Crock Pot Hamburgers

Ingredients:

2 lbs. ground beef

1 cup Italian Seasoned Bread Crumbs

1 pkg. dry ranch dressing (I used Hidden Valley)

1 pkg. Onion Soup Mix (I used Lipton)

1 egg

2 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1/4 cup water

Directions:

First, take some foil and crumple it loosely so that it lines the bottom of your crock.  I used 3 pieces in total, but you might only need 2.  This will keep the burgers from cooking in the grease!

Pour your cup of water in the bottom now as well.

Mix together the ground beef, Bread Crumbs, ranch dressing mix, onion soup mix, egg and Worcestershire sauce.

Form them into patties (3" or so) and place them into your crock like so...

This is where I made 3 foil "strips" by folding pieced of foils loosely, so they would sit gently on top of the other burgers and still allow the ones on top to drain as well.  You may choose to skip this step, but I didn't want to risk my burgers sticking together ;)

I then added my next layer of burgers.

Cook on LOW for 4-5 hours or on HIGH for 2-2.5 hours.

Serve on some yummy buns and ENJOY!

Crock Pot Spicy ground beef

Equipment: 

I used my 6 quart Ninja Cooker to make this, but it was barely over half full, so any 4 or 5 quart slow cooker will do.  (I froze most of my meat, and if you have a really large slow cooker you might even want to increase the recipe.)

Ingredients:
3 lb. lean ground beef (I used lean ground beef from Costco with 9% fat; don't use fatty ground beef since you're not draining the meat)
1/2 - 3/4 cup Cholula hot sauce (Buy the big size bottle at Costco or at a Mexican market for this recipe.  For kids, I would definitely use the smaller amount of hot sauce.)
2 T ground cumin
2 T garlic powder
2 T onion powder
1 tsp. coarse grind black pepper (or less, to taste)
salt to taste (I used about 1/2 tsp.)
1/4 cup water (plus 2 T more water as needed if you're using the smaller amount of hot sauce)

Instructions: 

Thaw ground beef overnight in the fridge, or if you forget to plan ahead, thaw in hot water for about 20-30 minutes.  Spray cooker with non-stick spray, then put the thawed ground beef into the slow cooker, breaking it apart with your hands.  

Mix Cholula hot sauce, ground cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, salt, and water.  Pour the hot sauce mixture over the ground beef and use a large spoon to stir it into the meat.  

Cook the meat and spice mixture on high for 3-4 hours.  After each hour, remove the lid and use an old-fashioned potato masher to mash the meat mixture about 8-10 times, so that by the time it is done the meat will be finely crumbled.  If you're using the smaller amount of hot sauce, you might want to add a couple of tablespoons of water part way through the cooking time.  (You can probably cook this for 6-8 hours on low and mash it every couple of hours, but I haven't tried that.)

Use meat mixture to make Taco Salad, Ground Beef Tacos, or Beef Burritos.  The meat freezes well.  I freeze mine in small containers so I can thaw it quickly in the microwave whenever that Taco Salad craving hits me.