I’ve said it many times before but I don’t meal plan. I have standard pantry, fridge and freezer inventory lists full of the foods that I know my family will eat and I change up the menu, preparing them in different ways. Most times I plan what I’m having for dinner that night in the morning but other times, especially if I’ve got a busy couple of days ahead, I’ll cook up a bulk amount of beef mince and create four meals at the one time. This is how I create four meals in one with 2kg of bulk mince.

Prepare the Mince

Using the slow cooker is the best way to prepare the basic mince mixture which will be used for the four different meals. You can set it and forget. It only has very basic flavouring because you’ll want to add the flavourings when you create the meals.

Place the 2kg (4.4 lb) of beef mince in a slow cooker with 2 diced onions, 2 tablespoons of crushed garlic, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and 2 to 3 cans of tomatoes. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

This particular packet of mince had a lot of fat in it so I scooped the fat off the top once it had cooled down slightly.

From this bulk mince, you’ll have 4 servings (for 2 adults and 2 children). You can prepare the meals now, as much as you can, or you can put in the freezer in 4 ziplock bags.

Meal # 1 – Lasagna

This is the first meal I made from the mince and the one I made that night.

To prepare the lasagna, in a saucepan, add 1 serving of the mince with an extra can of tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of both dried oregano and basil and heat through to cook the tomatoes. (It’s not really necessary to recook but I like to cook the tomatoes a bit more.)

Prepare the lasagna as you normally would, layering with pasta sheets.

Top with the usual bechamel sauce and grated cheese of your choice and bake.

You can prep this and pop into a dish suitable for the freezer so all you have to do is heat and serve on a busy night.

Meal # 2: Beef Burritos

While that lasagna is cooking, you can easily prepare a dish of beef burritos for the freezer. If you don’t have time, you can use one of the frozen bags of prepared beef to make this dish up quickly for dinner.

Using tortillas and/or a can of red kidney beans (or this bean and corn salsa mix I found), prepare the burritos by placing a spoonful of beef mince mixture into the tortilla, roll up and place in a greased baking dish, top with the salsa and grated cheese and bake. You can also prepare this and put into a freezer proof dish and bring out for a quick meal.

There are so many other things you can add to the beef mixture like chilli powder, paprika, ground coriander and cumin, corn, grated vegetables etc.

Serve with Mexican Rice and salad.

Meal # 3 – Pasta Bolognese

This one is a no brainer. Prepare the beef mixture as you did above for the lasagna. Boil some pasta and serve. Top with grated cheese. Serve with garlic bread and/or a salad. The hard work has already been done by having that mince prepared. Even if it is frozen, you can defrost in the microwave or a dish of water and within a couple of minutes.

Meal # 4 – Shepherd’s Pie

I must’ve been really busy this particular night because I prepared this beef mince mixture frozen. Even the vegetables I added were frozen. The only thing I had to prepare were the mashed potatoes, which didn’t take too long. (You can freeze mashed potato so when making mashed potato, make a bit extra and freeze for nights like this.)

To prepare, place the beef mixture and some grated or frozen vegetables to a baking dish (or freezer proof dish for the freezer).

Top with the mashed potato and/or grated cheese and bake.

This turned out really well, surprisingly. The meals we often throw together are. This one was gobbled up by everyone. It can also be frozen partially prepared or cooked for dinner that night.

Serve with extra vegetables if you like.

Other Meals You Can Make

You can use any kind of mince. It doesn’t have to be beef. You can use chicken, lamb, pork, veal or turkey. I made a Shepherd’s Pie using chicken mince once and it was delicious.

If you have lamb mince, you can make Moussaka as well as the usual pasta type meals. Just google ‘mince’ dishes and you’ll find millions of different options. You’ve already done the hard work in preparing the cooked mince.

Even if you have no time or energy for anything else, you can add a few vegies and serve the beef mince on toast. Hey, it fills a hungry belly. A great way to have four meals ready for those busy nights with little or no effort required at all.

This month’s “The Ironing Chef” isn’t so much about what to do with 1 kilo (or 2 lbs) of ground beef because we all know what to do with it. It’s about how you can take advantage of cooking it all up at once and preparing a few meals in advance.

I can purchase a kilo or two of beef mince on special most days and I have to admit it’s probably the cheapest thing on the market. The cheaper varieties do contain a bit more fat so if you can purchase the leaner mince on special that will be much better economically and health-wise. For a family of 2 adults and 2 children, I can get 5 meals out of a kilo of mince. You can apply this same principle to beef, chicken, pork, veal, lamb or turkey mince. It saves you a huge amount of time and dinner is ready in a flash.

I start by browning 1 or 2 brown onions in a little olive oil then add the mince with a lot of salt and pepper and 1 or 2 crushed cloves or garlic to taste. I add 1 or 2 jars of passata or 2 cans of tomatoes

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with an extra can of water and allow it to cook through. That’s it. I’ve always stretched my meat a lot further but bulking it out with grated vegetables, pulses and/or extra sauce. You can freeze this in 4 or 5 equal serves, depending on how big your family is, in a container or ziplock bag and take out as required. You can also double the mixture for even more basic freezer meals. It’s from this basic mixture that you can make anything you like. I’ve listed a few options below but basically, any dish that requires ground meat in a tomato sauce can be created.

If you’re cooking a Mexican inspired dish, add ground cumin, coriander, paprika and/or chilli. If it’s an Italian dish, add dried herbs like basil and oregano. If it’s Greek, add oregano and a dash of cinnamon. Spice it up to your heart’s desire, depending on the cuisine. This basic mix makes a great topping for a quick, hearty nachos too.