Sweet & Savory Stir-fry, Paleo Pen Pals and My Mishap too!

Earlier this month I signed up to join the Paleo Pen Pals community.  This is a place where those of us following the Paleo lifestyle can network, get to know each other, share recipes and products.  You can read more about the rules and how to participate right here to determine if it's something you might be interested in joining!

My Paleo Pen Pal for June was Michigan-native Jennifer from the site Wine to Weightlifting.  She is this witty, beautiful, free-spirited crossfit super-woman who can do it all.  She follows the 80/20 rule when it comes to Paleo lifestyle.  She lifts heavy things.  She runs (even though she doesn't always like it).  She exercises in these stylish and fun outfits!  She cares for her big dog Ripley who happens to loves carrots and peanut butter treats.  She is really cool, from what I can tell.  I had a lot of fun getting to know her and bugging her with lots of questions. Go check out her site. 

Jennifer sent me a whole box full of goodies.  See below.  

Woo-hoo, I'm special! I sure racked up for my first time with Paleo Pen Pals!  :-)



She even thought to include something for my kids too.  Vivian had fun unwrapping the goodies and enjoyed eating the portable applesauce "Fruity U" that you can drink.

Jennifer even got a little something for our dog too!  Bono loved the all natural peanut butter flavored treats.  Here he is waiting patiently for me to give him some:



The main goodies that I received and use in this recipe are the Coconut Aminos bottle and the pink sea salt crystals. I love, LOVE, L-O-V-E Coconut Aminos.  It's a soy sauce replacement genius.  I've been cooking with it for awhile now but I can only purchase it at one specialty foods store here in Pensacola (Ever'man's Grocery, a co-op).  It's a great place but located about 25 minutes from my home; therefore I just don't get over there very often.  So it was nice to receive a bottle of this stuff from my pen pal.  I use this Coconut Aminos in everything - burgers, eggs, marinades for shrimp and more! 

Jennifer told me she makes a lot of stir fry meals because she wants something fast and easy after a  long day at work and coming home from the gym where she finished an intense crossfit workout.  So in her honor, I wanted to make a new and delicious stir-fry meal for my family.  I think she would approve of this one.  I know my family and I did.... 



Sweet and Savory Stir-fry
(Serves 4)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 pound (16 oz) bag of mixed vegetables - I chose California blend: broccoli, cauliflower and carrots
4 to 5 links (12 oz) of sausage (or chicken or other meat of choice) - Love this Al fresco brand!
1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced into small pieces
1/4 cup of Coconut Aminos
1/4 cup of my mango salad dressing (Or try substituting a combo of orange juice and applesauce)
two dashes of sea salt
optional - 1 tsp of bacon grease (I always have some on hand and love to add it to dishes for flavor!)
optional - 1 bag of frozen cauliflower if you wish to serve your stir-fry over "rice"


Coat a large skillet or sauce pan (or Wok if you have one) with the 2 Tbsp of olive oil.  Place on medium-low heat.  Place all your ingredients out on the counter for easy access.

Slice up your sausage (or other meat you are using).  My family's favorite is the sweet apple chicken flavor by Al Fresco.   Toss it into the heated olive oil.  Let that cook for about 3-4 minutes, just until the sausage becomes a little brown.  Open up your bag of frozen vegetables and pour them into the pot with the meat.  Cook for about five to seven minutes.  Stir your meat and veggie mixture once or twice during that time. 



Note: You could easily prepare your cauliflower rice to serve this on while the meat and veggies are cooking!  Follow this easy recipe!

If you like your veggies real crunchy you can lower the heat then add in your sauces here.  If you like your veggies a bit more soft, continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes or until desired consistency. 

Add in the 1/4 cup of coconut aminos.  Add in the pre-made mango salad dressing.  (If you don't have this on hand or can't get your hands on a mango, you could substitute part orange juice and part applesauce).  Put two dashes of sea salt in the pan. 

Don't be like me and dump more than a tablespoon of rock hard sea salt crystals into your pan!  Yes I suppose I need a dummy-proof cap on those grinders because when I opened the one Jennifer sent me, I managed to knock 1/3 of the bottle into my stir fry!  YIKES!  WHAT A MISHAP!  Biting into a sea salt rock would NOT be a good thing!

After I cursed a little bit, I decided to laugh about it.  Then I used a collander to help "drain" the crystals from my stir fry meal.  Like this:


            Yikes, who wants rocks in their food!?

