With all the busy-ness of our lives and the search for something different for meal time, ground beef is often a “go-to” food because it can be used for so many things. But do you ever wonder how long we’ve been eating GROUND beef? I was watching Rawhide the other day as they were serving up yet another helping of Wishbone’s stew, and it made me wonder exactly when ground beef came into existence.
No one knows for sure, because it’s a “bone of contention”—but some say it was invented in Europe in 1885. One thing for sure, though, it’s generally accepted that our version of the hamburger patty/hamburger was not popular here in the USA until it was served up at the World’s Fair in St. Louis in 1904!
I’m sure Gil Favor, Rowdy Yates, Mushy, Quince, and Scarlet, as well as the rest of the crew, were heartily sick of stew! Yet, what could they do? The hamburger had not been invented, nor had ground beef.
If only they had known…Wishbone could have whipped up this tasty variation of stew right quick for the crew and it would sure have helped their dispositions in a lot of cases!
I found this recipe in my memories on Facebook, and had never made it. So…. Since I’d put off going to the grocery store “one more day” I thought I’d give it a try—I just happened to have the ingredients in my cupboard, so I felt like that was a ‘sign’ since I was out of so many other things. I even had cornbread mix!
Here’s the original recipe and my modified notes. The great thing about this recipe is that it is VERSATILE and you can change it to just the way your family likes it.
Hubby and I do not like celery, so I never cook with it. Instead, I just added more carrots and a can of whole kernel corn.
See? It’s just whatever you like or have handy! And believe me, it is DELICIOUS! (And easy!)
HAMBURGER STEW
Note: Serve with buttered cornbread, biscuits, or crackers.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
4 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) stewed tomatoes
(Here, I put in only 2 cans of stewed tomatoes, 1 can of tomato sauce, and one can of beef broth.)
8 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 celery ribs, thinly sliced
(I left this out entirely.)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups water
1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice
(I used ¾ cup Minute Rice)
1 can of whole kernel corn, drained—my addition to the recipe
1 to 2 tablespoons salt (this will depend on how much tomato ‘stuff’ you use, and beef broth)
1 to 2 teaspoons pepper
(I used parsley, a little garlic salt, LOTS of pepper—I love it!—and even a tiny bit of that ‘Hot Shot’ pepper from McCormick)
Directions:
Cook beef and onions over medium heat; drain. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce (if used), beef broth (if used), carrots, celery, potatoes, water, rice, drained corn (if used) salt and pepper and other spices; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 30 minutes until vegetables and rice are tender. STIR FROM TIME TO TIME TO PREVENT STICKING. Uncover; simmer 20-30 minutes longer or until thickened!
The original version of this recipe came from an old Facebook group that has changed, so I don’t know who to properly credit, but they sure did a great job!
You can make this whatever consistency your family likes, and if it thickens overnight, just add a little water before reheating the next day.
It is wonderful, and makes quite a lot! Perfect for these fall and winter days that are coming soon!
I hope you enjoy!
Have any of you ever made HAMBURGER STEW? Do you have a different recipe? This one is really good, but I always love to see what variations people use in their own recipes!
Sounds fun. Old stories need to be retold.
Hi David! Yes, you are so right!
I’ve made hamburger soup, which is similar, but not quite the same.
Hi Denise! I’m surprised my mom didn’t make this, but I doubt when she was growing up in the Depression they had hamburger, since it was still “kind of” new to the world. I’m so glad to have found this!
1 pound extra lean meat, onion, cabbage, red bell, roasted corn and cook it in organic bone broth, not water. It’ll make yo mamma slap ya. Don’ forget the cornbread, Jesus is watching what we eat.
Ha! You made me laugh, Phil! No, I would never forget the cornbread. I love love that stuff, and your recipe sounds WONDERFUL!
Hello. It sounds like something I grew up eating except for adding the rice. Since you already have potatoes why add rice. It definitely looks good though. I would try it.
Hi Charlene! This was my first time to make it so I just pretty much tried to follow the recipe. I will say, I did like the rice and potatoes both in there. There was not much rice for that much of a huge pot of stew, so it didn’t bother me to have both. I know, lots of starch, especially with the corn I added, but boy was it good! LOL
My mother used to make hamburger stew a lot, especially in the fall and winter. I’ve made it too.
I can’t believe I have lived this long and never had this, Janice! I will be making it a LOT now that I’ve discovered it. LOL I was telling my grown kids about it and they sounded like they were interested (but too busy to cook) so I’m going to make a big pot of that to give to them. I know they will love it. I bet it’s especially good in the cold weather.
