Cheeseburger in a Bowl

Here is a wonderfully easy recipe that takes relatively little prep time and utilizes ingredients that I usually have on hand in my kitchen. It's very forgiving and substitutes and omissions can be made without a problem. I'm not a fan of kale, but this is a painless way to get some of that leafy green goodness into a dish.

Ingredients

1 pound grass fed ground beef
4 potatoes, sliced
1 onion, chopped
1 bunch kale, ripped into bite sized pieces
1 cup chicken stock
Worchestershire sauce
Garlic powder
Sea Salt
Pepper
1/4 grass fed cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef and onion in a heavy skillet. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste.. Remove from skillet and set aside.

2. Turn heat on skillet to medium. Add the potatoes, kale, and stock to the skillet and cover. Cook until potatoes are tender. Make sure your stock doesn't run dry.

3. When the potatoes are done, add the beef and onion mixture back in, along with a splash of worchestershire sauce. Turn off the heat and mix it all together. Sprinkle the cheese over the top and add the lid for a another minute until melted.

Mom Tips

* If you don't have stock, you can use water. If you don't have kale you can use spinach (but don't add it in until the last two minutes of cooking the potatoes). I've accidentally left out the worchestershire sauce on several occasions and it turns out just fine. Purple potatoes make this dish quite pretty!

Tater Tot Casserole All Growed Up

The other day I found myself with a pound of ground beef and no dinner plans (I forgot to soak beans for tacos the night before and there's no way we're having tacos without beans!). What to do? I didn't want to make spaghetti as we're trying to avoid gluten as much as possible, we just had burgers last week, and I wasn't in the mood to make a boring meatloaf.

When I was in college I had a boyfriend whose mom made tater tot casserole so I invented this loose variation. It was actually pretty darn good. Even sister bear ate several helpings, and she doesn't do casseroles. This one goes in the comfort food category.

There are, in fact, no tater tots to be found in it, but let's not get all technical, okay?

Ingredients

1 pound grass-fed ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
Salt
Pepper
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup cream of chicken soup
1 pound carrots, thinly sliced
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 head cauliflower, chopped
5 medium red potatoes, diced small
Fat for frying, I used ghee this time

Directions

1. Put the diced potatoes in a greased baking dish and bake them in the oven at 450 for 20 minutes. You don't have to put them in a single layer, but spread them out evenly. (You're just doing this step to cut down on cooking time later when you fry them.)

2. Brown the ground beef with the onions and garlic. Add salt and pepper. When the beef is brown, turn off the burner and mix in the soup. Spread the beef mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole dish. Spread the chopped veggies over the top of the beef mixture.

3. Heat up a skillet nice and hot, add some fat, and fry the potatoes with salt and pepper (and chopped onions, if you want) until they're nice and brown. Don't overcook them , in fact, you should under cook them just slightly. Spread the brown potatoes over the top of the veggie layer.

4. Put the casserole in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Stuffed Bell Peppers

I did it again! I soaked my grains! This time it was rice. Yay for me! It takes a little planning ahead but it's really easy. If you plan your meals it will become second nature and it only takes a few minutes of your time.

This recipe is a family favorite, and I saw these beautiful organic peppers in the store this week and I just couldn't resist. Delish!

Ingredients

6 Bell Peppers

1 Cup Brown Basmati Rice, soaked and cooked

1 Lb Grass-Fed Ground Beef

1/2 Onion, diced

2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped

1 Box Pomi Chopped Tomatoes (or just chop up a few tomatoes if they're in season)

8 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese, grated

1/2 tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Salt

To Prepare Soaked Rice...

Place 1 cup of rice and 2 cups of warm, filtered water plus 2 tablespoons of yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk in a pot and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours. Bring to a boil, skim, reduce heat, stir in 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1-2 tablespoons butter and cover tightly. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400

2. Cut the bell peppers in half, top to bottom. Remove seeds and ribs.

3. Brown the beef, onions and garlic in a cast iron skillet. Turn off the heat and add in the tomatoes, rice, and spices, mixing them up well.

4. Arrange the peppers in a baking dish skin side down. Divide the beef mixture among the pepper halves. Cover the dish with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

5. Remove the foil and sprinkle the cheese on the top (remember to leave a few cheese-free for Miss I-Don't-Eat-Food-With-Melted-Cheese-On-Top, aka Sister Bear). Return dish to the oven, uncovered, for about five minutes.

Mom Tip

*You can of course make this recipe without soaking the rice ahead of time - just cook it according to package directions. I soaked the rice overnight and cooked it when I woke up in the morning and just saved it in the fridge until I was ready to use it.

Tuesday Tacos

These tacos are famous - or maybe I should say infamous - in dad's family. When dad was a kid, Grammy made these every Tuesday night before bowling league. When Grammy and Gramps were stationed in Germany in the sixties, they lived near another soldier and his wife, who was from Mexico. According to Grammy, this Mexican woman taught her how to make tacos this way, which is ridiculously hilarious to me because these tacos are so NOT authentic Mexican food. But they are delicious!

Sometimes for a treat - or when we have a house full of people to feed - this is how we make tacos. But ooooooonly sometimes!

Ingredients for Tacos

Oil
1/2 Onion, chopped
1 Clove Garlic
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 Pound Ground Beef, grass-fed
1 Cup Tomato Sauce
12 Corn Tortillas

Fillings

Pinto or Black Beans
Mexican Rice
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream
Avocado
Lettuce
Tomatoes
Olives
Salsa

Parmesan Cheese (or as Dad called it until he was 25, "taco cheese.")

Directions

1. Cook the onion and garlic in a skillet with oil, then add the beef, salt, and pepper and brown until cooked through. Add the tomato sauce and simmer on low until you're ready to eat.

2. In a small skillet, heat some oil over medium-high heat. Add each tortilla one at a time and cook for only 2-3 seconds on each side.

3. Add toppings, enjoy!

Gorgonzola & Sun-Dried Tomato Bison Burgers

*These are delicious! I adapted this recipe from one I found on the Whole Foods website, but it is equally superb with beef. Try varying the amount of Gorgonzola and sun-dried tomatoes to suit your taste, but a little bit goes a long way.

Ingredients

3 Oz Gorgonzola, crumbled (Whole Foods has Gorgonzola made with raw milk)
3 Tbsp Sun-Dried Tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1/4 tsp Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1 Lb Grass-Fed Ground Meat, such as bison or beef (Our Safeway carries ground bison!)

4 Whole Wheat English Muffins

Directions

1. Combine Gorgonzola, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Add ground bison and use your hands or two forks to lightly combine all ingredients, taking care not to overwork meat. Add a tablespoon or two of water if needed to hold meat together. With dampened hands, form meat into 6 patties of even thickness. Place patties on a baking sheet, cover loosely and refrigerate for at least an hour.

2. Preheat grill or broiler. Cook burgers about 4 minutes per side to desired doneness, turning carefully with a spatula halfway through.

3. Top with melted cheese and grilled onions. Serve on buttered, toasted English muffins or hamburger buns.

Mom Tip:

I really don't like to get my hands dirty when I'm working with ground meat. I've found that if I put all the ingredients in my Kitchenaid mixer and mix them on the slowest setting for about 30 seconds, it doesn't affect the texture of the meat and my hands stay clean! The extra dishes are worth it to me, you have to decide if they're worth it to you!

Sometimes I double burger recipes and freeze half the patties in a glass Pyrex dish with plastic lid. I just put a small square of wax paper between each patty. I have never followed the old advice of not refreezing meat that's already been frozen as long as it was defrosted in the fridge in the first place - and we've never been sick! It's always nice to have extra meals stashed away that are already prepared!