Buffalo Chili

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When you hear the word 'chili' what comes to mind? Classic beef and kidney bean chili? Green chicken chili? Texas chili? Turkey chili? My personal go-to: Cincinnati chili? I think you get my point...

Everyone has their own take on chili.

The amazing thing about chili is that A) it is really hard to mess up and B)  there is an almost endless possibility of variations. 

Unless specifically stated as a bowl of vegetable chili, vegetables rarely ever come to mind. I'm going to bet the first thing that comes to mind is meat, followed closely by tomatoes and level of spiciness. 

Because this is MY chili - I call the shots. Just to balance out the meat and to make this more hearty without adding beans, I opted to sneak in bell peppers and zucchini (shhhh). Also, as tribute to my hometown chili, I added just a smidgen of cocoa powder. This may sound crazy but it pairs surprisingly well with the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce - think Mexican mole.

If you are having guests over for dinner, or just want a fun and creative way to serve up this chili, instead of serving in a bowl dish it up in bell peppers!

Buffalo Chili

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Servings: approximately 6 cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup zucchini, chopped
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 lb ground buffalo
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp ancho chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 chipotle pepper, canned
• 2 tbsp adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
• 1 tbsp cocoa
• 1/2 cup beef broth

Directions:

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add garlic, stirring until fragrant and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper and zucchini, stir and cook until these have sweated out and softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Next, add ground buffalo, cumin, paprika, oregano, ancho chili powder and salt. Brown beef, about 5 minutes, continuing to stir and break up while cooking. 
3. Once the meat has browned, add all remaining ingredients, stirring until well incorporated. Increase heat, bringing chili to a boil. Cover pot, reduce to a simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour. 

Special serving note: If you'd like to serve chili stuff in bell peppers, cook chili covered in pot for 30 minutes. Stuff chili into prepared bell peppers and arrange in a baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in a 350°F oven for the remaining 30 minutes.

Nutritional Information (1 cup)

205 calories - 18 g Protein, 12 g Carbohydrates, 9.5 g Fat

Pumpkin Bolognese

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Sometimes when I'm thinking of a new recipe I can almost taste the flavors, even before I begin making it. Other times, it can turn out completely opposite of what you thought it would taste like - both good and  bad. 

This, my friends, is one of those recipes; one of those times when the flavors totally caught me by surprise and turned out better than I could have expected! 

In my excitement of creating a surprisingly tasty dish, I of course blasted my mom, sister, boyfriend and best friends with photos of the dish, exclaiming "PUMPKIN BOLOGNESE!!!". Each time I got back the response "so, does it taste super pumpkin-y?". I'm sure you are all asking yourselves the exact same question. I mean, pumpkin is in the title of the recipe for goodness sake! 

First, let's rewind. I'd like to explain why pumpkin was used to begin with. A bolognese is simply an Italian meat-based sauce. Contrary to popular belief, it is not a tomato-based sauce with meat added. In fact, the original bolognese is said to have been beef, onion and carrots cooked with butter butter and then covered and cooked with broth. As the recipe evolved, tomato was eventually added.

While I LOVE tomatoes, sadly I've discovered it is best for my skin if I don't eat them or any other member of the nightshade family, for that matter. If you have an autoimmune disease (I'm lucky and only have psoriasis) your diet can have a huge impact on controlling your aliment. Nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, white potatoes), dairy, nuts, eggs, grains and alcohol should be avoided. This causes me to get creative at times...which led me to subbing PUMPKIN for tomato paste in a basic bolognese. 

The result will surprise you. If you are looking for a distinct taste of pumpkin in this sauce, you won't find it here. Instead, it is a hearty and rich meat sauce that has been slow cooked, allowing a depth of flavor to develop that you can't get by rushing. This will be a dish you want to come home to as the night become a little cooler and the dark comes a little sooner. 