My Mom was wonderful to stretch a meal with ground beef! She of course always used her old school pressure cooker – those things scare me!
Teresa, you cracked me up, because I feel the same way. I remember my mom using our pressure cooker SOOOO much, and it scared me, too. I “inherited” it, but I have never used it with the pressure on–used it to just cook in like a regular big pan, but never pressurized. LOL I also have an Instapot that I never have used because…Yes. I’m scared of it, too. LOLLOL My mom was great at stretching meals with ground beef, too, and she was a wonderful cook. I “can” cook, and it’s usually good, but I’m not crazy about cooking so I’m always on the lookout for recipes that are fast and easy and s-t-r-e-t-c-h….LOL
Nope but I use a lot of ground beef in a little of everything. My husband and son are so picky they would stick their nose up at this and not eat it.
HA! My husband did, too. He has never been much of a “soup” person anyhow, and his mom made wonderful vegetable soup that he would not eat! I loved it! Anyhow, I didn’t think he’d like this even though he ate one bowl of it. But…I ate the rest of the pot during the week, and it was soooo good.
welcome today and thanks for sharing our recipe. I have wanted to make cheeseburger soup for a while now. you are giving me a push thanks
Oh, Lori, that sounds GREAT too! Now I’ll go in search of that recipe! LOL I had thought hubby might eat this because it was different and healthy, but…alas. Still gonna make it and eat it myself and share with the kids. LOL Cheeseburger Soup sounds really wonderful!
I make something similar, with 1lb. of hamburger cooked and drained, 1 large onion, 2 cans of Vegall or mixed vegetables ( I get the kind that has bits of potatoes in it. If I freeze some of it, the potatoes don’t get mushy like potatoes you have cut up) 1 can of diced tomatoes, catsup ( I keep adding until it tastes like I want it), 1to 2 cans of corn, I like corn, salt and pepper to taste. I may add some water also if it looks too thick. I cook it for about an hour. My recipe leans more toward soup than stew.
Connie, that sounds sooooo good. I’m a vegetable “anything” fanatic! My mom made a lot of homemade soups when I was growing up, and of course Campbell’s was the fall-back–vegetable, vegetable beef, chicken noodle, tomato…you name it! I made stew a lot in our “lean” years when we first were married, and hubby really did like that–I think because it didn’t have that vegetable (sort of tomato-y) flavor. Your recipe sounds really good!
I have made one similar to this one above, but instead of all the ketchup I added tomato soup, condensed. it was very good and popular with the kids even. I do not recall them picking at the vegetables as they are quite bland in the Vegall.
I had some tomato soup I could have put in instead of the whole tomatoes, but I had not ever made it before so was just trying to stay with the recipe–BUT, I only put in 2 cans of tomatoes and then 1 can of tomato sauce and 1 can of beef broth, and that really gave it a great flavor. It’s really more of a stew consistency, but you can always add more water to make it “soupier” if you want to. I used to make vegetable soup, too, “back in the day”, Judy kind of like what you’re talking about with the Vegall and tomato soup base. I still love that, too! LOL There is nothing like a good soup or stew!
I actually fix something like this, but I totally leave out the tomatoes! I LOVE “raw” tomatoes, but can’t stand them cooked! Plus, by the time I finish eating all of the leftovers, it seems like the only thing that was left was tomatoes!! lol!! I watch the reruns of Rawhide on Saturdays on GRIT TV.
Trudy, I’m a tomato freak, but that original recipe called for FOUR CANS of whole stewed tomatoes, and even I knew that might be too much for some people. I only had 2 cans in the pantry and was trying to do anything I could to avoid going to the grocery store until the next day. LOL It turned out, 2 cans of those with the tomato sauce and the beef broth was just right for me. My husband like raw tomatoes but not the cooked ones. I love them all.
Another Rawhide fan! I love it! That show is just the best and I love watching to see all the old classic stars who made guest appearances on there.
Cheryl, this sounds fabulous, especially with fall right around the corner. I totally would have made this when all the girls were home. Hearty and satisfying!!
I always say a sign of a good cook is when she (or he) can substitute ingredients and still make a dish delicious. Me – I’m more of a follow-the-recipe-exactly kind of girl, but you made some great substitutions!
This would be easy to cut in half, too, for empty-nesters. And I bet it’d freeze well, too. Thanks for sharing!! I love your recipes!