After I fished out all the sea salts, I put the rest of my stir-fry back in the pan.  I continued to cook the mixture for another few minutes.  Mix and stir.  Mix and stir.  Mix and stir.  Let the sauce simmer with the veggies for about another five minutes. 



Remove from heat.   Serve this over my easy, primal rice.   Sweet and savory.  A winning combination!



This recipe was kid and husband-tested and approved.   Enjoy! 

I can't wait to meet another Paleo Pen Pal next month and beyond.  It's nice getting to know someone new and hearing about how this eating lifestyle works.  Although for next month, I think I will just suggest that my pen pal and I only swap recipes and not send any products.  This will help me stay within our family's tight summer budget! 

My Way "Dirty Rice"

I grew up in Cajun south Louisiana where red beans and dirty rice were frequent on the family menus and holiday gatherings (along with gumbo, corn bread and lots of gluten-filled meals).  Now that we're not eating rice or beans much these days, I don't have those kinds of meals often. 

However I can experiment and come up with my own way, my own style of recreating a similar dish to the ones I used to love so much.   Happily and successfully, I think I did it....  I created my own less spicy but still flavorful "dirty rice" that fits my family's needs (no grains or traditional rice and no spices for my husband and little girls who don't like peppery things either!)

This is such a FAST, EASY meal to make on a busy day or when you don't feel like putting much effort into cooking.  I love this simple yet savory dish. 



My Way "Dirty" Rice
Serves 3-4

1 Tbsp extra light olive oil
1 frozen bag of cauliflower (or about 3 cups of chopped, 'riced' cauliflower)
1 pound of ground chuck (or turkey, veal, sausage or whatever meat choice you like)
2 Tbsp virgin olive oil or flavored olive oil of your choice
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (or other flavored vinegar of your choice)
1 Tbsp onion powder
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp of sea salt

*Note: You may want to start with less seasoning and taste as you go to see if you like more or less.  My family likes a lot of flavor in this meal so I use a variety of flavors to give it flare. 


First, make the "rice" - follow my simple recipe of turning cauliflower into "rice."
After you have your "rice," made, toss it into a skillet greased with 1 Tbsp of the extra light olive oil.  Add in your defrosted one pound of ground meat (turkey/sausage or whatever).  Cook them together on medium heat so the "rice" can soak up the fat and flavor.  There is no need to drain any grease or fat off.  That's the good stuff, remember?  Fat is our friend!  :-) 

Once the meat has browned and your rice has browned too, add in your seasonings.  Start with the olive oil, vinegar, onion powder, garlic powder and oregano.  Stir well and cook for another five minutes.  Then if needed and you want it, add in your Italian seasoning and sea salt.  Cook for an additional two minutes.  Don't be surprised if your "rice" blends in with the meat so you don't even see it much.  That's okay. 



Remove your "dirty rice" from the heat.  Let it cool for a minute before serving.  We usually enjoy  my broccoli chips with this recipe along with a big spinach salad. Yum, yum, good stuff.

Both my girls love this too.  Like I said, this is a fast meal to throw together so I highly recommend it after a long, tiring day.  I hope you enjoy it!

Pizza Zucchini Casserole (aka Pizza Faux-sagna)

I used to make pastas and lasagnas very frequently up until a year ago.  It was such a quick, easy thing to do - open up a box or bag of pasta; boil it; add meat and vegetables to it.  I sometimes miss it - not the bloating, full feeling or the carbs or the hard to digest moments.  But just the idea of layering the noodles with meat and sauce and cheese.  Finally it hit me the other day when I was looking at my zucchini!  They can be my noodles!  I can still have my faux-sagna without the guilt or insulin spikes!

This came out delicious and I've made it twice within a month now.  So I finally had to share the recipe! 



Pizza Zucchini Casserole (Pizza Faux-sagna)
Serves 4 - 5

4 medium size zucchini, sliced into lasagna size noodles (about 35-40 noodles)
1 pound of ground meat (I have used ground chuck and ground veal in the past)
6-8 slices of uncured, nitrite free pepperoni (like the Applegate Farms brand), broken up into pieces
2 and 1/2 cups of tomato sauce (Or use my no-mato/nightshade slayer fake tomato sauce)
2 Tbsp olive oil for seasoning and greasing the pan
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
4-5 dashes of sea salt

In a skillet, brown your ground meat.  Don't pour out the fat.  Save that for your dish for extra flavor.  Remember, fat is your friend!  Starchy, complex carbs are the enemy!

