 |
| BOOM! |
These are the ramblings of a self-described wheat, grain and gluten-free “gourmet girl” that loves to cook and eat good food. I love creating and sharing recipes and photographing “beautiful food”. In July 2012, I eliminated wheat, grains and added sugar from my diet and rediscovered real, whole fresh foods again and effortlessly lost 65+ pounds. Join me in my wheat, grain and gluten-free journey. See how easy it is to enjoy grain free gourmet, one meal at a time! Welcome to my blog. Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Meatloaf Burgers & Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole
This evening I was in the mood for meatloaf but wanted to put a quick and different twist on it. I stopped at the store on my way home and picked up a pound of grass fed organic beef by Maverick Ranch. This is the third different brand of grass fed beef I've tried and so far I don't care for the first two kinds I've tried at all...I would rather not eat any beef than to eat those and both were from local Georgia farms. Finally, this brand has GGC approval...LOL -- it's the first one that didn't have a weird and strong taste to me. I have never been much of a beef person to begin with (since young childhood) which is pretty weird considering that I grew up in a family that loved their red meat. Growing up, I was always the "meat outcast" and would order chicken instead of steak when our family would eat at one of their favorite "house of beef" restaurants. Anyway...I decided to make "meatloaf burgers" and since it was raining on and off this evening, I made the burgers inside. I mixed the ground beef with a few squeezes of ketchup, mustard, sriracha, Greek seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper and then added some finely minced Vidalia onion to mine (hubby is not fond of onions). I formed them into patties and then sauteed them in a pan on the stove. I also sauteed some sliced fresh mushrooms in Kerrygold Herb Garlic Butter and made my Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole to go with it. I topped the "meatloaf burgers" with some sliced white cheddar cheese with chipotle chile peppers and spooned the buttered mushrooms over my burger. It was a simple and delicious dinner and it was nice having half burger/half meatloaf, too. My recipe for the Yellow Cheddar Squash Casserole is linked above. I snapped a few photos below. Enjoy!
Hi GGC,
ReplyDeleteI sure would like to find a store like that where you can get a small quantity of grass fed beef. Well, besides Whole Foods, of course ... $$$ outta sight! There are farms around here that sell it, but you need to buy at least a half a cow. I'd like to put it to the taste-test first before making that kind of investment!
BTW, growing up I was always a "chicken girl," too. :-)
ReplyDeleteHi CyberSis! Based on my first 2 taste tests of local grass fed beef, I was extremely pleased that I could buy it by the pound (considering I did not liked it and would never have eaten it again)! Both of those were 80/20. The Maverick Ranch I bought yesterday which was both organic and grass fed was 91/9...and I liked it. So, I wonder if the taste I don't care for is in the fat or was it the brand...or what? This brand had a milder flavor than the first 2 I didn't like. On the first 2, I didn't like the taste, the smell, the texture...I found myself trying to like it...and I couldn't. I think I paid $9 or $10 for a pound of both of the first 2 kinds. The one I ate last night was $6.49 for 1 pound and I could buy it at the store on the corner. I don't eat/care for beef enough to ever consider buying 1/2 of a cow or anything. Hey...2 chicken girls here -- I have gotten a better about beef but it still isn't my natural preference! ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi GG, I am baaaaaaaaaaaack!LOL.
ReplyDeleteI am singing this to you!
Happy Grain free Anniversary to You! Happy Grain free Anniversary to you, Happy Grain free Anniversary dear GG., happy Anniversary to You!
I hope you received nice bouquet of flowers!
Fondly Barbara from California.
Hi Barbara! Welcome home!!! I am really impressed that you remembered today was my 1-year "wheatless-versary"....LOL. I am going to write something up to commemorate it! I have gone 1 full year without any wheat or grains...and have enjoyed every single moment and every single meal! I've missed hearing from you and hope you had a great trip visiting your daughter and grandchildren. I hope you also had better weather than we have had -- we have had rain almost every day with brief bouts of sunshine in between. Too bad you couldn't see how big my smile was when I read your little "anniversary song"! Welcome back! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi GG, I can certainly relate to your weather pattern and walking in the rain; we are having the same thing in upstate NY. It's been so odd!
ReplyDeleteI always hate to use the oven on these hot/humid days and try to use the slow cooker whenever possible. I recently did an experiment by cooking your Yellow Squash Casserole that way. I halved the recipe and put it in a 7" round glass dish. I set in on a rack in the slow cooker (not sure if this is necessary, but it seemed like a good idea). I cooked it on low, and when I came home about 4 1/2 hrs later it was cooked. I then switched the temp to "warm" until we were ready to eat. I was very pleased with it; it wasn't browned, of course, but I thought it tasted as good as always. I also used another slow cooker to make "chicken wings" the same day (actually Maria Emmerich's recipe). They're different than what you get in a restaurant, of course, but much more healthy.
Here's to a cold front coming through soon!
GG, this is really an important day -you have accomplished what you set out to do! You really impressed me and I am sure countless other people. Your website is a success with almost 350K visitors to it! It looks so beautiful and is so well designed and created by you! I was wondering is that your line of business?
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful evening! Barbara.
Hi Barbara! Thank you -- so glad you enjoy the blog. No, it is not my line of business -- this is the first blog I have ever had or created and I just kind of figured it out as I went! It has been enjoyable and a great hobby and way to share my love of cooking with others. Hope you have a great evening, too! :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Darlene! So glad the squash casserole worked well in the slow cooker! Between that and your wings...it sounds like you had a delicious dinner. Such a smart idea, too, by using the slow cooker during these hot and humid "dog days" of summer! A cold front would be great...but I'd just settle for a few days without rain! I notice all the rain seems to be bringing the mosquitoes out -- I have about 9 or 10 bites on my legs since yesterday!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteTo Darlene,
ReplyDeleteI say when it is too hot-get out of the kitchen! I took the crock pot with the pot roast (your recipe GG) and let it
cook in the GARAGE. Ain't I smart?LOL. Even a crockpot gives off a lot of heat. It made my husband happy, he does not like any cooking odors in the house! Of course I use the kitchen fan, but on *High* it is so loud!
Very smart, Barbara (using the crock pot in the garage)! :-)
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
ReplyDeleteLOL I have heard of that idea of using the crockpot in the garage but haven't tried it yet. I would have to get space approval from my husband-he is very territorial about "his" garage, ha ha. It has cooled down here for maybe 3 days & I am enjoying it!