Spinach Tiger loves ground beef. It’s our go to for easy meals that are fast, but not fast food. A meal like this can be made in about twenty minutes, Those of us who don’t want to rely on processed or frozen food need these ideas.  

Crack slaw is one of those easy, approachable recipes that is a savior when you’re eating low carb and you’re short on time. I’m not sure where this was invented or created. There are many recipes for it on the web and everyone puts their own spin on it.

My take for crack slaw is to slather it with an easy three-ingredient comeback sauce.

One of the ways I like crack slaw is to use a mixture of ground beef and ground pork because it makes me feel like I’m eating an egg roll. You can choose your ground meat. Most use beef, but the pork adds in a little extra flavor, resembling more of  that egg roll taste.

How to Make Crack Slaw with Comeback Sauce

It generally start with a little olive oil or avocado oil with some garlic, followed by ground meat. Once the meat is browned, l’ll add in the cabbage, fresh ginger, sesame oil, tamari or soy sauce. My secret for crack slaw is using my own homemade comeback sauce at the end.

Tip for Browning Ground Beef

This is a great tip that actually works for browning ground beef. I don’t know why it works, but it does.

• Add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda to 2 tablespoons water. Pour over raw beef and wait 15 minutes before frying.

The Comeback Sauce

My comeback sauce is pretty simple. I use sriracha, mayonnaise, and a touch of soy sauce (tamari). I’ve seen recipes with a long list of ingredients, but this does it for me. I’ve tried adding in various ingredients and they did not work!

The ratio is mayo/sriracha is 4/1 and the tamari is to taste. You may want to add a tablespoon of tamari, but I would start with a teaspoon at a time. It’s so good.  It has the acid, fat and salt necesary. Creamy, tangy, and cool enough to counteract some of the heat in the crack slaw.

So tell me, do you have a secret sauce recipe? I’d love to hear about it.

More Ground Beef Ideas

• Ground Beef Cabbage Stir Fry
• Stuffed Cabbage
• Ground Beef with Peas and Onions, (most popular recipe).
• Ground Beef Stuffed Peppers
• Sautéed Cabbage with Bacon and Onion
• Beef Cabbage Soup

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Crack Slaw with with Three Ingredient Comeback Sauce Recipe

An easy ground beef and shredded cabbage dish, using bagged cole slaw mix, sesame oil, sriracha and ginger.

Course Entree

Cuisine American

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Prep Ground Meat

• 1/3 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil more if needed once the slaw is added
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 pound ground beef see notes
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• salt pepper
• 1 bag cole slaw mix shredded cabbage
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon sriracha

Comeback Sauce

• 8 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons sriracha
• 1 tablespoon tamari sauce or soy sauce more if needed

Instructions

• Mix baking soda and water. Pour over meat. Wait 15 minutes before cooking. This helps to brown the meat. In meantime, gather rest of ingredients.
• Saute the garlic in the oil just to soften.
• Add ground beef that has been seasoned with salt and pepper
• After meat is browned, add in the cole slaw mix.
• Mix thoroughly. It will seem like a lot of cabbage, but it will cook down.
• Add in sesame oil, ground ginger, sriraacha.
• Season to taste. You may need to add more oil.

Comeback Sauce

• Mix mayonnaise and sriracha together.
• Add tamari sauce one teaspoon at a time. Add as much as you need to taste, but not so much as to make this salty.

Notes

You can mix half ground pork, half ground beef for more flavor

The post Crack Slaw with Comeback Sauce Recipe appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Lately I’ve making keto crepe recipes, sweet, savory, layered and stuffed. This keto crepe cannelloni might be my new favorite. There are many variations for cannelloni, and this version is meat filled.

Stuffed with ground beef and ground pork, mixed with ricotta, pecorino romano and spices, topped with tomato sauce, it tastes authentically Italian.

Almond flour replaces traditional flour and there are no breadcrumbs in the recipe, making this a perfect keto friendly Italian dinner.

You will find some cannelloni recipes that are stuffed with spinach and ricotta the same way I made this spinach crepe lasagna.

Keto crepes are very versatile and once you know how to make these, you can enjoy crepes a number of ways.

The first thing you need to do is make the keto crepes. The more I make them, the better they get and the more I learn. It’s important to have the batter thin enough so you can swirl what you need in your pan and pour the excess back into the batter.

Make a Fast Tomato Sauce

Make a fast tomato sauce with a can of San Marzano Tomatoes. Heat for 20 minutes wiht olive oil, sautèed onion or garlic (to be removed), salt, pepper. Use an immersion blender to blend to a puree. You can also use any tomato sauce of your choice.

More Low Carb Italian Recipe from Spinach Tiger

• Keto Crepe Lasagna
• Eggplant Rollatini
• Eggplant Lasagna
• Italian Meatball Soup

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Keto Crepe Cannelloni with Meat Filling

Low Carb, Keto Crepe Cannelloni with Meat Filling and Ricotta Cheese

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Keyword crepe lasagna, keto lasagna

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Crepe Making Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 servings

Calories 540kcal

Ingredients

• 15 ounce ricotta cheese
• 1 egg
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 3/4 pound ground pork
• 1/2 cup pecorino romano cheese grated
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 1 cup tomato sauce sugar free
• 8 keto crepes

Keto Crepe Recipe

• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 2 eggs
• baking spray
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Instructions

• Mix the meat together with egg, pecorino cheese, salt, pepper and parsley.
• Saute ground meat, breaking it up in pan, until all meat is cooked through.
• Mix ricotta with ground meat.
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Use an 9 x 9 baking dish and cut crepes to fit the dish.
• Place meat/ricotta mixture on crepe and roll up.
• Put tomato sauce on bottom of baking pan. Add each rolled stuffed crepe.
• Top with tomato sauce. You may want to add mozzarella cheese on top. That's an option. Top with foil prior to baking.
• Bake at 350 F. for 20 minutes and turn up to 400 degrees for another five minutes. You may need more time if cheese isn't melted enough if using cheese for a topping.

