Friday, September 11, 2015

Paleo Comfort Foods~Braised Short Ribs

OMG...Mouth Watering Goodness!!!

This recipe is from one of my favorite Paleo cookbooks, Paleo Comfort Foods by Julie & Charles Mayfield.



Ingredients:

3-4 lbs grass-fed beef short ribs
2-3 tsp fresh thyme leaves, minced
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
2 TBS avocado oil (hubby used olive oil)
1 1/2 C onion, chopped
1/2 C carrots, chopped
1/2 C celery stalks, chopped
4 sprigs fresh thyme
3 bay leaves
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 C marsala wine (found by dessert wines at Whole Foods)
3 C dry red wine
4 C beef stock (or veal if you have it)
6 oz thick-sliced portobello mushrooms (optional)  *we omitted as hubby detests mushrooms

Directions:

1. One hour before you begin cooking, remove the short ribs from the refrigerator and their packaging. Season with thyme, salt and pepper.
2. Preheat oven to 350* (165*C).
3. In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Place the short ribs meaty sides down in the pan, working in batches if needed to avoid overcrowding. Sear until they are nicely browned on each of the meaty sides (no need to brown the rib side). Transfer the browned ribs to a plate and set aside.
4. In the same Dutch oven, reduce your heat to medium, and add in your onion, carrot, celery, thyme, and bay leaves.  Stir with a wooden spoon to scrape up all the browned bits in the pot, and continue cooking until vegetables are softened and translucent.
5. Add in the balsamic vinegar, marsala, and wine and stir, bringing heat up to high and letting the mixture come to a boil. Let the liquid boil until it is reduced in half.
6. Pour in the stock and bring liquid back up to a boil.
7. Place the short ribs back in the pan placing the mushrooms on top and covers (unless omitting).
8. Braise in the oven for 3-3 1/2 hours or until the ribs are fork tender and do not resist at all.
9. Remove ribs and mushrooms from the Dutch oven. Increase temperature of oven to 400* (205*C). Place ribs meat side up on a sheet pan and roast for 10 minutes or until browned.
10.  While the ribs are roasting, strain the braising liquid through a fine sieve placed over a bowl to retain all the strained liquid.  Press down on the solids in the sieve to squeeze all the liquid out.  If you want you can skim off the fat at this point.
11.  Return liquid back to the Dutch oven, and bring up to a boil.  Simmer until sauce thickens slightly.
12.  Return the ribs and mushrooms back to the sauce and serve, spooning sauce over ribs.

We served them alongside Mashed Potatoes.  Enjoy!!!


Thursday, September 10, 2015

Ground Beef and Tater Tot Casserole~

Okay y'all...have to admit...this was THE hands down favorite of the week.  Hearty, southern, soulful food that even the kiddos will gobble up!!!



The recipe can be found here.

We substituted green beans for the peas as hubby detestspeas prefers them.

This is a great casserole if you are serving up a crowd!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

What's for Dinner Wednesday~Chicken Piccata

A favorite of my hubby's.  This is an easy version of a favorite Italian dish he orders when we dine out.


The recipe can be found here.

We served it with angle hair pasta rather than the couscous and jasmine rice.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato-less Marinara Sauce~

Another super yummy dish that can be prepared in the crockpot or oven.

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatball with Tomato-less Marinara Sauce


The recipe for the meatballs can be found here.

And the recipe for the tomato-less marinara here.

If you do not have a tomato allergy or sensitivity, you can substitute your favorite marinara or alfredo sauce for dipping.

Monday, September 7, 2015

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin~

We have started experimenting with some fall recipes, and this one did not disappoint. Over the next couple days I will be sharing a few yummy fall-ish recipes we discovered on Pinterest.

Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Tenderloin


Recipe can be found here.

We served it with rice and I loved dipping my pork in a bit of applesauce.

Saturday, September 5, 2015