Foodie Friday with Beth: beef

beef

Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts

These stuffed peppers are a go-to for a practically no prep meal option for those busy weeks! Just mix up the ingredients, stuff into the peppers and turn on the crockpot! The flavors are delicious and comforting, and the presentation is so impressive even guests will never know you barely put any effort into it! Recipe cred totally goes to my longtime friend, Katie Beisel.

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

21 Day Fix container fulfillment:

1 RED

1 GREEN

1 BLUE

Prep time – 10 minutes
Cook time – 3 hours

Ingredients:

6 large bell peppers (I used a variety of colors)
1 lb. lean ground beef (go for leanest possible; it will be less greasy)
½ cup onion, chopped (you can buy prepackaged in the veggie section…this saved me a lot of tears)
14 oz. can Italian style diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup uncooked brown rice
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 ½ cup shredded cheese, divided
¼ cup water (for bottom of slow cooker)

Instructions:

1. Cut off top of the peppers and scrape out the seeds and membranes – set inside crockpot
2. Combine ground beef, onion, diced tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper and 1 cup of cheese (optional). Stuff each pepper with mixture.
3. Cook on HIGH for 2-1/2 - 3 hours until peppers are tender and ground beef is cooked throughout.
4. About 15 minutes before serving, sprinkle cheese on top and let it melt.

5. Top with Greek yogurt and Enjoy!

TIP: Let excess water drain out of the pepper before plating them when you remove them from the crockpot.

When you want the comfort of a good Italian meal but you don't need the extra carbs, the miracle of spaghetti squash comes to the rescue! By now you've probably come to realize that I'm obsessed with spaghetti squash, and for good reason! It is so mild in flavor and versatile that it takes on the flavors of whatever you're adding to it. It's a veggie, for goodness sake, and you can't go wrong adding more veggies to your life! This recipe is so simple it will boost your confidence in how easy it is to eat healthy!

Spaghetti Squash Bake

21 Day Fix container fulfillment:

1 GREEN

1 RED

1/4 BLUE

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash
1 lb 90% lean ground sirloin
¼ cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic - 1 in meat, 2 in dish
1 jar spaghetti sauce
¾ cup ricotta cheese
1 egg, beaten
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cut spaghetti squash in 1/2 and scoop out the seeds.

Spray a microwave safe plate with olive oil and place the halves on it, facing up.

Microwave on high for 9 minutes.

Allow to cool.

Shred with a fork into a large mixing bowl.

While spaghetti squash is steaming/cooling, heat a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Spray with olive oil and saute the onions and 1 clove of the garlic until fragrant and semi-translucent. Add the ground beef and cook until brown. Drain any excess fat.

Combine the ground beef with the spaghetti squash in the large bowl. I use a large serving fork to mix everything together more easliy.

Lastly, add the spaghetti sauce, ricotta, beaten egg, 2 remaining cloves of garlic and the seasonings. Look for clean spaghetti sauces without added sugar or chemicals like "firming agents" or preservatives!!

Transfer the entire mixture to a 9x13 baking dish, sprayed with olive oil to prevent sticking.

Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30-45 min.

Enjoy!

You know those little 1 oz packets of Mexican seasoning? The ones loaded with tons of sodium and possibly a few other unwanted ingredients? Well, this recipe will rival anything you can pour out of a packet, but this time you'll know exactly what you're getting - a ton of flavor without all the salt! Whew!

The very best part of this recipe, besides the fact that it is a hearty comfort food, is that the butternut squash has the flavor of a sweet potato, but the nutritional values of a veggie! It's sweet, colorful, and delicious! Add in the convenience of the crockpot cooking method and this easily becomes a family favorite! Put it on before you leave for work, then toss in the veggies when you walk in the door! This is actually the first dish I have experimented with butternut squash, and that's all it took to get totally hooked!

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew (Crockpot version)

21 Day Fix container Fulfillment:
1 GREEN
1 RED

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs raw lean beef stew, boneless, 2″ cubes

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 bay leaf

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp black pepper

1 cup low-sodium organic beef broth

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 a butternut squash, cubed

Instructions:

Trim fat off meat and cut into 2” cubes. Add to crock pot with onion, garlic, seasonings, and broth. Cook on LOW for 6 hours.

Add bell peppers, tomatoes, and squash. [I cut the butternut in half, long-ways, then slice, then cut off the rind and cube the flesh.]

Cook on LOW an additional 1 – 1-1/2 hours.

Everyone makes meatloaf differently, and like most of you, I got the foundation of my recipe from my mom. I added oats cause that’s how my mother in law makes it, so that’s what my hubby likes :) I added carrots, cause I add veggies to everything! Then I just “cleaned” up some of the ingredients! Still tastes just like mom’s recipe, and that's really the point of what I try to do! Take my old favorite comfort meals and give them a healthy spin so I can fully enjoy my food while nourishing my body!

smile emoticon

Meat loaf

21 Day Fix container fulfillment:
1 RED (protein)
½ YELLOW (carbs)
and a smidge of a PURPLE (for the tomato sauce. Just eat 4 less grapes next time!)

Ingredients

• 1 lb 90% lean ground beef (This was perfect! Did not get dry, but wasn’t sitting in a puddle of grease!)
• ¾ cup whole wheat bread crumbs
• ¾ cup rolled oats
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup milk
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 6 oz (that’s ¾ cup) natural tomato sauce (I like Dei Fratelli)
• ¼ cup shredded carrot (just 1 normal sized carrot will do!)
• Fresh ground black pepper and sea salt to taste

Glaze
• 3 tablespoons ketchup (NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, people! This is the easiest switch to make, ever! So if that’s the ONLY thing you take away from learning about CLEAN eating, it’s worth it! Heinz makes a “Simply Heinz” ketchup without HFCS and it tastes EXACTLY the same! Your kids won’t even notice, I promise!)
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vinegar

Some of the CLEAN ingredients!

Whole wheat bread crumbs (this brand is everywhere!)

organic rolled oats from Meijer

Worcestershire sauce that is All Natural and reduced sodium

Simply Heinz ketchup (NO High Fructose Corn Syrup!)

Instructions

Basically, all you do is dump everything in a bowl and mash it together with your hands!

Form it into a loaf and transfer into the crock pot. Top with glaze and cook on LOW for 5-6 hrs.

If you’re making a bigger loaf, extend your cook time!
2 lbs 6-8 hrs on Low
1-1/2 lbs 6 hrs on Low

- OR -

Form it into a loaf and transfer into a 9x13 Pyrex dish, sprayed with Pam with Olive Oil. Top with glaze and cook on 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

Here are some tips!
- If you're using a crockpot, insert a crock pot liner before you do anything! Save yourself the scrubbing!
- I use a food processor to shred my carrot! I don’t even care that I have to get it out of the pantry. All the parts go in the dishwasher, so whatever! Since I had it out, I went ahead and blended the Panko breadcrumbs up cause they are so chunky and I wanted a finer crumb.
- I make a slight depression in the top of the loaf to hold the glaze on top!
- Did you read what I wrote about the NO High Fructose Corn Syrup?! I'm not kidding around, people!

Crockpot Stuffed Peppers

Spaghetti Squash Bake

Mexican Seasoning

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew (Crockpot version)

Meatloaf, Crockpot or Not!

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Beth

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