Keto Crepes

• Mix almond flour with salt. Set aside.
• Mix eggs with almond milk, melted butter.
• Add dry mixture. Add a few teaspoons water if you need to thin down crepes.
• Heat crepe pan. I used a 7 inch crepe pan, which made 8 crepes.
  
• Add baking spray. Hold crepe pan off the stove and add 1/4 crepe batter. Swirl around to cover pan. Put back on stove and cook for about 4 minutes on medium. Turn over for about 10 seconds.

  NOTE: Makes up to 10 crepes. If you are using a larger pan, you'll make less crepes and can cut them to fit your baking dish.
  
• Tomato sauce recipe here.

Notes

Macros are for Spinach Version. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1of 4 | Calories: 540kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 39g | Fiber: 2g

The post Keto Crepe Cannelloni with Meat Filling appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Skipping to present day, now I skip the outside and sometimes still order eggrolls and just eat the insides. That’s why this healthy eggroll in a bowl is so perfect for the low carb or grain free diet.

This is a very easy recipe, one you should put into your rotation frequently. It’s also pretty affordable, as ground pork is inexpensive as is a bag of cole slaw. If you’re thinking this is something that you can’t feed your family because it’s not enough, buy a bag of frozen rice (I love what Trader Joe’s sells).

Choose Ground Meat, Shrimp, or Shredded Pork, for Healthy Egg Roll in a Bowl

You can replace the ground pork with left over roast pork. You can also replace the pork with ground turkey or ground beef. I also like this recipe with shrimp. YOU DECIDE what is best for you.

Pickled Red Onion

I like to dice up some pickled onion just to have another layer of flavor. While I hate raw onions usually, I love pickled onion.

• Slice red onion in half moons. Place in colander over a bowl.
• Pour two cups bowling water over the onions.
• Pour a cup of vinegar into jar. (apple cider is a good choice).
• Add Peppercorns, teaspoon sugar.
• Add in onions.
• Ready in 30 minutes.

More Recipes You Might Like

• Chicken Asparagus Stir Fry
• Thai Peanut Salad Dressing
• Thai Peanut Bowl
• Honey Sesame Chicken Tenders
• Crack Slaw with Come Back Sauce

This recipe is low carb, paleo and keto friendly. It’s also gluten free.

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Healthy Egg Roll in a Bowl

An easy Low Carb Ground Pork or Shrimp Dinner and shredded cabbage dish, garlic, sesame oil, sriracha and ginger.

Course Entree

Cuisine Chinese

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil or avocado oil more if needed once the slaw is added
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 6 scallions cut Into one Inch pieces
• 1 pound ground pork OR 1 pound shrimp
• 1 bag cole slaw mix or 1 whole cabbage shredded
• salt
• 3 tablespoon tamari sauce or coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 knob fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon hot chili oil or your choice of hot sauce
• optional pickled red onion recipe in blog post

Instructions

• Saute the garlic in the oil just to soften.
• Add scallion (spring onions). Saute for a two minutes.
• Add ground pork or meat of your choice that has been seasoned with salt and pepper
• After meat is browned, add in the cole slaw mix.
• Mix thoroughly. It will seem like a lot of cabbage, but it will cook down.
• Add in Tamari sauce, Coconut Aminos.
• Add in sesame oil, ginger, your choice hot sauce.
• Season to taste. You may need to add more sesame oil, more ginger.

Notes

You can mix half ground pork, half ground beef for more flavor

The post Healthy Eggroll in a Bowl (Low Carb) appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

“I never thought I could fight for anything until there was something I really wanted. Once I found something I wanted badly enough, I never gave up.“

This is clearly one of those times where my husband wanted something badly enough. You see, I’m not a chili fan. I have made many bean soups and much white bean chicken chili, but not the kind he likes. He is like most people in the world, at least in America, as he  can’t go through a winter without having a huge pot of it on the stove at least once. He wanted it.

He learned to make it so well that his five minute, five hour five bean chili has totally won me over.

Yesterday I decided to pay attention to what he did. Right in the beginning I was in disagreement. Why so many different beans? Why not cook the onion first. Why an orange bell pepper? (Of course, being a smart wife, I kept my why’s to myself). He had well thought out answers for my questions. The onion needs to melt into the chili on its own. The orange bell pepper lends sweetness. He spoke like an expert, and I was satisfied.

Why, why, why ended at the dinner table with more, more, more. I sent a bowl home with a friend who can be a picky eater and honest about it. She texted me “this is so good, I can’t stop eating.”

This chili is creamy due to the masa he sprinkled in and the long long cooking time. He cooked it for 7 hours, but says five hours is enough to get that creamy consistency. The meat mixture was interesting, The pork and beef added flavor, and the turkey helped to cut the fat. The orange bell pepper was sweet and the dash of cinnamon was genius. The prep time is really five minutes, if you can chop fast. There is almost no hard work outside of opening several cans.

Usually, Spinach Tiger doesn’t cook from too many cans, and one could make this with dried beans, but that would take a long time and is not necessary. It’s a matter of weighing out the decision to use dry beans as a purist, or the interest of five different kinds. I choose the five.