Pumpkin Bolognese

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp grass fed butter
• 1 cup onion, minced, chopped
• 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1 lb ground beef (90% lean, 10% fat)
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2 cups chicken bone broth, homemade or store bought (such as Pacific)
• 2 bay leaves

Directions:

1. In a large pot, melt butter over medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until the onion become translucent, about 5 minutes. Once the onions have cooked, add fresh thyme, allowing it to become fragrant. 
2. Add ground beef and brown. While cooking, break up with a spoon so that no large pieces form. Continue cooking until all pink is gone, another 5 minutes. 
3. Once mixture has fully cooked add beef broth and pumpkin puree. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil. When a boil has been reached, add bay leaves and reduce to a simmer. Allow sauce to cook uncovered for roughly 2 hours. 
4. As the sauce cooked, the liquid will cook down. During the 2 hours of simmering, whenever the sauce becomes extremely thick add 1 cup of water, stir, and continue to simmer and cook down the sauce. I ended up adding water 3 times during the 2 hour total cooking time. Don't rush this step! This is where the flavors develop.
5. Once the sauce has cooked serve over prepare spaghetti squash or preferred alternate pasta. 

Nutritional Information (1 cup of sauce)

280 calories - 23 g Protein, 8.5 g Carbs, 16.7 g Fat

Bison Sliders

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These little sliders are so much fun! Burgers aren't exactly an ideal food to serve during a party - they can get messy and are quite a filling meal to eat. If I'm watching a football game or at a cocktail party, I don't want my hands to be a mess from trying to eat a big ol' burger, I'd rather have easy to eat finger foods.

Fear not! These little sliders solve all these problems. These are absolutely perfect to serve during a party. They are an easy 2 bite slider packing a punch of flavor! They aren't overly heavy, as I've ditched the bun and cheese. With the flavors of the bison patty plus sautéed onions and mushrooms you get all the best burger qualities - in a single bite.

Bison Sliders

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 8 sliders

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground buffalo/bison meat
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 cup sweet yellow onion, sliced
• 1 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
• 1.5 tbsp butter
• 1 head of Bibb lettuce
• 8 bamboo skewers (optional but great for presentation!)

Directions: 

1. Start by preparing the silder patties. Mix ground buffalo, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper so that the meat is well seasoned. Form 8 patties, 2 oz each, ensuring they are an even thickness. Set aside at room temperature while you prepare the onions and mushrooms.
2. Thinly slice onion and mushrooms. In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, saute onions and mushrooms, about 5 minutes. Season with an additional bit of salt and pepper and remove from heat. 
3. Separate 8 lettuce leaves in preparation for the assembly of the sliders. Set aside.
4. Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Cook patties in skillet - these cook very quickly! Because these patties are so small, they should take about 2 minutes per side. 
5. To assemble sliders, place a bison patty on one of the lettuce leaves, top with sautéed onions and mushrooms. You could simply serve like this OR you could get fancy like I did and fold the lettuce around the patty (like an envelope) and secure with a wooden skewer.  

Nutritional Information (1 slider)

130 calories - 12.5 g Protein, 3.2 g Carbohydrates, 7.6 g Fat

Bison Pesto Meatballs with Zucchini Ribbons

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OK. So it may be a stretch to call this a "recipe". I mean, it is so simple and I didn't make everything completely from scratch (gasp!). However, this combination of flavors is just too good not to share. 

The zoodle craze (zucchini noodles, for those not in "the know") has really taken over. I had yet to jump on the zoodle train, merely because I couldn't justify spending $50 on a kitchen tool that could do just one task: spiral slice vegetables. However, the more and more I saw new recipes involving zucchini noodles, the more I really wanted to try them. Enter: my mandoline slicer. 

THIS kitchen tool has many uses, and I find myself using it more and more lately. I set my mandoline to the thinnest setting and sliced my zucchini length-wise. The result were these delicate and elegant zucchini ribbons. The thought of weighing these down with heavy marinara meat sauce seemed just wrong. These noodles needed something lighter and vibrant. Zucchini is a summer squash after all, they needed a summertime flavor profile! 

The pesto still allows their zucchini ribbons to keep their shape, unlike a heavy tomato based sauce which would weigh the ribbons down. The lemon zest really sets this dish apart, in my opinion! It adds an element of brightness and awakens all the flavors. 

This dish is simple, elegant and light - try it tonight!

