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What can you do with a pound of ground beef when you are in a hurry, everyone is starving, and it is less than an hour before the next event deadline? Try Easy Skillet Beef and Hash Browns, ready in 20 minutes and easily adjusts to ingredients on hand.

Easy Skillet Beef and Hash Browns

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 pound ground beef

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed Cream of Celery soup, regular or low fat

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup ketchup

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 cups frozen diced hash brown potatoes

3 slices American cheese

In a large skillet, brown beef. Drain off excess fat.

Add soup, water, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Heat to boiling. Stir in potatoes. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until potatoes are cooked.

Top with cheese and serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

You can easily stretch a pound of ground beef in this recipe by doubling the remaining ingredients except for the water.

Note: if taco flavor is a favorite of your family, switch the soup to tomato and add a packet of taco seasoning.

Cooking ground beef ahead of time is another way to speed up meal preparation. A large skillet should accommodate 3 pounds of ground beef. When beef is thoroughly cooked, drain well and divide into 3 equal portions or as needed for recipes. Cooked ground beef will keep about 4 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer.

Skillet Lasagna is another stovetop recipe that can be ready in 30 minutes or less if you have pre-cooked ground beef. If you don’t have ricotta cheese on hand, mozzarella or other favorite cheese will work.

Skillet Lasagna

1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, minced

Salt

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

1 pound ground beef

10 curly-edge lasagna noodles broken into 2-inch lengths

1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce

1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese

Ground black pepper

1 cup ricotta cheese

3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil or 1/4 tsp dried

Pour the tomatoes with their juices into a 1-quart measuring cup. Add water until the mixture measures 1 quart. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and pepper flakes and cook for about 30 seconds. Add ground beef and cook, breaking the meat apart, for about 4 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink.

Scatter noodles over meat but do not stir. Pour tomato mixture over noodles. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, occasionally stirring until pasta is tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Dot with heaping tablespoons of the ricotta, cover and let stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with basil and the remaining parmesan. Serve immediately. Yield:4-6 servings.

Note: this recipe accommodates substitutions easily. Italian sausage or ground turkey may be substituted for the ground beef. Diced bell pepper may be added along with the onion. Flavored diced tomatoes may be used for a zestier lasagna.

Another advantage of having pre-cooked ground beef on hand is, young cooks may be entrusted with the dinner preparations. Once the meat is browned, most recipes continue at lower cooking temperatures so those who have been instructed in stove top safety can proceed with the remainder of the cooking instructions.

Corn Tacos is an easy dish to prepare, and taco shells and seasoning keep well in the pantry for meals in a hurry. Or, if you are out of taco shells, tortilla wraps, or hotdog and hamburger buns may be used.

Corn Tacos

1 pound ground beef

1 can (15 ounces) kernel corn, well drained

1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup

1 packet taco seasoning

10-12 taco shells

Toppings:

Shredded lettuce

Chopped tomatoes

Shredded cheese

Chopped onion

Sliced olives

Sour cream

Brown ground beef in a large skillet. Drain off fat. Add corn, soup and taco seasoning. Simmer on low 5 minutes.

Serve in taco shells with your choice of the toppings. Or heap mixture on toasted hamburger or hotdog buns like sloppy joes. You may also use mixture in a taco salad. If you are down to scratch in the pantry, spread the mixture on toasted bread, top with cheese and place under broiler until cheese melts, taco pizza toast. Yield: 5-6 servings.

If you have time to cook a pot of spaghetti or other pasta while you cook the ground beef, Easy

Spaghetti Bake is another great from the pantry recipe. Ready in about 45 minutes it will please the spaghetti lovers but present in a dish suitable for company.

Easy Spaghetti Bake

7-8 ounces spaghetti, thin spaghetti or vermicelli, cooked according to package directions.

1 pound ground beef or bulk country sausage

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tsp salt

1 jar (32 ounces) spaghetti sauce

1 can (4 ounces) mushroom stems and pieces, well drained

1 tsp basil leaves

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In a large skillet brown meat, pour off fat. Add onion and cook and stir until tender. Stir in remaining ingredients except spaghetti and cheese. Simmer 10 minutes.

Stir in drained, cooked spaghetti. Turn into a greased 12 x 7-inch baking dish. Bake 20 minutes. Top with cheese and bake 5 minutes longer. Yield: 4-6 servings.

– Share your favorite fall recipes and menus for meals in a hurry with your fellow readers by sending them to: Welcome to My Kitchen, c/o The Record-Times, P.O. Box 458, Odessa, WA, 99159, email therecord@odessaoffice.com or drop them in the mail tin in The Odessa Record office. Keep watering your gardens and flowerbeds as we go into fall. Plants need the moisture to set bloom for next year.