MakingBananaPancakes.com - Keith Pricktt's Food Blog

Yummy macaroni with pasture-finished ground beef

April 17th, 2010

Want to know one of the best dishes I’ve had in a long time?  How about this one:

Yummy macaroni with pasture-finished ground beef

Now, do you want to know how to make it?  Sharing that with you would be a pleasure for me.  I typed in a few ingredients into food blog search that I had lying around the house.  When we have a few things lying around the house it doesn’t make sense to go to the grocery store, right?  This incredible recipe was waiting at the other end of the search button and I’d like to share what I did using it.  One of the major things I loved about this dish was the celery seeds.  It is a make or break deal.  Use the celery seeds!

Celery Seeds

If you’re interested in a conversation related to some of the concepts around locally raised or pasture-raised livestock I found this story interesting.  Since my wife and I have started a farm raising pasture-raised animals we have been learning a lot about this kind of thing.  It just makes so much sense.  We hope you’ll join us and find a producer near you that sells pasture-raised animals.  We’re not on there as of the time of this writing, but we are going to register soon.

The beef I used in this recipe came from our wonderful friends over at Afton Field Farm.  It has such a rich flavor, is wonderfully lean and contains a much more dense set of nutrients than you can find in conventionally raised beef.  Not only that, but they aren’t polluting the environment with conventional fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.  Nope, the chickens do all that work (fertilizing, eating the bugs, and more) after the cattle get fat on the grass.  Back to the recipe, here’s what I did (feeds 4):

chop parsely

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium onion
  • t tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 lb of pasture-finished ground beef
  • 2 cups of uncooked large macaroni noodles
  • a bunch of fresh chopped parsley, about 1/2 cup
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (or, if they are in season in your area, about 4 large diced tomatoes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
  • 2 tablespoons worcestershire  sauce
  • kosher salt, sea salt, or seasoning salt to taste
  • crushed red pepper flakes to taste
  • fresh ground pepper to taste

add tomatoes to the beefMethod:

  1. Begin cooking the macaroni, boiling it for the time listed on the package or until just tender
  2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottom pan over medium heat
  3. Chop and saute the onions in the pan, about 5 minutes or until soft
  4.  Add pasture-finished ground beef and saute until brown
  5. Add pepper flakes, salt, celery seed and ground pepper to taste
  6. Add the worcestershire  sauce
  7. Add tomatoes and bring to a simmer
  8. Drain the macaroni and add to the beef
  9. Add the parsley and simmer for about 5 minutes more.

simmer for 5 more minutesServe this dish with a side of vegetables, like corn, and some bread, like my favorite — Pan Marino.  I hope you enjoy!

Posted in Beef, Dinner, pasture raised | Leave a comment (0)

  » By Keith Prickett

Lamb Madras Curry

August 5th, 2009

Lamb Madras Curry

Boy, oh boy!  This curry is the most amazing curry I have had yet.  I have tried to make many curries in the past and none even come close to this.  A friend gave me (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Dinner, Indian, Lamb | Leave/read a comment (5)

  » By Keith Prickett

Gobi Paratha

July 17th, 2009

Gobi Paratha
I sure love Indian food, and lately I have been experimenting with more and more recipes.  I am pretty sure I would be in heaven if I could visit India and enjoy a home-cooked meal (or ten).  I have an Indian friend at work who describes some really amazing foods that she makes and her mother makes and I think I drool every time!

Well, I am (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Appetizer, Breads, Dinner, Indian, Side | Leave a comment (0)

  » By Keith Prickett

Sautéed Greens

July 6th, 2009

Sautéed Greens

We just got back from vacation and our garden is teeming with greens.  I love greens.  Last year I planted kale and collards and I became hooked! What was really amazing about them was that they lasted from early summer until the next spring, when I pulled them up.  I couldn’t believe that they survived the snow.  Granted it wasn’t that much snow and our climate is very mild, but still!

This year I (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Dinner, Side | Leave/read a comment (5)

  » By Keith Prickett

Parathas (Flaky Flatbreads with cumin seeds)

May 3rd, 2009

Parathas (Flaky flatbreads with cumin seeds)

A friend let us borrow the most wonderful Indian Cookbook I have used yet.  I just finished making a complete dinner out of the book and wanted to share it with you: (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Appetizer, Breads, Dinner, Indian, Snacks | Leave/read a comment (5)

  » By Keith Prickett

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

March 21st, 2009

Chicken Noodle Soup

This soup turned out SO delicious!  Rachel was impressed, I was impressed, what more is there to say?  Are you sick?  Someone you know?  Do you have a craving for a week’s worth of meals done in one batch?  Do you have a big gathering of family?  You have come to the right place then!  If you (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Chicken, Dinner, General, Pasta, Soup | Leave/read a comment (3)

  » By Keith Prickett

Homemade Chicken Broth [Updated]

March 15th, 2009

Salt-Free Homemade Chicken Broth Simmering

I was making chicken noodle soup the other today and needed some broth, so I went back and looked through my postings to find a recipe.  I wasn’t really happy with it so I updated it just a little and am re-posting it here.  I hope you enjoy it!

As you may have noticed I don’t use salt that much. I like to use unsalted butter, and I rarely put salt in anything I bake. I found that it is not necessary to add salt in order to have a delicious flavor. When I went on a salt-free kick way back when, I realized that chicken bouillon and store-bought chicken broths have a LOT of sodium (along with pretty much every thing else you buy at the grocery store). So I decided (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Chicken, Dinner, Pasta, Soup | Leave/read a comment (1)

  » By Keith Prickett

Keith’s Famous Guacamole

January 1st, 2009

 guacamole

This guacamole is famous from wall-to-wall — in my house! ;-)  Rachel used to hate avocados (and guacamole) but ever since I started making her my “Famous” guacamole she has (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, Mexican, Snacks | Leave/read a comment (2)

  » By Keith Prickett

Baked Sweet Meat Squash w/Shallots, Raisins and Walnuts

December 2nd, 2008

 Baked Sweet Meat with Shallots, Raisins and Walnuts

With the winter quickly arriving what a better way to treat yourself but with some fabulous winter squash!  I enjoy perusing the farmer’s market every week and am always looking for new or creative things to make.  A couple of months ago I stumbled upon a small farm that grew winter squash and had a conversation with (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Dinner | Leave/read a comment (1)

  » By Keith Prickett

Zucchini in a Crunchy Parmesan Crust

November 12th, 2008

Zucchini in a Crunchy Parmesan Crust

Can you believe that I still have zucchini growing?  Ok, maybe not, but last week I did.  I picked three zucchinis and one of them had been there for some time.  I can never figure out what to do with the HUGE ones, but Google and this recipe saved the day.  Here’s what I did: (…read more and get the recipe)

Posted in Appetizer, Dinner, General, Snacks | Leave/read a comment (2)

  » By Keith Prickett

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