While your meat is cooking, you can slice (don't peel) your zucchini into lasagna size "noodles" as best as you can.  They don't have to be all the same size.  Some can be thinner or thicker than others.  Mine looked like this:



Once your meat is almost done cooking, add in your broken up pieces of pepperoni.  Stir and cook for another minutes with the meat.

Lightly grease a 2.5 quart baking pan with olive oil.  Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  

Place your zucchini noodles at the bottom of the pan, covering most of it as best as you can.  I used about ten to twelve noodles in one layer.  Now place your meat over the zucchini.  Like this:

Now place your tomato sauce (or use my faux-tomato sauce) over the meat and zucchini.  (If you want to use cheese on top of that you can.  Since my husband avoids dairy, I just top mine with it after it's done cooking). 


Then I continue layering my pizza lasagna with more zucchini noodles, more meat (mix of the ground chuck and pepperoni slices) and any other toppings of my choice until I've used up all of my ingredients.  Usually I have three layers.  So you can think of dividing up your meat, sauce and noodles into three portions before you get started. 

Bake in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.  Top with cheese if your like or any other ingredients that you enjoy on your old style lasagna.  Let it cool for at least five minutes before you slice it up and serve it.



This is really tasty and like I've said, it doesn't leave you feeling bloated or sick afterwards.  Try it.  My kid loved it.  Yours might too!

Slow Cooker Mango Shredded Chicken

I love my slow cooker.  It just makes life so much easier!  I'm going to challenge myself this summer to cook with it even more.  I tried out this recipe yesterday and really enjoyed the flavors.  It reminded me of pulled pork except it was shredded chicken with a Caribbean, fruity flavor.  I used mangoes but I think pineapples would be great as well.

We served this over primal cauliflower rice with a side of sauteed spinach.  I pureed it up for the baby to eat as well. 



Slow Cooker Mango Shredded Chicken
(Serves 6 to 8)

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp of Coconut Aminos (or use soy sauce if you eat it)
1 Tbsp of vinegar (I used a pineapple flavor I had on hand)
1 cup of my fake tomato sauce (Or use 1 cup of real tomato sauce)
2 mangoes, peeled, seeded and diced

Plug your slow cooker in and set to low heat.  Place the chicken in first at the bottom.  Season with the onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Then drizzle over the olive oil, Coconut Aminos and vinegar.  Then cover the chicken with the fake (or real) tomato sauce.  Top it off with the peeled, diced mangoes. 



Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.  Check it about half way through if you are home and break up/shred your chicken.  If you're not home, then leaving it is alone is fine too.  You can shred at the end. That's the beauty of using a slow cooker! 

Mmm, mmm tasty stuff!



Serve mango chicken over the easy cauliflower rice I've shared here.  So good! 



Enjoy!

Basil-Onion Chicken Burgers

I am an all-American kind of girl.  I love my burgers and fries. Occasionally I will take one regular french fry off my daughter's plate.  Or if I trust the restaurant, I may order a burger off the menu.  But now I really prefer to make my own burgers for the grill and I prefer sweet potato fries to the regular white, greasy kind. 

Awhile back, we found some good quality ground chicken on sale at our local grocery.  We couldn't pass up the deal.  Then I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.  After looking online for ideas, I decided to throw together some chicken burgers with them. 

Oh gosh, these are so good!  You can make them big or small like sliders.  These freeze well too and you can reheat them later for a quick lunch. 

Basil-Onion Chicken Burgers
(Makes 4 patties)

1 pound of ground chicken OR two chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (I have done it both ways!)
1 large egg, whisked (Or use an egg substitute like flax seed or increase the olive oil amount)
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Coconut Aminos (Or if you're not worried about soy, you can use soy sauce or barbecue sauce)
1 Tbsp onion powder
1 Tbsp ground basil leaves
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup of coconut flour

In a medium mixing bowl, combine your chicken with the whisked egg, olive oil, Coconut Aminos, onion powder, basil and sea salt.  Blend well.  Form into patties.  I was able to get four nice size ones out of the one pound (or two chicken breasts, boiled and shredded). 

Place them on a flat pan.  Now lightly dust each side of your patties with coconut flour.  Or you can dip them into the coconut flour using a separate bowl.  Start with just 1/4 cup of coconut flour and then add more if you need it. 