You can put it all in a crock pot or in a cast iron dutch oven. He made two batches and did both. If you do use a cast iron dutch oven, I recommend a heat of 300 or even less in the oven, so the heat is hitting evenly. If you keep the dutch oven on the stove, turn the heat to as low as you can get it.

I did a little bit of googling and was intrigued with chili history. An entire book or two could be written about the history of chili, the legends, the myths and the abundant number of recipes. I can’t think of a food in America that has drummed up more passion for it’s history or its varying recipes as a bowl of chili.  I imagine there have been many fights, even a few knock outs over recipes and ownership.

Where Did Chili Originate?

• The most debated fact about chile is where and how it exactly originated. It is thought to most likely have started in Texas amongst poor people who had tough pieces of meat that needed flavor and long cooking times. There was no beans at first, and in some circles, beans are still not used. The cowboys heading west gave speed and romance to its popularity.
• Chili was often made and perfected in prison. As prisoners got out, they missed the chili and would write for the recipe. Some even rated prisons according to their chili.
• There were chili queens in San Antonio, who broke the barriers of class. They would set up chili stands and cook meat  and chili peppers into a stew. People of all walks of life would sit next to each other eating a bowl of chili.

Doug’s Process and Recipe for Five Minute, Five Hour, Five Bean Chili

As far as the recipe, Doug makes it differently every time. He says that every new pot of chili  is an experiment. That’s how chili making goes. He has used all ground beef in the past, but decided on three meats this time. He has used only two or three different beans in the past, but has settled upon five kinds.

There are as many chili recipes as the cooks making them, actually more, because every chili cook has several recipes they use. That’s the beauty of chili making. He suggests always using the masa, plenty of onion, and cooking a long long time.

There are two other important topics when it comes to chili. How hot (spicy) and what bread or cracker do you have to have.

Heat is another topic altogether. He always makes two pots, a mild and a super spicy. You have to find your own level of heat. I don’t like to cry when I eat chili so I go for the mild, and he goes for the hot. Many folks like cornbread with their chili. He goes for crackers, and I like soft buttered bread. Again, chili sparks arguments, but that’s part of the fun

Two New Variations on Chili

We have two new chili recipes for you, one is a 30-minute black eyed peas and sausage chili and one is a paloe, keto friendy bean free chili!

No Beans, Made with Ground Beef, Sausage, Paleo, Low Carb, Keto, Grain Free

30-Minute Country Sausage, Black Eyed Peas Chili 

So tell me, do you have a special chili recipe, and do you like it mild, medium or super hot?

More Beans Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Chicken and White Bean Soup
• Lentil Sausage Soup
• Cowboy Caviar Bean Appetizer
• Duck Confit wth Lentils
• Pork and White Beans

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Doug’s Cold Weather Crock Pot Chili

5 Bean, 3 meat chili with a few special ingredients, resulting in perfect creamy blend of meat, heat and beans.

Course Main

Cuisine American

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 6 hours hours

Total Time 6 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 10

Author Doug Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 can black Beans see note on beans
• 1 can kidney Beans
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can red Beans
• 1 can pinto peans
• 1 ground chuck need a fatty beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 extra large orange pepper can use green, or red
• 1 large can diced tomatoes petite dice is best
• 2 large onions diced
• 1 red chili pepper seeded and diced (or any pepper of your choice)
• 1 chili starter mix option or the following seasonings:
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cayenne powder more or less to your taste
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• dash cinnamon this is not in chili starter mix
• sea salt
• ground pepper
• 1 to 2 tablespoons masa use for thickness, if needed

Instructions

• Season meat with salt and pepper. Brown the meat. in small pieces in frying pan. Maintain the fat of the meat. This will add flavor!
• Rinse the beans with water to reduce the sodium; however you can put the cans in as is with the juice.
• Put in crock pot. Add tomatoes, peppers, onion and seasonings, except the masa.
• If you don’t use a chili starter kit, use the spice ingredients that followed. Taste and adjust to your own liking.
• Sprinkle the masa after the chili has cooked for 2 hours.
• Continue to cook in low setting of crock pot for 5 more hours.
• Note: It’s not necessary to cook the chili this long, but cook the chili at least four hours.
• Serve with grated cheddar cheese and sour cream, if desired. I find this chili so rich due to the masa, that sour cream isn’t necessary.
• Note on beans: You need the to use kidney beans and black beans, but feel free to mix your beans as you please.

The post Doug’s Five Minute, Five Hour, Five Bean Chili appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

As an Italian, I never understood meatballs in brown gravy, but my mind was changed when I saw Jamie Oliver demonstrating Swedish Meatballs in a unique and fast way to and I was eager to make a similar Keto friendly version.

This recipe is a sugar free, keto friendly and a take on “his” version. Where he uses cranberry jam, I used my own sugar free strawberry sauce, but I kept the vodka, the dill, the caraway seeds, and the heavy cream. A sugar free cranberry sauce would be ideal, but this is not the time of year for that. Instead of strawberries, you could use any fruity jam. NOTE: In one version, I used a syrupy balsamic sauce, adding after the heavy cream.

They were moist, flavorful and addicting.

What are Swedish Meatballs?

Swedish meatballs are ground meat (usually pork and beef) meatballs spiced in various ways, topped with a savory gravy. This version has a bit of sweet from the sugar free jam, depth from vodka, and seasoning from dill and caraway. In one version, I replaced dill with basil, as I had quite a bit that needed to be used. That works too. The meatballs are tender, made from pork and beef and there is no need for any bread. These were tender.

