Tag Archives: Ground Beef

Ground Beef & Spinach Egg Casserole

Ground Beef & Spinach Egg Casserole // Holly Would If She Could

Just about every Sunday I whip up an egg casserole while doing my food prep for the week. I use a 13×9 casserole dish because it yields 8 nice sized squares. Symmetry makes me happy! Plus then I can put them in individual containers with roasted vegetables so Garrett + I have a grab and go breakfast for the week. I assure you it would be just as lovely to serve to friends at brunch.

I have a few favorite breakfast casserole recipes that I rotate through so I don’t get bored, but for the last few weeks I’ve been making this one with ground beef and spinach. Seasoned ground beef and eggs go really well together, and when you throw in a metric ton of spinach you get to start your day off with a leafy green smugness that helps you run faster, jump higher and knock out your To-Do List with superhero-esque strength.

The best part about it? Very few ingredients!

Ingredients

Look at that. That’s nothing!

You start by sauteing half an onion until it is translucent, then browning ground beef and seasoning the mixture with salt, pepper and garlic powder. So far, so good, right? Then it’s time for the go-go juice. Uh, I mean the spinach. Let’s talk about the spinach for a second, shall we? I’m going to give you a really specific measurement to add and that is 2 to 4 large handfuls. Got that? 🙂 It doesn’t matter if you have large hands or small hands, you just want to dig deep in your bag and pull out the biggest handful you can handle and then throw it in the pan. Repeat this until you are satisfied that you have enough giddy-up and go. The thing about spinach though is that it looks likes too much when you throw it in the pan, but then it cooks down to almost nothing. I have huge hands, which a jeweler recently confirmed to me (THANKS BUT NO THANKS WE WILL BUY NO JEWELRY FROM YOU!) so I like to use about 3 handfuls.

3 handfuls

See? Not too bad.

All that goes into a casserole dish, your seasoned eggs get poured over it (Yep, egg seasoning. It’s necessary!) Then you bake, and most importantly YOU EAT! That last part is the best part.

Egg Casserole

Enjoy it in your breakfast nook or out of a tupperware at your desk at work. Either way it’s a great dish and I hope you enjoy it!

Ground Beef & Spinach Egg Casserole

Cuisine: Breakfast
Author: Holly Would If She Could
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Total time: 1 hour
Serves: 8
Ingredients
    • 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 1/2 Red Onion, finely diced
    • 1 Pound Ground Beef
    • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
    • 1 1/4 teaspoons pepper, divided
    • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 2-4 Large Handfuls Spinach
    • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 12 Eggs
Instructions
    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13×9 casserole dish
    1. Heat Olive Oil over medium in a large skillet. You can also use beef tallow for more flavor and if you want a healthier option.
    1. Saute diced onion until translucent, about 5-7 minutes
    1. Add ground beef and crumble with a wooden spoon and brown until cooked through
    1. Season meat and onion mixture with 3/4 teaspoons of salt and 3/4 teaspoons of pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder
    1. Add spinach and let it wilt while stirring into the meat mixture
    1. Sprinkle in 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg. This gives your spinach a little something extra!
    1. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl crack 12 eggs, season with remaining salt and pepper and scramble with a fork
    1. When spinach is wilted, transfer meat mixture to casserole dish
    1. Pour egg mixture over meat mixture
    1. Cover dish with foil and bake for 30 minutes
  1. Remove foil and finish baking for 10 minutes or until eggs are cooked to desired doneness
3.1.09

Ground Breaking: 25 Non-Burger Dinners to Make with Ground Beef

Ground beef is such an easy, high quality staple to have on hand and there is no easier dinner than a burger, right? Our freezer is rarely without it and I’ve perfected so many burger recipes that it is hard to give up my Go-To. But every once in a while I start to feel like I’ve had enough.

NO MORE WIRE HANGERS BUN-LESS BURGERS!

I’ve been in a bit of a burger rut lately, so yesterday I compiled a list of recipes to help me break out of it. And because sharing is caring, I’m passing them on to you! Feel free to keep to yourself, pin with abandon or share with some of your Bored-With-Burger Friends too!