Note: You could probably cook the chicken burgers without the flour but I find it (a) gives it a nice flavor and (b) helps keep the burgers together and not falling apart.

Now choose your favorite cooking method for them.  I like to do it in a lightly greased skillet on my stove top for about 7-8 minutes, flip over and then bake in the oven for an additional ten minutes at 375 degrees.  I use a skillet that is safe for the oven.   You can also do it on an outdoor grill or an indoor electronic one.  Watch it carefully.  It should only take 15-20 minutes total to cook your burgers. 



Enjoy!  We love these.  They definitely are served on a once a month basis around our home.

And if you are a burger-lover like I am, check out my other two burger recipes on this site:

Oil and Vinegar Beef Burgers

Skillet Salmon Burgers

Baked Cauli-Tater Casserole

I love cauliflower.  It's such a versatile vegetable. 

Versatile Vegetable - try saying that five times in a row without getting tongue-tied!!! 

Anyway, it is true.  Cauliflower can be made into rice.  I've already shared with you how to do that, right here.  It can also be used in place of white potatoes such as in mashed cauliflower. 

Then when I discovered this little gem of a recipe by Love and Primal using cauliflower like a potato loaded with all the fixin's, well I knew I had to try it and give it my own flare that suited my family's needs and allergy concerns. 

Here is my tasty version.  I omitted the buffalo sauce that Love and Primal used since I have kids to feed and they don't do spicy.  I made my own sauce using olive oil, vinegar and coconut aminos.  I cooked the cauliflower different too.  In fact I did everything separate and then put it all together at the end.  Also, my husband is avoiding cheese right now so I put half with cheese on (for me of course!) and half without.  I've made this twice in the last month and everyone loved it!  I think you will too if you give it a try!



Baked Cauli-Tater Casserole
(Serves 4)
Adapted from Love and Primal

2 chicken breasts, cooked - boiled and shredded or cubed
2 bags of frozen cauliflower
5 strips of bacon, cooked using my Perfect Sunday Baked Bacon method
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp sea salt

Sauce for the Cauli-tater:
2/3 cup of olive oil + a little more for greasing pan
1/3 cup of vinegar - I used a combination of apple cider vinegar and balsamic vinegar, mmm! 
6 tsp of Coconut Aminos (a soy sauce replacement.  You can just use soy sauce or BBQ sauce if you're not following a strict diet like us!)

Toppings for the Cauli-tater:
1/2 cup of all natural cheddar or other type cheese, shredded
3/4 cup of chopped green onions
Don't forget to include your bacon too!

Start this dish by cooking your bacon in the oven using my Perfect Sunday Baked Bacon Method.  That takes about 25-30 minutes to bake so you can start the rest of the prep work for this dish. 

Boil your chicken breasts until no longer pink, about ten minutes.  Let it cool for a few minutes before chopping into small pieces or shredding in your food processor.

Cook your cauliflower.  If I'm lazy, I will microwave mine for about ten minutes until tender.  If I am up for it, then I steam it on the stove top for about ten minutes.  Do what works for you! 

While you've got those three prep things going in, you can shred your cheese and cut up your green onions for the toppings.  You can also take out your ingredients to make the sauce. 

When your bacon is done and cooled, tear it into bacon bit size strips.  Try not to eat any right away and save it for the casserole!  :-)

To make the sauce: Place the olive oil, vinegar combination and coconut aminos (or soy sauce or bbq sauce) in a small bowl and mix well together.  That's it.  The sauce is made, congrats!  Set aside until ready to use.

To make the cauli-tater: Place your cooked, drained cauliflower in a large bowl with your cooked, cubed chicken pieces.  Season it with the onion powder and sea salt.



Then spread it into your greased baking dish.  I used a 2.5 QT pan, like this:



Pour your prepared sauce over the chicken and cauliflower.  Mix it around a bit to coat it well. 

Now for the best part.... top it with the bacon bits.  Like this:



Now add your additional toppings, cheese and green onion or whatever you feel like using.  Since my hubby is not currently eating cheese or onions, he didn't get any of that good stuff.  More for me:



Now turn up the oven heat to 400 degrees.  Remember you already preheated the oven because you cooked the bacon at 350.  Place your cauli-tater casserole in there and bake for 30 minutes. 