Ingredients

• Ground Beef
• Ground Pork
• Onion powder
• Fresh Dill
• Caraway Seeds
• Vodka
• Jam (sugar free)
• Heavy Cream
• Umami Mushroom Powder (if you have it)
• Allspice
• Nutmeg

I made two versions, one on cauliflower mash and one on cauliflower rice. We liked the cauliflower rice best because it soaked up all that gravy and added texture. It’s also easier.

My Favorite Mini Appliance in My Kitchen

You can bake your meatballs in a this Breville Convection smart under counter oven if you’re doing a small batch. We bought this last Christmas and there’s probably not a day that goes by that we don’t use it. It bakes, toasts, roasts, broils, warms and has a decent air fryer. I’ve even made a reverse sear ribeye steak in this and it was amazing. Right now, it has a special reduced price.

Meatballs for Swedish Meatballs

These are simple and so easy to make.

• Use both pork and beef in equal amounts.
• Make them small.
• Bake at 375 degrees F. instead of frying to keep them moist.
• Use caraway seeds toasted in the frying pan for a surprising layer of flavor.

No eggs, no bread, just lots of fresh dill. Use fresh if at all possible, because I’m calling fresh dill a main ingredient in this recipe.

I really encourage you to use BOTH beef and ground pork. The ground pork adds a lot of moisture, making bread unnecessary. I did add some milk onto the meat, a trick my mom always used for ground meat recipes. Instead of diced onion, I prefer onion powder, because the meatballs are small and I don’t like the texture of uncooked onions. I also added in some allspice, garlic powder, nutmeg, and Umami (a mushroom powder from Trader Joe’s).

Keto Friendly Gluten Free Gravy for Swedish Meatballs

These are not the heavy flour-based gravy laden Swedish meatballs you may be used to. The jam and heavy cream are really enough to make a great gravy, full of flavor, capturing notes from the caraway seed, vodka, and fresh dill.

What to Serve under the Swedish Meatballs

You can serve with rice, cauliflower rice, mashed potatoes, or cauliflower mash. We love the cauliflower rice and it pulls in flavor from the gravy. You can also add in some chopped greens (spinach, chard, etc.) for added texture and color.

You can opt to top this with a dose of yogurt (I didn’t, but may next time) and sprinkled with a lot more dill.

Serve something light, green and crisp along side if you don’t add greens to the rice. Here are a few salad ideas that are bright and acidic, balancing out the meatballs.

• Green Bean Salad with Pears
• Micro Greens with Lemon Honey Vinaigrette
• Red Cabbage Salad
• Arugula Salad

More Meatball Recipes from Spinach Tiger

If you’re looking for something different next time, try the Greek Meatballs. Of course you know the Italian and Veal Meatballs are awesome.

• Italian Meatballs
• Greek Lamb Meatballs
• Veal Meatballs with Ricotta
• Chicken Meatballs

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Swedish Meatballs

Keto Friendly, Gluten Free Swedish Meatballs made with pork and beef, a creamy low-carb gravy.

Course Entree

Cuisine Swedish

Keyword keto bagels, Swedish Meatballs

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6 Servings

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 pound ground pork
• 3 tablespoons fresh dill
• 1 tablespoon umami seasoning optional
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Swedish Meatballs Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill
• 1/4 cup vodka
• 1/2 cup sugar free jam or jelly See notes for sub
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 cup unflavored yogurt option

Instructions

Swedish Meatballs

• Combine all ingredients for meatballs together.
• Roll into meatballs about 1.5 inches to 2 inches.
• Bake for 12 minutes at 375 degrees F.
• Place oil into pan. Once hot, place caraway seeds into frying pan for about 10 seconds stirring.
• Add in meatballs.
• Keep a lid in hand, pour in vodka, place lid on and cook on low for about 3 minutes to burn off alcohol.
• Add jelly or strawberry jam, and pour over the meatballs.
• Add heavy cream stirring. Cream will thicken to a gravy. Turn off heat.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Top with fresh dill.
• Serve over rice or cauliflower rice or mashed.
• As an option you can dollop some unflavored yogurt on top and finish off wiht more dill. I skipped this.

Notes

Sugar Free Jam or Jelly brings sweetness. A sugar free cranberry sauce would be perfect, but not always in season. One substitute I  tried was balsamic vinegar (the syrupy one) and added AFTER the heavy cream, because it can burn in the pan.

The post Swedish Meatballs, Keto Friendly, Gluten Free appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Bolognese is not new here. However, this spaghetti bolognese recipe with pork is new and it has a twist for Autumn.

A typical bolognese starts with a mirepoix, a medley of onions, celery and carrots and ends with a lot of patience while it coks slowly for four hours. It’s very easy to get this started and, while building flavors does take layering the ingredients for about thirty minutes, once you have that done, you need do nothing. The magic happens in the low slow simmering, (or in the slow-cooker).

This spaghetti bolognese is new because I changed the recipe, using a combination of pork and beef. You can use all ground pork, but I think adding in some beef makes for a good balance.

Instead of celery, I took a chance and used a crisp mutsu apple, which is a bit tart, a bit sweet, and compliments the pork. Fresh sage adds that special something, complimenting the pork and the apple for that complex layering of  flavors, which is what bolognese is all about.

While the key ingredient in a bolognese is meat, because it’s a meat sauce, not a tomato sauce, all of the ingredients are important to create this orchestra of flavors.

The Truth about Easy Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

This is really easy to do, but it’s not quick! I see some recipes out there for the thirty minute bolognese. That’s like trying to have a 30 minute chili. Don’t do it. What you can do, though, is get all your prep ready the day before, and go ahead and make a double batch, because once the last ingredient is in the pot, you’re done.

