This week, Aislyn sits down with UT Dietician Jennifer Barnoud to discuss the benefits of eating meat. She also teaches us how to make the perfect hamburger patty.

Reporting and editing by Aislyn Gaddis. Cover art by Emma George. Music by BlueDot Sessions. Recipes and corresponding shopping lists can be found below:

Cheeseburgers

A classic! This recipe is for the stove-top, but could be easily modified for a grill.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs ground beef (grass-fed, 80/20 is preferred)
• 1 beaten egg (optional)
• ½ cup breadcrumbs (optional)
• 1 onion (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic (optional)
• Onion powder
• Garlic powder
• Salt and pepper
• Paprika
• Worcestershire sauce
• Hamburger buns (this makes about 6-8 patties)
• Sliced Cheese
• Any desired toppings (ketchup, mayo, mustard, tomatoes, lettuce, etc)

Steps

1. If you will be using an onion, start by finely dicing it and then sauteing with a small amount of olive oil over medium-high heat until its translucent. You can also mince your garlic and beat your egg, if using.
2. Mix in the seasonings to your ground beef. I use about a teaspoon of each and then 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. If you are using the egg, onion, garlic, and breadcrumbs, you can go ahead and add them here. The egg and breadcrumbs can help bind the patties and help with texture, while the onion and garlic can help add more flavor. Make sure not to overmix, stopping as soon as everything is distributed.
3. Divide the mixture into chunks about half the size of your fist, and make each chunk into patties. Imperfections are fine here because you want to handle the patty as little as possible. 
4. Cook the patties a few at a time on a high-quality skillet at medium-high heat with a small amount of oil. A cast-iron skillet is great if you have one.
5. Let the patties cook about 5 minutes on each side, flipping quickly once to let a nice crust form. They should be done once the juice runs clear
6. When there’s about a minute left on the last side, add a slice of cheese to the top of each patty.
7. Let the patties rest for about 5 minutes off-heat. While they are resting, you can quickly toast the hamburger buns cut-side-down on the hot skillet if desired. Each bun should only need about 30 seconds to a minute. 
8. Serve with your favorite toppings

Taco Soup

This is a great recipe for a cold day. It’s minimal effort, but a little longer waiting time

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 jalapeno (optional) 
• 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz can corn, drained and rinsed
• 1 4 oz can green chiles 
• 2 15 oz cans fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 1 oz packet taco seasoning
• 1 1 oz packet dry ranch mix
• 16 oz beef broth (reduced-sodium preferred)
• Olive oil
• Sour cream (for serving)
• Grated cheddar cheese (for serving)

Steps

1. Dice the onion and jalapeno. You can also vein and seed the jalapeno for a milder soup. Mince the garlic.
2. Heat a large pot over medium high-heat. Saute the ground beef and onion with a small amount of olive oil until the beef is browned and the onion is translucent. About 6-8 minutes.
3. Add in the garlic and jalapeno. Cook for 2 more minutes.
4. Stir in the beans, corn, green chiles, tomatoes, seasoning packets, and beef broth. Bring to boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. 
5. Serve, topped with sour cream and grated cheese.

Beef Stroganoff

Noodles and steak in a creamy garlic mushroom sauce. A great comfort food.

Ingredients

• 1 lb thinly sliced steak (Any cut you can thinly slice will work. Ribeye, sirloin, and flank are all good options. I usually just go with whatever is cheapest)
• 1 lb wide egg noodles
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 lb sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons flour 
• 2 cups (16 oz) beef broth (reduced-sodium preferred, if using white wine, only 1 ½ cups beef broth are needed 
• ½ white wine (optional)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup sour cream (or plain greek yogurt)
• Salt and pepper

