For the first time ever, the average price of regular ground beef is greater than the Federal minimum wage.

[Morbius]

17. When I was a kid my parents made something with ground beef at least once a week.

It was reliably cheap. My mother had dozens of recipes using ground beef and was always on the lookout for more. My family might have something made with ground beef twice a month, but it's usually more like once.

I'm seeing more stores featuring 73% lean ground beef, whereas 80% lean used to be a lot more popular. So not only is it getting more expensive, it's going down in quality. Most things that you would make with ground beef can be made with ground turkey. Also, consider mixing pork sausage with ground beef for burgers and meat loaves.