These meatballs make the perfect appetizer or a fulfilling meal, served over steamed rice or “cauliflower” rice. My version of sweet and sour meatballs uses fresh pineapple… I try to stay away from anything in a can these days. I also added red chili flakes for a special kick, however you can easily adjust the amount to reach the level of heat desired.
This dish is also wonderful served as an appetizer at a party. Just prepare it through step 4, then place all ingredients in the crockpot and let simmer on low all day! Or make it a few days before and reheat in your crockpot.
Sweet N’ Sour Meatballs
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond flour, packed
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
Sauce
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 red bell peppers, chopped
- 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger, freshly grated
- 1 medium pineapple, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon honey (opt)
- 2 teaspoons coconut flour, packed (opt)
- salt to taste
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Prepare meatballs: Whisk together eggs, spices and almond flour. Add ground beef and combine using your hands. Shape into 60 small meatballs. Place on a sheet tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until nicely browned.
- While meatballs are cooking, start your sauce: In a large dutch oven or pot saute the onion and bell pepper in 2 tablespoons oil until tender. Add garlic and ginger, cook until fragrant, about one minute.
- Stir in chopped pineapple. De-glaze pan with the apple cider vinegar. Add water and red chili flakes. Bring to a boil.
- Add browned meatballs and simmer on low for 1-3 hours. The longer you cook it the better. The pineapple will cook down and create a lovely sauce.
It makes more of a soup than a “sauce”, however you can make it slightly thicker using a bit of coconut flour. At the end of cooking, take 1/2 cup of the soup in a small bowl and whisk in 2 teaspoons packed coconut flour. It will become a thick paste aka, “slurry”. Then pour the slurry back into the pot and gently stir in. After a minute or two you will see it start to thicken.
*Also, depending on the ripeness of your pineapple, you may find that you will need a little bit of sweetener. I suggest waiting to the very end, doing a taste test, then adding the honey only if needed.
As much as I respect Julia Child and her culinary expertise…. I have modified her famous version of Beef Bourguignon. Check it out! It has the longest steps ever, no wonder people are intimidated to make this dish! Don’t worry, I have made a much easier version, which yields the same delicious results. It’s basically the same ingredients, but I have simplified the steps and made it a true one pot dish, more suitable to my cooking style.
Beef Bourguignon
- 8 oz bacon, chopped
- 3 lbs stewing beef, cubed
- kosher salt
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 1 lb carrots, sliced
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 lb sliced mushrooms
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 teaspoon fresh
- 2 bay leaves
- Heat a large dutch oven. Cook bacon until crisp, then remove with a slotted spoon into a large bowl.
- Season beef with kosher salt and saute in hot bacon grease. Sear the meat in batches, and place browned beef in the bowl with cooked bacon.
- Saute onions and carrots for 3 minutes.
- Add garlic, cook for another minute until fragrant.
- Add mushrooms and cook down for 5 minutes.
- Return beef and bacon back to the pot.
- Stir in tomato paste.
- Add red wine, broth, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.
- Then turn burner down to low, cover dutch oven with lid and simmer for 3 hours or bake in an oven at 300.
- Serve warm over cauliflower mash, gf noodles or with boiled potatoes (which is what is traditionally served with this dish).
*Check stew periodically during cooking time and give it a stir. At the end of the 3 hours, if there is still alot of cooking liquid, I like to cook it on high and boil it down to cook off some of the liquid. This makes the soup more flavorful and intense in flavor. Do not add any salt until the very end. You may not need to add any because of the salty bacon, broth and salted beef. You can always add salt later, but you can’t fix a salty dish.
I was recently introduced to cardamom, a spice commonly used in Indian cuisine. Aromatic and intense. These little pods pack a punch of flavor. They come in small pods covered in a thin papery shell. It can be pricey, but one little pod goes a long way. It is best to use fresh cardamom still in it’s shell, as powdered cardamom will have lost most of it’s flavor. Cardamom is commonly used to make tea and coffee, and has some known medicinal properties. My dear friend brought me fresh cardamom pods from Sri Lanka and showed me how to make tea with it. Simply add a whole pod or two to a pot of boiling water with a cinnamon stick, cloves and some star anise (sometimes I add fresh ginger too, depends on my mood that particular day). Let the water simmer for about 15-20 minutes until it is fragrant and darker in color. Strain and serve with a splash of coconut milk and honey.
I have been experimenting with this spice, using it in both savory and sweet dishes. Add some into your favorite curry for a pleasant surprise. Just be sure it is finely ground, you don’t want to get an actual “bite” of the cardamom, because it is very strong. Again, like I said before, a little bit goes a long way with this particular spice.
