{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see. {inspired by Soule Mama}
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see. {inspired by Soule Mama}
On a weekly basis, with a family of four and busy schedules, we like to keep dinner quick, local, organic and healthy; Hole In One ground beef is always on hand to meet those needs. If you haven’t planned ahead and are missing our Grass Fed Beef in your freezer, swing by the Glenshire General Store,they have it at the ready for your last minute dinner plans.
Our go to is grilled burgers with a touch of sea salt, slice of cheddar on a fresh local bun. Or browned up for Taco Tuesdays with cumin, cayenne, sea salt, garlic and onion powder. But with the colder temps this week I whipped up a Classic Shepherd’s Pie. Now this is a challenge in my house, serving any type of casserole or mixed up items get pale looks from my children. ‘Hey, you like all these foods?’ I say, and My little ones reply ‘But we don’t want them to touch!’ What’s a mama to do?
Thankfully with this recipe they only looked questionably at it for a moment, before they gave it a go and asked for seconds, seconds! It maybe a little ‘boring’ for my foodie friends, but your kids will dig it! {and shhh, I used organic instant mashed potatoes, to keep it healthy and quick!}
We had made some individual blueberry pies earlier in the day, so I had some leftover homemade gluten free pie crust that I used as a base for the shepherds pie. If you have some, use it, heck get pie making! But if you don’t skip the pie crust. There is ongoing debates as to whether or not Shepherd’s Pie traditionally requires a crust-and aren’t we all tired of debates-regardless you will want to add the cheddar on top to enjoy that crunchy cheesy goodness!
Classic Shepherd’s Pie
1 lbs Hole In One Grass Fed ground Beef
1/2 cup organic frozen peas
1/2 cup diced organic carrot
1/2 cu dice small, button mushroom
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 cups prepared uncooked pie crust to line bottom of casserole pan
8 servings instant mashed potatoes, prepared
1 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 350F
Grab a cast iron skillet, a good source of vital minerals, and brown up your grass fed ground beef, breaking it up as you go. Add the seasonings.
Then add your chopped veggies to the pan and cook for 3 minutes.
Roll out you pies crust and place at the bottom of your casserole dish, a 3 quart size is plenty.
Layer on the beef and veggies, then add half the cheese to your prepared mashed potatoes, and spread it over the meat. Finally, sprinkle the remaining cheese on top. This is a great job for your eager little one!
Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes, or the sides are bubbly and the cheese browned up.
Enjoy!
{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see. {inspired by Soule Mama}
#meetyourmeat #holeinoneranch #grassfedbeef #grassfedlamb #fridayphoto #soulemama #truckeefarmersmarket #blessings
As any Californian knows, road trips are associated with provision stops. We are lucky to have local farm stands around each bend in the road, for apples, pears, berries, walnuts, pistachios, avocados, tomatoes, grass fed beef jerky, wild salmon, goat cheese, and Wine.
And of course Ikeda’s Pies!!!!
When traveling to San Diego earlier this year, we brought an Ikeda’s blueberry cobbler, because what good Northern Cali girl wouldn’t bring her Southern Cali family a traditional road trip gift?
It’d been a few years since I did the I-5 drive south…and I was reminded of one iconic stop that’s been in California since 1924, Andersen’s Split Pea in Santa Nella. I love that sign with the bouncy chef, wooden spoon in hand…ready to serve up some split pea soup. Oh, split pea soup, you love it or you hate it, but when it’s light with quality ingredients you can just curl up and reminece with sweet memories.
So with day 3 of pouring rain here in Truckee, I decided to pay my tribute to split pea soup with Hole in One Ranch fresh pork hock, organic split peas, and smoky paprika. Pork hock is a great staple to keep in your freezer for rainy or snowy days in the mountains, cooked up with split peas or great northern beans make for soulful comfort classics.
Please remember dear reader, I am not a trained chef. I am a foodie. An amateur picture taker. And a full fledged know it all. Ask my family, they’d agree. Humphf. Must be the eldest child syndrome, mixed with Aquarian roots.
Split Pea Soup
2 Tablespoons Pork fat or olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 2lbs fresh or smoked pastured pork hock
2 cups organic split peas
2 bay leaves
2-3 Tablespoons smoky paprika
2 Tablespoons dry mustard
1 Tablespoon each salt and pepper
8-10 cups of good old Tahoe Tap (water)
2 organic carrots, chopped
Heat up a cast iron skillet, drop in oil.
