Paleo Beef and Lamb Meatballs with goat cheese

My hubby is Italian, meaning that before we went paleo, he LOVED eating a big bowl of pasta with meat sauce, lasagna, ravioli, or any other form of pasta.  I loved it too, but we made a choice to change our eating habits.  One of the good things, though, is that meatballs are still a delicious paleo treat!  I just decided to get a bit creative.  Instead of serving the meatballs over spaghetti squash (which is definitely a yummy alternative), I served these over a bed of sauteed spinach.  I also made a cream sauce rather than a marinara sauce.  My little baby is still growing and needs the grass fed, full fat dairy, so I added a bit with the goat cheese and the cream sauce.  To make these "true paleo," just make a different sauce and don't add in the goat cheese.

Paleo Beef and Lamb Meatballs

 with Goat Cheese

* 1 lb ground beef

* 1 lb ground lamb

* 1 cup minced onions

* 2 egg whites

* 3 tbs minced garlic

* 1 tbs parsley flakes

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 tsp pepper

* 1 tbs garlic powder

* 1 tbs onion powder

* 8 oz goat cheese (optional)

For the sauce

* 1 pint heavy cream

* 1 tsp salt

* 1 tsp pepper

* 1 tbs garlic powder

* 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated)

First, I mixed pretty much everything up in a big glass bowl.  I mixed the ground beef, lamb (I like the taste of both mixed together, but you can certainly change it up with pork or just using all lamb or all beef... whatever you like). I also added in the onions, garlic, spices, and egg whites.  You could also use a whole egg, but I had egg whites that I needed to use. I just used my hands and mixed everything up.  Make sure not to work the mixture too much because the last thing you want is the meat turning rubbery and tough.

Most people add some sort of breadcrumb, white bread soaked in milk, or some other jazz... I've made several batches of meatballs without them and really haven't missed them.  These are moist enough without having to add bread to make them soft.

Once everything was thoroughly mixed, I took the goat cheese and put it into a small dish, getting it ready to stuff these bad little meatballs!  Like I said before, if you don't do well with dairy or don't like it, then just leave this part out.  The meatballs will still be delicious without the goat cheese.  You could probably use a different type of cheese here too.  Those little buccatini (mozzarella balls) would be perfect for this! I don't know why I didn't think of it before, but now I want to try it... I'll save that for another post, though!

Next, I took a small bit of goat cheese and rolled it into a little ball. 

Then, I took a pretty good amount of the meat mixture, rolled it into a ball, then flattened it so the goat cheese ball would fit in the middle.  

 Next, I put the goat cheese ball in the middle of the meat mixture.  I then wrapped the meat mixture around the goat cheese.  You have to make sure that there is enough meat to cover the whole thing because you don't want the goat cheese to melt and leak out of the meatball when you cook it.

I just repeated this process until I was out of goat cheese and meat mixture.  I lined them all up on a foil lined cookie sheet to get all situated.   

These meatballs turned out to be HUGE, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. 

You can bake these in the oven, but I like mine browned on the stove.  I didn't even need to add any butter or oil to the pan because the meat had enough.  I just turned the stove to Medium High and threw in a few meatballs at a time.  I let them brown and kept moving them so they would cook evenly and not burn.

 So here are the yummy little meatballs, just waiting to be eaten.

As I mentioned before, I served these over a bed of sauteed spinach.  I just threw the fresh spinach in the same pan that I cooked the meatballs.  That way, it didn't need any oil or butter.  It just cooked in the leftover juices from the meatballs.... talk about delicious flavor!

Here's what they look like with the cream sauce.  If you want to make the sauce, it's super easy.  Basically, you put the heavy cream, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan and heat everything on Medium heat.  Keep stirring it all so that the sauce won't burn on the bottom (which can happen quickly if you aren't careful).  Eventually, the cheese melts and you have a yummy alfredo sauce that is amazing with the spinach and the meatballs.

I loved this dish.  It was delicious and it was relatively simple.  The best thing about this is that you can double or triple the batch of meatballs and freeze them before you cook them.  Our little Peanut is due to arrive in two weeks (so any time now).  I'm planning to make a batch of these suckers and freeze them so we'll have some food during those first few hectic weeks. 

Enjoy,

Jenn 

Paleo Triple Meat Meatloaf

So I've come to the realization that when little baby C comes, I'm probably not going to be able to stick with my Sunday routine of strolling around Whole Foods and farmers markets for hours (yes, I said hours - as sad as that is) figuring out what I'm going to cook for the week.  If I want to be supermom and continue making homemade meals, I'll have to be a bit smarter with my time.

