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Caveboy Casserole

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I’m confused. How is it possibly 1 day away from February? I don’t even know what happened to the last 30 days. I hope the rest of the year isn’t like this, or I will need 48 hours in a day. I’ve been a bit swamped with work stuffs (yeah, stuffs, that’s no typo), which is always a good thing because job security is awesome and all that.

My baby is turning 3 in February. I absolutely love this age, though she’s currently in a very headstrong, independent, I’ll-say-no-to-everything-you-say-just-to-be-a-jerk-even-if-I-really-want-that-banana stage, which is pretty frustrating. But she’s so freaking cute that I can’t help but laugh when she defiantly crosses her arms, humphs, and turns away when she doesn’t get what she wants.

February can be a pretty gloomy month in the colder parts of the world, and when we lived in Minnesota, we were all “yeah, let’s go to Florida for the month” and it was so great, hearing about the massive snowstorm that closed the schools in half the state while we were on the beach. I don’t even like the beach but that was pretty great. But we’re in Colorado now, so we get these glorious breaks in the weather where we’ll have a few 60 degree days between snowstorms, and I can live with that. But I do love me a good snowstorm so long as I’ve got nowhere to go.

Blizzards also conjure happy feelings for me. Our almost-3-year-old was born in the middle of a blizzard, at home, and it was quite possibly one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Watching the snow fall outside a big picture window reminds me of all those beautiful moments and the emotions that came with them, and I love it. So bring on the snow, but not the ice, because the ice pretty much sucks.

Caveboy Casserole | Our Paleo Life

So, I’m one of those people that sees a pound of ground beef and immediately thinks “spaghetti” or “burgers”. Totally from my pre-paleo brainwashing. I know there are a million other uses, but my brain just usually shuts down at that point. It’s taken some time to get past that mental roadblock and realize there’s more to ground beef than that.

One day, I went through my old recipe cards (yeah, I actually have a little plastic container of recipe cards) for some inspiration and came across this recipe for a Cowboy Casserole that I hadn’t made in forever. I was kind of wanting some comfort food so I made (quite a few) alterations to it and came up with something fantastic! I have actually made this recipe about a dozen times, changing things up a bit here and there until it was just right. I also made it for non-paleo dinner guests and they loved it, so that’s always good news.

Caveboy Casserole

And yeah, since this is a paleo dish, I’m ditching the “cowboy” part and adding something a bit more appropriate, hence the “Caveboy Casserole”. I know, I’m so totally clever. I wonder how old my kids will be when they start getting embarrassed by me…

Caveboy Casserole | Our Paleo Life

Caveboy Casserole

Yield: 8
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes

This is a grain-free spin on the classic cowboy casserole. Using corn-free cornbread as the topping, and perfectly seasoned ground beef mixed with sautéed veggies as the base. This will quickly become a family favorite.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb Grass-Fed Ground Beef
  • 2 batches Taco Seasoning
  • 3 tsp Arrowroot Starch
  • 1 Tbsp Olive Oil, optional
  • 1 large Yellow Onion, diced
  • 2 Bell Peppers, any color, diced
  • 3 Plum Tomatoes, or one big Tomato, seeded and diced
  • 1 can Black Olives, sliced
  • 1 small can Diced Green Chiles, optional
  • 1 batch Paleo Cornbread, leave out the honey

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. In a large oven-safe skillet (preferably cast-iron), brown the beef completely, breaking up with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon to a bowl and set aside.
  3. In the same skillet you cooked the beef, add the olive oil (if there is not enough fat left over from the beef), then add the onions and peppers and stir-fry until translucent and fragrant, about 10 minutes.
  4. Add the beef back into the skillet, along with ¾ of the olives and all of the tomatoes.
  5. Combine the arrowroot starch and the Taco Seasoning then pour into the skillet and stir to combine everything.
  6. Pour the prepared Cornbread batter over everything in the baking dish. Spread to cover evenly, all the way to the edges. Top with the remaining sliced olives and diced green chiles, if desired. I like to add the chiles to only half of the skillet so there is a mild side available.
  7. Bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until cornbread is completely cooked through.
  8. Serve with a dollop of grass-fed sour cream (for primal, not paleo).

Notes

NOTE about quantity: This makes a lot of food, enough for our family of 5 plus leftovers. Cut in half if you don't need that much.

Nutrition Information
Yield 8 Serving Size 1 g
Amount Per Serving Calories 571Total Fat 44gSaturated Fat 15gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 151mgSodium 1729mgCarbohydrates 17gFiber 4gSugar 7gProtein 24g

Nutrition is calculated by a third party and may not be 100% accurate

Please share:

Tina

Saturday 25th of March 2023

Help - I need the cornbread recipe!

Carley Roley

Monday 14th of December 2020

Please help with taco seasoning recipe.

Kendra Benson

Thursday 17th of December 2020

Sorry, it looks like the Taco Seasoning recipe didn't transfer over when we updated the blog. You can find it here: https://www.ourpaleolife.com/paleo-taco-salad/

Lindy Russ

Tuesday 10th of December 2019

As of today did not find your recipes for Arrowroot starch and taco seasoning. Where????? Couldn't click on ingredients to find it.

Is this the same as the Arrowroot found in the spice dept. in the grocery store?

You didn't say if chilies avd olives should be drained? If not it doesn't seem there would be any liquid in the casserole

Pls respond ASAP , and with the recipe again too, so I can bring this to a holiday brunch and be the hit of the party???

Thx so much, Linda

Eve Hunt

Sunday 21st of July 2019

this was wonderful! Thank you for sharing all these tips and recipes..really helps those of us without the create gene;)

Teresa

Monday 12th of September 2016

Thank you for creating and sharing this recipe. I've made it several times now and it's definitely a family favorite. I'd also like to add that it's a forgiving recipe and easy to customize. I love the "cornbread" topping; it really makes the recipe and satisfies my cravings for non-paleo food, lol. Thanks again for a great recipe!

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