Meat

Meat Sauce

Makes four generous servings.  It's best if made a day ahead and kept in the fridge overnight, but i'st pretty good when just made too.

2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped (or shredded) carrot
2 lbs. grass-fed ground beef
1 796ml can of diced tomatoes
1/2 lb. shitake mushrooms, stems removed and chopped into quarters
1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. Magic Mushroom Powder
Salt and pepper
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil (or 2 tsp. dried basil)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp. dried oregano)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (if you don't have fresh, don't use it0
1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary)

• Melt the coconut oil in a large dutch oven and saute the onions, garlic and carrots until softened. (If using dry herbs add them here too).

• Add the ground beef, and mash everything with a potato masher (easier than trying to break it up with a spoon) to break up the ground beef.  
• Sprinkle meat mixture with Magic Mushroom Power and cook until meat is browned.
• Add the can of diced tomatoes with the juice.
• Add the balsamic vinegar.
• Simmer on medium heat (uncovered) for about 45 minutes.
• Add the shitake mushrooms, basil, oregano, parsley and rosemary (if using fresh herbs).

• Taste and add salt and pepper to taste.
• Serve over spaghetti squash or in an acorn squash half.

Meat Sauce in an Acorn Squash Half

Sweet Potato Meatloaf

2.5 lbs ground beef
1 sweet potato, shredded
1 sweet yellow onion, finely chopped
1lb uncured bacon
1 cup almond meal
2 eggs
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup golden raisins
½ tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
2. Time to get your meatloaf ‘insides’ ingredients going. So take ½ of the 1lb of bacon and chop it up into bite size pieces. Add to a deep saute pan and begin to cook down. Once the fat has began to rise, add your chopped onions and raisins to the pan to cook with the bacon.
3. While those ingredients cook together, shred your sweet potato either in your food processor with the shredding attachment or with a shredder.
4. Once the bacon is cooked through, the onions are slightly translucent, and the raisins have begun to bloat (you’ll see what I mean) add them to a large bowl along with all other ingredients: beef, sweet potatoes, almond meal, eggs, and all seasonings.
5. Now use your hands to get dirty. Mix all ingredients thoroughly together and press meat into 2-3 bread loaf pans. I get the disposable ones because then there is no clean up. I’m dirty enough as it is.
6. Top off the meatloaf with the extra slices of bacon.
7. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Bone Both

Ingredients for bone broth:

A lot of organic chicken, turkey, beef or other bones - enough to fill a large slow-cooker.

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Water

That's it.

1. Dump the bones into the crockpot (they can still be frozen).
2. Cover with water.
   
   
3. Add the apple cider vinegar and cover the pot.
4. Cook on low for at least 24 hours - you can cook it for 30 if you want, but 24 is good, less isn't as good.
5. Strain the bones out of the broth and discard - everything good has been taken out of them.
6. Cover and refrigerator until the fat has hardened on the top.
7. Remove the fat and save to use for cooking.

   

   Remove "schmaltz" - save for cooking.

8. Put the broth into jars and refrigerate - it will be almost like a jelly when it is cold, but turns into a wonderful broth for drinking straight or using in recipes.

Because there are no preservatives in this broth, it will last about two weeks in your refrigerator.

Makes about one and a half quarts, plus a cup of good fat.

Ostrich Meat Hodge Podge

4 ostrich meat burgers (Nirvana Organics - see "Shopping" tab)

1/2 bag prepared coleslaw

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1. Cut the ostrich meat burgers into chunks.
2. Brown the ostrich over medium heat until browned on one side.
3. Add the coleslaw mix and continuing cooking for another 10 minutes.
4. Add the balsamic vinegar and maple syrup.
5. Heat for another 3 minutes.

Ostrich burgers from Nirvana Organics

Ostrich meat chunks

Finished dish - sweet and savoury ostrich.

Dill Pickle Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Get out a silicone muffin pan or grease a metal muffin pan or an 8"x 5" loaf pan

Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef (pastured beef is best for flavour and your health)

1 small onion chopped

1/2 cup dill pickle juice (yes - really) - find the dill pickles with the fewest ingredients (no sugar)

1/3 cup Paleo ketchup

1 tsp. Magic Mushroom Powder (Nom Nom Paleo's recipe - so good)

1/4 cup chopped dill pickle

1 Tbsp. coconut sugar (or honey)

1 tsp. gluten-free Worcestershire sauce

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl - using your hands is the best way to blend.
2. Either use a 1/2 cup ice cream scoop to fill the muffins pan, or put all the mixture into the loaf pan. 
3. Bake for 30 minutes if using the muffin pan and one hour for the loaf pan.

