beef

Kofta Stuffed Green Peppers with Spicy Tomato Sauce

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Kofta Stuffed Peppers with Spicy Tomato Sauce

All you need to make this a whole meal is a lovely salad on the side.  Try Wilted Cucumber Salad or Kale and Brussel Sprouts Salad.

2 medium bell peppers (any color)

1/2 pound ground lamb

1/2 pound ground beef

1 sheet gluten-free  matzoh, finely crumbled

1/4 cup chopped parsley

3 tablespoons grated onion

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Salt to taste

Spicy Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped red or orange bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

Blanch the peppers in boiling water for 3 minutes; drain.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a large bowl, combined the beef, lamb, matzoh crumbs, parsley, onion, garlic, coriander, cumin, allspice, ginger, cayenne, and salt.

Divide the meat mixture into 4 parts and place one in each of the bell pepper halves.

Bake 45 minutes, uncovered, until meat is cooked through.

While the peppers are cooking, prepare the sauce:

In a 1 quart saucepan, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the peppers, onion, and garlic. Cook, stirring until softened.

Add the tomatoes, water, parsley, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes until sauce is thick.

Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender or in a blender or food processor.  Season with salt and additional pepper if desired.

Serves: 4

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Ants Climbing a Tree – Paleo Asian Noodle Dish

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free  * Paleo ~~

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Ma Yi Shang Shu –

Ants Climbing a Tree

What a horrible name for a dish!  Don’t blame me…this is a pretty traditional Sichuan dish and that’s what it’s called.  In my book, it’s also called delicious.

When you look at the ingredients you may doubt that this is strictly a Chinese dish because who ever heard of tahini or maple syrup in Chinese or Asian cooking?  Of course coconut aminos and fish sauce are not traditional Chinese ingredients either, though fish sauce is used widely in other parts of Asia.

4 ounces paleo noodles

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon minced ginger

 2 tablespoons coconut aminos

2 tablespoon maple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon  dry sherry, optional

1 tablespoon tahini

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1/2 teaspoon chili oil

1 1⁄2 cups chicken stock

1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil

1/2 cup (4 ounces) ground meat (pork is usually used but any meat will be fine)

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

2 teaspoons sesame or chili oil

Cook noodles according to package directions (assuming they are in English or boil until soft); drain.

In a medium bowl, stir together the stock, coconut aminos, maple syrup, fish sauce, sherry, and tahini;  set aside.

Heat coconut or olive oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat Add garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add pork; cook, breaking up meat, until browned, 5–7 minutes.

Add liquid mixture; bring to a boil. Add noodles; cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is reduced by half, 8–10 minutes more, and stir scallions and chili oil.

 

 

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Sweet and Sour Unstuffed Cabbage

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free *  Paleo ~~ 

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My grandmother made the world’s best stuffed cabbage.  I have the recipe and have made it occasionally but it’s such a pain to make the cabbage rolls that it’s enough to discourage all but the most determined cook – and frankly I’m rarely that determined.  Here is where my sister comes in.  She is a natural out-of-the-box thinker and she created unstuffed cabbage.  You make the meatballs and just cook them in the same sauce as the stuffed cabbage, but add lots of shredded cabbage.  YUM and easy!

The challenge of converting this recipe to paleo was the meatballs because grandma always put rice in with the meat and since I don’t eat rice, I needed something the give the meatballs more interest and keep them from becoming too dry.  After many tries I finally came up with this recipe that I just love.

First I added pork to the beef to add moisture (grandma definitely did not use pork as she was kosher).  Then I added the cauliflower and potato flakes to capture the moisture and make the meat fluffier.  Onion and garlic – well I don’t have to tell you what onion and garlic do.  A little tomato sauce also adds to both texture and flavor.

I am so happy with the results I have to restrain myself from going back not just for seconds, but also for third and fourth servings.

Now that I have totally convinced you that Unstuffed Cabbage is the way to go, for anyone who still likes their cabbage stuffed, just use this filling and roll it up in parboiled cabbage leaves and cook according to the recipe

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BTW I freeze these in individual servings and when I need a quick dinner just pop one in the microwave.

