When you live on a cattle ranch, hamburger is what is for dinner. We have a lot of it on hand.
Many a night, I start dinner with some browned hamburger and onion and from there ask everyone what they want for dinner. So many of our family favorites start with this combination!
Trying to decide what is for dinner is something that every family faces each evening. I can agonize what I am going to make for dinner all day, and I realize there are many of you that are very organized and have a pretty regular schedule and meal plan, and bless all of you that do it – it just doesn’t work that well for us…most of the time. I can honestly say that I have “what am I going to make for dinner?” playing on repeat in the back of my head most of the time…am I the only one that does this?
So here we are again, a pan of browned hamburger…and what’s for dinner?
Well, lucky for us, hamburger is delicious and very versatile, and we have a lot of practice at putting together meals with hamburger and I’m here to share with you! And for many of you that may not have the love of (and freezer full of…) hamburger that we have, luckily for you – most of the things we make with hamburger could be exchanged for chicken or fish and probably black beans pretty easily.
Fire Up the Grill
The summer months scream “the grill” at a lot of us, hamburgers are about as easy to make as anything. Obviously, you don’t want them for every meal, but they can easily be mixed up with different buns, different toppings, and our favorite making them Freddy’s style on a flat-top or in a skillet (extra wonderful in the winter so you don’t have to be outside in the cold!).
Tex-Mex
Tex-mex is definitely our go-to. The absolute best combination: Quick, easy, AND delicious.
Tacos or taco salad, enchiladas, nachos, or burritos. Beyond the hamburger, having chips, shells or tortillas on hand is easier since they all have a long shelf life (and all freeze well!). Bonus with tex-mex it is super easy to ‘spice-up’ on individual plates to appease the pallets of family members of all ages and food preferences.
Italian
My kids would tell you their preference is Italian, and what they mean is they love spaghetti. Noodles plus hamburger is magic! Bonus, leftover meal, add some sauce and cheese to some of those noodles and throw it in the oven for a quick ‘easy lasagna’ (as I call it) that gives you 30 minutes to work on homework with the kids.
One of the best things about a lot of hamburger dishes, most are quick-fix meals (and a lot of them you don’t have to heat up your whole kitchen). In the warmer months, make burgers outside and can be served with a salad (or applesauce) and fresh veggies and in the colder months, you can throw together a recipe together and put it in crock pot and serve with warm veggies, rice or potatoes.
All of this to say, at our house, hamburger is what is for dinner. It is very versatile, inexpensive and good for you too. 
Beef is delicious AND nutritious!