It will smell so good in the last ten minutes.  Let it cool before you serve and inhale.  You could even add some sour cream to top, making it truly like a loaded spud that you'd get from a restaurant like McAllister's Deli or similar.

However this version will be much healthier for you and won't leave you feeling bloated or heavy.  It has way less carbs and is packed with good nutrients.  (Yes, bacon is good in moderation!)  :-)



So enjoy!  I know we have!

Oil and Vinegar Burgers

For the past several weeks, I've had to come up with some very allergen-friendly meals my family  can eat.  My husband has been temporarily avoiding eggs, nightshades (like tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc) and other acidic foods to help his stomach heal.  We're already following a Paleo diet (well he's Paleo, I'm Primal since I eat some dairy in moderation) but we already don't eat gluten, grains, sugars, and so on. 

Geez....What can I make?  Thank goodness we both love oil and vinegar.  A few months ago, a wonderful store called The Bodacious Olive opened here in Pensacola where we live that offers infused vinegars and olive oils of all sorts of flavors.  Our favorite savory olive oil is the Tuscan Herb while our favorite sweet one is Blood Orange (which I use in baking cakes, muffins and breads).  Our favorite vinegars are the berry-flavored ones like strawberry and blueberry.  They even have things like chocolate and coffee flavored vinegars.  You can taste test each kind.  It's truly a unique and taste-bud filling experience! 

Thanks to them, and hubby's food aversions, I've been making a lot of oil and vinegar meals.  (And no I'm not receiving any payments to advertise for The Bodacious Olive - I just really like their products!!)  I think I have perfected this burger one using oil and vinegar as the two main ingredients.  I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we do!



Oil and Vinegar Burgers
(Makes 4 patties)

1 lb of grass-fed beef (or ground chuck or your choice meat)
2 Tbsp of olive oil (I used my Tuscan Herb flavor)
1 Tbsp of vinegar (I used my Blueberry Balsamic Vinegar flavor)
1 Tbsp of onion powder
1/2 Tbsp of ground basil (or other choice seasoning)
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Lightly grease a skillet that is oven-safe with olive oil but don't over do it since there is oil and vinegar in your burgers.  Heat stove to medium heat.

Mix all above ingredients into a large bowl.  Blend well and form into four patties. 





Place them in your skillet and cook for 7-8 minutes until brown.  Flip over and cook for another two minutes.  Then place the entire skillet in the oven.  Cook for an additional ten minutes or until your desired style (medium well, well done).

Carefully remove from oven since your whole skillet is hot.  Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.  Enjoy!  You'll be amazed at how well these stick together without any eggs or bread crumbs.  Good stuff!  

Skillet Salmon Burgers

There are so many health benefits to eating salmon.  However, that pink fish can be hard to obtain fresh and inexpensively.  My husband doesn't care for it much.  I like it.  Salmon isn't my favorite fish but seasoned and cooked properly, it becomes a tasty, good-for-me meal.  I have finally found an easy, cheaper way to cook with it.  I plan on making this a regular lunch rotation for me.  This recipe surprised me at how good it was!  I hope you enjoy it too.



Skillet Salmon Burgers
(Makes 4 patties)

1 can (14.5 oz) of all natural, wild caught packed salmon, packed or caught in Alaska if available - read ingredients carefully and ensure that all you are buying is salmon.  I used a Chicken of the Sea brand for the recipe
2 eggs - preferably from pasture raised chickens
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp lemon pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cajun spices/seasonings (optional)
2 Tbsp lime juice, all natural

*The above list may look like a lot but it's just a variety of seasonings and spices.  You can alter them to fit your taste buds. 

Open your can of packed salmon.  Drain it carefully and rinse lightly too.  I put mine in a strainer and poked through it with my fingers to get out any bones or skins.  (I found several small pieces so I highly recommend going through your can of salmon too!)

Place your sorted salmon in a medium size mixing bowl.  Mash and pat down.  Add in your two eggs, coconut flour and all the seasonings.  Stir and blend well. 



Pour in the lime juice last.  Combine and stir again. 

Use your hands to form four salmon patties.  Set aside. 



Grease a skillet lightly with olive oil.  Set heat to medium.  Cook your salmon patties, about 7-8 minutes each side.  Or until your desired darkness.  I like mine almost well done.

Serve over salad or simply eat as is with a seafood dip (mixture of organic ketchup, mustard and mayo).  Soo good and great for you! 