Hope you love this as much as I do.
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Mama’s Meat Sauce

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free *  Paleo ~~ 

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So last week I wrote about zucchetti and promised to give you a meat sauce to use with it.  True to my word, here it is…and it’s easy and pretty quick (only cooks for 30 minutes)!  It makes a lot, but the great news is it’s one of those foods that freezes beautifully.  I freeze it in individual portions and then just pull one out of the freezer whenever I want a quick meal.

This is one of those recipes where you can use any ground meat and still end up with a tasty sauce.  You can use beef, buffalo, pork, chicken, turkey, veal, ostrich, or sausage or any other ground meat or combination of meats you can think of.
Enjoy!
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Beef Heaven – Paleo Nua Sewan – Thai Beef Jerky

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Beef Heaven – Nua Sewan – Thai Beef Jerky

I gotta confess I’m not a beef jerky kinda girl.  In fact, besides Nua Sewan that I tasted in a Thai cooking class eons ago, I never even tasted beef jerky until last month when I bought a package from Trader Joe’s.  To be honest, I thought it was yucky.  So why make it?

To begin with, I had a huge sirloin and I’m only one person, so after cooking a piece of it for dinner I was still left with a lot and I recalled how much I liked the recipe I learned in my cooking class.  Of course that recipe used all sorts of ingredients that are definitely not Paleo – so here’s my version.  I think it’s pretty terrific…I hope you do too! (more…)

Chicken and Meatball Fricassee and Chicken Paprikash

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free * Paleo~~~

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I really don’t know what the real difference is between chicken fricassee and chicken paprikash as mom made them both the same way – except she used wings and added meatballs when she made the chicken fricassee.    Chicken paprikash she would use bigger pieces of chicken and serve with nokerle (very heavy dumplings) or she would add rice to the pot and make chicken and rice.  No matter which variation she made, they were all delicious!  Enjoy! (more…)

Onion Soup

Wheat-free * Dairy-free * Gluten-free * Vegetarian~~~

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I have always loved onion soup and I have many memories associated with it.  The best version I ever had was at The Brasserie at 1a.m. with my college boyfriend.  The soup was super hot with melt-in-your-mouth onions, a piece of bread saturated with savory soup just slightly sweet from the onions, and tons of ooey-gooey perfectly melted cheese – sheer heaven – and, of course, I was in love – everything tastes blissful when you’re in love.  The next is a restaurant that was my family’s favorite Georges Rey.  We would go there to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc.  I’d always order their onion soup as my appetizer – it was awesome.  My first attempt at making onion soup was when I was “baby sitting” my best friend who had had surgery.  I made the soup and it quickly became our favorite (turns out another friend of hers came to pay a visit and that was the first time I met her future husband). Fast forward a billion years and I’m giving up dairy, but I had cooked some onion soup earlier in the week, I might as well just try the soup naked.  Surprisingly, it was delicious – even without the cheese or the bread.  Now-a-days onion soup is just one of those things I like to have around for when I’m craving some comfort food or maybe just want some happy memories.  This delicious soup is easy to make and you probably already have the ingredients for it in your pantry/liquor cabinet.  Bon Appetit!
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Gluten-free Dairy-free Yummy Meatloaf (not Paleo)

Wheat free * Dairy free * Gluten free

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Meatloaf has always been one of my favorite foods in the world – I think that goes back to my days in public school when Thursday was meatloaf day in the cafeteria and really that was the only decent dish they served all week. I would have it with green beans and mashed potatoes and to this day that is one of my go-to comfort combinations – did I mention that I use canned green beans for this memory meal because that’s what they served in the cafeteria – and nowadays I make Colcannon (mashed potatoes with cabbage) to complete the meal. When I am cooking for myself, I make this into 2 smaller loaves and freeze one raw for a future meal. Each little meatloaf makes 2 not-too-large servings so you don’t have to eat meatloaf too many days in a row or can have a single meal with a friend or loved one. Of course if you are a big eater each loaf serves one.
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