Sweet Beef Scramble

We had to run out on an errand directly following work yesterday. We went to finally pick up hubby's new glasses since he lost his in the river while kayaking the other week. He's so happy to be able to see clearly in comfortable glasses again. He went two weeks in his safety glasses from work and they squeeze his head, so I've heard a time or two, lol. But he looks very handsome in his new glasses and sunglasses so we're both glad that they are finally here!

Anyhow, we had to rush out after work to make it to the eye doctor's office before they closed and we needed something quick and easy. It just so happened that we had something quick and easy on the meal plan so it worked out perfectly! Sweet Beef Scramble, from Whole Family Strong, to the rescue!

I forgot to take the beef out of the freezer until about half way through the day, so I had to thaw that out, but that was the hardest part of this recipe. Seriously, it's that easy! 

I had some leftover butternut squash in the fridge so, instead of chopping up some sweet potatoes, I decided to go ahead and just use the squash instead. It was a decision I did not regret! I know that the sweet potatoes would have been good, but I really loved the squash in it too. I only did one onion instead of two also because it was a rather large onion and it seemed like a lot for just 1 pound of beef, but I love onion and probably would have chopped up another one if I hadn't been lazy, lol. Then just add in the salt and pepper. That's the end of the recipe. I decided to throw in some broccoli to ours too though. I like having something green in stir-fry type dishes and it really added some bulk to it, since this recipe doesn't yield a large amount like some of the other recipes we find online. 

It took just a short while to heat everything up and then it was ready to go. We put it in to-go containers and ate it on the way. I know you're not supposed to do that, but we were short on time and decided it'd be better than waiting a few extra hours after the doctor appointment. When we want to eat, we want to eat NOW! lol.

I definitely recommend this recipe if you're looking for something quick and easy and delicious. I especially love the sweet bit with the sweet potato/butternut squash. It really goes well with the beef flavor and just having minimal spices really allows you to enjoy the natural flavors of the food. This one is going on my "favorites" list. I'll just have to make sure to remember to double it next time because it goes quick!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground beef
• 2 sweet potatoes, cubed (I used 1/2 of leftover butternut squash)
  
• 2 large onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp crushed rosemary (didn't have any)
  
• salt
• pepper
• broccoli (my addition)

Directions:
1. Brown beef in skillet and season with rosemary, salt and pepper.
2. Spoon crumbled beef into serving dish.
3. In same skillet toss in sweet potatoes and onions to brown in beef fat.
4. When onions are soft and sweet potatoes are crispy, season with salt and pepper.
5. Remove from heat and add to serving dish.

Naked Burgers and A New Way to Prepare Sweet Potatoes!

For dinner last night I tried the Naked Turkey Burgers from Skinny Taste with their homemade Bruschetta. I also took the Cajun Seasoning from Eat Live Grow Paleo and sprinkled on the turkey burgers during the cooking process. With those, we had Easy Hasselback Sweet Potatoes from Oh Snap! Let's Eat! and then I steamed some fresh veggies to go along with it all.

I'll start with the burgers. 

I was kind of afraid of this recipe because I haven't had much luck in the past with burgers. We don't have the option to grill here and I haven't had much experience with burgers; every time I tried to make burgers, they would end up falling apart and there'd be a ton of liquid in the bottom of the pan. But I decided to give these turkey burgers a try. I was skeptical to see that there were no eggs involved, and I was thinking of adding them (just in case) but decided to go ahead with the original recipe and see how it turned out. So I threw it all together, which only took a couple of minutes, and then formed the patties. 

We ended up with about 10 patties since I used 2# of meat instead of the 1.25 in the recipe. I really didn't increase the quantity of the other ingredients much. I still used just one zucchini, but had a heaping 1/4 cup of coconut flour and added an extra tbsp. of onion. To my happy surprise, the burgers stuck together perfectly. They were so easy to flip over and didn't take long at all to cook all of them. I did decide to add a sprinkling of Cajun Seasoning from Eat Live Grow Paleo on one side of the burgers during the cooking process. It ended up being a wonderful impromptu decision because it had just the right flavor, with just enough heat, and I think really gave the burgers that extra oomph! 

