I am republishing this 20 minutes RECESSION DELICIOUS recipe (initially posted in 2012) because grocery prices are crazy right now. This is fast, delicious and can be altered.  We love this ground peas and peas just as is, but you can add in pasta, potato or rice.

One day in the past, I stumbled upon a video of a 91-year old Italian-American grandmother, cooking pasta and peas just the way her mother cooked them nearly every night for her family during the depression.

She used an onion, a potato, and a can of peas,…. all items that didn’t need refrigeration and cost mere pennies.

This took me back to a year ago when I attended a pot luck at the Italian Club in Nashville. Someone had brought this dish that I couldn’t stop eating.

It was a sauté of ground beef, peas, onions, and olive oil. Out of all the things I could have treated myself to, this dish took my plate back for three helpings.

I am not hear to talk about socio-economic times, discuss politics or to depress you. I’m not a complainer, but I am a dreamy realist. I see the world through food. (that statement was written in 2009 during the recession, and here we are today in 2024), in strange times for different reasons.

Can I be brutally honest with you?  While I count my blessings every day to have a warm bed and good food to eat, I am in sticker shock every time I go to the grocery store.  I shop daily because it’s convenient for me. I can walk to my local Publix and I make myself walk almost daily to the Whole Foods (3.5 miles one way).

I try to choose grass fed beef which is healthier, but let’s face it, at $8 a pound, sometimes I choose something else.

As a food blogger, I probably do cook in my kitchen more than most and am acutely aware of how the prices have gone up. I’m also aware of how diseases related to fast food are on the rise, and how families no longer sit at the table the way they probably did for that Italian grandmother.

Ground Beef and Peas is Budget Friendly

If we need to adjust our budget (and we do), my first concern is my food budget.  What do I need to sacrifice?

That’s why I have easy, healthy, real food choices, that are fast, and practically brainless.

The grandmother in the video made me think of my grandmother, who lived through the depression, but was like me, in that she liked good food good. And, she knew how to make a five minute meal taste like a new culinary invention.

Today is my grandmother’s birthday. She would be 105 years old. She would still be cooking the exact same way…healthy, flavorful, uniquely fast, perhaps influenced a bit by the depression. Don’t try to picture the little Italian grandmother standing at the stove for hours cooking for her family.

My grandmother owned her own beauty salon, and cooked exactly once a week on Sunday night, only after all her clothes and sheets were pressed, and her newspapers were read. She was a rare beauty that never stepped foot in town in a “uniform.” She was a fashionista, donning heels, hat and gloves and threw her curvy body on a bus every day to get to down town, making a scene as if the paparazzi were following her.

Her allure and charm weren’t cut out from her Sunday night quick fires. Everything she made was authentic, such as spinach fritters, chicken and olives, or crabs and spaghetti, but it was fast, quick, earthy and a bit sexy, always hitting the senses with a surprise.

Italian Ground Beef with Peas and Onions from an Italian Grandmother

There would be lecture that “americanos” pronounced “ameriganos” don’t know how to eat. I look at their skin and I can smell their hair and know the garbage they are eating. But, you my Angela (pronounced Ahngela) have a grandmother that knows about food. Just look at me and you can see that I eat right.” Yes, she said that.

Since her day, the American diet has changed in that on one hand it has gotten worse, and on the other hand it has gotten much better. There are two different kinds of kitchens cooking (or microwaving) in America today. I’m grateful my grandmother Rose Dee (mother of Retro Rose) pointed me in her direction and never owned a microwave.

How to Make Ground Beef with Peas and Onions

Ground beef with peas and onions may not exactly be a “depression” dish, but perhaps a bit reminiscent of the peas and pasta dish that blanketed many Italian Americans during the true depression era and even my grandmother’s table.

A sauté of peas and onions is very Italian. You must use olive oil for the right flavor and a good sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Simplicity always requires great ingredients. Peas and onions are good alone, or combined with rice or with potatoes, but with ground beef, it’s dinner.

I will not tell you to mix three kinds of ground meat together to make it more “foodie” or to pretend this is restaurant fare. It’s not. It’s meant to be Sunday night home cooking.

You can use whatever ground meat you desire, even ground lamb would be quite tasty, but this is just ground beef and not extra lean. You want good (I mean animal-treated right) good, ground beef that has some fat in it, because that is where the taste is.

Ground Beef Ideas from Spinach Tiger

I would eat this any time, though because it’s just good food and so would you. Don’t you dare call it hamburger helper or ground beef casserole or I will come and put tape over your mouth and eat this in front of you. It’s rustic, but that doesn’t mean it’s a compromise.

It’s good food, in fact, it’s delicious food that will stretch your budget and your view of ground beef and what fast and affordable can be. Just serve with a nice loaf of crusty bread to sop up the juices, and don’t forget that glass of red wine.

Here is a different version of this recipe, with added greens.

