Okay, I’ll admit it, I am a bbq junky! I love bbq anything! I have recently taken to making up my own bbq sauces when I’m cooking because we don’t care for the store bought organic varieties much. Hope you enjoy this one, I know I did.
Beef BBQ
2 lbs stewing beef (I use grass fed pastured beef)
3-4 c chicken broth (I use organic free-range)
seasonings for cooking beef: garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, cumin, turmeric, dry mustard, chili powder
seasonings for bbq sauce: garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, turmeric, chili powder
ketchup
honey
liquid smoke
Slow cook beef in chicken broth and seasonings for cooking beef on low for 4-6 hours or until fully cooked but tender and juicy. Drain meat and pull apart into shreds. For the sauce, I mixed ketchup honey and seasonings for bbq sauce with a few drops of liquid smoke, I am sorry I don’t have more accurate measurements, I have a bad habit of dash it, mix it, taste kind of cooking.
I am not a huge fish fan, BUT I will eat tuna and sometimes salmon. This salmon patty recipe is one of my favorite ones so far.
Salmon Patties
14 oz salmon (wild caught)
1 egg (free range)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I save from my fresh milled bread)
1 t worcestershire sauce (use a good quality one with natural ingredients)
olive oil for frying
In a bowl mix together all ingredients. Heat small amount of oil in a skillet on med-low. Grab golf ball sized amount of salmon and pat it into a flat patty and place into skillet cook 5-7 min turning once, you just want a nice brown crusting to form on each side.
I made this recipe with noodles I made following this recipe, making them from my fresh milled wheat.
Lasagna
1 batch lasagna noodles
1 lb ground beef { grass fed of course }
≈ 1 lb Ricotta cheese
≈ 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese, shredded
≈ 6 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded { I use raw if available or hormone/antibiotic free at least }
1 jar spaghetti sauce
garlic powder, italian seasoning, minced onion to taste
1 1/2 T olive oil
Cook noodles in boiling water or broth for 20-25, I add about 2 Tablespoons of olive oil to it to keep them from sticking. Brown ground beef adding garlic powder, italian seasoning and minced onion for added flavor. Add in spaghetti sauce (if you are not cooking with grass fed/clean meat, you will need to drain first then return to skillet) and simmer for 5-10 min. Layer noodles, then 1/3 sauce mix, then half of the ricotta and half of the mozzarella, repeat, then last layer is noodles, remaining sauce mix, and the cheddar. Top with the olive oil drizzled across the top and sprinkle with italian seasoning. Bake at 350º for approx 35min. Serve with garlic bread.. yum.
Chicken pot pies have always been a favorite in my house, but I used to make them with the pre-made pie crusts, all the canned (non organic) veggies, Campbell’s cream of chicken soup and canned chicken meat even. Since we have went with trying to reduce canned stuffs and eating more natural/clean/organic I have pretty much given up on the Chicken Pot Pie phase of our life until I found this recipe at heavenlyhomemakers.com. I decided to give it a whirl and this was my result:
Before typing up the recipe, I just want to make note that my oldest (boy-17) took a few bites and said ‘I like this, I mean even if we weren’t eating organic, I would ask for this again, I really really like it’
So, this is a huge keeper for me. Here is what I do:
Chicken Pot Pie
6 cups free range organic chicken broth
2 cups cooked free range chicken torn into bite size pieces
5 handfuls (yep that’s an accurate measurement) of organic baby carrots cut up
6 medium organic potatoes peeled and diced
2 cups organic frozen peas
sea salt and pepper to taste
also added dashes(es) of: turmeric, parsley, and italian seasoning
2-3 T arrowroot powder
1 cup milk (I used almond)
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup whole wheat flour (I milled soft white for this)
In a large pot, boil the broth, chicken, carrots, potatoes, and peas until veggies are tender. Mix arrowroot powder with water until smooth. Stir mixture into the broth/chicken/veggies, cooking for about a minute longer on the stove to help thicken. Pour contents into a 9×13 (or larger as mine did want to spill a little) baking dish.
In separate bowl mix milk, mayo and flour (may decrease milk a pinch or increase flour a pinch). Spread mixture over top the broth and veggies. (yes, it will be runny)
Bake in 350º oven for 45min.
Delicious!!!
*Edited 4/17/13 To note variations:
I used 8 T arrowroot powder, mixed it with 1/2 cup milk, 1 T mayo and then enough water to make it the right consistency. I only seasoned with italian seasonings and salt and pepper on this one. The broth was much less runny this way. This is what updated Chicken Pot Pie looked like.
Chili is something I make ALL the time, and I can guarantee you, I have not made it the same 2 times in a row. The basics are the same but chili is so easy to add your own personal variations to, that you can have lots of fun with making it your own. Oh yeah, and remember, I use organic ingredients and my beef is grass fed.
Jen’s Chili
32 oz tomato juice
30-60 oz chili beans (2-4 cans)
2 lbs ground beef (I will reduce to 1lb when the budget is a lil tight){grass-fed}
1 onion diced
1 green pepper diced
1/2-1 t dry mustard
1/2-1 t turmeric
1-2 t cumin
2-4 t chili powder
1-2 t garlic powder
1/2-1 t black pepper
Fry up your beef with the peppers, onions and half of the garlic powder. Combine this and remaining ingredients in crockpot and cook for 4 hours on high or in a pot on stove and simmer on low for 2 hours.
I just want to make note that I used grass fed beef and organic ingredients the only exception being the Worcestershire sauce. I used Lea & Perrins original, which was the only brand I could find without HFCS. Next I am going to try an organic brand I seen at Sprout’s. This recipe I got from one of my favorite sites: Heavenly Homemakers
Sloppy Joes
2 lbs ground beef {grass fed}
2 T minced onion
1 c ketchup
1 t prepared mustard
1/4 t garlic powder
1 T Worcestershire sauce
Brown meat with minced onion and garlic powder. Add the remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for a few minutes. I served on my homemade Garlic Onion Rolls.
Homemaker Gone Natural 