Don’t Cringe….Burgers With Beef Heart

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burger
Some of my previous posts have alluded to all the weird things I have eaten in the past few years in addition to the importance of organ meats in our diet. However, lets face it, liver tastes so gross! I have tried to like it, tried to sneak it, and tried to plug my nose and swallow! I just haven’t found any way to eat it that I actually like. To me, you need to like your food! So, there are no recipes that I have created with liver, although I have not given up. ;)

That leads me to my burgers! One thing I have been able to use successfully and not even notice is beef heart. I got a meat grinder for Christmas and have been thinking to myself ever since about what I am possibly going to use it for. I ordered some heart from my last meat pick up and decided ground heart it is. I told myself I was going to mix with ground beef and see what happens. Ummm…amazing happened!

Beef heart burgers

  • Combo of ground beef and ground beef heart
  • couple splashes of worcestershire sauce
  • a few hefty dashes of garlic powder
  • a few hefty dashes of red pepper flakes
  • salt and pepper

You should try this…organ meat is full of nutrients! If you don’t, I won’t hold it against you. However, you may want to inquire what your burger is made of at the next backyard BBQ at my house!

Paleo Shepard’s Pie: Happy St. Patty’s Day!

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Pardon the construction around here while I get things all posted, converted, and user-friendly! However, I did not want to deny you the recipe that I made for St. Patty’s Day. I have never had Shepard’s pie because quite frankly, a meat pie sounds gross. So, I doctored it up for a spin on the traditional!

Use this recipe as a template to swap out whatever your family enjoys…and to be honest, this was great for a special occasion but probably too many steps for what I typically want to be doing on a regular night. So, you could easily get all the same flavors by making the mashed potato mixture, and serving it right alongside the veggies and meat mixture. It will have all the same great flavor minus the layering, extra baking, etc.

Paleo Shepard’s Pie

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs of root veggies (I used 1 lb of buttercream potatoes (skin on), 1 turnip (peeled), 2 parsnip)
  • 1 apple (peeled)
  • 1 lb ground breakfast pork
  • 2 portobello mushroom caps, diced (you could use 1/2 lb more meat instead)
  • 2 stalks of celery, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, diced
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 stick of butter
  • 1/2 cup frozen peas
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 tsp oregano

Directions:

Cut your root veggies and apple into similar size chunks to throw into a pot with water. Season the water with salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and boil until all veggies are fork tender (around 15 minutes). Drain the veggies and add them back to the pot. Add 1/2 stick of butter to them and begin mashing until you get a mashed potato consistency that you enjoy. Add more butter if needed. Add 1 tsp each of salt and pepper and set aside.

While the veggies are boiling, preheat your over to 450 degrees. Grab a cast iron skillet and brown your pork. Once the pork is cooked through for the most part, take it out with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel for later. Add 1 TBSP butter to the pork fat and then add the onion, celery, carrots and saute until softened (about 8 minutes). Then add the tomato paste and garlic and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the broth, worchestershire saucem oregano, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper.. Allow to simmer until thickened up a bit (3 more minutes).

Remove from heat and mix in ground meat and frozen peas. Add the mashed root veggies on top and spread with a spatula. Bake until the potato mixture is browned (about 30 minutes). Let rest another 5 minutes after removing from oven before serving.

Paleo Sushi

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So, a couple months ago I was having the worst cravings ever for salmon.  I’m not sure why but I could not walk past it in the grocery store without buying it, stocking up on it, and ordering it off every menu at restaurants.  I must have had my craving satisfied; however, I never forgot about the amazing sushi roll that I came up with!  I had it again last night and thought that I had to share it with everyone.;)

Ingredients: (1 roll)

  • 1/2 an avocado, mashed
  • 1 nori sheet
  • a few strips smoked salmon
  • a few slices of mango
  • a green onion
  • a few sliced of fermented jalapeno, diced

Instructions:

Spread the mashed avocado on the nori sheet leaving about an inch at one end without any.  At the edge (the one with avocado) lay down the smoked salmon, then the green onion, mango, and sprinkles of jalapeno.  Begin to roll the sheet up into a cylinder and wet the edge without avocado on it in order to make it stick.  Done.  I eat it like a burrito but feel free to cut into bite size pieces like they do at the restaurant.  I tried that once and I just ended up smashing it and everything fell out. ;(  You can use any variation of ingredients!  Sashimi grade tuna, cooked shrimp, cucumber, bell pepper, jicama, etc.  I just love smoked salmon and avocado!

BTW-I thought I came up with this amazing idea….until you search it on the internet and everyone is doing it!  My roll is the best though….probably because of my homemade fermented jalapenos!