Carrots, summer squash, green beans, onions, and a bouquet of herbs really got along nicely in your trusty cast iron skillet. Add a bit of healthy fat to help your body absorb all the nutrients these beauts have to offer along with some protein thrown in and you’ve got yourself a complete meal of summery goodness. And talk about easy on the ol’ grocery budget. Succotash was popular during the Great Depression for a reason. This can also be made in your cast iron on the grill.
Brown sausage in a large pan (I used a 10-inch cast iron skillet)
Meanwhile, while the sausage is browning (be sure to stir it occasionally), prepare the veggies: peel and dice the onion and carrots. Snap the ends off the green beans and snap or cut them into thirds. Cut the potatoes into 6 wedges each and the squash into coins chopped in half. Mince the garlic.
Once the sausage is done browning, add all the veggies to the pan, give it a mix, and place the herb bouquet on the top. The flavor will infuse into the vegetables. Place a lid on the pan, set the burner to medium (maybe slightly higher, but not too high), and allow to cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, slice the mascarpone or cream cheese into tablespoon-sized slices so they will easily melt when stirred into the dish.
Turn burner off, remove and compost herb bouquet, and mix in salt, pepper, and sliced mascarpone or cream cheese.
Sprinkle grated cheese on top and serve warm.
Pesto is a great marinade for meat dishes, especially chicken. Serve it with soaked rice or the pasta of your choice. It is a quick and easy dinner.
Preheat grill to 400 degrees.
Salt and pepper chicken and place in a non-reactive, preferably glass, baking sheet.
Make Pesto
In a food processor place basil, pine nuts, Parmesan, romano, and lemon juice. Blend until all is finely ground. While the blender is going drizzle is olive oil until a thick paste is made. Reserve 1 C of the pesto. (This recipe make more than you need, so freeze the remainder until you need it again.)
Rub pesto over seasoned chicken and marinate 30 minutes - 1 hour.
Grill chicken 5-7 minutes on each side until done. Serve immediately.
A nice big thick cut bone in rib eye is grilled to prefection and stuffed with blue cheese. This giant steak will feed a family of four on a special occasion.
Heat the grill to 550-600 degrees F. You want a nice high temperature to sear the meat quickly.
Sear each side of the meat for 7-8 minutes (sear it a little longer if you want it cooked more than medium or a little less if you want your steak more raw)
Butterfly the steak by slicing the steak in half starting with the opposite end of the bone. Cut down the middle towards the bone. The steak should still be held together on the bone end.
Sear the inside of the steak for 5-6 minutes (cook the meat a little longer if you want your steak cooked more than medium or a little less if you want your steak more raw).
Cut perpendicular lines (cut against the grain of the steak) ¼” deep inside the butterflied portion of the steak. Stuff the blue cheese inside the incisions. Close the steak so the meat sandwiches the blue cheese in the middle.
Turn the temperature of the grill down to 325 degrees F.
Cook the meat for 4 minutes or until the cheese is almost melted. Do not let the cheese completely melt on the grill because the cheese will spill out.
Let the steak rest covered at room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting.
Enjoy with corn of the cob, a glass of dry red wine, and a piece of crusty bread.
Grass-fed flank steaks are thin and best when marinated to make them extra tender. This particular recipe uses kombucha as the acidic medium that tenderizes the steak. The ginger and tamari are particularly enjoyed with flank steaks because their flavors can penetrate the meat all the way through.
In the morning, or at least 3 hours before you plan to cook the flank steak, combine the coconut oil, kombucha, tamari, honey, garlic and ginger in a small bowl. It helps to drizzle in the coconut oil while whisking to avoid clumping of the oil as it cools.
Place the flank steak in a shallow dish and pour the marinade over the steak. Allow to marinate for at least 3 hours, but preferably 6, turning it occasionally.
Heat a barbecue on medium low or get coals ready and hot.
Remove the meat from the marinade and pat dry. Grill 6 inches from hot coals, if using wood or charcoal. If using gas or propane barbecue, turn heat to medium-low. Grass-fed steak should be cooked at lower temperatures for longer. Cook the steak about 3-4 minutes on each side for rare, 5 minutes on each side for medium. Grass-fed steak is best enjoyed on the rarer side.
