Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/464197
TheU.S.Bureauof Labor Statistics says the price of a pound of ground beef climbed to another re- cord high in November, to a whop- ping $4.20 per pound. And that's for mid- grade, not the leanest and highest quality. If you and your fam- ily are not ready to turn vegetarian nor pre- pared to pay that much for a pound for mediocre ground beef, you do have another option: Get cre- ative. OK, maybe a little bit sneaky, too. But first, let's talk turkey. I mean, ground beef. The really lean op- tion of ground beef, 90/10, is not easy to pre- pare well. That's be- cause there's not enough fat in it to turn out juicy, delicious fare. Lean ground beef re- quires seasoning as well as careful cooking. Let's say that you, like I, prefer organic, lean ground beef. Yesterday I paid $4.22 per pound for the best quality at Costco. Yikes! But I don't really pay that. My effec- tive cost is more like $2.80 per pound. How? Please don't tell a soul ... I stretch it. I take the best quality ground beef and then "ex- tend" it by at least one- third. So whatever the price in the store, I men- tally reduce it by 33 per- cent to get my effective cost. STRETCHING Sounds horrible, I know. But it's not. By mixing some- thing in with the ground beef to make it go farther, I get results that are so much better than the beef alone. I'm always doctor- ing, seasoning, adding this or that depending on what I'm making. Take meatloaf for ex- ample. I wouldn't be sur- prised if just the word "meatloaf" makes you re- spond with a resounding "Yuck!" That's because a brick of ground beef stuck in the oven with a lit- tle salt and pepper is go- ing to turn out dry as shoe leather, and about as tasty. But take that same amount of ground beef and mix it with a few, well-chosen ingredients, and then bake it up or put it on the grill. You are go- ing to be amazed. Even your children are go- ing to say it's great and ask you to do that again. And again. Just don't be so anxious to tell your se- crets. Morewaystostretch the beef RICE When brown- ing ground beef for any- thing like tacos, chili or sloppy Joes, add one cup of cooked rice for every pound of meat, just after draining the grease. Your family will never know. The rice (brown or white) takes the seasoning very well and visually, looks like it is all ground beef. BULGAR WHEAT Cook it first in water, and then add to any recipe calling for ground beef and to- mato sauce, reducing the amount of ground beef you use to accommodate the addition of the bulgur wheat. PUREED VEGETABLES Roast them first, and then puree in the food proces- sor or blender. Add one cup per pound of ground beef. FILLERS Add one half cup of precooked lentils, kasha, quinoa or ground- up beans to the raw ground beef. Now cook it just as if you would if it were all ground beef. Here's my all-time fa- vorite recipe for meat- loaf. This is the way your grandma made it, trust me on this. If you follow this recipe well, the kids will never know you used bread, carrots and cheese to turn 1 pounds of ground beef into more like 3 pounds. The-Best-Ever Meatloaf Ingredients 2eggs 2/3 cup milk 2teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 3slices bread, crumbled finely 11/2 pounds ground beef 1onion, finely chopped 1/2 cup finely shredded carrot 1cup shredded cheddar cheese Glaze: 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup ketchup 1tablespoon prepared yel- low mustard Directions Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk eggs, milk, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add crumbled bread and stir until dissolved. Mix ground beef, chopped onion, Ched- dar cheese and carrot into bread mixture. Transfer to a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Press firmly into pan. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, ketchup and mustard. Spread over meat mixture.Bake until no longer pink in the center, for an hour. Check at one hour with an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center. It should read 160F. Do not overbake. Servings: 6 EVERYDAY CHEAPSKATE Makinghighcostofground beef easier to swallow Mary Hunt COURTESY PHOTOS Wayne Owensby, le , has just finished asking survey questions to a homeless resident near the railroad tracks. Volunteers fanned out across Tehama County on January 26 to look under bridges, deep in the wooded areas along creek beds, as well as emergency shelters and transitional homes, searching for homeless res- idents. They joined thousands of others across the nation in order to fulfill Housing and