The bruschetta for the burgers was super easy to make. 

It took just a couple of minutes to chop and throw everything together. I have to say that I am not a huge fan of tomatoes, but I gave it a try and I don't think the burgers would be as good if they didn't come with the bruschetta. The two together really are a perfect pairing. The coolness from the tomatoes helps with the heat of the seasoning and the basil in there is very nice. 

I decided to give the Hasselbeck Sweet Potatoes a try. 

I saw them on Pinterest once and thought that they looked super cool! Cutting them was not my favorite task. I did try the chopstick method and that helped for the middle, but if any of the potato is not on the cutting board (it's elevated) then you have to just make sure the knife doesn't go all the way through. The potatoes ended up being delicious. How can you go wrong with sweet potatoes? However, my husband doesn't really like eating the skin, so he was constantly peeling it off. I do eat the skin and was doing so, but it just ended up being kind of difficult to eat. I think next time it'd just be easier to go ahead and cut all the way through and make chips instead. Just my preference though. 

So there's my review and our lovely Dinner #22 of our Whole30 program. Only 8 more to go!!

The recipes that I used to create this meal is listed below. Let me know what you think of them or any changes you made. I'll be saving this recipe and always look forward to learning new tips and tricks to spice up old recipes!!

Bruschetta from Skinny Taste
Bruschetta Ingredients:

credit: skinnytaste.com

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
• 3 medium vine ripe tomatoes
• 2 small cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 3 oz part skim mozzarella, diced (did not include this)
  

Bruschetta Directions:

Combine the red onion, olive oil, balsamic, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Set aside a few minutes while you chop the tomatoes, then place in the bowl. Add the garlic, basil and additional salt and pepper, to taste and mix well and set aside. Toss in the cheese when ready to serve.

Naked Turkey Burgers from Skinny Taste

Burger Ingredients:

• 1.25 lbs 93% lean ground turkey (I used 2# of turkey)
• 1 small zucchini, grated (1 cup, or 5 oz)
• 1/4 cup seasoned whole wheat breadcrumbs (I used coconut flour)
  
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 1 tbsp red onion, grated
• salt and fresh pepper
• oil spray

Burger Directions:

1. Squeeze the excess moisture from the zucchini in a paper towel. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, shredded zucchini, breadcrumbs, garlic, onion, salt 

    and pepper. 

3. Form into 5 equal sized patties about 5 oz each, forming them as flat as possible.

4. Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat. When hot, lightly spray with oil. 

5. Add the burgers to the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low. 

6. Cook until browned, about 4 minutes, then flip and cook another 4 minutes, careful not to burn.

Cajun Seasoning from Eat Live Grow Paleo
Seasoning Ingredients:
-  2 1/2 tablespoons of salt
-  1 tablespoon of dried oregano
-  1 tablespoon of paprika
-  1 tablespoon of cayenne pepper
-  1 tablespoon of ground black pepper

Seasoning Directions:
Mix all the ingredients together and store in a small jar with the rest of your spice mixes until needed.

Easy Hasselback Sweet Potatoes from Oh Snap! Let's Eat!
Potato Ingredients:

credit: ohsnapletseat.com

• Sweet potatoes
• Olive oil
• Scallions, chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Butter (optional)

Potato Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.

2. Carefully, slice the potato (but not ALL the 

    way through!) in to thin slices. A good trick 

    I’ve heard of is to use chopsticks or 

    something on the two sides of the potato so 

    that it stops you from 

    accidentally cutting it all the way through.

3. Rub the potatoes with olive oil. Make sure to get in between the slices so that the sweet potato 

    doesn’t dry out in the oven.

4. Line a baking pan or baking sheet with aluminum foil, and then place the potatoes on the baking 

    sheet or baking pan.  

5. Stick it in the oven until for about half an hour.

6. Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven. We are going to fan out the potato slices and make it 

    pretty! Use a butter knife/spreader or something else dull and thin separate the slices from one 

    another.

7. Stick it back in the oven for another half an hour.

8. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and scallions as desired. If you want, I sometimes put small chunks of 

    butter between some of the slices to make it even tastier!