Bison Pesto Meatballs with Zucchini Ribbons

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes 

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground bison (if you want to make this extra lean use 93/7 ground beef but I highly recommend bison)
• 4 zucchini
• 1 bunch of asparagus
• 2 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 oz pesto, pre-made or homemade
• Zest of one lemon
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Prepare your zucchini ribbons. Slice all 4 zucchini length-wise on the thinnest setting of your mandoline. You could also use a spiralizer or in a pinch, you can thinly slice your zucchini.  Once you have your ribbons, thinly slice your asparagus into 1" pieces (not with the mandoline), cutting the thicker parts in half length-wise. 
2. Heat your cast iron (or metal) skillet over medium heat.
3. Mix together bison and 1/3 of pesto. Form into 12 meatballs.
4. Evenly space meatballs in hot skillet. Brown for about 2 minutes each side, turning until all sides are cooked and a nice crust has formed. 
5. While meatballs are cooking, sauté garlic in the olive oil in a separate pan over medium heat until garlic begins to brown, about 3 minutes. Add zucchini and asparagus and toss. Cook for another 2 minutes. Add remaining pesto and mix thoroughly. Turn off heat to skillet. 
6. Zest lemon over the vegetables and lightly toss. Plate your zucchini mixture and top with meatballs and additional lemon zest, if desired. 

Nutritional info (1 serving = 1/4 of vegetables and 3 meatballs)

370 Calories - 28 g Protein, 12 g Carbs, 23 g Fat

*This may seem to be high in fat but these are healthy fats! Remember, we need to be sure to include enough in our diets. This is a great meal option for when you are eating low carb for a day. 

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Meatloaf

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Today I bring to you a comfort food classic: meatloaf. This isn't just any regular meatloaf, however. It is wrapped in bacon and coated in BBQ sauce. Traditionally, meatloaf is made with full fat ground beef, whole eggs and bread crumbs. I've lightened this dish up AND added bacon, all while keeping the total fat lower than the original recipe but not skimping on any of the flavor. You're welcome.

My favorite way to develop recipes is to ask my family and friends what they feel like eating...and then I will create that with my own twist. That is exactly how this recipe came about. This is my idea of a fun game! I was staying with my sister, Greta, in LA last weekend and to show my thanks I offered to cook dinner for us. I asked her to think of something (anything!) that is normally unhealthy (but delicious) and I would make her a healthy version. Some may not agree with my idea of fun, but hey - we all have our thing. 

She requested "comfort food" which for me means a rich, meat and potatoes type dish. I offered up meatloaf (which she gladly agreed to) and then decided to one up myself and make it (turkey) bacon wrapped meatloaf brushed with BBQ sauce instead of boring ol' ketchup. And to top it all off - make it lighter and gluten free. I came up with this recipe on the fly as I was chopping and mixing. The end result was better than I could have ever imagined. Lucky for you all I remembered to write the recipe down in my iPhone immediately following dinner. 

So what makes this "lighter"? I used 93% lean ground beef instead of 80/20 ground beef, turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, egg whites instead of whole eggs and coconut flour as the binder instead of bread crumbs. The end result was juicy and moist but definitely tasted rich and full of comfort. 

Thanks to Greta for requesting this meal or I may never thought of this recipe :) Enjoy! 

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Meatloaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes (30 minutes at 400F and 20 minutes at 350F)

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef or bison (if you want to make this extra lean use 93/7 ground beef!)
• 5 strips turkey bacon
• 2 egg whites
• 4 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/4 c yellow onion, diced
• 1/4 c green bell peppers, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 4 tbsp BBQ sauce, divided 
• Salt and pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 4000F. 
2. In a skillet over medium high heat, sauté onion, peppers and garlic in olive oil for 3-5 minutes or until onions become golden brown. Remove mixture from heat to a small bowl to cool. 
3. In a mixing bowl combine  the onion and pepper mixture with the ground beef, egg whites, coconut flour, worcestershire sauce, 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce plus salt and pepper to season. Using your hands, mix until all ingredients are well incorporated. 
4. Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and form into a loaf. Wrap with strips of turkey bacon so that meatloaf is fully covered. 
5. Place meatloaf into oven and allow to cook at 400F for 10 minutes. After the first 10 minutes, brush the meatloaf with the remaining 2 tbsp of BBQ sauce and return to oven for an additional 20 minutes at 4000F. 
6. After 30 minutes total at 400F, reduce oven temperature to 350F and continue to cook for another 20-30 minutes or until meatloaf is cooked through.
7. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Slice into 4 equal pieces and serve with additional BBQ sauce if desired. 

Nutritional info (1 serving = 1/4 of recipe)

310 Calories - 33.5 g Protein, 10 g Carbs, 15 g Fat