With this in mind, I'm starting to use >gasp< grocery lists!  I figure out what I'm going to make, then write down the ingredients, then when I get to the grocery store, I just buy the things on that list! (Except the occasional splurge item for fun).  This past week, I rummaged through the freezer to see what I had... I found sweet Italian sausage and some ground beef.  I had made spaghetti squash with meat sauce last week, so I didn't want to do anything Italian... so... I decided to go all-American and make meatloaf!

Triple Meat Meatloaf

* 1 lb ground beef

* 1 lb Italian sausage

* 1 handful fresh parsley

* 4 cloves of garlic, minced

* 6 slices of bacon

* 1 yellow onion, diced

* 1 tbs Worcestershire sauce

* 1 egg

* 1 tbs mustard (I used stone ground)

* salt and pepper

First, I put the sausage and the ground beef in a bowl. I removed the casing from the sausage.  I used sweet Italian because that's what I had in the freezer, but use whatever you have!

 

Next, I just added in all the other ingredients, except the bacon.  I chopped the parsley up pretty finely.  I bought a huge bunch of it at the store, but saved the rest for other recipes.  If you still have extras, freeze them and save them for making chicken stock!

 

Next, I mixed everything by hand.  I'm sure you could use a spoon or fork or something if you're one of those people who doesn't like to touch raw meat.  Personally, I feel like I have a better sense of how well everything is combined if I can actually feel it.  Make sure everything is well combined, especially the egg.  The last thing you want when you bite into the meatloaf is one big bite of cooked egg!  Most meatloaves call for breadcrumbs soaked in milk or crumbled Ritz crackers or something like that.... the theory is that it keeps everything moist.  I find that it's completely unnecessary (and un-Paleo). 

Next, I formed the mixture into a "loaf."  It's kinda like playing with play doh.  You just keep patting and pushing at it until it is in the shape you like.  I formed it in a loaf and set it on a cooling rack, set inside a jelly roll pan.  Many people just throw the whole thing in a loaf pan, which is totally fine. I just wanted mine to cook all the way through and not sit in it's juices or become soggy.  Others may feel, though, that sitting in its juices will help add flavor... to each their own!

Next, I wrapped the whole stinkin thing in bacon... yup... bacon.  I've seen people do this before and I decided to do it because: I love the flavor of bacon and I had some. :)

So, after the whole thing is nicely wrapped, I just gave it one more pat down and threw it in the oven at 350. 

It didn't take too long to cook, relatively speaking.  It was in the oven for about an hour.  The bacon crisped up really nicely and also served as a little insulation to keep all of the yummy flavors in the meatloaf.  Like all meat, you want to let the meatloaf rest a bit so all of the juices don't run out. 

So here's the final product!  What is meatloaf without mashers?  Rather than mashed potatoes, I used mashed cauliflower.  It's super easy to make and tastes delicious!

 

I thought the meatloaf was very moist and flavorful.  I don't think anyone would notice the fact that there is no bread or anything in the meatloaf.  The only thing I think was missing was some ketchup!  I know, I know, ketchup isn't paleo, but having a tiny bit of ketchup every once in a while isn't the end of the world to me :) If you're truly a Paleo person, you could always make some Paleo ketchup on your own!

Enjoy,

Jenn

Super Short Ribs

So one of my New Year's Resolutions is to become more efficient at the grocery store.  I can literally spend hours at Whole Foods... Curt is amazed at the amount of time I spend there.  Part of the reason I take so long is that I don't have a grocery list.  Sometimes, I have an idea of what I want to cook, but when I get to the store, I get dazzled by the arrays of veggies and meat counter, that I forget what I wanted.  Anyway... the point is.... I'm trying to write a list of the dishes I'll make each week and also write down a specific shopping list.  Last Saturday, as I was creating my list, I checked Pinterest (one of my new obsessions) and I found this idea from Pioneer Woman.  It looked delicious and different, so I decided to give it a try!  I LOVED it!!! Also, I didn't really need to change much from the recipe at all!

Short Ribs with Wine and Cream

original recipe from Pioneer Woman Cooks

* 12 individual short ribs

* 3 Tbs bacon fat

* 1 cup good red wine

* 1 qt chicken stock

* 2 Tbs fresh minced rosemary

* 2 Tbs Dijon mustard

* 1 cup heavy cream (optional)

* 2 Tbs capers

First, I seasoned the short ribs on both sides with some salt and pepper.  I also heated up my heavy bottom cast iron pan and added in the bacon fat.  You want the pan to be super duper hot so that you can sear the short ribs. 

So here, you can see me browning the short ribs.  The point isn't to cook them through, but to develop a nice brown sort of crust to seal in all of the yummy flavors.  Once each side is nicely browned, you take them out and put them on a separate plate.  You'll have to cook them in batches, unless you happen to have a freakishly large pot!