More Ground Beef Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Hamburger Steaks 
• Burger Steak Recipe with Mushroom Sauce
• No Beans Chili
• Ground Beef Taco Meat
• Eggroll in a Bowl
• Ground Beef and Cabbage Decontructed
• Stuffed Cabbage with Ground Beef
• Ground Beef Cabbage Stir Fry
• Picadillo

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Recession Delicious – Italian Ground Beef, Peas and Onions

An easy delicious way to eat ground beef with an Italian twist, green peas, onions.

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 large white onion diced
• 1 pound ground beef seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 – 2 cups frozen peas
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon butter
• red chile flakes
• freshly grated parmesan or pecorino optional
• fresh herbs mint, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme…they all work

Instructions

• Heat olive oil and butter. Add onions, saute until soft.
• Add ground beef that has already been flavored with salt and pepper. Cook until medium rare.
• Add in frozen peas, right at end and allow them to defrost and heat up, while the meat is on its way to medium-well done. Toss in fresh herbs, red chile flakes. Season to taste.

Notes

This is an EASY recipe. You may be tempted to keep adding other ingredients, but the simplicity is what gives this dish it’s proper structure and flavor. More is not always more.

The post Italian Ground Beef, Peas and Onions appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If you want to skip the potatoes and go for a lower-carb version you can check out my paleo beef stew here which uses turnips instead of potatoes.

This old fashioned beef stew has all the great feels of a meat and potato dish. It’s different from my Irish Stew which is very brothy, as it’s nestled in a nice brown gravy.

Good Stew Meat is Important

I did this recipe with two different stew meats. The first time I made it, I used the chuck roast stew meat from Whole Foods, and it was so gristly and fatty. The second time I used lean stew meat from a local butcher who sells at the Nolensville Farmer’s Market and it was outstanding. Whatever meat you decide to use, please trim most of the fat and all of the gristle.

Important: Brown the meat first. This is always important to seal the meat and to enhance the flavor.

Vegetables

Vegetables – There will be two kinds of chopped vegetables.

• Course Chop -Carrots, Onion, Celery to aid flavor while meat is braising.
• Finer Dice – Carrots, Onion, Celery to add to the stew in the last 30 minutes
• Potatoes will have a large dice (or whatever you desire) I used a good amount of potatoes because this was lunch for mountain bikers, riding 50 miles a day for practice.

Old Fashioned Beef Stew – Gluten Free

Old Fashioned Beef Stew is nestled in a rich brown gravy, which requires a thickening agent.

Gluten Free Thickening Agents

• Tapioca flour used in browning beef cubes.
• xanthan gum gel (recipe here) (There is very small amount of actual xanthan gum used, but it works well).

Beef Broth

I use organic beef broth and a cup of passata (a bottled tomato puree), and a cup of white wine. You could also use red wine or even a cup of beer. If you want to skip the alcohol, that’s okay too.

This is a perfect broth to turn into gravy. If you’re unfamiliar with passata, look for skinny bottles of passata where the cans of tomatoes are.

Timing for Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Give yourself a three hour window. Thirty minutes to put it all together and 2 1/2 hours for braising. Final fine dice of vegetables and potatoes will go in at the last 30-40 minutes to avoid mushy potatoes.

More Similar Recipes You Might Like

• Irish Stew
• Beef Vegetable Soup (Paleo)
• Beef and Veal Shepherd’s Pie
• Veal Stew with Onion Sauce
• Beef Stock
• Short Ribs in Wine
• Beef Ragu

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Gluten Free Old Fashioned Beef Stew

Old Fashioned Beef Stew, Gluten Free, the all in one meat and potatoes dish.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 4 hours hours

Total Time 4 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 pounds lean beef cubes
• 4 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 4 carrots divided
• 2 celery stick divided
• 1 onion divided
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 large cans San Marzano Tomatoes
• 1 quart beef broth
• 1 teaspoon umami seasoning or worcestershire sauce
• 1 cup white wine optional
• 6 medium sized golden potatoes peeled, large cube
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 2 handfuls parsley divided
• fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons xanthan gum gel see notes

Instructions

• Cut vegetables. First prepare the large chop to go into broth with the meat in initial braising to be removed later.

  Second: Cut celery and carrots into bite sized dice. Set aside. Peel and cut potatoes into large dice for stew in final stages. Put potatoes in cold water, until needed. These steps can be a day in advance.
• Dry meat with paper towel. Season with salt and pepper. Dredge in tapioca flour. You don't need to use too much.
• Brown meat in large dutch oven or frying pan.
• Remove meat, set aside on a plate.
• Deglaze pan by adding in 1/2 cup of white wine. You can use a red wine if you choose. This is optional or if you don't have any wine add a cup of beer. Add one cup beef broth.
• Cook down for about ten minutes, cooking off alcohol.
• Add beef back in. Add in handful parsley, reserving some for garnish, bay leaves, fresh thyme.
• Add remaining beef broth and umami seasoning (or worcestershire sauce).
• Add in the rough cut vegetables (onion, celery, carrot).
• Cook on top of the stove on very low simmer for 2 1/2 to three hours, stirring frequently. Add extra beef broth or water a little at a time, if needed. Broth should cover the beef.