1. Damn Good Chili
2. Bacon Wrapped Mini Spinach Meatloaves
3. Italian Beef Hash with Mashed Cauliflower
4. Paleo Stuffed Peppers with Spanish Sticky Rice
5. Sun Dried Tomato Meatballs with Creamy Pesto (We can not get enough of these. OMG so good over spaghetti squash!)
Sun-Dried Tomato Meatballs with Walnut Pesto Spaghetti Squash
6. Taco Salad
7. Thai Basil Beef Lettuce Wraps
8. Paleo Shepherd’s Pie
9. Southwestern Frittata (Breakfast for dinner, casserole style. And it’s AMAZING!)
10. Joe’s Special
11. Italian Wedding Soup
12. Paleo Beef Stroganoff
13. Roasted Poblano and Pumpkin Chili
14. Ground Beef, Mushroom and Broccoli Slaw Lettuce Cups
15. Merguez Meatballs (using ground beef instead of lamb. The spice mixture is insanely delish!)
All I'm saying is Garrett is lucky to have me. ;)
16. Chili Dog Pie
17. Martha Stewart’s Garlic Chipotle Meat Kebabs
18. Lion’s Head Meatballs
19. Gyro Meat
20. Goulash Soup with Red Peppers + Cabbage
21. Sweet Potato Enchiladas
22. Sloppy Joe’s
23. Paleo Moussaka
24. Mexican Meatza (I know, Meatza sounds stupid. But it is STUPID GOOD!)
25. Spaghetti and Meatball Bites

Need some more Paleo recipe inspiration?

Live the Thigh Life: 10 Paleo Recipes to Make You Love Chicken Thighs
Porkapalooza: 15 Paleo Recipes for Those Who Love to Pig Out
30 Nights of Paleo Crock Pot Meals


Spicy Taco Brunch Skillet

Ole!

I woke up last Saturday morning wanting to have a fun brunch with Garrett and specifically thinking about Juli’s recipe for a Mexican Hash Egg Bake.

I wanted to make something that would look pretty (I love the way baked eggs look!) but also be seriously delicious since we were skipping the bacon with all of this Whole 30 business going on. I was too lazy to actually look up Juli’s recipe and follow it, but since I make up a huge batch of sweet potato hash just about every week, I used that as inspiration and got to work.

The result was completely satisfying nutritionally, but it also seemed decadent which made it feel a little special.

 

Spicy Taco Brunch Skillet
Ingredients
  • 1 TBS Coconut Oil
  • 1 Yellow Onion, diced
  • 1 Bell Pepper (any color), diced
  • 2 Medium Sweet Potatoes, diced
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne (more if you’re SPICY!)
  • 1/2 lb. ground beef
  • 1-2 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning (to taste)
  • 8 eggs
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  2. In a large heavy bottomed oven proof skillet, melt coconut oil over medium/medium high heat.
  3. Add diced yellow onions and bell pepper. Saute for 5-10 minutes until softened.
  4. Add diced sweet potatoes and all seasonings through cayenne pepper and saute until those are softened as well, about another 15 minutes. Be careful to stir often so nothing burns, but the potatoes get some color.
  5. In the meantime, in a separate pan, crumble up and brown at least 1/2 lb ground beef (I usually cook up a big batch and use the leftovers for Taco Salad!
  6. Add 1-2 Tablespoons of Taco Seasoning per 1/2 lb, or to taste.
  7. When Sweet Potatoes are mostly cooked, add your taco meat into the oven-proof skilled.
  8. Crack 8 eggs over the top of the potato/onion/meat mixture
  9. Bake for 6-9 minutes, depending on desired egg done-ness. Keep in mind there will be some carryover cooking once you pull it out of the oven.
  10. Salt and Pepper your eggs to taste once the baking is finished, garnish with an avocado and enjoy!

 


Taco Salad: A Love Story


You all, it’s time.

It’s time for me to admit that I have an addiction that you probably caught on to ages ago if you have ever read one of my meal plans.

I am completely addicted to Taco Salad

I literally MUST eat it every week and I know that is just the most boring thing. I want to feel bad about it. I want to change my ways and be that person who whips up magical salads that are diverse all of the time. But this salad just sings its siren song too often, so nary a week goes by when I don’t eat it.

