I’m not sure who you’ve heard credited with the phrase, “necessity is the mother of invention” but i’m pretty sure it was coined by someone attempting weeknight cooking in a pinch. (Ok, it probably wasn’t but still, I wouldn’t be surprised.)
I made this up in a day when I got home from work late and realized our fridge was nearly empty. We had a few baked sweet potatoes I had premade the day before, a pound of grass fed beef, and a lone red bell pepper way in the back of the fridge. At first I thought I’d make some jalapeño beef patties but that was going to take way more time than I had. So I went on faith and just started sautéing the beef in a bit of onion and the bell pepper. 20 minutes later, dinner was ready and it turned out delicious!
Ingredients:
-2 medium sweet potatoes or 1 really big sweet potato, baked (this is my favorite way to do it)
-1 red bell pepper
-1/2 an onion (I like the purple kind but any will do)
-2 tbsp ghee, butter, or coconut oil
-1 lb grass fed beef
-salt, to taste (I like Redmonds Real Salt)
-1 tsp smoked paprika
-1tsp chili powder
-raw shredded cheese (optional)
Steps:
1. Premake baked sweet potatoes. (I suggest making 3-5 at the start of each week, they’re so versatile!) If you don’t have premade ones, follow the recipe here.
2. Melt ghee, butter, or coconut oil in a medium-sized pan over medium heat.
3. Add onion and bell peppers, sauté until softened and very slightly browned.
4. Add the beef to the onions and pepper and break it up in the pan.
5. Add the paprika, chili powder, and salt.
6. Mix the spices in and let the beef brown, about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. While the meat is cooking, turn the oven on to 350 degrees and get your sweet potatoes ready: slice them lengthwise and open them flat like a book (see picture above).
8. When beef is no longer pink, add the beef/bell pepper/onion mixture to the top of your potatoes.
9. Put the beef topped potatoes in the oven for 8 minutes.
10. At the 8 minute mark, add the cheese to the top of the beef mixture and leave in the oven for about 2 more minutes. If not using cheese, check to see if the sweet potatoes have warmed up enough…if so, you’re done! If not, leave them in for another few minutes.
11. Take out of the oven and enjoy!
These are filling, loaded with Vitamins A and C, magnesium, quality proteins and carbohydrates…and delicious!
Happy eating!
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