  Crockpot: Cook on high for 4 hours. Add in potatoes and final vegetables in last hour.
• In last 30-40 minutes, add in small dice of remaining celery, carrot and potato.
• Add a cup of frozen peas at last 30 minutes.
• Season again with salt and pepper, fresh chopped parsley. Taste first.
• In last ten minutes, add in the xanthan gum gel and stir to make sure it gets incorporated. This will thicken the stew.
• Do a final tasting for salt and pepper seasoning.

Notes

xanthan gel:  

The post Old Fashioned Beef Stew (Gluten Free) appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

• Italian Pot Roast of Beef – After browning the roast, prepare a mirepoix, which is traditionally onion, celery and carrots. Add red wine tomatoes and beef broth.  
• Doug’s Five Minute, Five Bean, Five Hour Chili – From a true chili lover.
• Ropa Vieja – Flank steak which requires long, slow cooking to get that delicious shredded meat. Slow cooking will build a complex flavor profile, while tenderizing at the same time.
• Carnitas – Wow. This slow roasted pork is so good.
• Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu – Great for pasta, gnocchi, etc.
• Slow Cooker Pulled Pork with Sugar Free Barbecue Sauce

Cook Once, Eat Twice

What’s great about these dishes is the leftovers are even better and there’s versatility.

Kitchen Equipment (Amazon)

• My Favorite Simple Crock Pot
• My Favorite Progammable Crock Pot
• Le Creuset Dutch Oven 5 1/2 quart round
• Le Creuset Dutch Oven 8 quart Oval
• Lodge 7 1/2 Quart Oval Dutch Oven

Why You Should Invest in a GOOD Dutch Oven

I went through several cheap dutch ovens until I finally got a Le Creuset dutch oven. I use it almost every single day and it stays on the stove. There are other good brands but stay away from the $60 ones you can find. They do not last or cook well. If you need to start at the low-end, try Lodge. I have this one and while it doesn’t have the same quality as Le Creuset, it will work.

The post Six Slow Cooker Recipes on Repeat for Beef and Pork appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Until  last year I hadn’t cooked a prime rib since I was a teenager, when I listened to vinyl and used hot rollers.

Prime rib is not something people make every day or any day and it’s sort of a retro food that most people will never make or only make on Christmas day. 

I can proudly say this is the world’s best prime rib recipe, with the best sour cream horseradish sauce, and will bring raves during any holiday cooking season. One person said “this is the best meal you ever made.”

I’m not sure about that, but it’s indeed testimony that this is a recipe that is just about fail proof, so put all fears of tackling a prime rib away and enjoy this most flavorful cut of meat.

Melt in Your Mouth Prime Rib

As I stared at this somewhat intimidating piece of meat, I fretted over two things.

Tenderness and Overcooking.

 Even the end pieces were melt in your mouth, and you can see it’s perfectly done to a medium rare.

When I saw the words low and slow, I decided upon that roasting direction.

I started with a very hot oven of 450º F degrees for twenty minutes. After that I turned the oven down to 325° degrees for approximately two hours, checking often in the last hour to make sure the temperature of the beef didn’t exceed 130°.

My friend was there early watching me obsess about the temperature. This is one of the most important parts of getting it right, so you must have a quick read thermometer to get it right.

The cooking time is going to vary because not only will size be a factor, but so will the temperature of the meat before you put it in the oven. You want to bring the cold temperature down so the cooking is more even and left the meat out for over two hours.

The Week Before: Prepare the Prime Rib a Week in Advance

But just like in those cool movies, we have to start with the line…The Week Before.

(You know the part where they start in the middle of the story and then back up to the beginning).

The Week Before the Prime Rib Goes in the Oven

Start by Shopping: Websites will tell you to buy the best piece of meat you can find. That’s nice. But what if you could find a reasonably priced standing rib roast. Should you buy it? I did. An 8 pound roast fed 8 people. This may be different for your crowd. You can’t go wrong with more, because left overs mean beef dip sandwiches with sour cream horseradish sauce on crusty rolls.

Seven to 10 days prior to roasting, you want to do your own dry aging. You could purchase an already dry-aged prime rib, and if you do, I want to be your friend. You’re rich. You will be spending anywhere from $200 to $400  for a bone-in roast.

I wasn’t able to do the real dry aging as I only had four days instead of seven, but I still noticed the difference. Of course, this is not the dry aging done from the experts who can control the temperature and humidity. I actually wonder if people who buy that $400 roast are the ones cooking or is it a task left to their private chef. As for me, I’d take that money and go to Kayne Prime, Nashville’s best steakhouse. There is no way I’m cooking anything that costs that much to eat just once.

Spinach Tiger has an Amazon Shop, which earns a small commission with personally curated items we actually own and use. Shop Here. 

Best Prime Rib Recipe Includes the Dry Aging Process:

This article helps to explain why you should consider dry aging your meat and how the meat changes. It also gives you the how, but also gives you complicated information and a method most people won’t apply. This method is the one I used. It calls for a simple dry aging of beef in refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.

