Preheat oven to 400. Line baking sheet with heavy duty foil, then parchment paper. (The foil makes it so you don't have to wash the pan and the parchment paper prevents the meatballs from sticking to the foil.)
Combine all ingredients for meatballs. Using a small cookie scoop, form meatballs and bake on baking sheet for 15 minutes.
While that is baking, put oil in skillet and dice onion. Begin cooking the onions while you slice the mushrooms. Add to onions.
When onions and mushrooms are nearly done, add beef base, black pepper and garlic powder. Add 2 cup of water to the pan. Bring to a boil. Combine cornstarch with remaining 1/2 cup of water. Gradually add cornstarch mix to pan and stir as you are pouring. Cook, stirring often, until thoroughly mixed.
Add cooked meatballs to mushroom sauce, cover with lid and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Note that the meatballs will grow when cooking because of the raw rice in them.
Nutrition info on 5 meatballs with sauce: 258 calories, 11 g fat, 81 mg cholesterol, 581 mg sodium, 193 mg potassium, 20 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 2 g sugar, 20 g protein
This is for the die-hard cheese lovers! If it is too strong for your tastes, go with a mild or medium cheddar instead or substitute with your favorite cheese! We have sometimes added Swiss, Provolone, Pepper Jack and others to the recipe.
Of course, if you don’t have a wheat allergy or intolerance, you can use all-purpose flour and semolina macaroni in the same proportions as the recipe.
Fill a medium sized saucepan with water for cooking macaroni. Turn on heat to high. When it boils, add macaroni and cook according to package directions. Do NOT overcook the macaroni!
Meanwhile, begin cubing the cheese. Melt butter in a skillet. Add flour and stir to make a roux. Add 1 1/4 cups milk and stir, cooking on medium heat, to thicken. Add cheese cubes. Stir until melted and sauce is smooth. You can add a little extra milk if you think it is necessary. Combine the cheese and cooked macaroni. It may seem a little thin at first, but if you let it sit for 5 minutes, the macaroni will absorb a lot of the liquid and it will be a nice consistency.
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt with no problem. Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
Cook ground beef, crumbling as it cooks. While that is cooking, combine dry ingredients. Add seasonings to skillet with cilantro, lime juice and water.
Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has been absorbed.
We like to use fresh corn tortillas and cook them on a greased griddle until they are soft and starting to turn brown. Update: We have recently been toasting them over an open flame on our gas stove. That makes them lower calories and fat. Suggested garnishes include: cheese, fresh, chopped cilantro, sliced green onion, salsa, chopped lettuce, chopped tomato or guacamole.
A mixture of various kinds of canned beans, ground beef, bacon, BBQ sauce and molasses. You can also used dried beans (see my notes below). This could even be a main dish. Even our grandsons loved it and they are picky eaters!
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour in a 9x13" pan. This also works well in the crock pot on low for several hours.
Recipe Notes
I like to use dried beans and I had a lot of beans in my basement, so I used black turtle beans, pinto beans, baby lima beans, and cranberry beans. I started with about 1 1/4 cups of each variety. You can cook them in the crockpot with some water on low until they are done. I would like to try the oven method that I just recently learned about. Place the beans in a dutch oven and cover with water to 1" past the top of the beans. Bake at 350 for an hour and 15 minutes, or until done. When they are finished cooking, drain the extra liquid off, and use as you would the canned beans. Note: I still used Bush's baked beans. These took the place of the canned butter beans, kidney beans and lima beans.
I loved the idea I saw for Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers, especially since I have a wheat allergy, which makes it really hard to have the Philly Cheesesteak Sandwich. However, since this isn’t something my husband would normally prefer, I usually make it for lunch and it is quite time consuming to make just for me for lunch, so I created this easier way to enjoy the same thing which only takes about 20 minutes or so.
Melt butter in skillet and add onion. Cook for a few minutes, then add peppers and mushrooms. Cook briefly before adding roast beef. Season to taste. Stir frequently until everything is cooked and warm. Top with provolone. Turn off heat and lightly cover with foil until cheese is melted. Carefully transfer to serving dish.
Mix first five ingredients and shape into 3/4" thick patties (about 10). Bake meat patties at 375 for 20 minutes. Transfer to baking dish.
In large skillet, saute onion in a little oil. Add mushrooms when onion starts to cook. Stir in flour to thicken. Add water and beef base and stir over medium high heat until thickened. Pour over meat patties and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (This can also be done on the stove over low heat. Stir frequently.)
Recipe Notes
Although spelt is actually a type of wheat flour, most people with wheat allergies can digest spelt with no problem. Obviously, you should not eat spelt if it is a problem for you.
Be careful of the beef broth if you are avoiding wheat or soy. I use Better than Bouillon Organic beef base and, for this recipe, I use two times the amount suggested on the jar for 3 cups of beef broth.
If you don't need gluten-free or wheat-free, go ahead and use all-purpose flour and regular breadcrumbs.
I used a 3 oz. scoop for the meat mixture and ended up with 11 patties plus about a half sized one.
