Beefy Tomato Casserole

I think what I love most about this recipe is I came up with it on a day that I had firmly decided that I wasn’t going to cook. I had come home after one of those truly terrible days when nothing goes right and you only want to crawl into bed. I didn’t want to exercise or eat to nourish my body. But you know what? I also knew that if I came home, did nothing, and ordered takeout, I would feel a million times worse. So instead of getting under the covers I did some yoga to release some of the day’s tension. I still thought I would just throw something together quickly for dinner, but a little of this and that later, this is where I ended up. I was much happier for it, and it didn’t feel like any extra effort at all.

Oh, and that bad mood? Evaporated.

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil
1 shallot (or ¼ of an onion)
1 large handful chopped kale
2 servings Beyond Beef (can also use 1/3lb lean ground beef, just make sure you season it)
½ cup broth (I used chicken but beef or vegetable would be just fine)
¼ cup heavy cream
2 tsp coconut flour
1 tbs ricotta cheese
¾ cup tomato basil sauce (I used DelGrosso brand)
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded mozzarella and parmesan for the top

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375’F.
Drizzle olive oil into pan.

Add chopped shallot or onion (truly, I haven’t figured out the difference yet). Sauté for a minute or two over medium-high heat.

Add kale and sauté with the shallot until the kale wilts and looks bright green.

 

Add two servings of Beyond Beef. It’s fine if it’s still frozen.

Add broth and bring to a boil. Add coconut flour and heavy cream. Simmer until you see it start to thicken, then remove from heat.

Mix in the ricotta and tomato basil sauce. If the combination appears too runny, sprinkle another teaspoon of coconut flour over it and blend to thicken it up a bit.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the mixture into two ramekins. Top with combination of mozzarella and parmesan. (If you have a pan that can go from stovetop to oven, you could leave it in the pan and sprinkle the cheese on top.)

Bake for 15-20 minutes until you see the casserole bubbling around the edges. Here’s a before and after. The before is on top!

You can turn on the broiler at the end to brown the cheese if you want. Let it set up a bit and enjoy!

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