I also discovered that this spice merries very well with the other holiday spices, such as cinnamon and ginger. I thought this cake would be the perfect way to bring it into use this season. This cake makes a lovely breakfast with tea, or a light dessert treat.
Cranberry – Cardamom Upside Down Cake
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1/3 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup melted butter/oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond flour, packed
- 1/4 cup coconut flour, packed
- 1/8 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Grease a 9 inch pie plate.
- Melt together the 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons honey. Pour into pie plate.
- Sprinkle evenly the cranberries and pecans into the bottom of the dish.
- Prepare cake batter: Whisk together the melted butter, honey and eggs.
- Stir in the dry ingredients, until well combined.
- Spread batter evenly over cranberry nut mixture.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
- Remove from oven and invert onto serving plate.
Did you know that a Shepherd’s Pie is only called that if you use lamb?? Otherwise it is technically called “Cottage Pie”, if using beef or turkey. Use whatever meat you prefer or have on hand. Depending on the price of meat or the availability of ground lamb, I often use beef. I replaced the usual mashed potato topping with a tasty cauliflower mash… obviously potatoes are gluten free, so it is a preference if you would still like to use them. Just follow the recipe and then simply top with your potatoes instead. However, if you haven’t ventured into the world of cauliflower mash, I want to encourage you to try it in this recipe! I promise you will be pleasantly surprised :)
I have brought this Sheperd’s Pie to a number of family events and potlucks and the dish is always wiped clean! I even get requests to bring it places! There is just something so comforting about this meal.
Shepherd’s Pie
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 1 lb ground lamb, beef, or turkey
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 10 oz mushrooms, chopped
- 1/3 cup red wine
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 cup frozen peas
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Mashed Cauliflower Topping
- 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets and steamed 15 minutes
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup grated swiss cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- The first step is to prepare your mashed cauliflower topping. Combine the steamed cauliflower and all of the ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth and fluffy. Set mixture aside.
- Preheat your oven to 400.
- Heat a large cast iron or oven proof skillet with 2 tablespoons oil.
- Saute the onion and carrots, until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add your meat and cook until mostly browned. Add the mushrooms and garlic. Cook for another 3-4 minutes to soften mushrooms.
- De-glaze the pan with red wine.
- Stir in the tomato paste, stock and herbs. Cook down for another 3-5 minutes until some of the liquid cooks out and it thickens slightly.
- Lastly, stir in the peas. Give it a quick taste and season accordingly with salt and pepper.
- Spread the cauliflower mash evenly on top.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until lightly golden and bubbly.
*if you do not have a dutch oven or oven proof skillet, just transfer the cooked meat mixture to a casserole dish, cover with mashed cauliflower and bake accordingly.
*this recipe is a wonderful potluck dish and is easy to transport… always a crowd pleaser!
I was always the kid eating a bag of popcorn with a handful of chocolate candies at the same time. There is just something so good about mixing salty and sweet. Your taste buds just don’t know what to do!
These decadent brownies are a combination of two of my favorite recipes: my perfect brownies and easy caramel, then sprinkled with a little bit of sea salt. I use himalayan sea salt, which has a lovely pink hue. But use whatever course sea salt you have on hand. Whatever you do, do NOT use table salt.
The Perfect Brownie
- 1/2 cup butter
- 4 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 3/4 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour, packed
- 1/4 cup almond flour, packed
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 325. Grease a 9×9 square baking dish (for thick brownies) or 9×13 glass dish for regular brownies.
- Melt together the butter, chocolate and coconut oil.
- Whisk in the honey. Allow mixture to cool down before adding your eggs.
- Stir in your eggs.
- Add your flours, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to combine.
- Spread mixture evenly into greased baking dish.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool completely before topping with caramel.
Easy Caramel
- 1/2 cup of butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 1/2 cup of cashew cream, coconut milk or heavy cream
- In a heavy bottom saucepan, combine butter and honey. Bring to a boil.
- Continue to cook, stirring frequently until it turns a dark caramel color. You want it to be slightly darker than what you want in the end. Remove from burner.
- Add milk (stand back, it will splatter!) Stir to combine.
- Let cool slightly and allow to thicken, about 5 minutes.
- Pour caramel onto cooled brownies. Spread evenly to cover.
- Sprinkle with sea salt.
- Cut into small squares, as they are very rich! These cut most cleanly once chilled.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge up to 1 week.
*Or try them warmed up for a gooey treat!