Carve the meat across the grain, into this diagonal slices.
Serve with your favorite stir-fried vegetables and soaked or sprouted brown rice.
These burgers can be served on buns and also stand alone as the main dish of a meal. My grandchildren love these.
Open the can of salmon and drain out 1/2 of the liquid it contains.
Pour the contents of the can into a medium-sized bowl.
Using a fork, mash the salmon thoroughly.
Add the egg, onion, and 1 Tbsp Calgin All Natural liquid smoke. Mix together well.
Begin adding the soft bread crumbs, stirring them in a little at a time. Depending on the bread you use, it will need more or less. You want to be able to easily form the mixture into patties to fry.
Form into 5 patties, pressed together well and set them aside on a plate.
In a cast iron skillet, heat 2 Tablespoons of lard on medium-low heat and spread to coat the bottom of the skillet.
Place the salmon patties in the skillet and turn the heat down a little.
Cook approximately 5 minutes on each side. They should be nicely browned on one side before you turn them over, using a metal spatula.
Remove from the skillet and serve. They also can be refrigerated and re-heated for later.
These burgers are good served on a bun with homemade ketchup. They also can be served without a bun… very good with some brown rice and stir-fried greens. If there are leftovers, you can break them into small pieces when cold and add them to a green salad! Another option is to form them into “meatballs” and cook them like that.
A note about the soft bread crumbs. I save the heels of my homemade bread when it gets a little stale. I tear them into pieces and process in a food processor until fine crumbs are formed. These are stored in a lidded glass jar in the freezer and are ready to use whenever I need them.
Lamb, when gently cooked, is tender and delicious. Lamb fat is also very healthy. This uncomplicated recipe cooks them perfectly!
On medium-low heat, in a small cast iron frying pan, melt 2 Tablespoons ghee.
Place the 4 little lamb chops in the pan and cook gently on one side for 3 minutes. Turn over with tongs and cook the other side for 3 minutes.
Serve with unrefined sea salt.
Burgers are the classic summer fare and adding cheese to the middle of the patties yields a delicious surprise for dinner! Use grass-fed beef and raw milk cheese for the most nutrition and best flavor.
In a large bowl, place the ground beef.
Using a fork, gently break apart the hamburger.
Add the blackening seasoning, garlic, and ground pepper. Mix gently until everything is incorporated.
Divide the meat into 8 sections. Form into thin patties, about 1/4 inch thick.
Divide shredded cheddar cheese into 1/4 cup servings and then rolls the cheese in your hands until you form a little cheese ball.
Mash the cheese ball down to form a thick patty.
Sandwich the cheese between two burger patties and press around the edges to seal.
Grill over high heat until each side is seared. Lower the heat and cook until the burgers reach your desired temperature.
These burgers make great leftovers, so doubling or tripling the recipe will give you meals for several days.
A delicious version of baked beans using Yellow-Eyed beans. Other dried beans may be used as well with this recipe.
The day before, carefully pick over and wash the beans with cold water. Soak the beans in 3 quarts of water with the lemon juice added ~ at least overnight, or up to 24 hours.
Drain and rinse beans. Cover them with more water and bring to a boil. Then, simmer them until when you blow on a few, the skins split.
Drain and rinse the beans and put them into a cast iron dutch oven or a good sized casserole dish with a lid.
Mix together all the rest of the ingredients and stir that into the beans.
Pour in boiling water, just enough to cover the beans and stir again.
Put on the lid and bake at 250 degrees F. for 8 hours. Check them from time to time and add a bit more boiling water if you need to. For the last 30 minutes, take off the lid.
This recipe is dedicated to the memory of eating Filipino food at the Bamboo Hut. With the original version, thin strips of meat were marinated and then strung on wooden skewers for grilling. My version keeps the flavor with half the work.
Wash, pat dry, and roll the chicken breasts.
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a large, non-reactive container, like glass. I use a large, glass baking dish.
Dredge the chick breasts through the marinade, taking care to completely cover the surfaces of each piece. Let the sit in the marinade for a few hours in the refrigerator, turning the chicken once or twice.
Cook on the barbeque. Stay with it. They will cook fast. The neighbors will be looking over the fence to see what is for dinner.