Oktoberfest Lager Stew with Sausage, Potatoes, Caramelized Onions and Golden Cabbage

 Recipe courtesy of The Cozy Apron

 

Ingredients

-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
-1 (14 ounce) package grass-fed beef smoked sausage, cut into bite-size slices
-1 ½ onion, sliced into thin semi-circles
-½ head small cabbage, halved again, cored and thinly sliced
-½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
-¼ teaspoon ground caraway seeds
-Pinch sea salt
-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
-1 cup German-style lager beer (Oktoberfest variety)
-2 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed to bite-size pieces
-2 ½ cups hot chicken stock
-1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar
-1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Directions

-Place a medium-large pot over medium-high heat, and add the olive oil; once the oil is hot, add in the sliced beef smoked sausage, and allow the slices to caramelize and brown in the oil, for about 4-5 minutes
-Once the sausage is browned, add in the sliced onions, stir, and allow the onions to caramelize with the sausage for another few minutes, until golden-brown and softened
-Once onions are caramelized, add in the sliced cabbage, stir to combine, and allow the cabbage to soften and take on the flavors of the sausage and onions for  few minutes
-Once the cabbage is softened and golden, add in the black pepper, ground caraway seeds and the pinch of salt, and stir to combine; next, stir in the garlic, and once it becomes aromatic, add in the cup of lager, and stir the mixture to combine; allow the beer to slightly reduce for about 3 minutes or so -Next, add in the cubed potatoes and the hot chicken stock, stir, and allow the mixture to come to the boil; once it comes to the boil, place a lid on (slightly askew to allow just a little steam to escape), and reduce the heat to low to gently simmer the stew for about 40 minutes; after the 40 minutes, turn the heat off, and finish the stew by stirring in the apple cider vinegar and the chopped parsley (add more salt if necessary, too).
-Serve in large bowls with some hearty, rye bread or rustic rolls with butter or cream cheese.

Summer Squash & Zucchini Noodles with Meatballs

 Recipe courtesy of our CSA member Laura

 

Noodle Ingredients

-Summer Squash

-Zucchini

Meatballs & Sauce Ingredients 

-2 pounds grass-fed ground beef

-2 small carrots

-1/2 a large onion

-1 handfull (or 2) of spinach

-1/4 cup of almond meal

-1 egg (optional)

-1 -2 tsp basil (dried) to taste

-1 tsp oregano (dried) to taste

-1 tsp garlic powder

-salt & pepper (optional)

Noodle Directions
-To start, you will need 1 squash (zucchini or summer squash) per planned serving, depending on the size of the squash.  To make a serving of 4, start with 4 squash.  To make enough for 2 start with 2.  As you cut/peel the squash you’ll see how much it makes and can either stop early or add an additional squash if it doesn’t look like enough “noodles” 
-First wash the squash and dry it. 
-Then cut the top and bottom of the squash, you’ll do the same for the yellow summer squash or the zucchini, so that you have a nice flat surface to stand the squash vertically.
- Next, use your vegetable peeler and start at the top and “peel” the squash by creating a peel the length of the squash.If you want shorter “noodles” you can cut the squash in half first, but I like the longer ones so you can actually twirl them around your fork when you’re done!  Continue creating your peeled squash noodles until the remaining squash is too small to peel anymore.  Take the remaining and cut it as thinly as possible so you don’t waste it and add it to the “noodle” pile.
-After you created your noodles, place them in a colander and let them sweat.  This is a tip I took from Melissa Jouwlan’s Well Fed cookbook, and you do this to remove some of the water from the squash which keeps your noodles from being too watery at the end (anyone had this problem before?).  In the colander, coat the squash with sea salt, and then let sit for 20-30 minutes.