Pam, I’m still wondering how I have lived 65 years and never had this or even heard of it before. I would have made this too, especially when my kids were little. Heck, I’m making it now just for myself…but also will send some home with them, too, and I know they are going to love it.
You’re right about being able to substitute things–my sisters and mom were all very good at that, but I didn’t have the innate talent for it. This just shows you how desperate I was to not have to get ready to go to the grocery store that day…I MADE it work. LOL I’m like you–I follow the recipe exactly, usually, and don’t really have the talent to know what else might be a good substitute for things like the rest of the women in my family always did, but maybe I’m just a late bloomer. LOL
Yes, I think it would freeze well, for sure! I’m so glad you enjoy these recipes. I just get so excited when I find something that is good, easy, and makes a lot so I don’t have to cook for a day or two. LOL
Hugs, Pam!
Add some Ditalini and Cannellini Beans and you have poor man’s pasta fagiole.
Marti, I thought about adding some beans! But…I was afraid to since it was my first time to make it. NEXT TIME!!! LOL I love beans!
I’ve added noodles instead of rice and added peas instead of corn.
Those are great substitutions, too! I love peas–I know some don’t care for them, but I love them! And noodles are always wonderful!
All of these ideas sound great….I make something similar that we always called Campfire Stew because we learned to make it in a 4-H outdoor cookery project. In a frying pan (cast iron works really well) brown a pound of ground beef and some chopped onion. Add a can of vegetable soup, a can of pork ‘n beans and simmer stirring occasionally. Place biscuits, from a can or homemade, on top, cover and cook on low for 20 minutes or ‘til the biscuits are done. Sometimes instead of ground beef we would cut hot dogs into chunks for the meat. Quick, easy and just one pan to clean. We northerners used biscuits but I think I might try cornbread sometime. Reading your post made me think it might be good on this dish.
That sounds wonderful, Alice! I was in Campfire Girls when I was little for about two years, but then our troop disbanded. So when my daughter came along I volunteered to be a co-leader for a Brownie troop for her, but then the LEADER QUIT the day before our first meeting. So… I was the leader along with the help of another mom who had not been in Girl Scouts either. LOL But thankfully we were saved by another mom whose entire family, including her grandmother, had been in scouts for years and years. She taught us how to take a metal coffee can and a tuna can and make a “buddy burner” out of them and cook bacon, eggs, and french toast on there. OH MY GOSH! I was as thrilled as those girls were! LOL
I would love to have been in 4-H, but we didn’t have anyone to be a leader in our little town where I grew up. I wish we had known about your Campfire Stew on some of those camping trips with the Brownies. We definitely would have made that!
I wanted to tell you, I made cornbread, then a day later I made biscuits and then I used crackers. ALL THREE are great with this. LOL
No. I have never had hamburger stew. Thank you for sharing. God bless you.
Thanks, Debbie! I’m so glad you came by today–maybe this will be a new recipe you might like to try. Hugs!
This sounds good. When doing stews and many soups, I generally don’t use a recipe, I just throw stuff in. I have fixed something very similar to this a time or two. I do find it interesting that they use both potatoes and rice.
We had a 3 pound package of ground beef in the fridge this past week and needed to cook it up. Had hamburgers on Saturday and cooked up the rest. I used some with spices tonight for taco salad. There is enough left to do a small batch of this stew. I was going to do chili or spaghetti sauce, but right now, this looks better to me. Thanks for sharing.
I hope you enjoy this, Patricia. I don’t know why I never thought of doing something like this–I make chili a LOT, but this never entered my mind. I’m so glad I saved it and it popped up in my memories! It really is excellent and feeds a lot of people!
I love to make hamburger stew. It’s one thing my whole family will actually eat without complaining and I can hide extra veggies in it that my kids normally won’t eat. I like to put barley in mine instead of rice, though, because it reminds me of a stew my dad makes.
Oh, that sounds great, too, Christy. Did you know I have never cooked anything with barley, but I eat it in those Campbell’s soups all the time and love it. So…maybe it’s going to also be a new addition instead of the rice next time around!
Never made hamburger stew
I make pork stew with peppers, onions, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms.
I love stew and pot pie when the weather turns chilly.
Laurie, that sounds soooo good. I love stew, too, and I’m always looking for new soups and stews to try. Anymore, with my kids grown up, it’s just Gary and me here, and he’s kind of picky sometimes. LOL But I make them and eat them myself and share with the kids. Your recipe with pork sounds really great!