Category Archives: Beef

Beef, Breakfast & Brunch, Recipes

Not-Quite-Traditional Corned Beef Hash

I had some left over corned beef and even though I have a great corned beef hash recipe, I wanted to try the more traditional version.  But it isn’t quite the traditional version since I used other root vegetables than potatoes for the hash.  While it doesn’t have the starch from potatoes to glue the hash together, it is still a very tasty dish with lots of wonderful flavor from my selected root – turnips and rutabagas, plus the addition of Irish cheddar cheese.

Just a note here, in the US, we call the purplish vegetable with the orange flesh a rutabaga, but I understand that in Ireland, and possibly other European countries, it’s referred to as a turnip.  Where US turnips are the white vegetable with a purplish blush skin.  Parsnips, on the other hand, look like a big white carrot and are higher in carbs.

Corned Beef Hash with Eggs

1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
1 cup Turnips and 1 cup Rutabaga, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
12 oz. cooked Corned Beef, cubed
1/2 cup Bell Pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Parsley
1/8 teaspoon dried Thyme leaves
Salt to taste (optional)
1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup Kerry Gold Irish Cheddar, shredded
4 Eggs, fried
1/4 cup Beef Broth
OR 1 teaspoon Better than Bullion Beef in 1/4 cup hot water.

 Peel turnips and rutabagas and cut in half, then into quarters.  .  Put into a pot and add enough water to cover.  Cook for about 20 minutes, then check for fork tender.  The turnips will probably cook faster than the rutabaga, so remove to a colander to cool, add more water to the pot if necessary and cook the rutabagas another 20 minutes, until they are also fork tender.  Drain and cool.  Dice turnips and rutabagas into 1/4 inch cubes.

Heat olive oil in the skillet over medium heat, add the onion and cook until it turns golden brown. Stir in the corned beef and cook a few minutes, stirring now and then. Add beef broth or bullion and seasonings and stir. Add the root vegetables. Continue cooking about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender and meat is hot.

Remove from heat and stir in the cheese. Serve with a fried egg on top, garnished with a few green onion slices, if you like.

Makes 4 servings

Nutrition Info per serving
Calories: 383.2 Fat: 25.5 g Net Carbs: 5.8 g Protein: 26.6 g

Beef, Main Dish, Recipes

Tender Short Ribs with Root Vegetables

Oddly, in my many years of cooking, I had never made short ribs until recently.  Why?  I don’t know, because these are so simple to make and so wonderful to eat.  It only took a little bit to adapt them to low carb.  They take about 2 1/2 hours to make with the cook time, but they are so worth it.  My recipe is adapted for two people, but you can easily double it to serve four.  For my root vegetables, I used golden beets and turnips.  You could also use kohlrabi or celery root in this.  The vegetables pick up the flavor from the braising liquid and I am not sure that a potato used in this would taste much different.

Short Ribs with Vegetables

4 Beef Short Ribs (with bones) – about 1 1/2 lbs
1 Golden Beet, medium
1 Red Onion, medium
1 Turnip, medium
1/2 cup Beef Bullion
1/2 cup Red Wine (Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon)
1/2 cup CarbQuick or Coconut Flour
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, ground

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F)

Peel the beet and turnip and cut into cubes. Peel the onion and slice it.

In a pie pan, mix the CarbQuick or coconut flour with the seasoning salt and garlic powder. Dredge the short ribs in the flour.

In a dutch oven or heavy oven-ready deep pot, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil until hot. Add the onions and vegetables and cook until just browned. Remove to a plate. Add the remaining oil, then add the short ribs and brown on all sides, about three minutes a side. When browned, add the beef bullion and wine and stir in the pot. Then add the vegetables back in.

Cover the pot with an oven-proof lid or heavy foil and put in the preheated oven. Cook for 2 hours. Short ribs will be tender and delicious.

Serves 2.

