Instant Pot: Un-Stuffed Cabbage Bowls

I used Skinny Tastes recipe as a start and made my own alterations. My family said it was really good!

I love using my instant pot and this recipe was fast and easy!

Add some salad and it's ready to serve :)

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

These meatballs are Paleo and have no dairy (cheese) or grains (breadcrumbs) for fillers.

I know I know to not use the different variety of cheeses that can be put into meatballs is almost unthinkable, but I can't have dairy or breadcrumbs that have wheat in them, so non-traditional meatballs it is. *The meatballs are Paleo, but definitely not the mac&cheese and rice!

Luckily, Against All Grain always saves me and provides good recipes that I can mostly eat.

We made the sauce, but The Fish Fam didn't like it because it was too tangy and tart. I think if you used the tomato puree she suggests it might taste better. But, after having leftovers and still having lots of sauce and meatballs left we dumped the sauce and washed off the meatballs. And throughly enjoy the meatballs by themselves, great flavor.

The meatballs remind me of the flavorful meats in different dishes we had in Asia.

Here is Danielle's recipe for her Game-Day Sweet and Sour Meatballs...

AUTHOR: Danielle Walker - AgainstAllGrain.com

SERVES: 3 dozen

PREP TIME: 20 mins

COOK TIME: 45 mins TOTAL TIME: 65 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef, chicken, or pork
• 2 large eggs
• 2 small vidalia sweet onions, about 1 cup minced
• ¼ cup almond meal (with the skins) or 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1.5 teaspoons ground ginger
• 2 teaspoon sea salt

Sauce:

• 3 cups tomato puree
• ¾ cup unsweetened pineapple juice
• ⅓ cup honey
• ⅓ cup coconut aminos
• ¼ cup tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1.5 teaspoons sea salt
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon onion powder

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Make the sauce first by combining all of the ingredients in a wide pot. Bring to a low boil then reduce the heat to medium-low and let it simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, until thickened.
3. Meanwhile, make the meatballs.
4. Place the onion in a food processor and pulse until finely minced.
5. Add the egg, almond meal, beef, oil, ginger, and sea salt. Pulse until fully combined.
6. Roll the mixture into small bite-sized meatballs.
7. Space them evenly on two rimmed baking sheets and bake for 12 minutes, turning once.
8. Once the sauce has thickened, transfer it and the meatballs to a slow cooker set to low. Cover until ready to enjoy.

URL to article: http://againstallgrain.com/2014/01/23/game-day-sweet-sour-meatballs/

*We used organic beef and turkey meat. I wouldn't suggest the turkey meat with beef, but it's all we had in the freezer to make the 2lbs. Also, I made more meatballs, without the sauce and added some tamari sauce (gluten free soy sauce) in the mix.

**To make it Fodmap free for me I had to take out the onions in the meatballs. In the sauce I also had to void the honey and used maple syrup instead. Also, had to void the onion powder. I used white wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. I also only had organic canned tomato sauce in my pantry and not tomato puree.

The Fish Fam topped the meatballs over rice with organic mac&cheese and broccoli for sides.

*I had a bowl of rice with three meatballs and some steamed yellow squash and bok choy.

This was our leftovers for lunch today....

Enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash Lasagna Boats

This recipe is from Skinnytaste and looked awesome.

Spaghetti Squash Sausage Lasagna Boats

Via Skinnytaste.com

Ingredients:

• 3 small to medium spaghetti squash (about 5 cups cooked)
• salt and fresh pepper, to taste
• 1/3 cup part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley (or basil)
• 3/4 cup whole milk shredded mozzarella cheese

For the Sauce:

• 1 tsp olive oil 
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 14 oz Italian chicken sausage
• 14 oz (1/2 can) crushed tomatoes (I prefer Tuttorosso)  
• salt and fresh pepper, to taste
• 2 tbsp chopped basil

Go to the website for the directions.

*I used organic Gouda cheese instead of Ricotta Cheese and didn't add any Mozzarella and organic ground beef.

But, basically...

Cutting a Spaghetti Squash can be difficult in fact dangerous!

The shell is hard hard hard.

So, I've come to learn to cook it in the oven for abt 15mins in a dish w/ water to let it soften up and then remove it and cut it in half. Much easier! But be careful because it will be hot.

Cook at 400deg. for an hour more or less.
It usually takes 45mins.

You'll know if it's needs to cook longer because the "noodles" are stiff and crunchy.

Spaghetti Squash is actually a beautiful thing once it's cooked and tastes yummy.
It should taste yummy and to me sweet.
Not bitter and gross that you have to spit it out.
Yuck.

For the meat sauce...

Chop up garlic and onions
Infuse in hot pan w/ oil
Then add meat and cook
Add can of diced tomatoes.
Plus, S&P
Dried Basil
& Bay Leaf.

Let it simmer for 20+mins.

I really wanted to add fresh basil, but the grocery store down the road from was closed and the other two stores I went to didn't have it. Darn it!

It still smelled good.

Grate your cheeses and chop up the parsley and mix together to top it all off.

Once you have the squash shells ready...

Mix the "noodles" and meat and put inside
Then add a little more meat sauce on top.
Top it all off with the shredded cheese/parsley mix

Wow, this smelled delicious and of course the Fish Fam enjoyed it :)

And for leftovers I put this over baked potatoes and grated more fresh cheese.

Yum.

Beef & Bean Burritos

This recipe is from The Pioneer Woman.

My favorite Food Network Show at the moment.

Beef & Bean Burritos.

My little sous chef loved helping!

Theirs vs. Mine

 We had this spaghetti for dinner one night...I made the sauce from organic canned tomatoes, added spices & herbs, veggies (green peppers, onions, garlic), cooked up organic beef, baked asparagus, and boiled some organic quinoa/corn noodles. It's gluten-free. I'm trying to use less and less wheat for my family.

Then there was mine...

I'm doing totally grain-free. I've gone gluten-free, but never grain free. Basically, grains and meat, especially large quantities of both, don't mix well in the digestive system and can cause more discomfort and problems.  Ever heard that the gut is the brain? Make sense to me. It's vital for our guts to be healthy and strong so that the rest of our body can function and work properly, like our brain. Eating healthy fats for brain development/nervous system development is so very important especially in the womb as a fetus and as a growing child. We gotta promote healthy guts for healthy bodies! But, gong grain-free isn't for everybody, it just depends on the way you metabolize, convert, and use your food. Some do better than others and their bodies need very different foods for energy, strength, health, stamina, and life! That's why is so important to listen to your body.

So, for my noodles I julienned zucchini and then steamed them for my noodles. Then added the sauce on top. I'm super sensitive to a lot of foods and lately wheat and grains have been bothering me, so they are out of the menu for me. Which means I pretty much eat Paleo Diet and have noticed a big difference in the way I feel. Onward to bigger and better!

Lasagna, Asparagus, & Garden Salad

My husband and I got to make dinner together...I chopped up everything and he made the Lasagna.

Lasagna
Boil lasagna noodles

Cook meat in pan w/garlic & onions
Add spaghetti sauce to meat

Lay noodle, meat, and veggies every layer

Layer w/or w/out cheese

Bake in the oven

abt 375deg for 15-30min

Salad 

Organic Romain & Red Leaf

Fresh organic parsley 

Red onions

Organic carrots

Organic cucumber 

Tomatoes

Asparagus  

(Raw or Baked)

Raw just wash & eat!

Bake at abt 375 deg

Olive Oil

Sea Salt, Garlic Powder, & 

No-Salt Seasoning

For 5-10min