Once the mirepoix is softened and the meat is browned enough, milk is added, followed by white wine (not red), followed by tomatoes. This, however, is not a dish where everything is just dumped in a pot. It’s very important to take the time to allow the milk to evaporate, and then to allow wine to evaporate before adding the tomatoes.

Easy Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe is Versatile

I served this two ways, with spaghetti and with zoodles. I’ll admit to you, I was skeptical about going with zucchini as a base, but it works, and I highly recommend the OXO spiralizer as the easiest on the market to very quickly help you make some grain free alternatives.

You might want to make a lot of bolognese sauce and freeze some because it’s so versatile. Top it with mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower and make shepherd’s pie. You could fill crepes or serve it in hamburger buns sloppy Joe’s style.

If you like this you will love my all beef authentic bolognese or this veal bolognese.

Make Sliders with Bolognese, perfect for tailgating.

More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

Authentic Bolognese from Marcella Hazan

My Grandmother’s Authentic Italian Tomato Sauce

Peach and Pork Bolognese

Veal and Pork Bolognese

Shrimp with Tomato Onion Butter Sauce

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Fall's Best Spaghetti Bolognese with a Secret Ingredient

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium to large sized onion diced
• 3 carrots peeled, diced
• 1 medium to large tart apple peeled, diced (see notes)
• 2 cups milk see notes to low-carb application
• dash of freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 cups white wine
• 1 28 - ounce can San Marzano Tomatoes ORDER HERE
• 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
• 1 pound ground beef
• handful fresh sage leaves optional
• handful parsley leaves
• 2 pounds pasta
• salt pepper

Instructions

• On medium heat, add oil, butter, onion, until translucent.
• Add celery, carrots, cook 2 minutes, stirring, not browning.
• Season meat with salt and pepper.
• Add meat, break up with fork, and when no pink color is showing.
• Add milk. Turn down heat to simmer, stirring frequently until milk has evaporated.
• Add nutmeg.
• Add wine, stirring thoroughly. Once wine has completely evaporated, add tomatoes, and simmer on very very low stirring every now and again. If sauce dries out, add ½ cup water a time. Cook for a minimum of 3 hours. I think 4-6 hours is better.
• Taste and season with salt, pepper.

Notes

I used a mutsu apple, which is a very crisp apple. (also known as crispin). Replace with a honey crisp or granny smith.

This site contains affiliate links that earn a small commission, supporting the operation of Spinach Tiger. 

The post Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe with Pork, Apples, Fresh Sage appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

A good bolognese is one of the easiest dishes to make and one to easily get wrong. The easy is that most of the “getting it right” is cooking bolognese for at least 3 hours. If you really want to taste it at its peak, you will refrigerate it, heat it up and then get is full flavor and understand why this is a classic dish in Italy eaten so many ways.

Today, it’s a simple dish with spaghetti. It’s a great topping for crepes, polenta, wider noodles and inside lasagna. If you’re eating grain free, top it on potatoes, spaghetti squash or just eat it out of the bowl like I do.

I’ve told you about bolognese sauce before, taking up Marcella Hazan’s recipe and that’s still my inspiration for this sort of lighter version. I used mostly veal, threw in some ground pork, but, you could use ground turkey, ground beef etc. If you do use ground turkey, though, please throw in some pancetta or bacon to give some added flavor and fat.

Keep in mind that a true bolognese is not a tomato sauce with meat (the American meat sauce). It’s a meat sauce with some tomato, so in this case, I used diced tomatoes.

You can start this in a heavy dutch oven or big frying pan, and convert over to a crock pot, but whatever you do, don’t thrown all this in a crock pot at the beginning. One of the reasons, I don’t care too much for crock pot cooking is that almost all dish have to be started on top of the stove, and in that case, I just keep the dutch oven on very very very low for several hours. That’s where the crock pot can come in handy.

The only other suggestion I’ll make is to make a triple batch and freeze. If you’re already going to all the trouble of opening up a bottle of wine and chopping vegetables, you might as well  the most out of it.

I love you, my readers, and I would love to connect with you. Please find me on Instagram (where you get to see some non-food fun we do around here) and some food pictures that never make it. I also do some quick videos on Periscope with the name, SpinachTiger. xoxo

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Veal and Pork Bolognese with Spaghetti

A authentic Italian Bolognese made with ground veal and ground pork, white wine.

Course Veal Pork Bolognese

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 pounds ground veal
• 1/2 pound ground pork
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons butter
• black pepper freshly ground
• 2 cups whole milk
• freshly ground nutmeg
• 2 cup dry white wine
• 3 cups canned imported Italian plum tomatoes with juice chopped
• 2 tablespoons parsley or fresh basil
• 1 pound spaghetti
• freshly ground parmigiano reggiano

Instructions

• Melt butter into oil on medium heat.
• Add onions. Cook for a few minutes.
• Add carrots, celery. Saute for five minutes.
• Add meat, breaking up as necessary.
• Once meat is cooked through, add milk, and ground nutmeg.
• Once milk is evaporated, add wine.
• Once wine is cooked down, add tomatoes.
• Cook on low in slow cooker for 6 hours or on top of stove very low for three hours minimum.
• Add in fresh parsley or fresh basil, but remove before serving.
• Serve on pasta of your choice with parmigianna reggiano, freshly grated.

Notes

You can serve this with one pound of spaghetti.