Serve with extra Paleo ketchup and Kale Sweet Potato Salad.

Chicken Hodge Podge

Serves 3-4 (or enough for two dinners and two lunches the next day)

2 Tbsp. coconut oil

3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small cubes

2 cups peeled, cubed sweet potato (or leave the skin on if you like it)

2 cups coleslaw mix (1/2 a bag)

4 cups kale (I used dinosaur kale this time)

1 Tbsp. Tabil seasoning (pronounced "table") from NomNom Paleo's cookbook app - a Tunisian spice blend

1/3 cup of water

2 Tbsp. of coconut aminos (or wheat-free Tamari sauce)

salt and pepper to taste

1. Melt the coconut oil in a large skillet.
2. Add the cubed chicken breast and the Tabil seasoning, and cook until the chicken is lightly browned.
   
3. Add the sweet potatoes to the chicken mixture and stir to combine, cook for about 5 minutes.
   
4. Add the coleslaw mix and stir to combine, cook for another 5 minutes.
   
5. Add the kale and stir to combine.
   
6. Add the water and salt and pepper if using.
7. Cover and cook for about 15 minutes on medium heat.
8. Add the coconut aminos, stir to combine and serve.

   

   Dinner is ready in half an hour.

Masala Chili with Kale and Sweet Potatoes
(adapted from a recipe by Eat Real Food)

4 slices of good bacon, cut into 1/2" strips
1 lb. pasture raised ground beef
1/2 small onion, chopped (you can use more onion if it doesn't bother your stomach)
1 clove of garlic (I remove the centre so it doesn't affect my stomach as much)
2 cups of peeled, cubed sweet potato (this is where the pre-chopping on Sunday comes in handy)
1 large bunch of kale, stalks removed and chopped into small pieces
1" piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 - 14 oz. can of fire-roasted tomatoes (or regular tomatoes if that is all you have)
1 cup of water (rinse out the tomato can with it)
1 Tbsp. garam masala  (this amount made it really hot, so you could cut it in half, or add the coconut milk as
   I did)
Salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 can of coconut milk (not a carton - use the can without added ingredients)

1. Place the bacon into a large cold skillet and cook over medium heat until it is mostly crisp and then remove from pan and drain on some paper towels.  Leave the rendered bacon fat in the pan.
   
2. Add the onions, garlic, garam masala and ginger to the bacon fat and cook, stirring, for about a minute - it brings out the flavour of the spices.
   
3. Crumble the ground beef into the pan with the spices and continue to cook over medium heat for another 2-3 minutes until the pink is starting to disappear.
4. Add the sweet potatoes and combine.
   
5. Place the kale on top of the sweet potatoes (I also had some more radish leaves which I added), the tomatoes and the cup of water, cover and cook for about 15 minutes.
   
6. Remove the lid, and let some of the liquid evaporate - you don't want it too runny.
7. Add the cilantro and the reserved bacon pieces.

   

   "Foggy" photo - steaming pan.

8. Combine and serve over spaghetti squash.  I pre-cooked the spaghetti squash on the weekend, so it was just a matter of scraping out the strands and reheating.

   

   Hot version (add the coconut milk - mmmmmm, good)

Apple/Cranberry Sausage Stuffed Pork Chops
Makes 4-5 servings
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

6 thick-cut pork chops (I used boneless)
3 Gluten-free Apple/Cranberry Sausages (from D Sausage Haus in Steveston)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

1. Heat olive oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat.
2. Cut a horizontal pocket in each pork chop - careful not to cut through.
3. Remove the casing from the sausages and cut each sausage in half.
4. Place half a sausage in the pocket in each pork chop.
   
5. Sprinkle the top of each pork chop with salt and pepper.
6. Brown each side of the pork chops (about 3 minutes per side).
7. Place the stuffed pork chops in a baking dish and bake for 12-15 minutes.
   
8. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes to re-absorb juices.

Serve with Cabbage Cakes and applesauce.

Sweet Potato Meatballs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line two baking sheets with foil (for easy clean-up)

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

2 cups shredded sweet potato

1 shallot, minced

2 eggs

1/4 chopped parsley

1 Tbsp. coconut aminos

2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard

1 tsp. Nomnom Pale's Magic Mushroom powder

1. Mix everything together in a large bowl.
2. Form into small meatballs (a heaping tablespoon each)
3. Bake for 25 minutes.