Steps

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Once it boils, add salt and cook the egg noodles according to the package instructions.
2. While the noodles are cooking, thinly slice your steak against the grain, about ⅓ inch think. Discard any excess fat.
3. In a skillet over high heat, add 2 tablespoons of butter and quickly sear the steak. Only cook each side for 30 seconds, quickly flipping the steak. You may have to divide the butter and repeat this process a few times if your pan is not big enough. The steak will still be raw, and that is okay! The sear gives it flavor and it will finish cooking in the sauce.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-high, add the remaining butter, and saute the onions for 2 minutes. Add in the mushrooms and continue to saute for another 5 minutes, until everything is golden brown. 
5. Add in ½ cup of white wine (or beef broth) and stir quickly, scraping off all the bits that have stuck to the pan so far. Let the mixture come to a boil and reduce for about 3 minutes This is called deglazing and can add a lot of flavor to a dish. 
6. Stir in the beef broth, flour, and Worcestershire sauce and let simmer for around 3 more minutes.
7. Add in the sour cream, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for another 5 minutes.
8. Taste and add any salt and pepper to taste.
9. Serve the sauce over the egg noodles.

French Dips

This is one of my favorites! You do need a slow cooker for this one, but you can also slow-cook in the oven with a roasting pan, or you can buy pre-made roast beef at the store.

Ingredients

• 4 hoagie rolls or similar
• About 2 lbs chuck roast, rump roast, or similar
• Sliced provolone cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• ½ cup (4 oz) beef broth (reduced-sodium preferred)
• 1 10.5 oz can french onion soup

Steps

1. Dice the onion and mince the garlic
2. In a small bowl, combine 1 tablespoon of olive oil, melted butter and salt, 1 tsp of rosemary and thyme and the onion and garlic
3. Coat the roast in this mixture, and place in a slow cooker.
4. Add in the Worcestershire sauce, beef broth, and french onion soup to the slow cooker.
5. Let cook for 8 hours on low. You can also cook in the oven for 4 hours in a roasting pan at 160 degrees, but may need to monitor the internal temperature with a meat thermometer. 
6. Once the time is up, let the meat rest on a cutting board for 20 minutes, then thinly slice.
7. Toast the sliced hoagie rolls in the oven for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees, with the cut side up.
8. Top the rolls with roast beef and sliced provolone, and serve with the slow-cooker sauce for dipping.

Shopping List

When it comes to the optional ingredients, I listed what I would include. Prices are from H-E-B as of March 31, 2023. This episode’s recipes are a bit more expensive because I wanted to include different types of beef past just ground. 

*Items with asterisks are “pantry staples” that you might already have in your kitchen. I still included them on the list and in the total, but you might not be buying them every week. 

Produce

• 3 lb ground chuck beef, 80% lean ($12.42)
• Sliced provolone ($2.89)
• 3 yellow onions (each $.83)
• 1 head of garlic ($.62)
• 1 jalapeno ($.18)
• 8 oz sour cream ($1.21)
• 8 oz shredded cheese blend ($2.89)
• 1 lb sirloin steak ($8.31)
• Unsalted butter ($4.01)*
• 1 lb sliced baby bella mushrooms ($7.22) 
• Boneless shoulder roast ($12.98)

Dry Goods

• Onion powder ($1.56)*
• Garlic powder ($2.68)*
• Salt and pepper ($1.75)*
• Paprika ($2.60)*
• Worcestershire Sauce ($1.56)*
• Hamburger buns ($2.33)
• 16 oz wide egg noodles ($1.54)
• 4 white bolilos, similar to baguettes ($1.75)
• 15.5 oz can black beans ($.81)
• 15.5 oz can pinto beans ($.81)
• 15.25 oz can corn ($.92)
• 4 oz can green chiles ($1.29)
• 28 oz can fire roasted tomatoes ($3.10)
• Taco seasoning ($.51)
• Ranch mix ($.52)
• Beef bouillon ($2.48)*
• Olive oil ($4.91)*
• Unbleached all-purpose flour ($3.72)*
• Rosemary ($2.07)*
• Thyme ($2.07)*
• 10.5 oz french onion soup ($1.79)

Total Omitting “Pantry Staples:” $68.08

Total: $97.49