Once you're done, you'll have a huge pile of nicely browned short ribs.  Just let them hang out a bit and turn the heat on the stove down to medium.

Next, you'll add the red wine and mustard to the pot.  Don't worry about the browned bits at the bottom of the pan... even though it looks like gunk... it's the most delicious gunk ever!  Once the red wine is in there, take a wooden spoon and scrape up those bits and they will dissolve and add so much flavor to the meal!

Next, add in the chicken stock and rosemary.  The original recipe called for beef broth.  I think this would have been really really good, but... I didn't have any beef broth.  I did have home made  chicken stock, so I figured that would be a nice enough swap.  Luckily, it worked! 

 Next, you'll add the short ribs back to the pot and nestle the little ribs as much as possible into the sauce.  You want to have it covered as much as possible.  Then, you'll cover it, reduce the heat to medium low, and the patience comes into play.

You just set it and forget it.  You'll simmer the whole dish on the stove for 2-3 hours.  You could probably also throw it in a crock pot or the oven for a couple of hours too.This is a cut of meat that needs to be cooked low and slow to really enjoy all the flavors.  If you try to rush it, it will be tough and not as flavorful.   Every 30 minutes, I opened the lid so I could enjoy the smells, but also so I could push the short ribs around and make sure that they were all getting a turn to be covered by the broth.   

Finally, Curt was getting annoyed that he could smell all the yummy food, but he couldn't eat it.  After 3 hours, I carefully took the short ribs out and set them on a different plate.  You have to be careful because, at this point, they are so tender they they will just fall apart when you touch them.

Next, I turned the heat back to hi and added in the cream. At this point, it was really really really starting to smell good.  I also added in the capers.  I wasn't sure about this part of the recipe... I don't dislike capers, but I've never really added them in for fun either.  So, I just let it boil pretty nicely for a cood couple of minutes to thicken up a bit.    While I was waiting for the sauce to thicken, I sauteed some asparagus.  The Pioneer Woman (Ree) originally served it over a pile of roasted mushrooms, but we all know that Curtman's not a fan of mushrooms, so I chose asparagus.... I did add in some mushrooms for me, though.

Here's the finished product!  Absolutely amazing! The rosemary and cream and wine and beef... just everything! It was so good! I'm definitely making this recipe again and again. It was relatively simple, super delicious and the flavors were great.  Short ribs are really trendy now, but most of the recipes are pretty similar.  This one is different, unique, and delicious! Thanks, Pioneer Woman!

Enjoy!

Jenn

Braised Short Ribs

Curt and I go to a local farm to buy fresh grass fed beef.  We don't have enough room in the freezer to buy a whole quarter of a cow, so we end up buying a share of a cow.  Basically, we get 2 grocery bags full of random cuts of meat.  In the last one, we got some short ribs!  To me, short ribs are perfect for cold weather!  Most recipes call for the same sort of ingredients, so here's a different rendition!

Braised Short Ribs with hidden veggies

* 4 lbs of short ribs

* 1 cup red wine

* 1 whole onion

* 1 small can of tomato paste

* 1 cup of carrots

* 1 cup of mushrooms

* 2 stalks of celery

* 2 cups of beef broth

* 5 cloves of garlic

First, I seasoned all sides of the short ribs with salt and pepper.  I heated up some bacon grease in a heavy bottomed pot and browned all sides of the short ribs.  I'm not totally sure of the science behind why you want to brown the meat before cooking it for a long time, but I know all of the professionals do it, so I did it too!

While the meat was browing, I started working on the veggies.  I had to shred the carrots and celery in the food processor.  Make sure the lid is on tight though!  I guess I didn't have mine closed all the way and carrots flew all over the place!  Kylie was just wishing it had rained short ribs, rather than carrots. haha

Here's a picture of the shredded carrots and celery.  I figured that the smaller they were shredded, the faster they would cook and really break down.  I thinly sliced the onion and garlic, but I did that by hand.

Once the short ribs were browned on all sides, I removed them from the pot and set them aside.  Then, I added in a little bit extra bacon grease.  Then, I added in the onions and garlic to let then start cooking.

Next, I added in the carrots and let everything start to cook through.

Next went in the tomato paste.  I just let everything get all combined while still on medium heat.

Next went in the red wine.  I kinda eyeballed it, but I think I used about 1 cup.

I stirred everything together until it looked somewhat like a veggie soup.  Then, I put the browned short ribs back into the pot.   I put the lid on and baked it in the oven at 400 for 1 hour.  Then, I lowered the temperature to 250 and let it bake for another 3 hours.  It probably would have worked in a slow cooker too, but I just felt like using my pretty new cast iron pot.  :)    Also, when cooking short ribs, I think I heard that they are better when they are cooked for a long time. 