More Great Recipes and Ideas for Bolognese

Bolognese over Polenta from the Paupered Chef

Bolognese with Crepes from Gavin’s Cooking

Green Lasagna with Bolognese from Spinach Tiger

Sloppy Joe’s with Bolognese from Spinach Tiger

The post Veal and Pork Bolognese with Spaghetti appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I love meatballs. In fact, I love ground beef. I have a friend who hates ground beef, having grown up with in a family of eleven, where ground beef was served too often. Such a shame, for in our family ground beef either meant meatloaf or meatballs and both are glorious comfort foods in my childhood memories.

I can’t eat either of these from other places, because once I tasted my family’s meatballs, I was ruined.

The Right Way to Make Paleo Meatballls

While there is nothing difficult about making meatballs, it’s easier to get them wrong than right. Firstly, a meatball should be tender, not a hard ball. The flavors should be balanced. One shouldn’t bite into a meatball and get a mouth full of filler and garlic. A meatball should be about the meat. I also added pork for flavor and fat.

It must be loosely packed, seasoned well, but not overpowering. I always use 85% lean meat, which still has plenty of fat in it, which mostly bakes off in the oven, where I bake them to medium rare and then place them in the tomato sauce.

Usually, I add a little bread to my meatballs, but today, I made them for those of you out there eating a grain free, Paleo friendly diet. I

I’m eating Paleo friendly food a lot lately, which means grains are out and pasta is nowhere to be seen, at least for a while. I’m a 80/20 eater, which means at two out of ten days a month, I’m probably eating pasta or quinoa, but for right now, I’m grain free, and feeling better eating this way.

No one can really take the bread or pasta away from an Italian permanently, but it’s better for me to at least cut back. I’m almost sounding apologetic and in some ways I am.

When I ate my pasta and bread in Italy, I had no dietary problems or weight issues. It’s here in the states, where I’m bombarded by everything carb and junkie that I lose my resolve, and then need to quickly do something.

Remember,  I LOVE FOOD. Yes, I do. I’m not that person who can eat 1/4 of the cheeseburger, nor can I eat just one meatball.

The smell of meatballs cooking inside of tomato sauce makes me think all’s right with the world, and just because I’m grain free doesn’t mean comfort food is out. I made these meatballs with premium ground beef, two kinds of cheeses, lots of parsley and fresh garlic.

They were baked in the oven and then placed in my homemade tomato sauce to simmer for a few hours.

Instead of spaghetti, I ate them with fresh spinach, but I think next time, I’ll try my melted kale. I still felt like I was eating comfort food, and when others around here ate spaghetti, I didn’t feel deprived eating these homemade Italian meatballs, paleo friendly and gluten free.

You may also like these gluten free chicken meatballs. 

Since this post, I came up with a fantastic grain free dinner roll that works as a slider and I made these meatballs sliders.

My Grandmother’s Tomato Sauce Here

More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

More Paleo Recipes

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Homemade Italian Meatballs, Paleo Friendly, Gluten Free

Baked, Paleo Friendly Italian Meatballs, comfort food, grain free, gluten free.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 2 hours hours 20 minutes minutes

Servings 30

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• 3 pounds grass fed beef
• 1 pound ground pork or more beef
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino romano
• 1 cup finely chopped fresh Italian Parsley
• 6 cloves garlic finely minced
• sea salt
• pepper
• Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce

Instructions

• Pour milk over ground meat.
• season with salt and pepper
• Add remaining ingredients and very loosely, gently mix together. You don't want the meat to be compacted, as that will make the meatballs tough.
• Form into balls
• Place foil or parchment paper on baking sheet.
• Bake meatballs for 20 minutes at 375 degrees or until outsides seems browned.
• Place into tomato sauce to finish cooking for at least one hour.

Notes

Milk: You can skip milk. Do not substitute with almond or coconut milk as it will affect the taste. If you do skip milk and are using grass-fed beef, add a few tablespoons olive oil. Another way to add in some fat and flavor is to add in some chopped proscuitto, about a slice per pound.

 

The post Homemade Italian Meatballs, Paleo Friendly, Grain Free appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

Meatballs with savory blueberry compote, also known in Italy as polpette con milistri, is quite a surprise of tastes and textures. Perfectly tender meatballs spiked with proscuitto, cooked in a brown wine sauce, tucked inside a crown of puff pastry or tart shell, topped with a savory blueberry pear and shallot compote, are the perfect appetizer or main course.  You can use a store bought puff pastry or make a pie crust and adorn it with poppy seeds. I have also made this atop a homemade poppy seed fettuccini.

I first found this recipe in La Cucina Italiana and I was immediately swept into a foodie fantasy, as I am with so many of their enticing modern, yet authentic Italian selections. I could eat their kind of food every night of the week. If I could only subscribe to one magazine, I would never give La Cucina Italiana up. It’s world class in style, yet approachable, non-intimidating, and the pictures alone are worth the price. It’s a style I lean towards. Simple. Clean. Appetizing. They can make a simple dish of pasta look like the last meal for the queen.

Homemade meatballs cooked in a wine sauce and tucked into a pastry shell with a little fresh fruit compote is not deep fried lasagna. It’s still good food, and if eaten in moderation, great food. But, alas, it’s not part of his plan and I looked at Mr. ST and said, “do you want to start the 24 day challenge tomorrow? I’ve made this amazing and unique meat ball dish and you have to try this.”

He didn’t mind one bit. I’ll give a little warning though. This is so good that you probably do want to make this for company so that there are no left overs. You could be easily tempted to eat it all. It’s the kind of good that makes you want to eat it again for breakfast.

Never would I have thought to pair meatballs with blueberries. It works and has opened up a possibility for all kinds of new dishes. The original recipe calls for a combination of veal and pork. I used lean grass fed ground beef and they ended up very tender and quite tasty. Impossible to sample just one.