Note: These freeze well too.  Make more than what you need and freeze several patties.  Reheat in the microwave or on the skillet again. 

 

Primal Skillet Garlic Shrimp

This dish is so easy to make and best of all it takes minimal time and ingredients.  Easy and Fast.  My kind of recipe.  Here you go....

Skillet Garlic Shrimp

1 pound of shrimp, wild caught
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/8 cup of extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
1 Tbsp of real butter (optional) - you can substitute olive oil or coconut oil if you have dairy issues

Serve with or over about 3 cups of primal rice

Peel your shrimp completely.  I run mine under cool water as I peel each one.  Rinse them well.  Place them in a plastic storage bag.

Mince your garlic cloves directly into the storage bag with the shrimp.  I have a handy-dandy garlic press gadget.  :-)  Add in the olive oil, pouring it directly over the shrimp.  Sprinkle in the sea salt (about four or five dashes should do). 

Close your storage bag (or container or whatever you use).  Shake and mix up your shrimp with the seasonings.  Move it all around so the shrimp are coated well.

Marinate it for at least an hour.  Do several hours or all day if you have the time.  The longer the better, especially if you love the garlic flavor and smell.  I left mine out on the counter at room temperature for about three hours.  Like this:



Heat a skillet on your stove to medium heat.  Place the 1 Tbsp butter in your skillet.  Or if you're dairy-free, use olive oil or coconut oil instead to coat the pan.  Spread the butter or oil around.  Then place your marinated shrimp in the skillet. 

Cook for about four minutes on medium heat.  Then reduce heat to low and cook for about another 3-5 minutes or until shrimp are tender.



Serve this with or over the cauliflower rice I've shared with you in the past!  It goes perfect together!  We ate ours with sauteed spinach and sweet carrots.
 
Dee-lish!

Mandy's Mexican Meatza

I don't know what it is when I am on these 21-sugar detox programs, but I crave Mexican~!   When I completed the detox in December, I created a Mexican Meat and Squash Casserole which I shared here. My family and I loved it. 

Now it's January and I needed another fix that fell under the Latin American cuisine that I knew was homemade and healthy.  But hey, it's better that I crave this sultry, salty flavor over sugary snacks though, right?!  Right!  No problem! 

I have a bunch of grass-fed hamburger meat in my freezer so I'm always looking for ways to use it up.  I've seen a few Meatza recipes in the Paleo and Primal online sources out there while I browse the web.  But I didn't find one that was quite what I wanted.  So I decided to create my own meatza and give it a Mexican flare.  My first thought was to include my own guacamole as part of the sauce.  I placed a small amount of tomato sauce on top of the guacamole in efforts to sneak the avocado into my five year old's plate.  Thankfully Vivian, who normally notices everything, only discovered how great the flavor was.  My whole family LOVED it. This is definitely going into our monthly food rotation now!  Oh yes.




Mandy's Mexican Meatza
(Serves 4)

For the meatza base ("crust"):
1 pound of grass-fed hamburger beef
1 egg (cage-free, all natural)
1 Tbsp of homemade taco seasoning - I follow this recipe to make it
1/2 Tbsp oregano
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp onion powder
4 dashes of sea salt
2 dashes of ground pepper

To make the guacamole:
2 avocados, seeds scooped out and mashed
1 small tomato
2 Tbsp of that same homemade taco seasoning - using this recipe
1 Tbsp of lime juice
1 tsp of garlic powder (or two fresh cloves of garlic, minced)

For the sauce and toppings:
1 can (8 oz) of tomato sauce - read label carefully for no added sugar, salt or preservatives
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, any color, chopped
1/2 tsp garlic and herb seasoning (optional)
1/2 cup of all natural cheese, shredded (optional) - leave out if you can't do or don't want dairy


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a pizza baking pan with olive oil.  Set aside. 

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all your ingredients to make your meatza (crust) base -- pound of beef, egg, taco seasoning, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt and pepper.  Mix well.  Form into a ball. 

Then mash and spread out that meat ball into your greased baking pan.  Press it down and out into one large patty ("crust").  Like this:

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 to 17 minutes.  Then drain off any grease or fat that is there before proceeding.  Let it completely cool before you put the sauce and toppings and bake further.  It should look like this or similar:




While it's baking, make your guacamole spread and chop up your veggie toppings. 

