Gluten free Swedish Meatballs... these aren't Ikea's, they're better.

I found this fabulous recipe here, made a few tweeks & decided to keep the recipe for posterity since bloggers tend to break my heart and move or delete things. While I was originally angling for an Ikea clone, these are so so so much better.

For the Meatballs -

1/2 lb ground pork

1/2 lb ground beef

1/2 cup almond meal/flour

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 onion, blended

1 egg yolk

2 tbsp butter or two scoops bacon fat

1 dash each of ground nutmeg, all spice, salt, & pepper.

Blended beef liver (oh yes, healthy way to sneak it in....do you dare?)

For the sauce - 

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp almond flour

1/2 cup beef broth

1/4 cup heavy cream

I used the onions "as is"... Optional step to cut some of the strong onion taste is to:

Melt one tbsp butter or one scoop bacon fat on medium heat and add the blended onion. Saute for about 2 minutes and set aside to cool. 

Mix all meatball ingredients thoroughly with hands. Here is a good chance to throw in some blended liver. It made the meatballs a little looser than anticipated and as you can see, the meatballs started coming apart when I cooked them. No biggie, we just had a few extra pieces, but next time I will probably compensate with a little more almond meal. 

Now it's time to cook the meatballs. Form 1 inch meatballs. Warm another tbsp of butter or scoop of bacon fat (bacon fat... do it!!!!!). Add half the meatballs and turn and saute until cooked. Since my meatballs ALWAYS brown way to quickly, I put a lid on the pot and let the meatballs steam for a few minutes after browning all sides. Meatballs should be done in 8-10 minutes. Remove the first batch and repeat with the remaining meatballs. 

Making the sauce. Melt 2 tbsp butter in a sauce pan or skillet, then add the almond flour. Cook for approximately 1-2 minutes or until the almond flour starts to take on a light peanut butter color. Stir in the beef broth and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Deglaze your meatball pan with a layer of beef broth and add to the gravy mixture. Add the cream and simmer for several minutes. Remove from heat and allow sauce to thicken. (I honestly had a bout of crazy trying to make this sauce because I decided to add more broth, etc. Twas a mess with us adding more broth, more cream, throwing in arrow root powder, and finally just calling it. Next time I will just follow the dang recipe). 

Serve the meatballs in sauce. Optional serve with a brown rice pasta. I like the bowtie or penne. 

How to Eat Liver: A Guide for Beginners

Credit to Thank Your Body.

1. Thaw liver slightyly. While still mostly frozen, cut liver into chunks.

2. Place chunks into a food processor and process until its gross and gooey.










3. Scoop liquefied liver into an ice tray.

4. Cover and freeze.

Next time you are cooking a meal that require ground meat, simply throw in a cube or two of liver. Just brown it with the other meat. You don't need to defrost these cubes either, as they are small enough to break up just fine frozen.

Start small! Use one cube and see how it goes. If you can't tell the liver is there, add another next time.

More about the benefits of adding liver to your diet here.

Shrimp & "Grits"

I was skeptical about Paleo Grits, but since riced cauliflower and cauliflower mash have been a success I decided to give them a try- Shrimp & Grits style.

Ingredients

1 batch Paleo Grits

1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar

1/2 pack bacon

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

1 lb shrimp, peeled & deveined

salt & pepper to taste.

The paleo (cauliflower) grits are pretty straight forward. I found I had to much liquid after the 20 minute cooking time had passed, which might be due to using a finer ground almond meal/flour. I tasted the grits after 20 minutes and gave them a few extra to compensate for the altitude. Finally I decided the texture was right & any longer would likely result in mush so I just strained out the excess liquid in a fine mesh strainer and returned the grits to the pot.

Cut the bacon crosswise into bite size pieces. Cook in skillet until brown & crispy. Remove the bacon to drain. To the bacon grease, add the shrimp and cook until pink. This should take around 3-5 minutes depending on size. Be careful not to overcook. Remove shrimp to drain (just throw it on top of the bacon). Add the chopped onion, celery, & garlic to the pan & cook until translucent and the onions start to brown a bit.

Add the cheddar cheese to the grits, then the shrimp, bacon, and sauteed veggies. Serve garnished with extra shredded cheese.