It’s simple and no frills, but I think it’s high time I told you about it in case you need a new addiction. It’s a piece of cake.

Ingredients:

1 Head of romaine
1 Cup Cherry Tomatoes sliced in half
1 Cup Cucumbers
Red or Yellow Bell Peppers to taste (I’ll just slice up an entire pepper because I’m CRAZY…woo hoo)
Half an Avocado, salted and diced
Thinly sliced red onion, if you don’t have a meeting right after lunch
3 sliced radishes
A handful of black olives
4-6 oz browned ground beef, mixed with this taco seasoning

Method:

Uh…mix it altogether and toss with dressing. That’s all folks.

Ah yes, let’s talk about dressing

You need this in your life!  It’s really that simple. And that, my friends, is my latest addiction.

*****
Do you have a favorite lunch that you MUST HAVE every week. Do share!


Ugly Food That Tastes Good: Joe’s Special

In my arsenal of ugly recipes, this is probably the worst offender. It’s ugly when you start, ugly while you’re cooking it, and ugly when it’s finished. Thank god it is so tasty that it is worth it casting aside this discriminatory idea that we eat with our eyes first.

Also: Super Nutritious.

You know how everyone and their mother wants you to drink Green Smoothies for breakfast because it’s such a delicious protein filled way to camoflouge all of that spinach? This website shares the best green juice recipes. Well this is the Green Smoothie’s dinner equivalent. And it will rock your socks off, even if you are a confirmed hot spinach hater like me.

Allow me to introduce to you: Joe’s Special.
Joe's Special

Have you heard of Joe’s Special? It is a famously San Franciscan dish that I remember hearing about in my childhood. The story of origin varies — some say it was invented to fill the bellies of hungry miners during the gold rush, others say it was a midnight snack for local jazz musicians in the 20s, my parents used to order it at a restaurant that they enjoyed on those occasional date nights they had while I was growing up. I can’t remember not knowing about Joe’s Special. So the first time I actually saw it, I was shocked that it looked a lot more..um, “rustic” than I had imagined for a dish with such history. I expected something fancy done in little bites on fine white china, what I got was something that Ina Garten would say looks like “A Dog’s Breakfast.”

But do you know what it tastes like? Bliss.

It’s a combination of beef, onions, spinach, mushrooms and eggs that has all of the flavor but none of the refinement of a good frittata. And? It falls within the Paleo/Primal spectrum no matter how strict you are. Omit the dairy and it’s still great! Not drinking alcohol? Substitute Beef Broth. Anyway you slice it, it will come through in the clutch the next time you need to get a quick meal on the table. And as a bonus it will give you a good story to tell.

Joe’s Special
Adapted from: Everywhere. This recipe specifically is on a 3×5 card from my Mama!

Ingredients:
1 TBS Coconut Oil (Or cooking fat of your choice)
1 Large Onion, diced
6-8 Large Mushrooms, sliced (Any kind you you like will do)
5 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 lb Grass Fed Ground Beef
6-8 oz of Fresh Spinach (About 6 big handfuls. More is ok too!)
1/2 Red Wine or Beef Broth (Depending on if you cook with alcohol)
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese (Omit if you don’t do dairy. Totally cool.)
2 Extra Large Eggs, beaten
Salt and Pepper

Method:

1. Saute diced onion and sliced mushrooms in Coconut Oil over medium heat. You want to get the mushrooms good and caramelized. Salt and pepper the onions and mushrooms when they have browned a bit otherwise the mushrooms will get rubbery.

2. Add garlic, cook for about a minute.

3. Crumble in ground beef and brown. When beef is cooked, salt and pepper this layer liberally as well.

4. Add in your spinach. It will look like a lot. It will cook down. In fact, sometimes I add extra just to get crazy. You can’t have too much spinach in this dish, so don’t be afraid.

5. Pour wine/beef broth over your spinach and meat concoction and let the spinach wilt down.

6. Add in your parmesan and blend together.

7. Pour beaten eggs over the whole shebang, stir until eggs are cooked. Serve with a little extra grated parmesan or spinach for garnish.

8. Enjoy the ugliest dish ever!

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