Ground Beef with spinach and cream makes a great weeknight meal delivering flavor when you’re short on time. Serve with rice and you pretty much cover everything in the food pyramid all in a tasty dish.
This is a great dish that came about when I was in a hurry to make supper but didn’t want to settle for ho hum. How can you go wrong when the meal starts with sauteing onions and garlic then adding ground beef? It may not look pretty, but it's delicious! I wanted to call this scrambled hamburger with spinach and cream. Apparently, scrambled hamburger isn’t a term that’s widely used. Who knew?
I often have big tubs of fresh baby spinach on hand because it’s the simplest way to get my greens in when I’m too lazy to make a salad. Salads are my least favorite meals to prepare. I love them, I just don’t like preparing them. Tossing some baby spinach in a bowl and mixing with a vinaigrette is what I usually do. But, in this case, I tossed a bunch in with the ground beef and it was pretty tasty.
It needed some liquid and I was looking for different. I had some heavy cream, which I often do to make scones or muffins, and poured it in. Wow! It was tasty! Added a little spice to take it to the next level and dinner was done in under 30 minutes.
I use anywhere from 10 - 16 ounces of fresh baby spinach for this meal. That’s a lot of spinach! You need to add it in batches otherwise it will overflow out of the skillet. Add a handful, give it a stir, and when it starts to wilt (which takes seconds), add more. The spinach shrinks down to nothing. It’s a great way to add your greens into a meal.
Simple meals doesn't mean sacrificing on flavor
Adding some hot sauce gives this meal zing and cuts through the cream. Nutmeg adds flavor to a cream dish and just a pinch is all you need. I don’t mind quick meals as long as the flavor isn't sacrificed. Serve with rice, and if you’re so inclined, mix the rice with some corn. Now you've covered everything in the food pyramid. You have your fats, proteins, vegetables, and grains.
My Dad would have called this gravy train. He is the one that introduced scrambled hamburger into the family. Calling it gravy train was just our joke because it did look like our dog’s food. When I make this dish, I think of him and smile although I miss him tremondously. Cooking is an experience and it brings fond memories of the people who showed you how to cook and the people who you shared the meal with. I’m sure you have meals that bring memories of your loved ones. So go cook! Enjoy time around the table with your family.
Life is too short for mediocre food.
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Ground Beef with Spinach and Cream
PRINT PIN SAVEIngredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef
- ½ - 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 12 - 16 ounces fresh baby spinach
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- Kosher salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, then cook the onion for 3 - 5 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook until fragrant - about 30 seconds. Add the ground beef and cook, using a wooden spoon to break up the meat as you go. Cook until browned and the moisture from the beef is mostly evaporated. Season with salt and pepper then stir in hot sauce.
- Add the spinach in batches otherwise it will overflow. Add some spinach, stir until it starts to wilt and then add some more. Continue until all the spinach is added and wilted.
- Stir in cream and nutmeg. Nutmeg will give it that taste that people will notice but not know what it is, but in a good way. Simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened.
- Serve with rice.
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