Nutrition Info:
Calories: 448  Fat: 24.4 g Net Carbs: 8.6 g  Protein: 35.7 g

 

Beef, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Celebrate Spring With Pasta & Sausage


While some of you may still be waiting for Spring to arrive or be preparing for Autumn, in my neck of the woods, it is definitely Spring. I admit to waiting for a freeze to come along soon since that is the weather at the foot of the Sierras. But spring vegetables have definitely arrived at the supermarket and among them is on sale and tender stalks of asparagus. This is one of my very favorite vegetables so I try to catch it every time it’s on sale.

Chorizo Pasta with Spring Vegetables

This pasta dish uses asparagus and Swiss chard along with sweet peppers and spicy chorizo sausage, the Basque type, to make a celebration of the season. If you don’t like chorizo, you can substitute in another firm sausage.

As you can clearly see in the photo, I used rotini pasta when I made this before it came out that Dreamfield pasta isn’t lower in carbs.  When I make this again using one of the vegetable options for pasta or making my own low carb pasta, then I will post a new photo on this page.

2 tsps Ginger-Garlic Paste
1/2 cup Onions, chopped
1/3 cup Sweet peppers, cut into strips
1 cup Swiss Chard, chopped
1 cup Asparagus, cut into pieces
2 links Chorizo, (Basque style)
1 tablespoon Better Than Bouillon, Chicken broth
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
2 cups thinly sliced or shredded Zucchini or Spaghetti Squash
1/4 teaspoon Seasoning Salt
1 teaspoon thickener or Cornstarch
1 tablespoon Olive Oil or other oil

Cook the thin strips of zuchinni in boiling water until al dente, just about 5 minutes.  Drain.  If you’re using spaghetti squash, either cut it half and bake in face down on foil covered pan in a 400 degree (F) oven for about 30 minutes or put it face down on a microwavable plate and put it in the microwave for 5 to 8 minutes until the spaghetti strands are soft and separate easily.  Discard seeds and separate strands into a bowl.

While pasta is cooking, peel the casing from the sausage. Slice into 1/4 to 1/3 inch pieces.

Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. Add garlic ginger paste and onions and sweat the onions. Add the peppers, asparagus and Swiss Chard along with a little water and continue to stir cook until the chard starts to wilt. Add the chorizo and 1/2 cup of water. Mix bouillon with another 1/2 cup of water and add to the skillet. Stir well and cook for a few minutes.

Mix thickener with enough water to make a paste and add to the skillet, stirring it in. Add the cream and seasoning salt. Stir it well, then add the drained squash and cook a few more minutes until sauce is thickened and to make sure everything is hot.

Serves 2 large portions or 4 half-sized portions (pictured).

With zucchini
Nutrition Info for 1/2 sized portion – double for full portion.
Calories: 212 Fat: 17.9 g Net Carbs: 7.0 g Protein: 9.5 g

With spaghetti squash
Nutrition Info for 1/2 sized portion – double for full portion.
Calories: 218.4 Fat: 18.1 g Net Carbs: 8.6 g Protein: 9.5 g

Posted on  3/27/2013

Beef, Main Dish, Pork, Recipes

Hungarian-Style Kohlrabi Rolls

So, follow my logic here. Greek dolmades use grape leaves to make a leaf-wrapped meat roll similar to a cabbage roll. Out in my garden were about a dozen beautiful kohlrabi plants with nice big leaves. I found a recipe that sounded good and adaptable to low carb for Hungarian cabbage rolls. Kohlrabi is part of the cabbage family and the leaves are edible. So, grape leaf to cabbage leaf to kohlrabi leaf. It should work.

Well, I tried it and it does work! It doesn’t taste like cabbage or grape leaves, for that matter, but the taste is pleasing and the filling and sauce are awesome. If you like cabbage rolls, give this a try. This is based on a recipe by Diana Ratay at About.com. All changes to make it low carb are mine.

16 large Kohlrabi leaves or 16 large leaves of Cabbage
boiling water
1/3 pound Ground Pork
3/4 pound lean Ground Beef
1/4 cup chopped Onion
1/2 cup riced Cauliflower
1/4 cup riced Daikon Radish
1 Egg, beaten
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
2 teaspoons Paprika

Sauce
1/2 cup Pasta Sauce or Tomato Sauce
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Sour Cream

Preparation:

Drop leaves into boiling salted water; cover and cook for 3 minutes or until pliable. Drain well.