Rinse in cold water, pat dry, wrap loosely in cheesecloth layers or in a very clean cotton flour sack cloth (which is what I did). This is a more realistic method for the home cook. The first article proclaims this short method will make no difference, but we thought it did. I’ll leave that up to you.

Roast to the Right Temperature

Whatever you do, do not allow your meat to go above 130 degrees F.  You will have to be diligent in checking this in the last moments. I intended to take the roast out at 125 and within a minute, I missed it. The meat will continue to cook during the resting process. Even those who like medium meat were happy with the medium rare pieces.

My new oven came with a plug-in probe which is priceless. 

Use Beef Bones as Rack

If you plan on making prime rib anytime soon, be on the lookout for some nice long beef ribs on sale. These will serve as your rack and will flavor the juice greatly increasing the deliciousness of the au jus. Roast bones first and use that juice and fat to mix with some beef broth to baste the roast. 

1. Roast bones which will be used for the rack.
2. Set the oven to 450º degrees F.
3. Leave the bone in. It adds flavor.
4. Rub the roast with the seasonings. How much is up to you. I made sure the roast was well covered.
5. Place roast on the pre-roasted bones.  Add two cups of beef broth and a half bottle of red wine to bottom of pan.
6. Cook for twenty minutes. Turn down the heat to 325º F (for a convection oven). Baste with juices every 30 minutes.
7. Cook to medium rare no higher than 130º F. If you have people who don’t like medium rare, keep in mind the ends will be more well done. 
8. Rest for thirty minutes prior to serving. The roast continues to cook and will maintain its juices.
9. Serve with sour cream horseradish sauce.

More Special Red Meat Dishes

• Tenderloin Roast
• Tomahawk Prime Rib (Cowboy Steak)
• Braciole (Italian Stuffed Steak
• Rack of Lamb
• Za’atar Rack of Lamb

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How to Make Perfect Prime Rib

How to Roast Prime Rib, Dry Age at Home, Season and Roast to a perfect melt in your mouth medium rare.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword prime rib

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 15 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Equipment

• cheesecloth
• Meat Thermometer
• carving knife

Ingredients

• six pound bone-in prime rib roast
• 3-4 beef ribs
• 1 tablespoon each freshly chopped rosemary thyme, sage, fennel seeds,
• olive oil
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1/2 bottle red wine

Horseradish Sauce

• 1 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
• 1 dash worcestershire sauce

Instructions

Dry Age Meat

• Dry Age the Meat: Give yourself 7 days, at least 4 days.
• Rinse meat in cold water, pat dry, wrap loosely in cheesecloth layers or in a very clean cotton flour sack cloth (which is what I did).

  Place in refrigerator for 4 to 7 days.

Roast the Meat

• Rub the meat with olive oil and spices. Do not remove the bone. Bone means flavor.
• Leave out on counter for two hours.

Roast Beef Bones

• Heat oven to 400°
• In the meantime, roast several beef bones with garlic cloves. These will serve as the meat rack.
• Save the fat and juice of the bones and add to the beef broth.

Roast Prime Rib

• Turn Oven up to 450 degrees F.
• Place bones in roasting pan. Add wine and beef broth.
• Put meat over the bones. Roast for 30 minutes.
• Reduce the oven to 325° and cook for approximately 90 more minutes. You must use a meat thermometer. Roast to medium rare, 125°, no higher than 130° internal temperature. Even people who like medium will love this. Do not over cook. You can always put individual slices back in the oven.
• Take prime rib out of oven. Allow to sit for 30 minutes before carving.
• Serve with the au jus or with a horseradish cream.

Horseradish Sauce

• Mix ingredients together. Keep refrigerated until use.

The post Best Prime Rib Recipe with Sour Cream Horseradish Sauce appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I have some great new recipes to bring you this year so please subscribe if you haven’t already done so. My focus is going to mostly be healthy, cheap, easy, approachable and still delicious.

Cheap can be Delicious

We are all short on time and our grocery budget doesn’t go as far as it used to. I used to avoid using that word “cheap,” but no longer does this word offend me.

I have looked back over the years to see where I made over 60 cheap meals and I hope this helps you continue to happily cook without breaking the bank. There are three main roundups of affordable meals. Be sure to check them out.

Cheap Dinners: Chicken Dishes Your Family Will Love

You will find the best way to roast a whole chicken in an hour, how to spatchcock a chicken and how to use the leftover. You will make chicken soup, chicken pie and chicken enchiladas, and so much more.

Ground Chicken – You can also use ground chicken to make ground chicken meatballs, something we don’t think about very often. I also like ground chicken lettuce wraps. White Bean Chicken Soup can be made with leftover chicken in mere minutes.

My Best 18 Cheap Chicken Dishes Here

Round up – Cheap Red Meat Recipes that Fight Inflation

Ground beef doesn’t have to be boring. Taco meat CAN be exciting, but why not make cuban picadillo. Mini meatloafs are easy to freeze for individual quick meals, and you will get my most popular simple ground beef and peas. Crack slaw makes ground beef exciting and ground beef stroganoff can be a real thing. Hamburger steak with onions almost seems gourmet.

