Pasta with Grass-Fed Meat Sauce
This is the first in my series of frugal and nutritious recipes. Since my goal is to cut my food budget in half, I am going to be making meals that are less expensive but still very nutritious.
Hamburger meat is a classic budget-friendly staple. Of course, I only use organic grass-fed beef from local farmers, which is more expensive but worth every penny when it comes to nutrition.
One of the biggest reasons to eat grass-fed beef is for the CLA:
Meat and dairy products from grass-fed ruminants are the richest known source of another type of good fat called “conjugated linoleic acid” or CLA. When ruminants are raised on fresh pasture alone, their products contain from three to five times more CLA than products from animals fed conventional diets. (A steak from the most marbled grass-fed animals will have the most CLA, as much of the CLA is stored in fat cells.)
CLA may be one of our most potent defenses against cancer. In laboratory animals, a very small percentage of CLA — a mere 0.1 percent of total calories — greatly reduced tumor growth.
There is new evidence that CLA may also reduce cancer risk in humans. In a Finnish study, women who had the highest levels of CLA in their diet, had a 60 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those with the lowest levels. Switching from grain-fed to grassfed meat and dairy products places women in this lowest risk category.
Researcher Tilak Dhiman from Utah State University estimates that you may be able to lower your risk of cancer simply by eating the following grassfed products each day: one glass of whole milk, one ounce of cheese, and one serving of meat. You would have to eat five times that amount of grain-fed meat and dairy products to get the same level of protection. Source: Eat Wild
I can get grass-fed ground beef for $4 per pound which is a real bargain. So you can expect a lot of menus with ground beef this winter.
The other GREAT thing about ground beef is that it is so easy to sneak in highly nutritious organ meats without your family even knowing! I like to add ground beef heart. All you do is add 1/2 pound beef heart for every pound of ground beef. Just grind the beef heart with a meat grinder or in your food processor. I know it sounds gross but isn’t — and it’s REALLY easy.
This recipe for pasta with meat sauce is extremely fast and easy to make, and it’s delicious. I used rice pasta because it’s lower in phytates (anti-nutrients that bind with minerals and block absorption). Add the beef heart if you have some on hand. Even without that, the meal is still very nutritious.
You can also make this recipe in a crockpot in the morning, and you’ll have a hearty, yummy meal ready in the time it takes to boil water (rice pasta cooks in about 10 minutes).
Ingredients
1 pound package of rice pasta (penne, spirals, or what-have-you)
2 TBS butter, lard or beef tallow
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 pounds grass-fed ground beef (or, preferably, 1 pound ground beef & 1/2 pound beef heart)
1 28 oz can organic whole tomatoes (diced or whole)
1/2 jar organic tomato sauce (you can use a whole jar — I just used half because it was leftover in the fridge)
3 bay leaves
Fresh or dried basil and oregano (to taste)
A couple of pinches of rapadura sugar (to taste)
Sea salt (to taste)
Ground pepper (to taste)
Parmesan cheese for garnish (freshly grated)
1. In a large saucepan or stockpot, bring 4 quarts water to boil. Add several pinches of sea salt. (Chef Nigella Lawson says pasta water should always be salty like the sea.)
2. Chop the onion and smash the garlic cloves.
3. Put 2 TBS of butter, lard or beef tallow in a saucepan on medium heat.
4. Add the onions and garlic and let cook until soft.
5. Add the ground beef and brown.
6. Because you are using grass-fed beef, which is lower in fat, there is no need to strain the fat off like you would with grain-fed beef. Add the tomatoes and tomato sauce.
7. Add the herbs, rapadura, salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add the pasta to the boiling water and boil for 6-10 minutes (according to package).
9. Strain pasta, and serve with meat sauce, grating Parmesan on top.
10. Enjoy! Great for leftovers for lunch the next day!
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13/01/2009 at 10:07 pm Permalink
Ann Marie, what brand of rice pasta do you use?
13/01/2009 at 10:11 pm Permalink
Trader Joe’s usually. Not organic, but tastes good, and very inexpensive.
13/01/2009 at 10:14 pm Permalink
Have you ever had Tinkyada brand? I’m curious how it compares in taste to Trader Joe’s, because I don’t like Tinkyada – and it’s expensive, too!
13/01/2009 at 10:23 pm Permalink
I’ve never had it — but everyone says it’s good.
14/01/2009 at 3:17 am Permalink
That does sound delicious! And thanks for the information on CLA.
14/01/2009 at 7:45 am Permalink
You can get grass fed ground beef for 2.60lb? Wow, that is awesome. I can’t even get conventional ground beef at a regular grocery much less TJ’s or Whole Foods for that much.
Looks yummy!
14/01/2009 at 9:19 am Permalink
Now I *finally* have a good reason to get a meat grinder. I thought it’s only purpose would be to make my own sausage, but now I see an even better use for it.
Thanks for the tip!
-KristenM
15/01/2009 at 3:35 pm Permalink
This is a great post and looks like a great recipe. My family loves ground beef. But, I’m curious – what is the best way of finding grass-fed beef at such a great price? Do you know of a place I should start looking?
15/01/2009 at 3:57 pm Permalink
Hi, Brooklyn,
I get it at the Organic Pastures hub store.
http://www.cheeseslave.com/2008/12/20/where-to-buy-raw-milk-cheaper-in-la/
Where do you live?
15/01/2009 at 7:59 pm Permalink
I live in WA and this afternoon I’ve been researching where I can buy a larger share of beef. I think I have some leads on farms in the area but, from what I’ve read, it’s the wrong time of the year to get a bulk amount. I’ll keep trying though…
In the meantime, I’ll keep enjoying your blog. Thanks for the great posts.
15/01/2009 at 8:09 pm Permalink
I was wrong!
I don’t know how I screwed it up in my mind — I guess I’ve been working too many hours. I pay $4/pound. Not $2.60.
It’s because they sell it in 1.5 pound increments. So I thought it was $4 per increment. But no, it’s $4 per pound.
I hate making mistakes but oh well. If you never make mistakes you’re not living. You’re just one of those uber-perfectionist people who never do anything for fear of making a mistake.
Anyway $4/pound. Not $2.60! Sorry!
22/01/2009 at 9:14 am Permalink
Thanks so much for the recipe!! I look forward to more in your series on more frugal recipes.
That grass-fed buffalo (frozen) I mentioned in another comment on another post is kinda local (next state over, but we are close to the border) and is about $3.35 a lb (compared to the near $7 a lb of the stuff at the front of the store, different brand and more local). So you might try finding a smaller health food store and asking them if they carry it. I have been shopping at this store for 10 years, they carried this product for two years and I just noticed it yesterday!
Also, I wanted to thank you for taking a picture of the cheese you use in that first recipe (Mexican Rice) I commented on. It helps me when I am in the store if I have SEEN what is god stuff to look for first.
LOL!! And I too recognized it as being at Costco! WOOHOO!!! 
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22/01/2009 at 9:16 am Permalink
I forgot to ask how you would do this in the crockpot. I am new to crockpotting (is that even a word?) and would love to use it more. Right now, I just do soups in it.
Also, do you think you could make a large amount of the sauce and freeze it?
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22/01/2009 at 9:47 am Permalink
You could absolutely make a huge amount and freeze it. Freezes great.
I don’t have a recipe for the crock pot. Do an online search for crockpot meat sauce.
02/02/2010 at 1:33 pm Permalink
Why doesn’t the WAP talk about brown rice pasta more since its nutritious and low in phytates and sooo easy to use in recipes?