Blanched kohlrabi leaves draining in a colander. Look at the beatiful dark green color.

For filling, combine ground beef, pork, riced cauliflower-daikon mixture, onion, egg, and salt, pepper, paprika, and water. Mix well and divide into 8 portions. Use half of each portion for each leaf.

Place a half portion of the ground beef mixture into the center of each leaf. Roll leaf around filling; fasten with toothpick. Place in a baking dish. You may have to make long, thin rolls of the meat to fit it into the leaves.

For sauce, combine tomato sauce, and 1/2 cup of water and pour over kohlrabi rolls.

Rolled leaves are covered with sauce and are ready to be covered and cooked.

Bake tightly covered in a preheated 350° oven 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the kohlrabi rolls and discard toothpicks.

Mix 1/2 cup of pan sauce with 1/2 cup sour cream and add a tablespoon full over each serving. These reheat well so leftovers are great.

Makes about 16 rolls.

Nutrition Info: 2 per serving
Calories: 271 Fat: 8g Net Carbs: 4.1 g Protein: 17.9 g

3 per serving
Calories: 380 Fat: 26.1 g Net Carbs: 4.5 g Protein: 25 g

Posted on  6/16/2013

Beef, Main Dish, Recipes

Use Leftover Corned Beef In A Pie

If you have some leftover corned beef after St Patrick’s, you could make it into sandwiches or turn it into a Corned Beef Pot Pie. This easy pie uses the fixings from your celebration meal to make a cottage pie with all the yummy flavors. I do start with fresh, lightly sauteed cabbage rather than any boiled in the pot. You can use any vegetables in it or stick to the traditional carrots, celery, onion and cabbage. The same recipe also works well for other meats. While this is low carb, it does use some ingredients that are optional that are not on the Phase I or Phase II lists of Atkins.

My selection of vegetables includes cabbage, leeks, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers and green beans.

Corned Beef Cottage Pie

This uses corned beef and all the usual accompaniments in a no crust pie with mashed kohlrabi and turnips for the topping. I use 1/3 cup of instant mashed potatoes to help thicken the mash and give a little potato flavor to the mix. You can omit, if you prefer. You can make this as a large pie or as individual pot pies.

1 pound Corned Beef, Brisket, cooked
2 cups Cabbage, hopped
1 cup Celery, diced
1/2 cup Carrots, diced (optional) or Green Beans or Broccoli
2 cups Kohlrabi, cubed
1 cup Turnips, cubed
1/2 cup Leeks, chopped
1 cup Beef Broth (or water from cooking corned beef)
1/3 cup Mashed Potato Flakes (optional and helps to thicken turnip/kohlrabi mixture)
2 tablespoons Butter
1/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1 teaspoon Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons Carbquick or 1 tablespoon Corn Starch

Put celery and carrots into a bowl and microwave for about three minutes to partially cook them. Put the kohlrabi and turnips into a pan of water and cook for about 20 minutes until they are tender. Drain and return to the stove. Cook a little longer to remove any excess water. Mash with a hand masher or a mixer. Add butter, cream, leeks, seasonings and potato flakes. Mix well. Set aside.

In a small pan, add a little olive oil and stir fry the leeks and cabbage. Set aside.

Add flour and a tablespoon of butter and stir to mix. Add the beef broth or corned beef broth and stir well, continuing to cook to form a light gravy.

Cut cooked corned beef into cubes. Distribute beef evenly around a deep dish pie plate or separate into six individual casserole dishes or individual pie tins. Spoon carrots, celery over the top so they are distributed evenly. Put the leeks and cabbage over the top of the vegetables. Pour the gravy over the vegetables. (Divide evenly into the pot pie dishes.) Top with mashed vegetables, spreading them to fill the top leaving a small opening in the middle for the juices to bubble up.

Pies ready to go in the oven. I left them slightly unsealed at the edge for vent points.

Bake in 350 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Makes 6 servings

Nutrition Info
Calories: 313.2 Net Carbs: 7.2 g Fat: 23 g Protein: 16.1 g

Posted on 3/17/2013