My Best 25 Red Meat Cheap Recipes Here

Cheaper cuts of meat like teres major will satisfy steak lovers braciole, an Italian stuffed steak is good enough for company.

Beef cubes are often found on sale and when braised you can make stews, shredded beef ragu, soup and more.

My Best 25 Red Meat Cheap Recipes Here.

Cheap Hearty Soups that are Complete Meals

I’ve never met a person that doesn’t love soup. Serve it up with bread and it’s a whole meal. Vegetable soup can be just as good as vegetable beef soup. Kids love the Italian beef macaroni soup. Find out at this post the everyday staples you need to throw some easy soups together.

My Best Cheap Hearty Soup Recipes Here

My Best Cheap Hearty Soup Recipes Here

Make Your Own Bread

A good loaf of sourdough bread could be as high as $9 a loaf. Sourdough bread is just flour, water and salt and you could easily make a loaf of bread every other day. I have what I believe to be the easiest sourdough recipe (and starter).

• Sourdough Starter 101
• Easy Sourdough Bread

Pork Steaks – Cheaper Meals

Braised Pork Steak is very affordable. Made with green beans and tomato sauce, this is a worthy weeknight or weekend dinner.

Consider a Frittata for Dinner

Frittatas are the best idea to use up just a little bit of leftovers. Serve with bread or a side salad and you’re saving money, even if you buy pastured eggs. Use up that last little bit of meat, cheese or veggies and be surprised how delicious eggs can be.

Go to Frittata 101 for recipes.

Tips for Leftovers

Don’t be afraid of leftovers. I know some people don’t like to eat the same meal two days in a row, but there are ways to avoid wasting food and stretching the food budget.

Don’t be Afraid of Repurposing Leftovers

• Roast Beef Leftover ideas.
• Left over roast chicken can do same as above or be a chicken salad.
• Left over meat sauce or bolognese can be stuffed into pasta shells or used for a quick lasagna.
• Left over steak can turn into steak and biscuits. (See my 35 different biscuit recipes).

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Leave YOUR TIPS in the comments below. I would love to hear from you.

The post Delicious Cheap Dinners that Fit the Budget appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Using my basic keto meatloaf recipe, all I needed to do was figure out how to get the bacon wrapped just right and top with a sugar free maple flavored ketchup.

This was not the first recipe I’ve made here wrapping bacon. I’ve done bacon wrapped chicken bites , bacon wrapped hot dogs, and bacon wrapped veggies. I have to agree with most of America that bacon can just make things better.

Ingredients for Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

• Bacon, thinly sliced
• Ground Beef
• Onion
• Mustard
• Ketchup
• Eggs
• Green Bell Pepper
• Almond Flour
• Garlic Powder
• Cheddar Cheese
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Parsley
• Salt, Pepper
• Sugar Free Maple Syrup

As far as ground beef, I use an 80/20 mix. Leaner cuts have less flavor and can bake a little tough. Use grass fed if you can. If you are doubling the recipe, you can mix various ground meats, such as beef/pork or beef/veal.

If you’re not following a low-carb diet, you can cut a few potatoes in quarters and bake along side the meatloaf, like my mom always did. Or you can serve with cauliflower mash.

More Bacon Wrapped Recipes

More Ground Beef Recipe Ideas from Spinach Tiger

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Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

Grain Free, Sugar Free Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

Course Meat

Cuisine American

Keyword bacon, bacon wrapped meatloaf, keto meatloaf

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion small dice
• 2 tablespoons green bell pepper small dice
• 1 pound ground beef 80/20
• 1/4 cup almond flour see notes for options
• 1 tablespoon sugar free ketchup
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon parsley chopped

Glaze

• 1/4 cup sugar free ketchup or tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar free maple syrup

Instructions

• Sautè onion and fine dice bell pepper in small amount of oil until soft about 5 minutes. Cool.
• Mix ground beef with onion, bell pepper and remaining ingredients.
• Form into a free form meat loaf.
• Wrap meatloaf with bacon crosswise. Tuck bacon under meatloaf so it doesn't curl up.
  
• Bake at 350 F. (180 C). for 35 minutes.
• Brush on glaze.
• Turn oven up to 400 degrees and bake for another 10 minutes.
  

Glaze

• Mix ketchup and maple syrup together.

The post Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf (Sugar Free, Gluten Free) appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

If you’re like me, you need some inflation fighting, cheap red meat recipes and dinner ideas, because friends, it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better. 

There are cheaper cuts of beef that are still affordable. Ground beef cubes and shoulder cuts can make outstanding meals if you have the right recipes.

Cheap Red Meat Recipes Using Ground Beef

I think ground beef is probably my favorite meat, because it’s so versatile and found in every cuisine. The simplicity of oven-baked hamburger steaks delivers comfort meal pleasure as does the meatloaves.

If you haven’t had picadillo, I urge you to try it, as it’s one of the dishes I make most often.

