Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Tuesday Tastiness #22 - Italian Rice Bake

Did you miss Tuesday Tastiness last week? I have been battling a headache for a week now and am finally beginning to feel better. I used to have headaches on a regular basis and am so thankful that I don't suffer with them as I used to. This week has reminded me of that! It is very unusual for me to keep one for several days since I have changed our family's eating habits and I can't really put my finger on the reason for this one except that it might be hormonal. I'm at "that age", you know. But I'm feeling better now and on the upswing and can actually look at the computer screen for more than a couple of minutes without having to go curl up in my recliner in pain. I am very thankful for that today!

So on to this week's recipe!

This week's recipe is an Italian adaptation of the Mexican Skillet I posted a while back. Many of my recipes are very basic and similar in content which is a wonderful way to stretch those grocery funds when you are working with a limited budget. I can get by with the "basics" and create some very good meals out of similar ingredients. If you prefer pasta in your Italian meals, you could adapt this recipe to use pasta rather than rice. But I like the nutrition that rice brings to the dish, so I don't use the pasta.

My kids and one of their friends enjoyed this dish and gave it a hearty recommendation. I hope your family enjoys it, too!

Italian Rice Bake

1 lb. hamburger (I use grass-fed/finished when possible)

3 c. cooked brown rice (Cook 1 cup rice in 2 cups water)

4 cups (2 cans) diced tomatoes (fresh, canned, or frozen from your garden)

2 slices onion

1 t. garlic powder

1 T. salt (I use Real Salt)

2 t. Italian seasoning

3 cups cooked white beans (great northern or navy)

1/2 lb. grated cheese (or less if your family doesn't love it as much as mine)

Brown the hamburger. Cook the rice. (Hint: Cooked rice freezes very well. Make up a large batch and freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions to have available when needed.)

My children don't like chunky tomatoes or onions, so I put the tomatoes and onion in the blender and blend until smooth.

Stir all ingredients together, except cheese. Put into a 9 x 13 pan and cover with grated cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until bubbly.

Enjoy!!

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Tuesday Tastiness #21 - Sausage Gravy

As promised, today I will post my recipe for the delicious gravy I make with last week's recipe for beef sausage.

I love to make homemade gravy. For a long, long time I bought the package of white gravy mix and added water. I decided it had too many ingredients that I didn't want going into our bodies, so I quit making gravy at all. Then I discovered that you can make delicious gravy with real, whole foods. And we are eating it again! This is a very basic recipe that many whole foodies use as a base for all sorts of good things. Let's get started!

Homemade Sausage Gravy

1/3 cup flour (I use a mixture of unbleached and whole wheat)

1/3 cup butter or coconut oil (real butter or good quality coconut oil)

3 1/4 cups milk (I use raw milk when available)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t pepper

Pinch of Italian seasoning (optional)

1/4 pound homemade beef sausage

Melt butter and add flour. Stir or whisk until smooth and cook for 1 or 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and cook til thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Add seasonings and sausage and heat through.

Serve over biscuits or toast.

Delicious!

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Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Tuesday Tastiness #20 - Beef Sausage

Welcome to this week's Tuesday Tastiness! I'm so glad you have joined me once again!

Today I thought I would let you know how I make beef sausage. If you have ever read the ingredients on a package of sausage, you know all the undesirable fillers that are there! The packages of the healthier versions are usually cost-prohibitive. So I love this idea! I found the recipe on allrecipes.com and follow it fairly closely to the original recipe posted (except I use beef instead of ground turkey and adjust the ingredients that give it heat).

Homemade Beef Sausage

2 pounds hamburger meat (I use grass-fed/finished when able)

3/4 t ground ginger

1 1/2 t salt (I use Real Salt)

1 t dried sage

1/4 t cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)

3/4 t ground black pepper (more or less to taste)

There are two different ways to make this sausage:

1. You can make sausage patties by mixing all the ingredients together with your hands, form into patties, and cook in a pan or on a griddle, on both sides, till browned.

2. You can crumble the meat in a pan, add the rest of the ingredients and stir till browned. If you like to drain your meat, cook the meat first, drain, then add the other ingredients and warm through.

I usually make a big batch using the second choice, and freeze in bags with 1/2 pound each, because I like to add a bit of the sausage to scrambled eggs and white gravy for a delicious meal of "breakfast for supper".
Next week, look forward to my recipe of wonderful, healthy gravy!

And enjoy your sausage!

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