As far as how to present them, you might experiment. I used a small tart pan to cut out circles and placed them in muffin tins. I baked them frozen and at the last five minutes stuffed them with meatballs. You could make smaller circles and use one meatball and serve as an “amuse bouche.” You could make larger tarts and fill each with six meatballs and serve as an entree with a fresh green salad. You can use a store bought puff pastry or make your favorite pie crust. I used my standard pie crust recipe and deleted the sugar. After rolling, I sprinkled with poppy seeds. I could have made them look a little better, but next time.

The blueberry pear compote is savory, made with a good amount of shallots, and the fruity notes play well off of the proscuitto in the meatballs.

This is a great party dish that can be made ahead of time. The meatballs can mixed and frozen raw or fry them and freeze them cooked (heating up in oven to cook). The compote can be made a day or two ahead and can be frozen.The tart shells can also be made in advance. Freeze prior to baking.

One way we’ve enjoyed this meatball dish in the past is over a homemade poppy seed fettucini.

Tell me, do you love meatballs, and what is your favorite way to eat them?

Pastry Dough recipe can be found  here. Omit sugar.

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Meatballs with Blueberry Compote

Known in Italy as polpette con composta di mirtilli, a lovely meatball dish, served in a poppy seed tart shell, with a blueberry compote. Adapted from La Cucina Italiana Magazine.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

• MEATBALL INSTRUCTIONS
• 1 slice white sandwich bread torn into large pieces
• 1/2 cup low fat milk
• 1/4 pound ground pork
• 3/4 pound grass fed ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 slices proscuitto finely chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped Italian parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil for frying
• 1/3 cup white wine
• pastry dough see below for recipe Can substitute with store bought puff pastry
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds optional
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 
  COMPOTE INGREDIENTS
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 medium pear peeled, cored, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 3 tablespoons dry vermouth can use white wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

• Make pie dough according to directions found below, or use store bought puff pastry.
• MEATBALL INSTRUCTIONS
• Combine pork, ground beef and one egg.
• Add bread, prosciutto, parsley, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. Combine with hands gently. Do not overwork.
• Form into 3/4 tablespoon portions and form meatballs. Fry in olive oil for 3 minutes.
• Add 1/3 cup wine. Reduce heat to low, continue to cook 12 more minutes until wine is reduced. Add 2 tablespoons of butter a little at a time until butter is melted.
• PASTRY INSTRUCTIONS
• Roll out pastry dough. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Cut circles with a biscuit cutter and put into small tart pans.
• Bake covered with parchment paper and pie weights at 375 for 10 minutes. Remove foil and pie weights. Bake until golden another 10-12 minutes.

COMPOTE INSTRUCTION

• Heat 2 tablespoons butter in medium pan. Add shallots, pear and blueberries until cooked through about one minute.
• Add dry vermouth, sugar, cinnamon, dash salt. Bring to boil, reduce heat to low, continue to cook for about 6-8 minutes, and mash to make a compote consistency.
• Arrange each tart shell with meatballs. Pour in wine sauce.
• Top with compote.
• Serve in larger tart shell as an entree. Serve in smaller tart shells as appetizers

Notes

This recipes can be made into entree using a small 4 inch tart shells or smaller appetizers using, cutting into 4 inch rounds and pressing into muffin pans. The original recipe uses 50/50 ratio of veal and ground pork. I used grassfed ground beef and ground pork in 3-1 ratio.

The post Meatballs with Savory Blueberry and Pear Compote appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

You have to watch this movie clip from The Big Night to understand what I’m about to tell you about spaghetti and meatballs. This is a very funny scene about a topic the Italians take very seriously. And, it’s no mistake that the main characters are called Primo and Secondo.

This Video is Worth and Watch and Hillarious

This is a very opinionated post, and I can’t help myself, and when you think I’ve gone too far, please go back and watch the clip again.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a beloved “American” meal. I say American because you’re more likely to find it on a menu in the States than in Italy. If it’s on a menu in Italy, it’s there for tourists in a restaurant one should probably avoid.

In Italy, meatballs are called polpette and the recipe is very similar to what I grew up with. Polpette are eaten as main course, or in a soup. When the meatballs are made very tiny, (like marbles), they are called polpettine, typically found in the Abruzzo region.

As Italian restaurants popped up in neighborhoods called “Little Italy” all over the east coast in America, they eventually started serving spaghetti and meatballs in one dish. They didn’t start out serving the meatballs with the spaghetti,  but added them to adjust for the culture and the American tradition of eating the meat as the first course.

Hence, dish below m was never served in our home growing up. Although the meatballs would be cooked in a tomato sauce, meatballs would never actually be served with the spaghetti. As Secondo (above) says  in the movie  “sometimes the spaghetti likes to be alone.”

The spaghetti was served first in a shallow bowl that was sitting on a flat dinner plate. We ate spaghetti only with a clean, simple, tomato sauce (flavored by the meat, but not containing meat) and freshly grated cheese. When those dishes were removed, we ate the second course of meatballs (or perhaps others meats) with a salad on the dinner plate.

Spaghetti is never served with a meat sauce and meatballs at the same time. There is no such thing as a tomato meat sauce. There is a meat sauce (called bolognese) that has some (very little) tomato in it and that is served with a wide noodle or bucatini (see pic below) and used for lots of dishes. But, it’s not considered in the same family as spaghetti and meatballs.

There are many more meatball opinions. How to make the meatballs, what size to make them, garlic or no garlic, and how long to cook the sauce, which leads to what type of spaghetti should be served. You would think for such a simple, common, rustic kind of dish, there wouldn’t be so many strong opinions. But watch the movie again, and you’ll understand.

