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Best Barbecue Sauce

7 Jan
you won’t miss the sugar

One of the first blogs we started following when we began our primal journey was SonofGrok. He had witty posts and tasty recipes, but sadly he is no longer blogging. I’m pretty sure, however, his Zesty Barbecue Sauce recipe will remain. I’ve used it several times and it never disappoints! Last week it proved to be a winner for all company so I just had to share it with you. SonofGrok could definitely bottle this. I would buy it!  You WON’T miss the sugar.  

Ingredients

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 large onion, finely diced
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 to 1 1/2 cups of beef stock
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (I’ve also used red wine vinegar or pomegranate vinegar in a pinch)
1 tsp sea salt
2 Tbsp chili powder

Directions

Heat oil in sauce pan, sauté onion and garlic. Add spices, tomato paste, mustard, and vinegar. Combine until fragrant. Slowly add beef stock, constantly mixing until you reach your desired consistency. Simmer for 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to combine. Tastes great right from the pan, but even better if you make it ahead and refrigerate for a day or two. You can also run it through a food processor once cooled if you prefer a smoother consistency. Go ahead and make a double batch!

I recently served mine with beef brisket, but it’s ideal for so many dishes. Try it with simple pulled pork, fresh roast chicken, on burgers, as a sweet potato fries dip, or with ground beef for a new twist on spaghetti squash and meat sauce. If you prefer a vinegar based barbecue sauce, try our Eastern Carolina sauce.

Happy Fall!

Heather

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the base before the broth is added

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This is the first time I am going for a blog repost.  We are not using much of our personal social media for self-promotion.  But I really want to bring a selection of gems back to life.  We have published 171 posts (wow!) here in the last 5 years…and some of them definitely deserve a re-look.  

Also, we’ve picked up many new followers who may have not seen some of our old content…  I (Leigh) am still trying to decide whether or not to use social media to direct traffic over here.  That seems to be the blogger-thing to do; however, we risk becoming just more “white noise” people scroll past.  

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Hamburger Helper…

13 Dec

…helps hamburger help her.  Remember that?  Am I showing my age?

So it’s 5:30 pm.  You just remembered that you have to feed your family, again.  You haven’t thought about what to eat, but somehow you feel guilty throwing frozen fish sticks and a bag of cheetos at them.  You have that frozen brick of ground beef burning a hole in your freezer.

I have your answer.  This is the pinch-hit you need on your repetoire when you are very low on the gaf-meter, but not low enough to call for pizza.

This is the easiest one-pot meal you can make and you don’t even need one of those insta machines to do it. You have everything you need in your freezer and fridge right now.

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1 chopped onion
1 hunk of ground meat (I use 2 lbs, but we have 7 eaters)
1 bag of frozen kale (approx 1 fresh bunch per pound of meat)**
Cheese.  Lots of shredded cheese.
SPICES:
Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste.    
Cumin + Curry powder (1 tbsp each, per pound of meat)

Get out a big pot. Sauté the onion in a few tbsps of oil.  Add the ground beef and kale.  (If beef is frozen, you’ll want to defrost it in the mike for a few minutes.)  Brown the beef.  Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and curry…stir frequently until it’s all cooked.  Stir in a large handful of shredded cheese. 

Notes: Honestly you can pick any spice here…you can be pretty creative.  This is a great time to try out one of those spice combos they’ve come out with: Rogan Josh, Ras-el-Hanout, Southwestern Ranch, etc.  Anything will be good.
Season heavily: about a tablespoon of spice per pound of meat.
Bowl it up, and top with as much cheese as you like.


**I buy fresh chopped kale in the salad section, and freeze it for smoothies or “Hamburger Helper” night.  It is about 5 cups.
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 Bam.  Just fed the family…took 14 minutes.  Eating healthy does not mean you also have to be creative every night, too.  This is a skeleton of a recipe…consider topping it with a fried egg,  or using the leftovers in a breakfast scramble, in egg cupcakes, or throw it in a couple cups of bone broth for a filling soup.   For another easy grab-the-hamburger dinner, check out these Creamy Curry Meatballs.  

 

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If you have these five ingredients….

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And these spices needing to be used up…

Then dinner’s almost done.

 

Keeping it real over here, 
Leigh 

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Creamy Curry Meatballs

24 Aug

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I am so excited.  After SO MANY MONTHS of not cooking, not trying new recipes, (honestly, not even really that eating clean, eeek),  I finally found a recipe that inspires and suits me: convenient, filling, and utterly delectable.  Between pregnancy and moving to Hawaii, blogging and cooking have really taken a back seat.  But like every passion the fire returned, even after all this time!

I won’t even apologize that this is not my original recipe, and it may even be old news to many of you.  But, I came across this and wanted to share just in case anyone was not aware of this awesomeness from Everyday Paleo.  I kept the meatball recipe the same, but I did make some minor adjustments to the sauce–to make it creamy, and mostly because her sauce called for only half-a-can of some things…I don’t like doing that.  🙂

 

Meatballs

3 lbs ground beef
(feed a crowd, enjoy leftovers or freeze half for next time!)

1 cup finely diced onion

1 cup apple finely diced

1 egg

2 tablespoons curry powder

½ tablespoon sea salt

black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400. In a large bowl, place all of the meatball ingredients and mix well by hand.  Form into golf-ball sized meatballs, and place into a large glass baking dish.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  While the meatballs are roasting, whip up the sauce!

Curry Sauce

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 tablespoons curry powder

1 can (6 oz) tomato paste

1 can (14 oz) coconut milk

1/2 c water

juice of 1 lemon

salt and pepper to taste

In a saucepan whisk all ingredients together, bring to a simmer.  Add a few more tablespoons of water if you prefer the sauce slightly thinner…I like mine thick!  After the meatballs are done, drain them in a colander, and return them to their baking dish.  Pour the sauce over them, make sure they are well-coated.  Yum!

I served them over sautéed kale and cauliflower rice.  My kids gobbled these up, and the leftovers tasted even better.  I loved that I had all the ingredients on hand!  These meatballs would also make a phenomenal freezer meal.

Enjoy!
Leigh

 

 

Meatballs are a great meal for kids to help with!

Meatballs are a great meal for kids to help with!

Easy, creamy, curry sauce

Easy, creamy, curry sauce

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