Add onions and don’t let them burn, let them sauté till translucent.
Add garlic, bay leaf and seasonings and sauté for a minute.
Next, place you pastured pork hock in cast iron skillet and add split peas and water and give it a stir.
Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer. I let it simmer for 4 hours. If you’re not having a lazy Sunday and want to get outside, places all ingredients in your crock pot, after you sauté onions and put crock pot on high for 4 hours. Give a stir every now and then.
Once your soup has simmered for 4 hours, remove skin and meat from hock bone. (Fido would love to chew on that bone after his long hike in the Sierras.)
Chop meat and return to pot, and add your chopped carrots too. Stir it up and let simmer another 30 minutes.
Set the table and you’re ready for your hearty soup. I hope it reminds you of road trips past too.
Enjoy!
This is the post excerpt.
Welcome to the Grass Fed Beef Truckee blog!
I am a born and raised Truckee gal who works for a third and fourth generation family of ranchers, Hole In One Ranch in Janesville, California. This blog is to highlight Grass Fed Beef, Grass Fed Lamb, and Pastured Pork that is locally and sustainably grown in our area.
Highlights for the blog are RECIPES!!!!
Where to eat out and where to buy grass fed meats, in Truckee and Lake Tahoe.
How to get grass fed meats delivered to you when farmers markets are out of season or when you are too busy working or playing to get your grass fed meat.
Finally, it’s about you and your food journey too!
Please feel free to E-mail, Instagram and Facebook your cuisine du jour with our products! #holeinoneranch #grassfedbeeftruckee #meetyourmeat
Meet the Ranch–Happy Angus Heifers, Grass Fed and Grass Finished in Janesville, CA
Just over 4 years ago I met the Bertotti Family, and well, I am a meat and red wine kinda gal and it is good for you! So I started buying Hole In One grass fed beef, and then bought it exclusively–because nothing compare to the superior flavor. I also like to ‘meet my meat’, meaning I don’t buy it unless I know where it came from, how it was raised, and how it was processed. Meat is an animal first, and all being deserve to be treated kindly. These Heifers have one bad day. When the Bertotti Family decided to bring their Grass Fed Lamb and Pastured Pork products to us folks, I was over joyed, because their reputation for high quality products, grass fed meat and sustainably raised products meant our family could enjoy Lamb and Pork again.
Thank you for stopping by, and here is some health information for you. Truly, locally sourced, sustainable, grass fed meats are best.
Grass Fed Beef is Best! Benefits include:
Here is an excerpt from the Eat Wild website, if you’ve never taken a look at it please do, they have loads of researched information on food to benefit your health.
“Be a “Meat and Spinach” or a “Meat and Red Wine” Kind of Guy
Eating red meat—but not white meat or fish—is linked with a moderately increased risk of colon cancer. Why is that? Some experts believe that the amount of iron in the food, specifically, a type of iron called “heme” iron, is part of the problem. Red meat has considerably more heme iron than its paler counterparts. Iron is essential for survival, but heme iron can irritate the lining of the colon and set up the preconditions for cancer. Another possible link with red meat and cancer is the amount of oxidized fat in the meat. You create oxidized fat when you grill meat, sear it, or cook it above medium rare.
Do you have to cut back on grilled sirloin steak and lamb chops to lower your risk of colon cancer? Perhaps not. Eating foods high in antioxidants along with the meat could do the trick. Research shows that antioxidants have the potential to neutralize the ill effects of both the iron and the oxidized fat. For example, a 2005 study showed that eating spinach along with red meat eliminated all irritation of the colon. Now a 2008 study reveals that drinking a glass of red wine with your meal could do the same thing. It is likely that other foods high in antioxidants will offer similar protection.
Does eating grass-fed meat also reduce your risk of colon cancer? Meat from pastured animals has more antioxidants than feedlot meat, so it is a distinct possibility. To date, no one has studied this hypothesis.” -Eat Wild website
Sources: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/heart-disease/expert-answers/grass-fed-beef/faq-20058059
http://www.eatwild.com/healthbenefits.htm
Gorelik, S., M. Ligumsky, et al. (2008). “The Stomach as a ‘Bioreactor’: When Red Meat Meets Red Wine.” J Agric Food Chem.
e Vogel, J., Denise Jonker-Termont et al. (2005). “Green vegetables, red meat and colon cancer: chlorophyll prevents the cytotoxic and hyperproliferative effects of haem in rat colon.” Carcinogenesis.
Grass Fed Beef Truckee 