Paleo Bison Chili

It looks like Morgan and I think alike. Just before I read her last post I made Bison Chili to blog about. Whoops! This actually happens a lot. Great Minds! :)

This one will be for all those meat eaters out there. Don't worry, there are still plenty of antioxidants and fiber in this chili. It's also lower in fat than your average chili. I've used ground bison, which is a lot leaner than ground beef.  I also used turkey bacon vs. regular bacon for a smoky flavor. Alternatively you could use canadian bacon or even regular center cut bacon. Make sure to get Nitrite/Nitrate free bacon. You could make this vegetarian by swapping out the bison for beans or even lentils and using vegetable broth vs. beef broth.

I forgot to get a picture again! WHOOPS!!!!!


Bison Chili

-1 lb ground bison
-3 bell peppers (any color) diced
-5 slices turkey bacon
-1 medium onion diced
-3 cloves garlic, diced
-1 large can diced fire roasted tomatoes (no salt added)
-1 T tomato paste
-1/2 c. beef broth
-1 heaping tsp. ground cumin
-1 tsp. cayenne (you can use less if you like it more mild)
-salt to taste
-1 T EVOO

First dice your onion, garlic, peppers and bacon. Next add EVOO to your saucepan and heat over medium high. Once hot, add onions and garlic. Saute until translucent.

Add your bacon and ground bison to the mixture. Break up the ground bison and make sure the meat browns.

Next add in your tomato paste and spices. Make sure to mix it well.

Add all veggies next (canned tomatoes included) and broth. Bring to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, bring to medium low and let it simmer away until veggies are tender.

You could put this all in the crockpot and let it cook while you're at work or going about your day.

Toppings/Garnishes:

-cilantro
-jalapeno slices
-avocado
-hot sauce

Cauliflower Curry & Meatballs

This is a super speedy recipe!  By using a jarred curry sauce, you can save a lot of time during dinner prep.  We will balance out sodium in the pre-made sauce by only adding minimal additional sodium to our meatballs and by adding lots of vegetables rich in potassium.  Feel free to substitute any vegetables you have on hand.  You may also used cubed chicken, instead of the meatballs, to cut back on total and saturated fat.

To start, lightly coat baking sheet with non-stick spray.  Spread cauliflower evenly on pan and roast in preheated 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes, stirring once. 

While cauliflower is roasting, heat a medium sauté pan over medium heat and start your meatballs. 

 

 

Mix together your meat, wheat germ, flaxseed, parsley, pepper and salt.  Roll the mixture into evenly-sized meatballs.

Brown your meatballs over medium heat, rotating until browned on all sides.  As hard as I try, I can never get my meatballs perfectly round...

After meatballs are browned, set them aside.  Wipe out extra grease from pan.  Put your meatballs back in the pan and add curry sauce. I used Tikka Masala curry, but you can choose whichever kind you prefer.  Add about 1/2 jar-full of water and simmer about 5 minutes.

 

 

Add your cauliflower to the pan and stir to combine. 



Serve over brown rice with a dollop of fat-free Greek yogurt. 

Cauliflower Curry & Meatballs
Makes 4 servings

1 head cauliflower, chopped
1lb grass-fed beef
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup flaxseed
2 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1 jar curry sauce (I used Tikka masala curry, but use your preference)

1. Roast cauliflower at 400 for 20 minutes.
2. Mix together beef, wheat germ, flaxseed, parsley, pepper and salt.  Form into meatballs.  Cook over medium heat, turning until all sides are browned, about 10 minutes. 
3. Drain meatballs, and wipe out extra grease from pan.  Put your meatballs back in the pan and add curry sauce. Fill about 1/2 the empty curry jar with water and add to pan.  Simmer with meatballs for about 5 minutes.  Add cauliflower, stirring to combine.  Serve with rice and yogurt, if desired.

Nutrition information per serving- 420 calories, 25gm fat, 8gm saturated fat, 74mg cholesterol, 510mg sodium, 21gm carbohydrates, 8gm fiber, 7gm sugar, 30gm protein

Beef and Plantain Stew

By 10 am this past Saturday I had already baked a loaf of banana bread, made a batch of raw coffee brownies, and have stew in the crock-pot. Sounds like a lot of work but it wasn't. I used 2 kitchen appliances, well, 3 if you count the oven. Total prep time for all foods, maybe 20 minutes. So as I wait for my slice of bread to digest and finish my coffee I figured I'd blog about the stew I just made.

Crock-pots are wonderful. They make life so much easier. You can pretty much throw anything into a crock-pot and it will come out tasting wonderful. This recipe has only 5 main ingredients and a few spices to get it all going. You'll be seeing a lot more crock-pot friendly meals on the blog in the next few months as the weather gets colder and colder here in NC.

Sorry I forgot to snap a photo here!

Beef and Plantain Stew

-1 lb of lean grass fed beef cubes
-2 green plantains, sliced
-1/2 medium to large yellow onion, diced
-3-4 c. kale
-2 c. low sodium beef stock
-2 c. water
-1/2 tsp. ground ginger
-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
-1/2 tsp. ground garlic or 2 garlic cloves
-salt to taste

Throw it all into the crock-pot at once and let it cook. I put mine on high then set it to low later in the afternoon. You can certainly brown your beef before putting into the crock-pot but I was only half awake this morning when I threw this together so that did not happen.