To make the guacamole, scoop out and seed your two avocados.  Place them into a medium size mixing bowl.  Mash them with a fork until smooth.  Add in the diced tomato, 2 Tbsp of homemade taco seasoning, lime juice and garlic powder (or fresh minced garlic).  Stir and mix well.  It should look like this:



Once your meatza patty is comppletely cooled, put the guacamole spread over it.  My guacamole spread makes just enough to cover it all, like this:




Then put on your tomato sauce over the guacamole spread. Top with any additional seasonings.  I sprinkled about a tsp more of garlic and herb natural seasoning using my grinder.  Soon your guacamole will be covered and hopefully your picky children (like mine) won't even see the green stuff or question it.  Hee, hee!  Sneaky, sneaky!  It should look like this:



After that I added my veggie toppings.  In my case, I used 1/2 a chopped onion and 1/2 chopped yellow bell pepper.  Mmm, mmm!  It looked like this:



Then I baked my meatza for ten minutes.  It looked done BUT I wanted my meatza darker and crispier.  So I broiled it for seven minutes.  You decide how dark and crispy you want it.  Everyone loves their pizza/meatza a little differently. 

I then topped ours with about 1/2 cup of all natural, Amish Colby and cheddar cheese that I shredded while it was baking.  I placed it in the oven for about a minute more, just to let the cheeses melt.

 You can have it with or without the cheese.  It will still be amazing!  But look how pretty mine turned out:



Let it cool (if you can wait) for five minutes.  Then use a normal pizza cutter to slice it up.  Eat or inhale it.  

This is very delicious and a nice change from your ordinary dishes.  I hope you enjoy!

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If you're looking for another Mexican style favorite unique dish, try this one - my Mexican Meat and Squash Casserole!  This is just as tasty and even easier to make!

Happy Eating!

-Mandy

Easy, Primal Unstuffed Peppers Casserole

I love stuffed peppers but I'll be honest, when I'm ready to eat (and feeling very hungry), I don't like sitting there and cutting up my food for the entire meal.  I'm lazy.  There I said it. 

So a few years ago I looked up ways to create that stuffed peppers flavor but do the "prep" work ahead of time so it can be eaten by the spoonful when my elbows hit the dinner table. 

Here is my modified, Paleo/Primal version of that recipe for your taste buds to enjoy! 




Easy, Primal Unstuffed Peppers Casserole
(Serves 4 to 6)

1 bag of frozen cauliflower florets, made into "rice" (Or use about 3 cups of finely chopped fresh cauliflower)
4 to 5 bell peppers, diced, use any color you like (I love to use a combination of red, yellow, orange and green)
1 pound of grass-fed ground meat (Or you can use ground up sausage, chicken, turkey or whatever you have on hand)
1 can (14 oz) of diced tomatoes, mostly drained - read label carefully for no added sugar or preservatives
1 can (14 oz) of tomato sauce - read label carefully for no added sugar or preservatives
3 cloves of garlic, minced (Or use 1.5 tsp of garlic powder)
2 tsp of onion powder (or 3/4 cup of fresh, diced onions)
1 tsp of Italian seasoning
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper to taste
optional - 1/2 cup of all natural, shredded cheese for topping (I buy the Amish brand with no preservatives and use sparingly)
olive oil for greasing

Let your bag of frozen cauliflower sit at room temperature for awhile or run some warm water over the bag.  Then follow these recipe directions to turn the cauliflower into rice.  Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 2 QT baking pan with olive oil and set to the side. 

Dice your bell peppers.  I used five since some were small and some were large in size. 

Grease a skillet with olive oil.  Brown your meat (I used grass-fed hamburger meat I purchase from a local farm and butcher) with your bell peppers, garlic and onion powder (or fresh onion).  Cook until you desired brown color.

Drain any grease if you wish from the cooked meat and peppers. Then pour into a large mixing bowl. 

In the large bowl, add in the cauliflower rice you already prepared.  Also toss in your diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, oregano, salt and pepper.  Stir well until all combined. 

Scoop out the mixture into your greased 2 QT baking pan.  Press down and make sure mixture is spread out evenly.  Bake for 30 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees. 

If you wish and can tolerate dairy, top the casserole with shredded cheese.  Or just leave out.  It's great as it is even without the cheese! 

Serve and enjoy. 

This is good stuff and my lazy woman's way of enjoying stuffed peppers!  :-)