The ground beef with peas and onions is a cheap Italian dish that we discovered at an Italian night pot luck years ago. it takes about ten minutes to make and you will marvel at how a three-ingredient meal can be so good. Ricotta or Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs will fill you up and make everyone happy.

• Ground Beef Stroganoff (you read that right)
• Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
• Hamburger Steaks (oven-baked)
• Crack Slaw with Comeback Sauce (A bag of slaw, a pound of Ground Beef)
• Old School Tacos (always a happy meal)
• Burger Steaks with Sour Cream Mushroom Sauce
• Picadillo (Cuban ground beef recipe that is so delicious)
• No Bean Chili (one of my favorite chili recipes)
• Ground Beef Stuffed Bell Peppers
• Ground Beef Italian Style with Peas, Onions (our go to)
• Five Bean Chili
• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Grain Free Keto Friendly Mini Meatloafs
• The Secret to Great Burgers

Cheap Red Meat Recipes with Cheaper Cuts of Beef

• Swiss Steak
• Steak Tips
• Teres Major, the Faux Filet
• Skirt Steak with Chimichurri
• Skillet Cheese Steak with Cauliflower (look for frozen chipped steak when it’s on sale)
• Ropa Vieja (Cuban braised flank steak)
• Chuck Roast (not always cheap, but leftovers make more meals).
• Braciole (Italian Stuffed Steak)

Cheap Red Meat Recipes Using Cheap Beef Cubes

The nice thing about these dinners is that they filling and delicious and can be made in a slow cooker.

• Slow Cooker Beef Ragú
• Italian Beef Vegetable Stew
• Beef Vegetable Soup
• Beef Cabbage Soup
• Beef Bourguignon

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Let me know if you make any of these recipes. Enjoy!

Left Over Beef Recipes will Stretch Your Dollar

• Shepherd’s Pie
• Roast Beef Hash
• Beef and Bean Pie
• Beef Macaroni Soup

The post 25 Inflation Fighting Cheap Red Meat Recipes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I’m reposting this old post with some new pictures because Teres Major is steak you can afford. If you’ve been to the store lately you know the price of beef and steak has almost become out of reach. If you can find teres major, a lean shoulder cut, let me encourage you to buy it.

What is Teres Major Steak?

Teres Major is a odd looking cut, shaped almost like a small pork tenderloin.  It must be extracted with skill, so it’s not a commonly found cut, but it’s very cheap and if you do find it, buy it all up. It’s taken from a muscle in the shoulder that is rarely used (explaining it’s tenderness). It’s grilled or cooked and then cut into medallions.

Cooking Teres Major Steak

I marinated at room temperature for about 30 minutes with olive oil, a little garlic, salt, pepper, red wine, Worcestershire sauce. I  started it on top of the stove and finish in the oven, using either an all-clad or cast iron frying pan. It’s my favorite way to cook steak, but this can be thrown on the grill, and made a lot of different ways.

Teres Major is cheap and good for a crowd, perfect for kabobs or fajitas. I made it simple, no sauce and served with avocado which brought balance to the leanness of the meat. This is the kind of meal we eat during the week, keeping it light, simple and still foodie worthy.

When I first discovered this affordable steak, it was $7.99 a pound. Then it went to $9.99 and now it’s probably a little more. But it’s all meat, no fat, no bone and still a good deal.

Serve Teres Major as is or with a Chimichurri

Chimichurri Sauce is great for this steak, made with fresh herbs, lemon and garlic.

More Steak Recipes from Spinach TIger

• The Pefect New York Strip Steak
• Cheap Beef Ribs in the Oven
• Rib Eye Steak Pan Seared
• Skirt Steak with Chimichurri
• How to Make Flank Steak
• How to Make Oven Baked Hamburger Steaks

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Teres Major Steak, a Filet Knock Off

Teres Major is a cut of beef that sits on top of the shoulder, extremely lean and easy to make.

Course Meat

Cuisine American

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• teres major
• freshly crushed garlic
• olive oil
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• salt
• pepper

Instructions

• Teres major can be made simply, by salting, grilling or marinated for 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Salt Meat.
• Put olive oil, garlic, worcerstershire in shallow dish.
• Add Meat. Marinate for several hours in refrigerator or if you don’t have time, 30 minutes at room temperature.
• Place in hot skillet that has a small amount of fat.
• Sear on one side. Flip over. Put in oven at 400 degrees, F. until the internal temperature in 135 degrees for medium rare.

The post Teres Major Steak, a Filet Knock Off appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Big Fat Healthy Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragú is a mouthful. It’s almost as rich as a beef bourguinon without the fuss and whole bottle of good red wine. This is more of Wednesday night dinner with a Sunday feel.

Beef Cubes are cheap, and yes it hurts me to talk about cheap beef, because I’m not talking unhealthy and I don’t want you to misunderstand. This is going to taste good from your mouth to your gut to your soul.

Cheap Beef Cubes turn into Delicious rich, provencal, shredded beef.

