to use leftover ground beef and other leftover ingredients, such as vegetables, spices and sauces. Cooking them in the crock pot can also give you more serving options—simply pop the meatballs into a dish and you’ve got an instant extender. Any meatball recipe for the crock pot can be reused for everything else, including soups, stews, noodles, and pasta sauce.

Meatloaf

Next to meatballs, meatloaf is one of the easiest things to make in the crock pot. Again, you can use any ingredients you have, including leftovers. Leftover veggies are a great way to add volume to your dish and give it more flavor at the same time. You can also use breadcrumbs or cracker bits. For the sauce, anything goes: you can use soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, whatever you or your kids feel like.

The cooking process for meatloaf is pretty straightforward. Once all the ingredients are mixed in, you simply pour them into the crock pot and set your temperature. Ideal temperatures vary from one recipe to another, but it’s generally safe to set it high for the first couple of hours. An easy crock pot meatloaf recipe usually takes about 8 hours to cook through.

A word on safety

All beef products are prone to contamination by harmful bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli. But ground beef is especially risky because any bacteria on the surface will mix into the meat during grinding. Cooking usually gets rid of most bacteria, but since slow cooking uses lower temperatures, it can actually cause the bacteria to multiply.

To stay safe, the USDA recommends that ground beef should reach 140°C, the temperature at which common bacteria are destroyed, within the first two hours of cooking. If you cook ground beef on a regular basis, you can get a meat thermometer to make sure your reach the safe temperatures every time.

Cooking tips

Besides proper handling, it’s also important to know how to get the most flavor out of ground beef. Most people know how to cook ground beef in the crock pot, but there are ways to make it healthier and cook more efficiently. A common mistake is putting the beef in while it’s frozen. While the slow cooker still cooks frozen beef, the frozen liquids won’t thaw evenly throughout the meat.

Slow cooking also tends to dry out most meats. If you’re making meatballs or patties, you can try browning them in a pan before putting them in the crock pot. This seals in the juices so you don’t lose any of the flavor. Blot it on paper towels to reduce the fat content, and keep the temperature even to reduce shrinkage.

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