I accepted these “food rules” growing up, because I found my stability inside the rules. Food rules defined for me a “culture” to be a part of, and provided something I could rely on as a constant. I went to eight different grade schools, so my sanity required consistency and tradition.

Sitting at the table, following the food rules brought an hour of predictable sanity. It could be my grandmother’s table which meant good times (usually), or it could be a table in a small apartment with my mom, my brother and I, during one of the times we weren’t talking to the rest of the family, including my father. At least during this predictable hour, I could forget the other twenty-three.

You can play with your meatball recipe, but don’t be tempted to fill a meatball with too much garlic and crazy spices. A good meatball doesn’t do well when one ingredient takes over, either in flavor or in texture. If you add garlic, you must be careful, that it’s not sitting on the edge of the meatball and gets too browned, causing your meatball and your sauce to taste bitter.

This is why I recommend skipping the garlic or just going gently. Remember that as the meatballs sit in the sauce, they are going to become more flavorful, and it’s much more important to use good meat and good cheese.

The Meat for Meatballs

Many recipes have a mixture of pork, veal and beef. Many don’t have the access to affordable ground veal or choose not to eat veal, and in that case double up on the beef. Use high quality meat at least 85/15, but not an extra lean meat. If you do happen to buy extra lean-lean, add in a little olive oil.

While I prefer a beef/pork mixture or veal, you may prefer turkey. You will need to boost that flavor. Recipe Here.q

We also love veal meatballs. Ground veal can be pricey, and I grab it when it goes on sale. Veal meatballs are the most tender and flavorful on their own. You can add veal to your meat mixture (about 1/3), which is a more affordable way to include it.

The Sauce for Spaghetti & Meatballs Recipe

The third most popular at Spinach Tiger is my Grandmother’s Homemade Tomato Sauce. It’s easy and consistently good.

I prefer a clean pureed sauce for spaghetti and meatballs, and will strain good tomatoes making sure there are no seeds.

Some regions of Italy insist on adding carrots, onions and celery to tomato sauce. Save this for bolognese. It changes the flavor and texture of the sauce. It’s like trying to mix the northern and southern regions of Italian cooking together. Sometimes that can work. I don’t think it works for a clean tomato sauce, with one exception. I will add butter to my tomato sauce to make it creamier. It’s not really necessary, but it’s a nice touch, and is a northern Italian influence.

Pasta for Spaghetti and Meatballs

We like an authentic thick spaghetti, cooked al dente. For just a little more money, buy a high quality brand. There are now some good gluten free options too.

How to Cook Perfect Spaghetti

It’s important to get it right, and this post will give you the tips you need

What is Best Cheese for a Spaghetti & Meatballs Recipe

Use only freshly grated parmigiano reggiano or pecorino romano at table. Tip: take cheese down to room temperature before serving. Grate as you use it, as the cheese can dry out within the hour, changing the flavor. You need this cheese for the meatballs also.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

Just recently, after 100 years of tradition in America, we started putting spaghetti and meatballs on the same plate. I am still unsure about how I feel about it, and this is proof of how deep food memories can go and how the food rules have shaped me.

Thus, today I give you the Retro Rose version of a great American tradition: Spaghetti and Meatballs.

More Italian Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Italian Meatball Soup
• Eggplant Rolatini
• Braciole (Italian Stuffed Steak)
• Keto Eggplant Lasagna
• Ten Different Tomato Sauces
• Stuffed Shells
• Manicotti
• Cheese Stuffed Meatballs
• Italian Eggplant Soup
• Old School Chicken Parmesan
• Spaghetti Pie
• Paparadelle with Prosciuto Meatballs

More Meatball Recipes from Spinach Tiger

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The Big Night and What You Need to Know About Spaghetti and Meatballs

Classic Spaghetti & Meatballs from my Italian Mother.

Course Entree

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours

Servings 10

Author Angela Roberts

Ingredients

Meatball Recipe Ingredients

• 1/2 cup milk divided
• 3 large slices left over Italian bread
• 2 pounds ground chuck
• 1 pound ground pork ask butcher to grind fresh (or use all ground beef)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup freshly grated cheese you can mix parmesan and pecorino but don’t use pre-grated cheese or cheese blends
• 1-2 cloves of garlic minced (optional)
• 2 eggs
• sea salt black pepper

Pasta

• 2 Pounds Pasta
• 1/4 cup salt
• 12 quarts water

Tomato Sauce Recipe Found here

Instructions

• Take meat and eggs out 30 minutes before preparation. Put meat in large bowl.
• Mix pork and beef together.
• Soak bread in milk. Squeeze milk from bread. Set bread aside. Use all milk left over to soak meat.
• Add parsley, cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Add eggs. Mix. Add bread and now mix just enough to hold together. Don’t over mix, as there will be some pieces of bread throughout the mixture, unlike mixing a meatloaf with bread crumbs.
• Do one tester meatball on top of the stove. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. You may need more cheese, salt or pepper.
• Fry until browned all over. Add to tomato sauce.
• My preference is to bake on parchment paper on cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes at 350. They don’t have to be completely cooked through as they will cook in the sauce.

Pasta

• If you don’t have a large enough pot to put in 12 quarts water, cook separately. Each pound of pasta needs six quarts water.
• Boil water. Once boiling add salt. Once water is boiling again, add pasta.
• Cook according to instructions. Drain.

The post The Big Night and What You Need to Know About Spaghetti and Meatballs appeared first on Spinach Tiger.