I do want you to get out the slow cooker (honestly something I don’t do enough of), and turn cheap beef into a rich, provencal, shredded beef full of flavor and ready to be eaten over rice, over pasta, over polenta, over grits, over zoodles, over potatoes or simply in a bowl.

The leftovers can be placed into crepes, omelettes, frittatas, tortillas, dinner rolls, gnocchi, or simply served in a bowl. Here I used a store-bought gnocchi and left-over shredded beef ragú. This is Italian meat and potatoes and kids love it!

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragú Process

You can play around with this recipe for this ragú, sort of. You can’t believe some of the emails I get where people change the recipe to nearly unrecognizable and then tell me how it didn’t taste as good as they anticipated. So allow me to guide you on what you can and cannot do to this recipe.

• The main ingredients are onion, carrots, celery, crushed tomatoes, beef, cream, wine.
• Beef cubes can be replaced with pork cubes or veal cubes.
• Crushed tomatoes can be replaced with a can of Italian peeled tomatoes (not diced tomatoes).
• Celery can be replaced by apples, fresh fennel or nothing. NO celery salt!
• Carrots can be replaced by 1/2 cup cubed sweet potatoes.
• White wine can be replaced by red wine.
• Add in some milk, cream or skip this. Don’t add milk substitutes like almond milk or coconut milk. Just leave it out.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragú is Easy and Affordable.

This should  be a very easy dinner. You will have to prep for about ten minutes. How easy is that? You will need to chop some onions, celery, carrots and brown your beef. If you skip browning the beef cubes, they will be gray and you will miss the flavor browning meat makes happen.

Beef cubes are the least expensive beef on the market and this dish can turn into several leftover meals. This is one way to eat , big fat healthy food without a lot of fuss and on a budget.

Remember beef cubes the next time you’re in the grocery store. They are not just for beef soup or beef stew, but I have those recipes for you too.

Italian Beef Stew

Beef and Veal Shepherd’s Pie

Paleo Vegetable Beef Soup

Beef and Cabbage Soup

Tomato Beef Soup with Einkorn Berries

Uncomplicated French Beef Bourguinon

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Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragú or What to do with Cheap Beef Cubes

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragú, fork tender and versatile, can be served on pasta, rice, gnocchi, polenta or by itself.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds beef cubes
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 carrots small dice
• 2 celery sticks small dice
• 1 large onion small dice
• 1 large can tomato crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup cream (optional
• 2 cups dry white wine can use red wine
• salt pepper
• fresh herbs for garnish such as flat Italian parsley

Instructions

• Warm olive oil on medium heat.
• Remove any excess fat or gristle from beef cubes.
• Generously season beef cubes with salt and pepper.
• Brown beef cubes on all sides. Remove.
• Add to same pan onions, carrots, celery, and cook for about two minutes.
• Add garlic cloves.
• Add tomatoes, followed by cream.
• Once cream is incorporated, add wine.
• Transfer to your slow cooker for 6 hours on high, 12 hours on low.
• If you are cooking on high, add 1 cup water.

The post Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragú or What to do with Cheap Beef Cubes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

This is an old post, so it’s not my usual some of the pictures aren’t great, but I think ideas are more important at this time.

This post is about roast beef leftover recipes, but really it’s about much more.

A person blogs for many different reasons, but a serious blogger blogs with intention and purpose. I know that part of my recipes, my food story is the emotional story that burns inside of me.

Food helped to normalized or neutralize a very bizarre childhood, a ruffled life with a happy ending, which is why I like fairy tales and things like ruffled eggs.

Roast Beef Hash with Ruffled Egg

A ruffled egg is just what it means. It’s ruffled and quite adorable, looking like a little purse. The technique is easy and creates a perfectly poached egg, charming  atop roast beef hash, and quite a pleasant way to make a roast beef leftover recipe.

Or…Make Oven Fried Eggs.

Or…Make Poached Eggs. 

This version uses the roast beef, red pepper, potatoes, avocado and fresh squeeze of lime.

On another day, I created a roast beef leftover recipe with a more traditional approach.

Roast Beef Hash Version made with Potatoes, Peas, Onions and Oven fried eggs. If you never heard of oven fried eggs, you’ll thank me after you try this recipe. I’ve even made a video to prove how easy it is.

The roast beef hash is a treat for us, not that it’s hard. It’s too easy; it’s just that I don’t make many roast beef dinners.

These Roast Beef Dinners Make Great Roast Beef Leftovers

Italian Roast Beef

Italian Pot Roast

Ropa Viejo (Cuban Beef)

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Ragu made with Beef Cubes

Food and Food Childhood Memories 

We had roast beef on a lot of Sundays growing up, accompanied with mashed potatoes and gravy,  but every time I think about roast beef, I am reminded of a certain apartment we lived in and the times our family was happy.

Retro Rose is no longer with us. I’m actually relieved she passed away before this horrible virus, as she had COPD and was not one to stay home. This would have caused her enormous stress. Instead, she spent the last weekend of her life with us, dining out, eating my food, and her death was quick. She was still living by herself, driving, cooking her own meals. That is the best I could have hoped for.