Meatball and Sauce Directions

 -To make the meatballs, use a mini prep food processor and chop the veggies (carrots, onion, and spinach) and then throw all the other ingredients in a large bowl and mix it together.  Create meatball from the meat mixture and place in the pan to cook.
-After the meatballs are mostly cooked, I add 1 - 2 cans of marinara sauce to the pan and then let it simmer for about 10 minutes (you can just add it and let it heat up too, the cooking is done at this point).  Now before you judge, I  know that I’m takeing a shortcut by using Trader Joe’s Marinara Sauce...I know its sacrilegious to not make my own sauce, but this one doesn’t have any crappy ingredients, tastes great, and helps to get dinner on the table faster!  Trust me about the can too, it’s $1.79 (I think) a can and the best value for your dollar!
-After you’ve let the squash noodles sit, rinse the salt off and then dry the noodles (you just did all that work to remove the excess water after all).  Then throw them in a large saute pan.
-I added a tiny bit of coconut oil since I didn’t want them to stick.  Toss the noodles in the pan, moving with a wooden spoon for 3 to 5 minutes, until the squash is tender.  Place the squash on plates and get ready to serve!

Stuffed Kale

  Ingredients
For Stuffing:
1 tbs olive oil
1 cup of rice
1 onion, chopped
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 can\box of strained tomatos
 raisins, cranberries, almonds or other nuts \ dried fruit
curry powder or any other spices you like
1 cup of water For

Kale:
3-4 tbs olive oil
a bunch of large kale leaves
water
1/2 can\box of strained tomatos
 1 lemon, sliced
6-8 garlic cloves, peeled

 
 How to make it:

Fry onion in olive oil, till it start getting translucent, add the beef and mix together crumbling the meat. Ad the rice and spices and steer for 1-2 minutes.

Mix strained tomato with 1 cup of water and pour into the pot then add the fruits and nuts. let cook for about 7-8 minutes till most of the water evaporate and the rice begin to soften but not fully cooked then turn the stove off and let the rice cool down a bit.

 In the meantime, prepare the kale - wash the leaves and cut off the top part where the stock is thicker (make the cut in the widest park of each leaf.

When the rice if cool enough to touch, spread the leaf on a chop board and pile 2-3 spoons of rice in the bottom part of the leaf, fold the sides then role the whole leaf like an eggrole!

Pour 1-2 TBS of olive oil in a pot and place the stuffed kale in the pot.

Repeat with all the leaves. when one layer of stuffed kale is in the pot, you can pile a second one, place garlic and sliced lemons and a bit more olive oil between the layers.

When all the leaves are stuffed, mix the other half of strained tomato can with a cup of water and pour on top, fill with water till all the leaves are covered. put the pot on the stove, on high flame till it boils, then lower the flame and cover with a lid. Let it cook till all the water evaporate (45 minutes to an hour)

Beef Enchilada Cabbage Roll

Recipe Courtesy of Fast Paleo

 

Easy Enchilada Sauce

Ingredients

-2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Cold Pressed

-2 Tbsp. Organic Chili Powder

-1 c. Pacific Foods Organic Beef Broth

-5 oz. Bionaturae Organic Tomato Paste

-1/2 tsp. Organic Dried Oregano

-1/2 tsp. Organic Cumin

-1/2 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

Directions

-In saucepan over medium-high heat, whisk together all ingredients except olive oil.

- Bring to low boil then reduce heat to low to keep warm.

-Before pouring over cabbage rolls, whisk in olive oil.

Beef Enchilada Cabbage Rolls

Ingredients 

-1 lb. Fresh Ground Grass Fed Ground Beef

-1 Small Organic Onion, Chopped

-1 Clove Organic Garlic, Crushed

-1 tsp. Celtic Sea Salt

-1 tsp. Fresh Ground Black Pepper

-1 Recipe Easy Enchilada Sauce (see above)

-1 Medium Head Organic Cabbage

-2-4 Small Organic Avocadoes

Directions

-In a large stockpot, add a couple cups of water and bring to boil.

-Remove core from cabbage and very carefully peel off 10-12 leaves.

- Place leaves in boiling water and turn off heat.

-While cabbage leaves are softening, pan fry ground beef, onion, salt & pepper in cast iron skillet.

-Once ground beef is cooked though, remove from heat and add crushed garlic.

-With tongs, remove one cabbage leaf at a time, fill with beef mixture, roll tightly and lay in glass baking dish.

- Cover cabbage rolls with enchilada sauce and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

- Serve with avocado slices and enjoy!