When I took it out of the oven, I again removed the short ribs and set then aside.  I added in the mushrooms.  I didn't add them in the beginning because, well, I forgot they were in my fridge.  Then, I realized that I had them, so I chopped them up and threw them in the pot.  The heat from the soupy mixture cooked them through pretty quickly.

I did put the pot on medium heat to thicken up the sauce a bit.  Like I've said before, Curt wasn't a huge fan of veggies, so I wanted to puree everything so he couldn't pick the mushrooms and stuff out.  So out came my immersion blender.

I just blended everything for a few minutes so that it was just a nice yummy, super flavorful sauce.  I left it on the stove on medium to thicken up a bit while I shredded the short ribs.  They had cooled down enough for me to handle them a bit.  They had cooked for so long that the meat really just pulled apart easily.  I removed the bones and shredded the meat into fork sized pieces. 

Then, I added the shredded meat back to the sauce to warm up.  Then, it was ready to serve!

I  served mine over some mashed cauliflower.  It was a perfect little comfort food meal for me.  The dish had a lot of flavor, but few veggie chunks, which I'm sure that Curt loved. 

I'm definitely going to make this dish again! Curt liked it a lot too. I sent it with him for lunch, so I didn't really see much first hand reaction, but he ate it all, so I'm assuming he enjoyed it :)

Grilled Beef Kabobs

It's been FOREVER since I've made a posting! Sorry about that... my camera decided to call it quits and then my computer decided to do the same... anyhow, everything is up and running and we're back in business! So here's a yummy recipe I made recently!

Summertime, for me, is all about grilling.  It's such an easy way to make a meal... and, unless you burn the food, it's pretty hard to mess up.  Have you noticed that? You can pretty much marinate anything in anything else and come up with a yummy meal.  I had a lot of beef tips that were perfect for kabobs, so that's what I decided to make.  I did some research on Bobby Flay's website (because he's the king of the grill) and found this recipe!

Garlic Mustard Grilled Beef Skewers

2 lbs beef tips (or cut up roast)

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4 cup grainy mustard

2 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons paprika

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon honey

any veggies you like grilled

This was super easy peasy!  In a small bowl, mix the mustards, paprika, salt, pepper, soy sauce, garlic, white wine vinegar, and honey.  The honey is optional, but I'm not a huge fan of mustard, and I think the honey cuts up the spicy taste of the mustard.  I bought 2 different types of mustard: 1 is a grainy mustard with the big mustard seeds and the other is a dijon mustard.  I'm still slowly trying to make myself like mustard, but it's a slow process! I've gotten myself to like onions, pepper, and red wine, so I figure I'll try to add mustard to the mix.

Anyway, when all of the ingredients were combined, I threw the beef in the bowl and tossed it all together to make sure that each piece was nicely coated in the marinade.  I then covered it and let it marinate for 30 minutes.



While waiting for the meat to marinate, I set out to cut the veggies.  This is really easy... it just depends on what you like to eat!  I love grilled onions, peppers, mushrooms, potatoes... almost anything!  I did just visit a farmer's market the day before, so I already had a red, yellow, and green pepper, a red onion, and some zucchini, so I washed them up and cut them into big sized chunks.

When the meat had fininshed marinating, I threw everything on skewers.  Typically, you are supposed to soak the skewers in water so that they don't burn when they go on the grill.  I didn't have time to, though, so I just skipped that step.  I threw the ingredients onto a skewer and set them on a foil lined pan.  I had the grill heated up to a pretty high temperature. 

Before throwing the kabobs onto the grill, I took the extra marinade and brushed it over the whole kabob, including the veggies.  This is how the veggies were seasoned since I didn't season them with anything else. Might as well make use of all the yummy flavors we created, right?!

 So here the kabobs are on the grill.  It didn't take very long at all.  Curt likes his meat charred on the outside but medium rare on the inside.  Hence, why I put the grill on high.  When the heat is high, the outside can get a nice char, just keep turning it so there is char on all sides.  Then, you can either turn the heat down, or you can move the kabobs to a part of the grill that isn't so hot.  Overall, they only took about 10 minutes to grill.

Here they are!  Super easy and pretty tasty too.  You could definitely taste the mustard.  I think that next time, I might add a bit more garlic, just because I LOVE garlic.  The flavor was really good and it was just an easy dish to make.  It was perfect for a hot summer day.  There wasn't much prep work or clean up either!  This is definitely a must try!  You could probably use it on chicken or just brush it on a regular steak too.

I have a few more kabob recipes up my sleeve too! Keep your eyes open for them!