Good memories with Retro Rose usually involved comfort food and this beef pie is something she would make and still makes.  Her version includes beans, but I left mine more simple.

Take any of the roast beef recipes and make Shepherd’s Pie. 

Beef Pie with Homemade Pie Crust (My Mom’s Version) Recipe for Pie and Herbed Pie Crust here.

Beef Pie from Scratch with Homemade Pie Crust

You probably know by now that I’ll find any excuse to throw together some pie crust. For a nuttier flavor profile, try my spelt pie crust. 

When we lived only with my father, we saw it a treat to have those frozen pot pies, but homemade is much better.

Beef Macaroni Soup is Good for the Soul Recipe HERE

Here is a soup that reminds me of childhood, but back then I didn’t eat beans and probably would have turned my nose. I’m grown up now and enjoy hearty soups like this beef marcaroni laced with kale.

A Deadly Gambling Addiction is Hard to Grow up Under.

My father was a gambler, but God Redeemed Him

My dad was warm, funny, smart and charming, but he was a gambler, and that part was no fun for us.

My happy ending with him didn’t come until nearly the very end of his life. Initially, he thought he was too far gone to be forgiven, but eventually with many daily conversations, he was able to see that the very crux of redemption is to be lifted and forgiven from our sins, our flaws, our foibles, our addictions, our dark sides with help from above, for none of us has what it takes to do that.  It’s a mysterious and beautiful concept that defies logic, crosses against the human mind and makes no sense, even to believers. I have found comfort in my father’s last words, thanking me for how I affected his spiritual life.

My Blessed, if Crooked Life

No one has a straight-lined, blessed life. Even the happiest people fall into ditches or get bee stings. (or people stings).

Everyone Searches for Hope.

My answer to everything harsh in life has been to create beauty, often but not limited to food. The ruffled egg is one of those pretty things in life that makes me happy.

I feel things too deeply sometimes.

One minute can change your life and catch you off guard. Look at what is happening now.

I decided my story would have a happy ending.

I made a decision long ago to seek out the kind of person that would relish a happy nest. We both made intentional decisions to be happy people. If this is not a decision, a day in anyone’s life can be a roller coaster, because you can’t control what others do. You can’t. You can only make a decision about how your own attitude.

It’s hard. Sometimes it feels like walking through sticky jello. Miserable people wading in quick sand  will try to  pull you in with them. But, if you keep walking towards the light, jello eventually melts and you end up a bit sweeter.

Right now, we all feel out of control. We’re all cooking more. I hope good food is giving you comfort.

And, what does this have to do with roast beef?

I always come back to food and its ability to create happiness.

I get to make roast beef dinners like the one in this picture and then savor the remains and create leftover roast beef recipes.

It’s the  power of a food memory. I’m so well aware of this, so devoted to creating good things in a kitchen. I revisited the roast beef situation and with the left overs, created a roast beef hash, doctored up with avocado and a ruffled egg.

It reminds me of  how useful leftovers are and how useful leftover memories can be if we take them and turn them around into something pretty

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Ruffled Egg with Roast Beef Hash for a Ruffled Life

Left over roast beef turns into tender hash, topped with ruffled eggs.

Course Brunch

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup left over roast beef
• 1 red boiled potato peeled cubed
• 2 shallots or 1 small onion
• 1 small jalapeno pepper or sweet pepper
• Tabasco sauce
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

• In frying pan, saute onion or shallots until melted.
• Add pepper, seeded, diced.
• Add cubed potato until browned.
• Add in shredded or cubed roast beef.

Ruffled Egg

• Bring a large pot of water to a simmer.
• Spay or rub oil on Press n Seal plastic wrap.
• Add salt and then add an egg. Fold up wrap to make a little egg package.
• Place in simmering water for 4 1/2 minutes.

Assemble

• Put eggs on top of hash and serve with hot sauce.

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Beef Pie with Homemade Pie Crust

The best thing to make from Roast Beef is a beef pie with homemade pie crust.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Keyword lefover roast beef, roast beef, roastbeefrecipes

Prep Time 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 4

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 2 cups leftover roast beef
• 2 carrots medium dice
• 1 onion diced
• 1 celery diced
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 2 cups beef broth can use juice left over from roast beef
• 1 tablespoon cold water
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tablespoons white wine

Pie Crust for double crusted pie (recipe found here)

Instructions

• You may have left over roasted potatoes and carrots to use in pie.
• Saute onions, celery, carrots in olive oil and butter until softened on low heat about 10 minutes.
• Add broth and diced potatoes and continue to cook in sauce pan until the vegetables are softened.
• Add wine to broth. Add roast beef.
• Add peas.
• Combine cold water and flour into a jar and shake.
• Add to broth and simmer until thickened about 10 minutes.
• Prepare pie crust in 9 inch pan or 4 smaller individual pans.
• Pour into pie crust and top with pie dough.
• Make slits into the top of the crust.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown.

The post My Favorite Leftover Roast Beef Recipes and Roast Beef Hash appeared first on Spinach Tiger.