Last week I had some extra kids staying with me and had a bit of a panic when I realized that I was all out of our "normal" lunch options, ie nitrate free organic hot dogs. I had some already cooked ground beef in the freezer and started brainstorming on what I could do with it. The result was a pizza-ish creation. My kids wanted to try it again, but this time with more pizza like toppings. The second attempt was better, but still somewhat lacking.
As they say, the third time is the charm! Last night I tweaked the spices and we had the closest thing to pizza that we have had since going grain free. There are several grain free crust recipes out there, but I don't think any of us missed the crust a bit. I like that this is quick and easy to throw together and I only dirtied one pan!!
We have been flirting with adding some dairy back in to the diet, but it appears that, for now, it should continue to be on a very limited basis. A little cheese to make this yummy dinner was worth making the exception. The kids came up with the name of the recipe. I added the "pie" since the first time I made it, I baked it in my pie pan. I discovered that my cast iron pan is perfect to make it a one dish meal, so if you have pan that can go from stovetop to oven, give it a try and enjoy a dish or five less to wash.
Meatza Pizza Pie
- 1.5 pounds lean hamburger (preferable to use grassfed beef)
- 7 ounce jar tomato paste (see note)
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 2 tsp garlic powder*
- 2 tsp onion powder*
- 1 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
Toppings:
- nitrate free pepperoni
- sautéed onion
- sautéed red bell pepper
- sliced black olives
- grated cheese (I used Kerrygold Dubliner cheese and it was an excellent alternative to mozzarella)
To go with the one pan method, sauté red bell pepper and onion in a little coconut oil until soft. Transfer to a bowl and then brown hamburger meat. Turn burner off, but continue to prepare on the warm burner to keep it hot. If using grass fed beef, there should be no need to drain the meat because there is very little fat. If there is excessive fat, you would want to drain off. Add the spices to the meat and mix well. Stir in tomato paste. I used about 1 tbsp of water to get all of the paste out of the jar and thin it slightly.
Press meat into bottom of pan or transfer to pie plate to form the crust. Add desired toppings and bake at 400℉ until cheese is beginning to brown, 10-15 minutes.
Enjoy!
*Anyone avoiding starches should be careful in consideration of these two additions. They are a source of starch, but seem to be tolerated in our household.
About the tomato paste, I have started using jarred tomato products after reading more and more about the effects of BPA. Canned tomatoes are known source of BPA exposure:
Beyond baby bottles, BPA is widely used in the linings of food and beverage cans. In many cases, particularly where the can’s contents are acidic or corrosive, as with tomato sauce or soda, researchers have found that the BPA leaches out of the can lining and into the food…and into the bodies of people who consume the products. In fact, BPA can be found in the bodies of some 90 percent of Americans.
You can read more about BPA in this article where I found the above quote. The more I learn about BPA, the more angry it makes me. When I found a jarred option for tomato products, I was glad to have the option of using tomato sauces again.
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