Urban Development's requirement to do a Point in Time homeless count to provide the government with a snapshot of the homeless population in ev- ery county on a single day. Tehama County Con- tinuum of Care volunteers worked in a joint effort with 211 Tehama, Andrea Curry at Alternatives To Violence, Jon Bennett, Bethel Church, Church Without Walls, Feed the Hungry in Los Molinos, Orle Jackson, Kelly Keith, Gail Locke, Migrant Ed, Beth Nervo, Wayne and Se- nia Owensby, PATH, Project Connect, Rainbow Bakery, Robert Rodriquez, Charles Rouse, Snack Box Cater- ing, St. Andrews Church in Corning, The Lord's Table, Veterans Administration, Veterans Resource Center, Donna Wentz, and Tehama County Drug and Alcohol, Mental Health and Public Health. HUD requires all coun- ties in the United States to do a Point in Time count of homeless residents ev- ery two years. The count is required to be taken at the end of January — ideally, on the same day to avoid dupli- cations of the surveys. Res- idents willing to answer a few basic questions, such as where they stayed the pre- vious night, how long they have been homeless, fac- tors that led to their situa- tion, and sources of income were given a goody bag with socks, snacks and toiletries as a thank you for partici- pating. The official findings are a couple of months out, but initial survey results reveal that Tehama County has about 130 homeless res- idents including 12 chil- dren and 13 veterans. Un- der the HUD guidelines, one segment of the popula- tion known as "couch surf- ers" was not to be counted. The primary cause or fac- tor contributing to home- lessness in this area is eco- nomics, which helps dis- pel the popular belief that homeless people are pre- dominantly those suffering from mentally illness, un- motivated or addicted to drugs. Recycling was one of the main sources of in- come reported on the sur- vey. Panhandling is illegal and most of the local home- less say they don't panhan- dle. Volunteer Wayne Ow- ensby spent his day walk- ing up and down gullies, across fields and behind bushes looking for home- less people to survey. "As a Christian, I feel a responsibility to help both those with means and with- out means who live in my community," Owensby said. "The results of this survey will help add to the funding we have available to help the less fortunate among us." The majority of homeless people were very forthcom- ing with answers, eager to do their part in something that would provide a better picture of their situation. Data gathered is provided to agencies competing for HUD funding. Plans are already under- way make sure that next year's Point in Time count is even more successful in accurately capturing a pic- ture of the homeless in the county. It is a big project and more volunteers are al- ways welcome and needed. To learn more about how you can get involved, call Owensby at 527-0382. Homeless count at a point in time TEHAMA COUNTY The third annual Whinny & Roses Spring Gala is set for 5 p.m. Saturday, April 4 at the Shasta District Fair- ground in Anderson. Theeventisafundraiser for Safe Haven Horse Res- cue, a nonprofit, no kill fa- SAFE HAVEN Horse sanctuary plans gala fundraiser cility run by volunteers and supported by donations. A prime rib dinner will be prepared by Anderson Rotary and there will be a full bar, music, door prizes, raffle and live and silent auctions. Doors open at 5 p.m. and dinner will be served at 6 p.m. Tickets are $40 and available at The Loft, in- side Reynolds Ranch and Farm Supply, 501 Madison St. in Red Bluff and at West- ern Unique 'n Shabby Chic in Cottonwood. For more information, call 347-4941 or visit safe- havenhorserescue.org. Gail Locke and Jon Bennett finish filling goody bags for the count. Servicingyourdisposalneedsin Tehama County, and the City of Red Bluff including Residential, Commercial, and Temporary bin services. 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Call Liam at 526-1551 or visit www.sacriversolar.com Lic# 996900 CANNED FOOD DRIVE *Validonly at H & R Block 1315 Solano St, Corning Call 530-824-7999 for a appointment Bring in 4 cans of food when you come in to get your taxes done, and get $15.00 off your tax preparation fees.* Allcannedfoodswillbedonatedto CorningChristianAssistanceFoodBank. 2Bud'sBBQ 592AntelopeBlvd.RedBluff (IntheoldProntoMarket) M-F 11am-6pm • Sat. 11am-3pm Closed Sunday (530) 528-0799 BBQ PORK★ BEEF ★ CHICKEN Life Handed Us Lemons But We Made Lemonade! LIFESTYLES » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, February 17, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A5